Ingrams August 2023

Mariann Morgan Checkett, Pauly, Bay & Morgan Carthage Yep, that’s the smiling face of radio financial-advice guru Dave Ramsey standing next to Mariann Morgan in a photo on her law-firm profile page, which if you think about it, seems counter-intuitive: He preaches the gospel

Zora Mulligan Missouri State University Springfield

Zora Mulligan’s personal mantra of “education changes lives” has not only guided her own learning journey—a bachelor’s from Drury University and a master’s and a law degree from KU— but continues to shape her career today.

“Through a combination of good luck and good preparation, I’ve spent most of my career shaping and implementing our state’s higher education laws,” she says. “I have been fortunate in the way different interests came together to create a really rewarding career.” Now serving as executive vice president at Missouri State University, the Ozarks-area native has also previously served as Missouri’s commissioner of higher education, as well as chief of staff for the four-campus University of Missouri system. It’s allowed her a new perspective on the power of education. “Working in administration has given me a chance to change lives at scale,” she says. “It’s been incredibly humbling to see programs I’ve helped get off the ground make a big difference.” Now more than a year into her new role, Mulligan said she’s excited to make a real difference for not only the state but also the region she calls home. “I’ve appreciated the way this university impacts Southwest Missouri and the entire state, so it’s exciting to be part of an institution that does so much good for so many people. … I loved my time growing up in West Plains. It’s a close knit community, and I learned a lot about the importance of hospitality and long-term connections there. … I’m proud to be part of that today.”

of responsible personal financial management; she’s a lawyer specializing in bankruptcy cases, among other matters. In the natural order of things, more people might be in need of her services if they didn’t follow his guidance. A Creighton University graduate with a degree in organizational communications, she went on to the University of Georgia School of Law, where she graduated cum laude . After clerking for a federal bankruptcy judge, she honed her skills in bankruptcy and business law with firms in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, N.C., before pulling up stakes and heading for her present firm in 1999. Outside the office, she’s served the regional community by supporting non-profits and educational organizations. She became a member of the Board of Governors for Missouri Southern State University in nearby Joplin in 2018 and also supports the Bright Futures program in the Carthage school district. Her philanthropic support includes service on the boards of the McCune Brooks Healthcare Foundation in Carthage and the Carthage Community Foundation, which leveraged $64 million in assets to issue an impressive $20.63 million in grants and scholarships last year.

Arrey Obenson International Institute of St. Louis Nobody has to tell Arrey Obenson about the challenges of starting a new life in a foreign land. He did it more than 20 years ago, coming to the U.S. from his native Cameroon. And nobody can convince him that the American Dream has lost its luster. “The American Dream lives on,” says the

Emmet Pierson Jr. Community Builders of Kansas City

New luxury high-rises across Kansas City get most of the media attention, but it’s often the nonprofits in the housing space that generate bigger impacts on residents. Emmet Pierson Jr. has witnessed that effect first-hand. “I was

president and CEO of the IISL. “Think about the people who come to this country who have lost everything and have to start all over again. I guarantee that the people I’ve worked with, most within three years, have reconstituted their lives by embracing that dream.” Case in point: a man who, within 18 months of arriving nearly empty-handed secured financing, started a business and now has six people on his payroll. “So the dream lives on in St. Louis,” Obenson says, and it’s but one example of more than 25,000 the institute has touched since 1979. By turning newcomers into taxpayers, he says, the state improves its own fiscal position for the long term. “Once we are able to stabilize a family and give them opportunities, that is for generations,” he says. “This has been the American story and continues to live on as a result of the work we do. The St. Louis operation is part of an international organization operating in four countries, and it led Obenson to the U.S., first to Miami, then to suburban St. Louis. “I think what I appreciate the most about living in Missouri is the quiet nature of life here as opposed to what I experienced on the coasts. This place family-oriented,” he says. “I’ve had two children born here, and every time we think about moving to some other place, we always come to the conclusion that it’s better to bring them here.”

born and raised in the Blue Hills neighborhood, where I learned about community development from my mother, who served as the neighborhood president and advocate,” he says. “I can relate to the needs of the residents we serve.” As president and CEO of Community Builders of Kansas City, he works with local neighborhoods, “strengthening families and transforming communities” as the city’s largest urban-core developer. Since 1991, CBKC has invested $225 million in urban renewal, despite some challenges not every developer must endure. “We have a much harder time securing financing from banks due to costs/appraisal concerns, perception of the surrounding community— and the cost of money is higher,” he said. “Investing in our community may not yield enough return for some investors, so we have to find other like-minded organizations that see the bigger picture.” Yet, he’s seen some big successes recently, including the attraction of more private investment to KC’s underserved communities and the development of the first market-rate apartment in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. More than anything, he says, he loves the opportunity to improve an area he cares deeply about.

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