5 May 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Greater Topeka Partnership held a gala Thursday evening at the Townsite Tower Ballroom to recognize the 2023 graduating class of its Leadership Program.
“For the past five months, we have had 40 participants take advantage of learning about Topeka, learning about leadership concepts, building a strong lifelong network. We’ve had some really hard conversations, learned how to work together as a team, created projects and been really intentional about finding out the ins and outs of Topeka,” Michelle Cueves Stubblefield, Sr. Vice President of Strategy at the Greater Topeka Partnership, said.
The GTP Leadership program identifies leaders from the community and invites them to participate in an annual training course. The class members attended a retreat and eight day-long sessions that start in January and continue through May. Members learn about challenges that face the Capital City and how they can work to influence important issues.
The Class of 2023 are as follows:
Craig Barnes, Division Manager, Shawnee County Health Department
Jacqueline Belden, Program Manager, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Faith Cavazos, Student, Shawnee Heights High School
Breny Clain, Major, 190th Air Refueling Wing
Samuel Feather, Partner, Goodell Stratton Edmonds & Palmer
Renee Franklin, Pre-production quality control specialist, Southwest Publishing and Mailing
Roberto Gonzales, Area Manager, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant
Jarrod Guth, Community Engagement Manager, Capper Foundation
Rhonda Hamilton, Administrator Specialist, Bartlett & West
Mindy Hardenbrook, VP Retail Manager/Branch Network, Corefirst Bank & Trust
Jake Holly, Attorney, Foulston Siefkin LLP
Romae Isom, Shelter Manager, YWCA – Northeast Kansas
Nick Jefferson, Attorney III, City of Topeka
Eugene Jones, Student Support Coordinator, Communities in Schools
Andrea Kaberline, Chief Lending Officer, Envista Credit Union
Stephanie Lanning, Registrar, Washburn University
Lindsay Lebahn, Program Manager, Plug and Play Tech Center
Tyler Levier, Chief Operating Officer, Prairie Band LLC
Tiffany Liesmann, Clinical Pharmacist -Commercial Market, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
Caitlin Luttjohann, Vice President of Play and Learning, Kansas Children’s Discovery Center
Marisol Marcelo, Director of marketing and public relations, Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home
Keegan McElroy, Attorney, Alderson Law Firm
Ashley Mayer, Executive Producer, Mammoth Creative Co
Kylie Mergen, Community Investment Officer, FHLBank Topeka Director of Housing and Com. Dev.
Graham Moulden, Aircraft Mechanic, 190th Air Refueling Wing
Perry Plummer, Asst. Branch Manager, Capitol Federal
Jade Ramsdell, Performance Improvement Director, KS Depart. of Health and Environment
Adrian Revels, Production Associate, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant
Ruben Salamanca, Sergeant, Topeka Police Department
Naz Shareef, Treasury Relationship Manager, INTRUST Bank
Darin Stephens, Broker, Stone and Story Real Estate Group, LLC
Colton Strathman, Successor Manager/Sales Exec. Coord., Strathman Sales Co., Inc
Josh Sturm, Operations Manager, Evergy Plaza-Oak View Group
Samuel Sutton, Owner/Pilot, Fulks Helicopter Service
Lara Waits, Team Member Relations Manager, Prairie Band Casino & Resort
Jermel Walker, Supervisor, City of Topeka
Karina Dixon, Human Resources Manager, KBS Constructors
Arianna Womack, Student, Shawnee Heights High School
India Yarborough, Communications Manager, Greater Topeka Partnership
Chad Yeager, Vice President Clinical Quality, Stormont Vail Health