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EMPOWERED WOMEN EMPOWER WOMEN.
DWKC board members provide leadership for the organization, from driving the nonprofit mission to executing on the tactical needs of the whole association. The responsibility of being on the board means to act in the best interests of the board, the organization, the members and the communities in which one works and lives. Being a board member is a demonstration of dedication to the mission and skills as a servant-leader.
The DWKC leadership council supports board members and provides additional support to deliver the mission of the organization. The leadership council is the next generation of the board.
Sarah Wartman
>> Sponsorship Director
Sarah has nearly twenty years of experience effectively planning and managing marketing strategies from conception to completion. As a senior account manager at emfluence, she is focused on building and fostering client relationships, managing results-generating campaigns and leading with an enthusiastic hands-on approach. Her experience includes implementing integrated marketing strategies, digital and social media planning and campaign analytics.
Sarah graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. in Journalism and Mass Communications and received her Master’s in Communication Leadership from Drake University. She is obsessed with her rescue dogs and enjoys travel, Chiefs football and tasty vodka beverages.
Angela Jones
>> President/Treasurer
Angela has more than 15 years of experience leading teams with the majority of her time spent in women’s brands. Her professional experience includes planning and executing strategic growth plans; hiring, training, and retaining top talent; and driving a culture of continuous improvement and innovation at multi-million-dollar organizations. After a successful career in retail management, Angela transitioned to being a consultant at Smarter Consulting where she is providing technology solutions to a wide range of clients.
She believes that a foundation of trust is key to building strong, lasting relationships with clients and peers. These connections provided Angela with a keen understanding of customers’ needs and influenced her approach to addressing those needs.
Angela has been part of DWKC since 2020 where she started as Leadership Council for Mentorship and then became the Communications Director. She wanted to be part of a community that empowers women and gives a space to grow professionally.
Angela’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Park University. Angela is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and is certified in Microsoft 365 Teams Administration.
A Kansas City native, Angela loves to travel with her husband and entertain all her fur babies—two cats named Harlow and Jinx, and two dogs named Sister and Bailey.
Nichole Fox
>> Partnership Director
Nichole has been in the digital media industry for over a decade, working in markets coast to coast but always calling Kansas City home. She has built her career working with traditional media teams and helping them embrace digital opportunities for their clients. Her passion for an omnichannel approach has been crucial to her success in connecting clients to customers.
Currently, she oversees the Digital Department at Steel City Media. Steel City Media is a multimedia company with a local focus and commitment to the KC community they serve with well established events, and top-rated personalities on Mix 93.3, KFKF, KC102.1 and Q104.
Over the pandemic, she has been able to drive digital revenue 300% YOY.
Nichole is the oldest of three and enjoys spending time with her family, especially playing with her one-year-old niece. Outside of work, she volunteers at St. Mary’s Food Kitchen in KCK and likes to take weekend trips to visit friends in Denver and Dallas.
Lori Whetter
>> Digital Director/Secretary
Lori has more than 15 years of experience helping clients define and build their marketing strategies. As a digital marketing expert with comprehensive experience in strategy, user experience and team management. Lori is passionate about diving into research to understand the highlights and pain points for customers in order to create amazing customer experiences and drive business results.
She thrives on finding solutions to complex problems in a collaborative setting and believes in elevating those around her to drive confidence and success within the team. Lori is never satisfied with mediocrity and will often ask, “then what?” and “what if?” It is her passion for learning and understanding that drives her to ask questions and challenge the status quo.
Lori currently serves as the Director of Engagement Strategy at Grey Health & Wellness, where she distills research and data analytics into meaningful insights and strategic recommendations through creative storytelling.
When she is not working, Lori enjoys running, gardening and spending time with her husband and two kids, Addison and Parker. She and her family love to travel and attempt to get out of town as often as they can to learn about new cultures and explore new places. Lori is also a volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and seeks out ways to make a positive impact in her community.
Haley Flippo
>> Vice-President
Haley is the Owner of Belleview Branding LLC, a Promotional Advertising and Marketing firm specializing in Promotional Branding. She works with individuals in all industries as a consultant providing brand’s creative marketing solutions and ideas through tangible products.
Haley truly enjoys working with customers on building their brand and business to create a lasting impression which is what she loves about networking as well. Working with and learning from other professionals is how we all grow and push forward together.
Haley’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from Pittsburg State University.
Born and raised in Kansas City, Haley loves to spend time with her friends and family, especially her husband and beautiful little boy. They are expecting their second baby in May of 2022 and can not wait to expand their family!
Amy Young
>> Mentorship Director
Born in Iowa, raised in the Kansas City area, Amy currently works for Brightedge - a SaaS focused on Search Engine Optimization. Amy helps her clients find and optimize their websites so they are found in the search engine results pages.
Amy’s first Advertising/Marketing role was doing the classified ads for the Manhattan Mercury while working on her undergraduate at Kansas State University. She’s worked for several agencies in the Kansas City area across multiple industries over the last 18 years. Amy has also worked on the client side - managing a small but mighty marketing team handling ALL things marketing - property signage, traditional media and all things digital - including helping launch a social media plan for a local casino, rebuilding a website and launching a content strategy for both a B2C and B2B company. Currently, Amy works for a Marketing Software-as-a-Service company - helping clients optimize their site to improve their organic traffic.
Besides marketing, Amy has a passion for Mentorship. She recognizes she wouldn’t be where she is without the mentors in her life and loves being a mentor to others whether they be seasoned or a bit newer in their careers. Her goal - as a mentor or mentoree - is to facilitate growth on both sides.
In her downtime, Amy spends LOTS of time at baseball fields all over KC and across several states thanks to her incredible kiddo. Due to this, she also does a bit of traveling with her husband. When home, she enjoys gardening, reading and spending lots of time with her husband and their Boxer/Mastiff mix.
>> Leadership Council
Lori Davies
Lori has 25 years in business development and marketing experience. She thrives on building enduring relationships. She is a lifelong learner who always asks questions and wants to know why. When Lori was a child, her parents got so tired of her asking why they bought a book called the book of Why.
Lori has worked in several different verticals with an emphasis in healthcare. With experience in everything from strategy to execution she has a scalable process she uses with each client to ensure a successful campaign. She loves to figure out the best way to communicate to your clients or prospects to build future relationships.
In her free time, Lori loves walking her dog, spending time with her husband, her cat, her many friends and catching up with her two children.
>> Leadership Council
Katie Owsley
Before Katie graduated college she got her start in the sales office as an Event Coordinator at Main Event. She eventually found her way to Steel City Media as an Account Executive where she helps companies reach their goals using an omnichannel approach. Steel City Media has a local focus building brand awareness, generating leads and helping companies recruite employees using digital strategies, digital out of home tactics and/or radio advertising.
Katie graduated from Missouri State University in December of 2018, where she received her bachelors in Entertainment Management.
Katie is a big foodie, she enjoys cooking and loves to try food of all cultures. She comes from a family of travelers/ history nerds/ sports fans. Every year, Katie and her family travel to a city to watch the Chiefs play at a different stadium. Her favorite so far has been New Orleans- she loves the city, culture, and FOOD!
>> Events Director
Jen Spencer
Jennifer Spencer has been a marketing/advertising/creative recruiter in KC for 20+ years. As owner of The Spencer Group, Jen has worked with every size of company and agency to help match awesome talent with awesome companies.
She has served on the boards of many industry specific professional associations such as The KC Ad Club and KCDMA and has an expertise in all things related to job search including resumes, portfolios, interviewing and salary negotiations.
She is a sought after speaker on all things job search and speaks often at professional associations, colleges and universities.
Erin Billingsley
>> Communications Director
Erin Billingsley is a photographer, graphic/web designer, and digital marketing freelancer based in Kansas City. While she has been a creative freelancer since high school, she has been a solopreneur since January of 2019.
Erin's business Lovegrass Creative works with brands, businesses & nonprofits to elevate their digital presence through graphic and digital design, web design, social media, and more. She believes that the local community is what strengthens a city – and that small brands should look just as good as big box brands from out of town.
Her background includes a B.A. in both Studio Art and French from Baker University, a Graphic Design Masters Certification from Sessions College, 15 years working in floral design at some of the most luxe shops in KC, and countless online classes, certificates, and webinars (in fact, she might have a problem....)
>> Membership Director
Lou Drews
Lou is a 17 year veteran in marketing and advertising spending most of her time at agencies throughout Kansas City. She started her career at Intouch, spending seven formative years when they were just one company with a lot fewer employees.
Since her time at Intouch, Lou has spent time with a variety of clients and industries gathering skills and experience along the way at MMGY Global in travel and hospitality and LionShare Marketing working to reach health populations on behalf of healthcare and hospital systems.
>> Leadership Council
Chevonn Payton
Chevonn’s worked in the digital space for over a decade, leveraging her passion for creating digital strategies to help brands connect with their audiences. Her career has taken her on a journey across a wide range of industries where she’s had the opportunity to work in consumer goods, financial services, publishing, and pharma sciences. With a background blending both IT and communications, she’s dabbled in all facets of both industries, creating unique and innovative products for their consumers.
Chevonn graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in journalism and DePaul University with a Master’s in Information Technology. And when she’s not working, she’s spending most of her time with her niece, nephew, and godsons, playing video games, ruining cake recipes, and watching Marvel movies.
Nichole Fox
Partnership Director
Nichole has been in the digital media industry for over a decade, working in markets coast to coast but always calling Kansas City home. She has built her career working with traditional media teams and helping them embrace digital opportunities for their clients. Her passion for an omnichannel approach has been crucial to her success in connecting clients to customers.
Currently, she oversees the Digital Department at Steel City Media. Steel City Media is a multimedia company with a local focus and commitment to the KC community they serve with well established events, and top-rated personalities on Mix 93.3, KFKF, KC102.1 and Q104.
Over the pandemic, she has been able to drive digital revenue 300% YOY.
Nichole is the oldest of three and enjoys spending time with her family, especially playing with her one-year-old niece. Outside of work, she volunteers at St. Mary’s Food Kitchen in KCK and likes to take weekend trips to visit friends in Denver and Dallas.
Jennifer Spencer
Events Director
Jennifer Spencer has been a marketing/advertising/creative recruiter in KC for 20+ years. As owner of The Spencer Group, Jen has worked with every size of company and agency to help match awesome talent with awesome companies.
She has served on the boards of many industry specific professional associations such as The KC Ad Club and KCDMA and has an expertise in all things related to job search including resumes, portfolios, interviewing and salary negotiations.
She is a sought after speaker on all things job search and speaks often at professional associations, colleges and universities.
Lori Davies
Leadership Council
Lori has 25 years in business development and marketing experience. She thrives on building enduring relationships. She is a lifelong learner who always asks questions and wants to know why. When Lori was a child, her parents got so tired of her asking why they bought a book called the book of Why.
Lori has worked in several different verticals with an emphasis in healthcare. With experience in everything from strategy to execution she has a scalable process she uses with each client to ensure a successful campaign. She loves to figure out the best way to communicate to your clients or prospects to build future relationships.
In her free time, Lori loves walking her dog, spending time with her husband, her cat, her many friends and catching up with her two children.
Katie Owsley
Leadership Council
Before Katie graduated college she got her start in the sales office as an Event Coordinator at Main Event. She eventually found her way to Steel City Media as an Account Executive where she helps companies reach their goals using an omnichannel approach. Steel City Media has a local focus building brand awareness, generating leads and helping companies recruite employees using digital strategies, digital out of home tactics and/or radio advertising.
Katie graduated from Missouri State University in December of 2018, where she received her bachelors in Entertainment Management.
Katie is a big foodie, she enjoys cooking and loves to try food of all cultures. She comes from a family of travelers/ history nerds/ sports fans. Every year, Katie and her family travel to a city to watch the Chiefs play at a different stadium. Her favorite so far has been New Orleans- she loves the city, culture, and FOOD!
Amy Young
Mentorship Director
Born in Iowa, raised in the Kansas City area, Amy currently works for Brightedge - a SaaS focused on Search Engine Optimization. Amy helps her clients find and optimize their websites so they are found in the search engine results pages.
Amy’s first Advertising/Marketing role was doing the classified ads for the Manhattan Mercury while working on her undergraduate at Kansas State University. She’s worked for several agencies in the Kansas City area across multiple industries over the last 18 years. Amy has also worked on the client side - managing a small but mighty marketing team handling ALL things marketing - property signage, traditional media and all things digital - including helping launch a social media plan for a local casino, rebuilding a website and launching a content strategy for both a B2C and B2B company. Currently, Amy works for a Marketing Software-as-a-Service company - helping clients optimize their site to improve their organic traffic.
Besides marketing, Amy has a passion for Mentorship. She recognizes she wouldn’t be where she is without the mentors in her life and loves being a mentor to others whether they be seasoned or a bit newer in their careers. Her goal - as a mentor or mentoree - is to facilitate growth on both sides.
In her downtime, Amy spends LOTS of time at baseball fields all over KC and across several states thanks to her incredible kiddo. Due to this, she also does a bit of traveling with her husband. When home, she enjoys gardening, reading and spending lots of time with her husband and their Boxer/Mastiff mix.
Chevonn Payton
Leadership Council
Chevonn’s worked in the digital space for over a decade, leveraging her passion for creating digital strategies to help brands connect with their audiences. Her career has taken her on a journey across a wide range of industries where she’s had the opportunity to work in consumer goods, financial services, publishing, and pharma sciences.
With a background blending both IT and communications, she’s dabbled in all facets of both industries, creating unique and innovative products for their consumers.
Chevonn graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in journalism and DePaul University with a Master’s in Information Technology. And when she’s not working, she’s spending most of her time with her niece, nephew, and godsons, playing video games, ruining cake recipes, and watching Marvel movies.
Lou Drews
Membership Director
Lou is a 17 year veteran in marketing and advertising spending most of her time at agencies throughout Kansas City. She started her career at Intouch, spending seven formative years when they were just one company with a lot fewer employees.
Since her time at Intouch, Lou has spent time with a variety of clients and industries gathering skills and experience along the way at MMGY Global in travel and hospitality and LionShare Marketing working to reach health populations on behalf of healthcare and hospital systems.
Erin Billingsley
Communications Director
Erin Billingsley is a graphic/digital/web design and photography freelancer based in Kansas City.
Erin provides contract design services - and her business Lovegrass Creative works with brands, businesses & nonprofits to elevate their digital presence through photography, web design, social media, and more. She believes that the local community is what strengthens a city – and that small brands should look just as good as big box brands from out of town.
Her background includes a B.A. in both Studio Art and French from Baker University, a Graphic Design Masters Certification from Sessions College, 15 years working in floral design at some of the most luxe shops in KC, and countless online classes, certificates, and webinars (in fact, she might have a problem....)
Sarah Wartman
Sponsorship Director
Sarah has nearly twenty years of experience effectively planning and managing marketing strategies from conception to completion. As a senior account manager at emfluence, she is focused on building and fostering client relationships, managing results-generating campaigns and leading with an enthusiastic hands-on approach.
Her experience includes implementing integrated marketing strategies, digital and social media planning and campaign analytics.
Sarah graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. in Journalism and Mass Communications and received her Master’s in Communication Leadership from Drake University. She is obsessed with her rescue dogs and enjoys travel, Chiefs football and tasty vodka beverages.
Lori Whetter
Digital Director/Secretary
Lori has more than 15 years of experience helping clients define and build their marketing strategies. As a digital marketing expert with comprehensive experience in strategy, user experience and team management. Lori is passionate about diving into research to understand the highlights and pain points for customers in order to create amazing customer experiences and drive business results.
She thrives on finding solutions to complex problems in a collaborative setting and believes in elevating those around her to drive confidence and success within the team. Lori is never satisfied with mediocrity and will often ask, “then what?” and “what if?” It is her passion for learning and understanding that drives her to ask questions and challenge the status quo.
Lori currently serves as the Director of Engagement Strategy at Grey Health & Wellness, where she distills research and data analytics into meaningful insights and strategic recommendations through creative storytelling.
When she is not working, Lori enjoys running, gardening and spending time with her husband and two kids, Addison and Parker. She and her family love to travel and attempt to get out of town as often as they can to learn about new cultures and explore new places. Lori is also a volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and seeks out ways to make a positive impact in her community.
Angela Jones
President & Treasurer
Angela has more than 15 years of experience leading teams with the majority of her time spent in women’s brands. Her professional experience includes planning and executing strategic growth plans; hiring, training, and retaining top talent; and driving a culture of continuous improvement and innovation at multi-million-dollar organizations. After a successful career in retail management, Angela transitioned to being a consultant at Smarter Consulting where she is providing technology solutions to a wide range of clients.
She believes that a foundation of trust is key to building strong, lasting relationships with clients and peers. These connections provided Angela with a keen understanding of customers’ needs and influenced her approach to addressing those needs.
Angela has been part of DWKC since 2020 where she started as Leadership Council for Mentorship and then became the Communications Director. She wanted to be part of a community that empowers women and gives a space to grow professionally.
Angela’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Park University. Angela is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and is certified in Microsoft 365 Teams Administration.
A Kansas City native, Angela loves to travel with her husband and entertain all her fur babies—two cats named Harlow and Jinx, and two dogs named Sister and Bailey.
Haley Flippo
Vice-President
Haley is the Owner of Belleview Branding LLC, a Promotional Advertising and Marketing firm specializing in Promotional Branding. She works with individuals in all industries as a consultant providing brand’s creative marketing solutions and ideas through tangible products.
Haley truly enjoys working with customers on building their brand and business to create a lasting impression which is what she loves about networking as well. Working with and learning from other professionals is how we all grow and push forward together.
Haley’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from Pittsburg State University.
Born and raised in Kansas City, Haley loves to spend time with her friends and family, especially her husband and beautiful little boy. They just welcomed their second baby in April of 2022!
