Hyacinth Vassell is a senior director in Entrepreneurship for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she is responsible for implementing the Entrepreneurship department’s strategic plan while building strong relationships and alignment and establishing accountabilities for senior program officers and directors across all entrepreneurship functions. Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Vassell was vice president of […]

Building relationships between school districts and local employers is no small feat, especially during a school year when the pandemic made just connecting a barrier. Despite the challenges, 15 districts in the Kansas City metro found innovative ways to pilot a variety of Client-Connected Projects (CCPs), which bring together students and local professionals to create […]

The Central Standards RFP provides matching funds to encourage and accelerate collaborations between two or more entrepreneurship support organizations working together to support Heartland entrepreneurs in the states of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Liz Freeman is a program officer – sustainability in Education for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she supports education-focused initiatives through managing a diverse grant portfolio focused on the Kansas City region. Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Freeman was a grant manager with United Inner City Services (UICS), where she fostered relationships with […]

Researchers Rahul C. Basole, Travis Howe, Yushim Kim, Scott LaCombe, Karen Mossberger, and Caroline Tolbert explore the evolving nature of big data and its relevance to entrepreneurship research.

Shakia Webb is a program officer in Entrepreneurship, where she will manage a broad grant portfolio that addresses systemic inequities that impact entrepreneurs’ access to capital. Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Webb was an assistant vice president and small business relationship officer with UMB, where she originated commercial real estate (CRE) loans for small […]

As we make plans to go back to work in person, and discuss the future of the workplace, let’s not forget one critical component: a diverse and inclusive workforce. Building successful teams is no accident. Organizational teams that are diverse and inclusive exhibit qualities that are fast becoming the new standard for rebuilding our workforce […]

Ernestine Key is a program officer in Education for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she supports Real World Learning and other education-focused initiatives through maintaining a diverse grant portfolio focused on the Kansas City region. Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Key was a program associate for Communities Foundation of Texas, where she supported […]

The Individual Schools Grant supports district, charter, and private schools in the Kansas City region serving lower-income students.

This paper highlights important patterns between employer startups (less than 1 year old) and employer firms 1 year or older, as well as between younger employer firms (0-5 years) and older employer firms (6 years and older) between 1978 and 2018.