After earning her Masters of Public Policy from George Mason University in 2011, Ms. Finocchario transitioned from Education to Healthcare to explore her newfound passion. Through that, she has had the opportunity to work for various non-profits in roles surrounding process and quality improvement, safety, compliance, and risk management. Though she works in healthcare, she has never lost her passion for her first love – education.
Selina Rios is a certified racial equity strategist & educational equity advocate who believes in the power of young people. In her 14 years with City Year, Selina has led and supported teams of young people working in schools to support and mentor students in Cleveland, Tulsa, & Kansas City. In her current role as Director of Equity Strategy & Operations with City Year’s Office of Equity, she is primarily responsible for developing and implementing City Year’s internal DEI strategy to deliver an integrated approach aligned with the mission and values.
Selina is a 2019 Surge Academy Fellow and a 2024 Cambiar Catalyst Fellow. She enjoys photography, gardening, and spending time with her 10-year-old rescue pup, Benjamin.
After later representing clients for a number of years in his law firm, Ardie Bland wanted to have a bigger impact on his community, and he sought the position of Judge to try to make a difference from the bench. In 2008, Judge Ardie A. Bland was appointed by Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the Kansas City Council, Division 205, for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri. In 2009, Judge Bland presided over the first Veteran’s Treatment Court in the State of Missouri which has worked in conjunction with the Veterans Administration to help hundreds of veterans in the greater Kanas City metropolitan area to deal with issues of substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment and mental health issues such as PTSD.
Judge Bland continued to make an impact throughout the community by also presiding over the Truancy Court from 2012 to 2015. Under his direction, more than 400 students from the various school districts serving Kansas City, Missouri successfully completed the intervention program which reports a 3 percent recidivism rate. Attendance rates for students completing Truancy Court increased between 5 to 25 percent. In 2015, he became presiding judge over the Kansas City, Missouri, Mental Health Court, where he was able to help individuals with mental illness connect with mental health service providers, obtain treatment, and stay medicated without being incarcerated in an attempt to reduce police interaction and harm to the individual or the community. Judge Bland enjoys his current work with both courts because he is able to focus on treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Angela DeWilde (“duh-WILL-dee”) (she/her) is committed to lifting Parent voice and power, strengthening the early childhood and K-12 education ecosystem, and promoting racial and economic equity.
Angela began her career as a teacher before founding an organization called Start at Zero, a Kansas City nonprofit with the mission of partnering with parents and caregivers to promote healthy early childhood development. After growing the organization and serving as the Executive Director for 7 years, she briefly served as the Interim Executive Director of Show Me KC Schools before becoming an education consultant for SchoolSmartKC. Angela is currently working on an initiative that strengthens the connection between schools and social service agencies in the areas of food security, housing stability, and mental health.
Angela grew up in rural southeast Missouri, attended college at Webster University in St. Louis, and has been honored to call Kansas City, Missouri home since 2006. Angela lives with her husband Anthony and their two children, who were past students at CWCKC and are growing up much too quickly. 🙂
In addition to these nine Board Members, CWC Kansas City is fortunate to have additional community members serving on focused committees to aid in our operation. They are:
CWC Kansas City is sponsored by the Missouri Charter Public School Commission. More information about the Commission can be found on their website.
Our full charter can be found here [allow time for a large file to download and open].
CWC Kansas City is committed to financial transparency and as such, we have our financial statements independently audited.
Our organization earned a 2021 Gold Seal of Transparency! Now, everyone can view our financial details and learn about the people at our organization. Check out our updated #NonprofitProfile on Candid.
Have a great summer, Citizens! We’ll see you soon!
Some seats still available! Fill out the short, free, non-binding application at SchoolAppKC!