HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Twenty-one residents are focused on activating Reno County downtowns through Hutchinson Community Foundation’s Transformational Leadership Cohort.
The cohort kicked off May 11 and 12 and is funded by Hutchinson Community Foundation and the Kansas Leadership Center’s Leadership Transformation Grant. The foundation has held the grant on behalf of the community since 2019; it pays tuition each year for residents wishing to attend Kansas Leadership Center programs. In all, more than 150 individuals representing more than 70 Reno County businesses and organizations have attended KLC programs through this grant.
This year’s cohort will focus on building leadership capacity and collaboration across sectors to make progress on an adaptive challenge related to activating downtowns in Reno County. Participants will engage with the Kansas Leadership Center framework while gaining hands-on experience with core leadership principles and competencies. During their eight-month experience, they will attend seven local progress sessions and three Kansas Leadership Center programs.
“There’s an overall arc to the journey the cohort will take” said Kari Mailloux, Hutch CF director of strategy. “We start by establishing quality relationships and diagnosing the challenge, and then we move them toward more experimentation. We know that leadership is an activity and progress is a state of action, so we can’t wait to see what they try and learn together.”
This focus on downtowns is in response to resident priorities shared through the Love Where You Live Resident Perception surveys in 2024 and 2025 that indicate a strong desire to address blight, attract new businesses and visibly increase the quality of life in communities across Reno County. It also supports strategies identified in the Elevate Reno County Economic Development Strategic Plan, particularly Priority 5.2 to “invest in healthy, family-friendly amenities and energized Downtowns.”
The following are members of the 2026 Transformational Leadership Cohort:
- Jenifer Albright, City of Pretty Prairie
- Candace Davidson, Reno County Health Department and Buhler City Council
- Nathan Foltz
- Toyla Frondorf, Hutchinson Emancipation
- KT Gates, New Inspiration Media
- Jacqui Homewood, Reign Real Estate
- Edward Kelber
- Connor Kingsbury, Kingsbury Investments LLC
- Graham Klemme, StartUp Hutch
- Rick Limon, Mid-Kansas Cooperative
- Lauren Meadors, City of Buhler and Buhler Community Foundation
- Matthew Mullins
- Tabitha Neahring, The Salvation Army
- Sara Nowlan, STAY Your Way!
- Loribeth Reynolds, Hutch Rec
- Jan Steen, Hutchinson Community Foundation
- Josie Thompson, ReeceNichols South Central Kansas
- Brendan Ulmer, The Hutchinson Tribune
- Kurt Von Ahnen, Manana No Mas!
- Tracy Voth, The Wesley
- Jane Wagler, City of Hutchinson
The grant is guided by a leadership team that creates the strategy and facilitates local sessions. Team members are Donna Davis (retired nonprofit executive), Denice Gilliland (Hutch Rec), Joel Iwashige (Common Thriving), Elicia Lance (Hutchinson Community Foundation), Kari Mailloux (Hutchinson Community Foundation) and Dave Sotelo (City of Hutchinson).
Hutchinson Community Foundation’s mission is to inspire philanthropy, leadership, and collaboration to strengthen Reno County. Since 1989, the foundation has granted more than $114 million to organizations.
