Ingrams August 2023

Brandy McCombs IBC, Inc. Kansas City

Clyde McQueen Full Employment Council Kansas City

Women have been asserting their place in construction for years. Brandy McCombs recently took that assertion to a new level when she became the first woman to hold the chair position and the first person to chair the board of the construction-advo

Clyde McQueen didn’t have to look far to see what learning could do for someone. His father joined the Navy to see the world, but without a high school diploma, he had no shot at becoming an officer. “He went back to high school at 27 to get his

cacy group The Builders in Kansas City. It’s a chapter of the National Association of General Contractors and The Builders’ Association here. “I am so honored because I’ve been an advocate of that organization for years,” says the founder of IBC, a construction services and traffic- management enterprise. “It shows that we have evolved, being OK to have a woman in a higher position.” Construction, she says, still bears some elements of the good-old-boys network, “and still to this day, there’s a lot of shaking of hands, and the contract comes later,” she says. An Ohio native, she started working for construction firms in Florida after college, and when the economy went south in the Great Recession, she circled Kansas City on her map as she laid the ground work for her company. “Kansas City, I don’t think it ever missed a beat quite like everywhere else back then,” she recalls. “It’s similar to Ohio, where you have all these friendly faces, and everybody knows everybody.” More than just a network, it’s a model of collaboration. KC has such an entrepreneurial spirit. When people come here, I can point to Russell Stover, Helzberg Diamonds, Hallmark—there are a lot of entrepreneurs here, and I’ve always had a great support system from entrepreneurial programs. Those little things make it a great place to be.”

diploma through the GI bill, then back to school, then to college, back to military and Korean war,” McQueen says. And he didn’t stop there— he finished college and earned two master’s degrees. Fairly easy, then, to see why McQueen has become one of the region’s leading proponents of workforce training programs as CEO of the Full Employment Council, where he’s worked for 36 years. After earning his degree in communications and starting his career in his native Texas, he came to Kansas City and has been a powerful advocate for implementing processes that create careers—not merely job listings. “There has to be a workforce ecosystem,” he insists. “When I came here, everybody knew training was important. Increasingly, the one thing we’ve found is that the jobs we have now, whether in IT or the health care field—after retail, those have the highest number of jobs in the region—people have to be trained for those occupations.” And not just training, McQueen says, but access to it, making it affordable, supporting workers with child-care services and transportation to and from jobs—there’s much more to a successful career than just filling out an employer’s application. “You can’t drive a truck without that specialized training,” he says, “and you certainly can’t be a nurse.”

Mark Menghini University of Missouri System Columbia With 25 years in private practice and corporate law, Mark Menghini’s days at Northwestern University and Washington University’s law school were well into his rear-view mirror. But look at who’s back on campus today: Menghini last year became

Maya Moody Mercy Health JFK Clinic St. Louis

Like many physicians, Maya Moody was drawn to helping others at an early age. “I have always wanted to be involved in the sciences,” she said. “Both health care and ecology were my main interests, but pediatrics

general counsel for the University of Missouri system, where he’s responsible for all legal representation for all four campuses and the health-care system. He leads a team of in-house attorneys and legal assistants and when necessary engages outside law firms for their unique and specialized legal expertise. Robin Wenneker, a member of the system’s board of curators, chaired the search committee that settled on Menghini. “He understands large organizations and has worked with leaders to drive change and achieve efficiencies,” she said as the appointment was announced. “As a complex organization ourselves, we know the viewpoint and skills he brings will help us grow and evolve the UM System, one of the state’s best resources.” Menghini came to Columbia from Aegion Corp., a billion-dollar pipeline-services design company, working there for nearly eight years. Before that, he was an officer at the St. Louis law firm Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale’s construction law practice group. Off the clock, he’s vice president of the board for Hope Happens, a St. Louis non-profit that helps raise funds for the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at his alma mater, WashU. That research center helps turn scientific discoveries into therapies and cures.

was always my first choice. I love preventive medicine and promotion of health from a very early age.” That passion led the Foristell native to a “tour of Missouri” for her clinical education—including Truman State University and A.T. Still University in Kirksville, and the University of Missouri in Columbia. She now serves as a community pediatrician at Mercy JFK Clinic in St. Louis. “The Mercy Hospital JFK Clinic is my perfect clinical setting,” she said. “I love caring for vulnerable and resilient populations, and the JFK Clinic is a wonderful place to serve.” Part of her service also comes from her role as the new president of the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which promotes the health of children across the state through advocacy and education. She’s actually been involved with the organization since her pediatric training. “Advocating for children-friendly policies is just as important as the clinical care we deliver in the office,” she said. “It takes a village to care for children, and supporting families in and out of the clinic is very important to overall child health and wellness.”

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