Board of Advisors

Lauren Bertram
Director, Talent Acquisition + TeamKC Board Co-Chair

Lauren Bertram is the Talent Acquisition Director at Burns & McDonnell with over 20 years of recruitment experience in a variety of industries including healthcare, information technology, engineering, architecture, construction and environmental consulting.

She loves all things recruitment, candidate/employee experience, data insights, STEM outreach and Diversity & Inclusion. Lauren leads an amazingly talented team of 40+ employee-owners who share a like-minded passion for bringing the best talent to Burns & Mac!

Lauren is a Kansas City native who graduated from Baker University with a BS in Management and Marketing. She lives in Brookside and loves everything our city offers her and her family. She is grateful to be a part of the TeamKC board and excited for KC’s continued bright future.

Amy Lee Sewell
Talent Acquisition Manager, Early Careers + Incoming TeamKC Board Co-Chair

Amy Lee Sewell has been with Lockton since 2007 in various roles in Human Resources, always with a focus on attracting top talent. In her current role in the Lockton Founders Series, she leads the early career recruiting team responsible for campus recruiting, university relations, intern and training programs with a laser focus on providing a first class candidate/Associate experience.

In 2023, Lockton invested in a workforce development program called the Lockton Learners program, led by Amy Lee. This program has evolved into a Lockton legacy program fueled by Amy Lee’s passion to provide students from underrepresented communities access to opportunities.

As a Brookside resident, she takes advantage of all KC has to offer, always up to date on the latest and greatest happenings in KC. With a heart for giving, Amy Lee volunteers in the community, stays active in her church, enjoys spending time with her family and is co-founder of the nonprofit, Road Worthy. She considers it an honor and a privilege to serve on the TeamKC board of advisors, always willing to champion the life and talent in Kansas City. 

Brandi Riggs
Vice President, HR + TeamKC Board Co-Chair

Brandi Riggs is VP, Human Resources at McCownGordon Construction. She leads the Human Resource team to attract and retain the best industry talent through engagement and associate experience initiatives. She also oversees wellbeing initiatives, serves on the Women in Leadership Business Resource Group, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Steering committee at McCownGordon. She and her team are committed to creating a great place for associates to come to work each day.

Brandi serves on the TeamKC Advisory Board Executive Committee, Co-Chair for Workforce Action Team (KC Rising), Board of Directors at her local church, Kansas City Symphony Business Alliance and is a Past President of the Society for Human Resource Management of Greater Kansas City. She has a passion for volunteering in her community, giving back to her profession, serving those around her and seeking opportunities to help and mentor others.

Shelby moved to Kansas City in 2016 to begin her career in human resources, and immediately fell in love with the community and energy she discovered. It wasn’t long after that she began working at BHC as an administrative assistant, and she has proudly called KC and BHC home ever since. Shelby was recently named Talent Development and HR Director, and with over 7 years of experience in the AEC industry, works alongside her incredible team to oversee training and development, culture, performance management, and recruitment. She is also a certified Gallup CliftonStrengths coach and has her MBA with an emphasis in HR Management from Baker University.

Driven by her passion for employee growth, development, and engagement at all levels of the company, Shelby has managed BHC’s innovative internship program, analyzed employee engagement survey, made recommendations and influenced progressive policy changes, managed internal communications, and served as co-lead of the DEI committee. In her spare time, she also serves as a member of the Johnson County SHRM DEI committee, volunteers with Inclusion Connections, and was selected as a member of Zweig’s 2023 elevateHER cohort. Outside of work, you can find her spending time with her husband Jesse and their two rescue dogs, Nova and Rue.

Kira Spring
Talent Acquisition Manager

Kira Spring has had an amazing journey with Black & Veatch, progressing from recruiter to currently coaching a team of seven highly-skilled recruiters in the BV Operations group. Her team specializes in civil environmental, engineering management, specialized solutions, mechanical, instrumentation and controls, land services and contingent programming.
 
Shifting from recruitment to leadership, Kira has used her experiences to build relationships with and offer optimal recruiting strategies to her team and clients. Through former roles, Kira gained experience in full cycle recruitment and internship program development, working in a variety of industries, including power, water, oil and gas, MC, data center, telecom and federal, as well as partnering with more than 50 universities nationwide. She specializes in technical recruitment and has collaborated with various levels of leadership to implement innovative recruitment strategies.
 
Kira’s passion is coaching and supporting professionals to achieve their maximum potential. She is committed to driving change, providing a safe and encouraging environment to promote growth, and delivering high-quality services to clients and businesses.

Anna Knoblock
Director, Talent Acquisition

Anna Knoblock is the Talent Acquisition Director at Children's Mercy. Anna has over 20 years of recruitment experience across several industries including healthcare, technology, and sales.

Anna is focused on attracting top talent and fostering a culture employees want to be a part of. The mission of Children's Mercy fuels her passion for the work she does every day.

Anna graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business. She lives in Overland Park with her husband and two boys. In her spare time, you can catch her at one of many area sports fields watching her boys do what they love.

Justin Short
Leasing Professional

A lifelong Kansas Citian, Justin knows just how important it is to continue to strive for growth in Kansas City and its region. Currently working for Cordish Companies, Justin is well aware of what an exciting time it is for all those in Kansas City and who will call it home in the future. He has served on the Kansas City Regional Transit alliance board and as Policy Chair for the Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Justin lives downtown with his fiancé and their cat and is thrilled to serve with TeamKC and KCADC.

Krista Gartelos
Manager, Talent Acquisition   

Krista has been in Talent Acquisition for 10 years and has recruited nationwide for all levels of roles, most recently focusing on adding talent to a national dairy cooperative. These roles range from member services, supply chain, finance, IT, manufacturing and human resources.

At Dairy Farmers of America, Krista is responsible for full cycle recruiting focused on adding talent to DFA’s corporate office and 90+ additional locations, both domestic and international. Krista also manages DFA’s internship and college recruiting programs. She is passionate about connecting talented candidates with a variety of job opportunities at DFA.

Krista graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Management: Human Resources. Prior to joining DFA, she worked in the financial services industry.

Avery Adair
Assistant Manager, HR

Avery Adair is an Assistant Manager within the Talent Acquisition function for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. In this role, he supports the Bank’s recruitment functions with emphasis on programming related to entry-level talent. This support includes responsibility for campus and intern programs as well as various talent needs across the Bank’s seven state region.

Avery joined the Bank in 2015 and has held various leadership roles since 2019. He holds a bachelors degree in Management and a MBA in Business & Organizational Leadership from Pittsburg State University.

Makenzie Kalkowski
Technical Recruiter II

Makenzie represents Garmin Intl. on the TeamKC Board of Advisors as a dynamic recruiting professional who brings a blend of partnership and enthusiasm to the world of talent acquisition. Originally hailing from Nebraska, Makenzie ventured to Kansas City 5 years ago in pursuit of her passions which offers her a unique perspective on the board.

Her background includes event management, marketing, technical recruiting, university recruiting and university relations. In recruiting, Makenzie has shown a knack for understanding different technical industries from tech, engineering and presently aviation. She prides herself on her genuine approach and ability to connect on a personal level with candidates and employers alike, fostering relationships based on trust and transparency. With that same spirit, she quickly integrated herself into Kansas City making professional and personal connections, and most importantly, finally becoming a Chiefs fan.

Being from a small town, she has a true passion for community engagement and is involved in many programs across the city which helps her to be an advocate for relocating multiple professionals to Kansas City in her current position.

Erin Roebuck
Sr. Talent Acquisition Leader

Erin is the Sr. Talent Acquisition Leader-Global for Hallmark Cards, and a founding member of the TeamKC Board of Advisors, with more than 17 years of experience in talent acquisition, creative, product development, talent development, and culture.

A designer by trade and a passionate people-person by nature, Erin brings a unique skillset to the talent acquisition space. She describes herself as a creative thinker, culture driver, community builder and curious connector, and enjoys bringing these talents to the recruiting space for one of the world’s most beloved brands.

Erin earned her BFA in Graphic Design from Iowa State University. She lives in Shawnee, KS with her husband Eric and three daughters, and enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, cooking, and eating local.

Katie Birchfield
Sr. Talent Acquisition Advisor

Katie is an experienced full-cycle talent acquisition business partner currently specializing in executive recruitment at H&R Block. With more than 15 years of experience, Katie has developed a deep understanding of the unique challenges that stem from varying candidate markets. She is dedicated to helping others in and outside of work, and values giving back to my community while delivering tailored talent acquisition and development solutions that align with business objectives.

Katie is also a dedicated Jayhawk, wife, mom and Peloton fan!

Kimberly Tholl
Manager, Talent Acquisition

Kimberly is a Talent Acquisition Manager at Honeywell and has a passionate focus on Strategic Recruitment, HR Process Development, and Digital Transformation. Kimberly graduated from Ottawa University with her Bachelor’s in Human Resource Management and has experience in multiple Human Resources roles, alongside management and field marketing experience. Prior to joining Honeywell, Kimberly worked in Talent Acquisition and Field Marketing Departments at H&R Block from 2011-2017.

Allison Voss
Director of Recruiting

Allison Voss is the Director of Recruiting for Moonshot Solutions, an IT Services and Staffing Partner in Overland Park, KS.  At Moonshot, she leads a team of industry experts who are responsible for finding qualified candidates covering a variety of professional skillsets, managing the full cycle of recruitment, and ensuring a positive candidate experience.  With close to 15 years of experience in the staffing industry, she possesses a strong background in finding and retaining talent, consultant care, business development and employee training.  

Starting out her professional career as a Partnership Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters, her passion for helping others and building long-lasting relationships wherever and however she can has never wavered.  Coming from a small town in Southern Illinois, Allison appreciates community and is active in many organizations across the Kansas City metro, from fostering dogs through a variety of rescues to being a CASA Advocate, where she feels connected and can make a difference.

Allison graduated with a degree in Business and Communications from Eastern Illinois University and currently resides in Overland Park, KS.

Heather Binder
Director, Human Resources Consulting

Ryan Wakabayashi
HR General Manager

Ryan Wakabayashi is HR General Manager for Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America in De Soto, Kansas. At Panasonic, he started his HR career in the company’s lighting division where he was responsible for employee relations with union organizations, talent development, workforce planning and hiring. Through his manufacturing HR experience, he was also assigned global talent development at Panasonic’s HQ.

In June 2017, Panasonic launched its business in Buffalo, New York, and Ryan was assigned to the project as HR manager. He hired more than 500 employees and created the site’s employee handbook and variety of policies within the first three years of operation. Following, he was transferred to Panasonic’s regional headquarters in New Jersey, where he led the company experience for approximately 400 Panasonic expats in North America.

July 2023, Ryan was assigned to the Kansas Project for Panasonic, which plans to create 4,000 jobs and make a $4 billion investment in the KC region. Under his leadership, Ryan is driving workforce planning and strategic hiring for the facility.

Ryan graduated with a degree in psychology from Waseda University in Japan and currently lives in Overland Park, Kansas.

Lacey Foster
Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition Programs

Lacey Foster currently leads the Talent Acquisition Programs team at T-Mobile with a focus on ensuring the right systems, tools and resources are in place to attract and hire talent. With over 700,000 applicants and 20,000+ hires per year, it is essential to focus on the candidate experience. She has over 20 years of experience in the Talent Acquisition space and is responsible for everything from Talent Attraction, Recruitment Marketing, Employer Brand, Talent Acquisition systems, pre-hire assessments, interviewing resources, relocation, and candidate experience.

Lacey has grown her career at T-Mobile beginning in 2003 after graduating from Drake University. She started as a Recruiting Assistant and has held various roles such as University Recruiter, Program Manager and has been managing a team for the last 19 years. In her current role, she leads her team to solve business problems, implement new systems and processes and in turn enhance the overall experience for candidates, hiring managers and recruiters.