Surveys
2026 COMTO KC Small Business Champion
COMTO KC Leaders - We have 3 nominees for this year's COMTO KC Small Business Champion to be presented at out 11th Youth Scholarship Award Banquet. Please cast your vote asap so we can have the award prepared to present at the upcoming banquet.
Here are the candidates for the 2026 Small Business Champion:
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- Director of Strategic Programs (formerly Business Diversity)
- Kept their Supplier Diversity Program during the administration change and Executive Orders
- Had their highest spend with diverse suppliers ever in 2025 ($655 Million)
- Partners with Evergy (Courtney & previously Valerie) to host an annual mentor-protege program for small businesses to grow and scale
- Worked with over 1200+ small/diverse businesses nationwide last year
- Chair of Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Diversity Council
- Nia Webster - KC BizCare
- Managing Director of KC BizCare and Office of Digital Equity
- Open Doors Initiative - This initiative is helping small businesses, artists, and organizations step into high-visibility storefront spaces across Kansas City, creating opportunities for growth throughout downtown and surrounding districts.
- City of Entrepreneurs - a massive Kansas City initiative and local business framework designed to reduce barriers, subsidize storefronts, and connect founders with capital and resources
- KC BizCare, in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri (EDCKC), launched a five-week business marketplace at Union Station’s Grand Exhibition Hall during the summer of 2026 as Kansas City hosts matches for the FIFA World Cup
- In 2024, launched a Capital Programs for KC's Small Business Ecosystem
- Kisha Bausby - JE Dunn
- Senior DEI Manager for JE Dunn
- Manages the JE Dunn Minority Contractor Development Program
- Manages the JE Dunn M/WBE 1:1 Mentoring Program
- Founder - Professional Women of Color KC
- SEB Quarterly Meetings that connect small businesses to the leaders and project managers within JE Dunn also announces upcoming projects
- Since 1994, contributing significantly to the areas of diversity and inclusion, mentoring/development, small business contracting, project requirements, and national compliance reporting obligations.
