Laurie has developed and led operations across industries, in both public and private sectors. She specializes in driving forward complex organizational initiatives to create economic impact.

Most recently Laurie was Founder and CEO of Lux Strategic Solutions where she provided clients with fraction COO and Chief of Staff consulting. Laurie is well known for creating and growing national programs, having directed programs for American Academy of Family Physicians and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In these roles, Laurie balanced team leadership with advancement of impact strategy through program operations. She managed all aspects of the program strategy and operations including strategic partnerships, budget management, resource allocation and tech strategy. Laurie also served as the Director of Strategy for Wellington Experience (now Augeo).  During her time, she led development of a multi-year strategic plan and led company-wide operations including technology, legal, and insurance.

Laurie holds a BS in Management and her Master of Business Administration (MBA). She is happily married and a proud mom to three curious and lively children.

Melissa has worked at the nexus of policy, entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development throughout her career. She identifies as an ecosystem builder and entrepreneur, and is a native of De Soto, KS.

Before leading Kansas City’s Tech Hub consortium, Melissa was Director of Entrepreneurship and Ecosystem Policy at the Federation of American Scientists and a Senior Program Officer at the Kauffman Foundation, where she led a grantmaking team focused on building more inclusive, collaborative, and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Heartland. Previously, she held leadership roles in entrepreneurship support organizations, started her own business, led coalition-building efforts, and managed political campaigns. Melissa is deeply involved in her community, working both “in” and “on” Kansas City, through her involvement in KC Rising, BioKansas, the Ecosystem Building Leadership Project, the UMKC Center for Law, Entrepreneurship, & Innovation, and through other volunteer activities. Melissa is also a lecturer at the KU School of Business.

In her free time, she and her husband Brad enjoy watching the Royals, perfecting brisket smoking techniques, and throwing dinner parties. Melissa earned an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management with a certificate in Business Analytics, and a bachelor’s degree in History from Boston College.

Kat Obermeyer (she/her/hers) is the Marketing Coordinator for KC BioHub. Kat comes to KC BioHub with eight years of marketing experience ranging from corporate, to ad agency, to small business, and now non-profit. She specializes in data-driven process improvement strategies and plans to use her marketing and communication skills to advocate for marginalized communities in life sciences innovation.

Kat has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Kansas, combining the essential skills to make a top-notch marketer.

Outside of work, Kat is an artist under the pseudonym The Mad Menagerie, specializing in flora, fauna, and food related designs at her in-house design and print studio. Kat enjoys reading, rock climbing, drinking good coffee, hanging out with her cat Momo, petting other peoples dogs, and eating all the everything bagels she can find.

Spencer Chestnut, a Kansas City native, has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in KC for over 10 years. His experience spans roles in process engineering, engineering design project management, and strategic business analysis. Currently, Spencer serves as the leader of Strategic Projects for the BioAnalytics business unit at Catalent Pharma Solutions. He is an active board member of BioKansas, Ad Astra Bio, and the Midwest chapter of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE).

Spencer completed his chemical engineering undergraduate degree at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2014 and earned his MBA from the University of Kansas Edwards Campus in 2020. Passionate about men’s mental health, he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Avila University. Upon graduation, Spencer plans to add a part-time career as a therapist.

Angela Consani is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bioscience Core Skills Institute (BCSI), an organization she launched in 2020 to advance biotechnology workforce readiness through practical skills assessments and digital microcredentials. With over 15 years of experience in teaching, course design, and curriculum development at the K-12 and community college levels, as well as nearly a decade in production and operations, Angela brings a unique blend of educational and industry expertise to her leadership.

Previously, she served as Program Coordinator and Principal Investigator for the NSF-ATE-funded Kansas City Kansas Biomanufacturing Training Laboratory, where she led a successful biotech vocational program. Angela also serves on national and regional bioscience boards, including the University of Kansas-Edwards BioWEB, InnovATEBio’s Workforce Activities Committee, and as the non-profit co-chair for The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL).

Tim Cowden leads the strategic direction and vision for the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC). In partnership with 250 corporate business leaders and 50+ community partners across a two-state, 18-county area, KCADC has helped attract $9.5 billion in new capital investment and 15,000 jobs to the KC region over the last five years.

KCADC is ranked the No. 1 regional economic development group in the country and helps the world recognize the KC Heartland as a top destination for business and talent by positioning key industry strengths, including advanced manufacturing, distribution and eCommerce, tech and cybersecurity, and animal health and bioscience.

In the region, Tim is active on numerous boards and community-focused organizations. Tim and his wife, Monique, have four children and two amazing grandchildren.

Amy B. Manning-Boğ (pronounced: Boh), Ph.D., serves as the Chief Science Officer at Ronawk in Overland Park and is the founder of a stealth mode biotechnology company. Dr. Manning-Boğ has been a scientific leader and executive in discovery and translational research, with a strong track record of effectively leading and contributing to multidisciplinary, team-based environments for over 25 years. She has led the development of many innovative therapeutics, including biologics, small molecules, and gene-modifying agents across multiple domains including neuroscience, oncology, and metabolic diseases.

Most recently, she served as the Chief Innovation Officer at MRIGlobal, leading an initiative to identify and capture proprietary intellectual property for the development of new business ventures. Prior to MRIGlobal, Dr. Manning-Boğ worked in Silicon Valley for decades at various biopharma companies and non-profits. She earned her B.S. in Biology at Missouri State University in Springfield and an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Molecular/Cell Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Joe Reardon, President and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, has led the region’s only metro-wide chamber since 2016. A former Mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Joe has played a key role in major regional initiatives, including securing Kansas City as a host city for the 2026 World Cup, co-leading the successful “Better KCI” campaign for a new airport, and convening the Kansas City Public Safety Coalition to ensure community voices are being heard in public safety conversations. Under his leadership, the Chamber has advanced workforce development, small business support, and inclusion and belonging efforts. Joe was also instrumental in organizing the 2019 Governors Summit, where Missouri and Kansas leaders formally ended the economic incentive border war.

Before joining the Chamber, Joe served as President and CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, where he secured the acquisition of the Rock Island Rail Corridor for future transit use, and pioneered the deployment of Bridj, an app-based microtransit system. Joe holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rockhurst University. He practiced law with a focus on economic development and public-private partnerships and shared his expertise as an adjunct professor at Rockhurst University. Joe has served on various civic boards, including the Kansas Early Childhood Education Task Force, and his contributions to the region have earned him numerous awards, including the Kansas Mayor of the Year and the Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award.

Dennis Ridenour (he/him/his) is President and Chief Executive Officer of BioNexus KC, the coordinating body for the KC region’s life sciences research initiatives. In this role, Mr. Ridenour fosters regional collaboration while working to increase the concentration and capacity for life sciences and healthcare research in the region. His work makes the region more efficient at commercializing technologies being developed locally, improves the health of patients and animals across the region while reducing and eliminating health disparities, and positively impacts the regional economy by leveraging our strengths at the intersection of human and animal health. Mr. Ridenour is strongly committed to the vision of BioNexus KC, that Kansas City is a global leader at the nexus of human and animal health benefiting all our citizens and the economy.

Prior to joining BioNexus KC, Mr. Ridenour was President and Chief Executive Officer of BioKansas, a regional life science and healthcare trade association. There he managed all facets of the organization, including day-to-day operations, member development and engagement, strategic planning, and finance. Mr. Ridenour previously worked at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, MO, Merck Research Labs in Boston, MA, and as a researcher in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.  Dennis earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences and an M.S. in Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas.

Mr. Ridenour serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for RareKC, a non-profit whose mission is to accelerate the diagnosis, care, and treatment of rare conditions, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Alphapointe Foundation, a non-profit that works to empower people with vision loss to live, work and be independent.  He also currently serves on several other advisory boards whose work is committed to workforce development and the fight to eliminate health inequities and the systemic barriers that cause them.

David Warm serves as executive director of the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). As the council of governments for Greater Kansas City, MARC leads key regional services and planning initiatives and is widely regarded for its innovation and effectiveness. Prior to joining MARC, David served as city administrator in Liberty, Missouri. In 2015, he received a National Public Service Award from the American Society for Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration. He was also named the 2020 Kansas Citian of the Year by the KC Chamber.