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.
Sarah is an Associate Professor and Chair at Rockhurst University in the School of Education; she brings nearly 20 years of experience in education, working in K-12 and higher education settings. Sarah currently teaches in the undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs. As a teacher educator, she engages in partnerships with the STEAM Studio, Prep-KC, Lead to Read, and various K-12 schools in the metro and greater Kanas City area. She is professionally involved in organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Missouri Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, and the Kansas City Area Teachers of Mathematics. Sarah was been recognized with the 2019 Rockhurst University Excellence in Outcomes Assessment Award as well as the 2021 Magis Leadership Award. Sarah holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and secondary education from Rockhurst as well as a M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Sarah lives in Leawood, KS with her husband Matt and two children, Myra and Isaac.
Selina Rios currently serves as the Director of Planning and Development in the Office of Equity at City Year. Ms. Rios has worked with City Year for more than eight years in Kansas City, Tulsa, and Cleveland. Within these roles, she has helped oversee the vision and implementation of City Year’s instructional model, providing leadership in creating an equity strategy within the organization. Her focus on data-driven methods have allowed the organization to improve program effectiveness and academic growth for students.
In addition to her work with City Year, Ms. Rios also served as the President of the Young Latino Network while living in the Cleveland/Akron, Ohio area.
Jeff Phillips is Senior Vice President of Landmark National Bank in Kansas City. An Oklahoma native, Jeff began his banking career in high school as a teller and experienced many different aspects of the bank’s operations. In 1998, after graduating from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Agriculture Economics, he began his career as a loan officer with a $60 million bank in his hometown of El Reno, OK. After earning an MBA from the University of Oklahoma, Jeff was asked to lead the retail efforts of a $4 billion regional bank which ultimately led to his move to Kansas City. Upon accomplishing his goals in that arena, he resumed his commercial lending career, focusing on small to mid-sized operating companies, providing expertise in accounts receivable/ inventory financing, equipment purchases and cash management services. In 2007, Jeff was given an opportunity to help establish a bank’s presence in Kansas City. It was here, he served on the leadership team providing direction in the areas of deposit generation, branch site selection and personnel development. Desiring to return to his community banking roots, Jeff joined the team at Missouri Bank in 2010 where he had the privilege to serve on the bank’s Loan Committee, Senior Leadership Team, ALCO, and Enterprise Risk Committee while leading several ad hoc initiatives. In 2018, Jeff was recruited to spur Landmark’s growth in the Kansas City area. Here he has had the opportunity to open a new location, build a talented team and grow the bank’s presence and reputation within the community. He continues to focus on assisting Entrepreneurs with both their personal and business banking needs.
Jeff is a 2004 honors graduate of the Graduate School of Banking in Colorado and served as an Alumni Adviser, promoting the school and assisting in recruitment efforts. Jeff also served as a faculty member for 12 years – facilitating Bank Management Simulation for the third year students. Jeff is actively involved in his church serving in several leadership roles, gladly gives of his time through board positions for a select few non-profit organizations and enjoys supporting various civic organizations through board and committee engagements. He lives in Fairway, KS with his lovely wife Allison and amazing daughters Eliza and Rosie. He enjoys exploring the wilderness, witty movies, showing how un-athletic he is and checking out new, local restaurants.
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.
In addition to the eight 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.