Board of Directors
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Treasurer
Jennifer Bauer
Delta Dental of Kansas
Jennifer Bauer is the General Counsel for Delta Dental of Kansas. She has been with DDKS since 2015. She provides direction, guidance, and assistance on legal matters to the company, educates management on legal changes, and works with outside legal counsel as needed. Bauer also oversees the administration of all insurance contracts.
Paula Landoll-Smith
Landoll Corporation
Landoll-Smith is a Marysville High School and Kansas State University graduate. Married, with 2 boys in rural Kansas. Landoll-Smith serves on a variety of local, state, and national boards and has a passion for common sense education of today’s youth.
Tim Johnson
Triple Crown Realty Trust
Tim is President of TCRT, Inc, a Wichita KS based Real Estate Investment Trust which owns industrial properties in Middle America. Tim has extensive experience in both starting and owning his own businesses, and serving as a senior executive at a publicly traded company. He holds a Bachelors from Friends University and a Masters from the University of Oklahoma.
Anna Backman
HCA Healthcare
Anna Backman, MBA, SPHR, serves as the Division Regional Vice President of Human Resources for HCA Healthcare’s MidAmerica Division, where she leads HR teams who support nearly 14,500 colleagues throughout the division’s hospitals, physician practices, urgent care centers, ambulatory surgery centers and other lines of business in the greater Kansas City area and Louisiana.
Derek Bailey
Central Bank of the Midwest
Derek Bailey grew up in Topeka & Lawrence, KS and still resides in Lawrence to this day. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business with a major in Finance from the University of Kansas in 2006 and was an 8 time Jayhawk Scholar at KU, lettering in Varsity Baseball. Derek began his banking career with his hometown community bank in Lawrence, serving in numerous roles over the 12 years with Great American Bank. In 2013, the Kansas Bankers Association honored Derek Bailey with the Future Leadership Scholarship to attend the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado in Boulder, where he graduated in 2015. Derek is currently a Commercial Relationship Manager in Lawrence, KS for Central Bank of the Midwest.
Rep. Barbara Ballard
State Representative
Representative Ballard has represented the 44th district in the Kansas House of Representatives since 1993. She has a BMeED (1967) from Webster College, and an MS (1976) and PhD (1980) from KSU. Ballard has been with KU since 1980 and has served in many roles during her tenure including Dean of Students. Since 2004 she has served as Associate Director of Civic Engagement & Outreach at the Dole Institute of Politics. Ballard is also the Chair of the Democratic Caucus and is the first African-American to serve on Leadership.
Shane Bangerter
Bangerter Law
Shane grew up in the small western Kansas town of Leoti, working farm and ranch labor while a high school and college student. He was appointed to the Kansas Board of Regents by Governor Sam Brownback in 2013 and has served as a member of many other boards, including the Board of Trustees for Dodge City Community College and the Board of Governors for the University of Kansas School of Law. Shane received his bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University and a law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law.
Mike Beene
Kansas Department of Commerce
Mike Beene currently serves as the Director of Employment Services for the Kansas Department of Commerce, Workforce Services. His duties include oversight of all federal workforce programs and grants, in addition to the 23 workforce centers located across the state. Beene received a Master’s degree in Education from Kansas State University and prior to his career with the Department of Commerce, he was an educator and administrator in both secondary and postsecondary institutions in Kansas.
Darin Miller
AT&T Kansas
Darin serves as the Director/Vice President for AT&T Kansas, where he is actively engaged at the state capitol, advocating for telecom policies. Throughout his career at AT&T, Darin has held management roles across multiple departments, starting with a brief period in business sales and later focusing on network operations and external affairs. Darin's academic journey began at Wichita State University, where he played basketball and earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He furthered his education with a Master of Science in Management from Friends University in 2001. A lifelong Kansan, Darin currently resides in Andover, KS, with his family.
Alan Cobb
Kansas Chamber
Alan Cobb is the President and CEO of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, of which he was named in 2017. Prior to the Kansas Chamber, Cobb most notably served as the Deputy State Director during Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. His focus areas include healthcare, insurance, business and tax legislation. A native of Wichita, Cobb earned his bachelor’s degree at WSU. He then went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a master’s in Governmental Affairs, before returning to Kansas to receive a J.D. from Washburn.
Jim Echols
Renaissance Management
James Echols retired from the Kansas Department for Children and Families on June 30, 2017, after serving as Manager, Provider Services, Program Director, HOPE Mentoring, and Assistant Director, Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, respectively. In 2017, he became the Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Management and Training Solutions, LLP, a public relations firm specializing in business and human relations staff development, consulting and training, based in Kansas City, KS, with operations in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska & Oklahoma.
Troy Findley
Former Lt. Governor
Troy Findley, former Lt. Governor of Kansas, boasts extensive experience within Kansas Government. He served eight years in the Kansas House of Representatives before being hired as the Legislative Liaison for Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Governor Sebelius later named him as Chief of Staff, where he continued under Governor Parkinson until his appointment as Lt. Governor in 2009. Since 2011, Findley has worked at the Summit Strategies Group, a governmental relations and affairs firm in Topeka.
LTC Bryan C. Gregory
KSARNG
With a passion for developing leaders and winning teams, Lt. Col. Bryan Gregory commands the Recruiting and Retention Battalion of the Kansas Army National Guard. Prior to his current assignment, Lt. Col. Gregory served in a variety of command and staff positions at the company, battalion, brigade, state and national levels. Lt. Col. Gregory received a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Central Missouri and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He currently resides in Topeka, KS with his wife and their three children.“
Erin Kobler
Oracle Cerner
Erin Kobler has been Senior Corporate Counsel for Cerner Corporation since March 2018. She previously served as Assistant General Counsel for Hallmark Cards and had been with the company since 2010. Kobler has worked as Senior Counsel to many prestigious area firms and corporations. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from KU and her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the UMKC School of Law in 2003.
Mike Marquart
John Deere
Michael Marquart is the Labor Relations Manager for John Deere and has been in this role since 2020. Mr. Marquart started with John Deere in 2004 as a production employee in Waterloo, Iowa and was promoted to Supervisor in 2012 with no education. In 2015, Michael took his first Labor Relation role and decided to go back to night school to get his (4) year degree. In 2020, he was promoted again and afforded the opportunity to relocate and work in Coffeyville, KS. In his current role, Michael manages the Union environment daily as well as negotiating the contracts between the company and Union. Michael also has control of hiring and retaining talent, and serves on the executive staff at John Deere Coffeyville Works. Mr. Marquart has been involved in JAG-K since taking this role and was also involved in JAG when he was working in Iowa.
Daphne Maxwell
Department of the Army
Daphne Maxwell currently serves with the Department of the Army, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Legal Administrative Support. She is a servant-leader who has served as president, BOE of Geary County, a trustee for Geary Community Hospital and board member for United Way. Daphne is a graduate of Kansas State University, Leadership Kansas, Flint Hills Regional and Crossroads of Leadership. She is an ordained elder, a Minister of Music and a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority Inc. She and husband, Marvin, retired Army, reside in Junction City.
Dennis Mullin
Steel & Pipe Supply
Dennis Mullin is the Chairman of Steel & Pipe Supply, one of the largest steel service centers in the nation. He was appointed to the Kansas Board of Regents by former Governor Sam Brownback in 2015. Mullin earned his bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University in 1970 and graduated as the Outstanding Senior Man. He is a member of the Advisory Counsel for the College of Business Administration at KSU, KSU Foundation Trustee Emeritus, and board member for the KS State Bank of Manhattan.
Mike O'Neal
O'Neal Consulting
Mike O’Neal of O’Neal Consulting has decades of legal and government expertise. Prior to forming his own consulting firm, he was President & CEO of the Kansas Chamber after serving 28 years in the Kansas House of Representatives and two terms as Speaker of the House. O’Neal earned his bachelor's from KU and continued there to obtain his J.D. degree. Honors include being named to Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who Among Emerging American Leaders, among many other awards.
Jamie Stafford
Key Staffing
Jamie Stafford is Risk Manager at Key Staffing where she oversees loss prevention programs, manages employee benefits and unemployment costs, and provides HR consulting services. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Washburn University and is a Certified Staffing Professional. Jamie is a Topeka South Rotary member and has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellow for her leadership of Sole Mates. She is a Leadership Greater Topeka graduate and one of Topeka’s ‘Top 20 Under 40’ honorees. As a mother and employer, high-quality child care and education is a priority for Jamie; she is a proud board member of both Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas and Jobs for America’s Graduates – Kansas.
Dr. Anna Stubblefield
Superintendent: KCKPS
In July 2021, Dr. Anna Stubblefield became the first African American female superintendent of Kansas City Kansas Public Schools. She began her 27-year career in education as a teacher and coach in Blue Valley and Center School Districts and spent 13 years with Lawrence Public Schools in the roles of Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Director of Human Resources, and Middle School Principal. Dr. Stubblefield earned her undergraduate degree and masters degrees from the University of Kansas; Educational Specialist degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas; and doctorate from Saint Louis University. Dr. Stubblefield and her husband, David, have been married 22 years and have 3 sons, Desmon, Nate, and Grant.
Andrew Wiens
Dugan Consulting Group
Andrew Wiens is the Director of Government Relations at Dugan Consulting Group. From 2019-2022, Andrew served as Vice President of Government Relations at the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. He served as Chief Policy Officer for Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. in 2018 and Policy Director in 2017. Prior to that, Andrew worked at the Kansas Department for Children and Families as a Senior Advisor and, previously, the Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs. He served as the Policy Analyst in Governor Brownback’s Office from 2011-2014. He was born and raised in Topeka, Kan., and now lives in Bel Aire with his wife and three children. He earned his MBA from the Washburn University School of Business in Topeka and completed his undergraduate education at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.