Sheilahn Davis-Wyatt

When Sheilahn Davis-Wyatt was a child, her grandmother became gravely ill with cancer. “I used to ride with her to the hospital for radiation therapy,” she recalls. “It was that experience that motivated me to go into the healthcare field.”  Davis-Wyatt obtained her master’s degree in healthcare administration from MU in 1994, then served a fellowship in Illinois. Two years later, she returned to Kansas City to take a position as administrative director at Research and Baptist Medical Centers. She then moved to Menorah Medical Center where she became vice president of support services. In 2004, shortly after HCA’s purchase of Menorah, she assumed her current position, chief operating officer. “Although I’ve always been business-minded, helping people has always been my passion,” says Davis-Wyatt, 38. She serves on the boards of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and Newhouse Shelter for Battered Women. In all her endeavors both professional and civic, Davis-Wyatt tries to remember that her first exposure to the healthcare industry was from the patient’s perspective. “Every decision I make impacts patient care,” she says, “so everything we do is about the patients.”

Kelly DeMeritt

Kelly DeMeritt’s love of small Kansas towns was born in Bendena, an unincorporated, rural farm community in Doniphan County, which is where she grew up. And though Atchison, Kansas, where she now serves as city manager is larger by far than Bendena, so is her devotion. “Personally, my biggest accomplishment is living and raising my family here in Atchison, a community that values family life and values people.” DeMerrit, 35, came to Atchison in 1995 as the city’s chief financial officer. In 2004, she was appointed city manager. In her position, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the municipal government, as well as enforcement of laws and ordinances. Under her leadership, the city has become a regional visitors’ destination, which has helped reduce the city’s dependence on property tax dollars by increasing revenues from alternate sources, including tourism. “We’re making ourselves affordable,” she says. DeMeritt looks forward to the renovation of Atchison’s open-air, pedestrian mall built in the 1960s. “The mall will give a huge economic boom to our retail district,” she says. “It will be the last piece of the puzzle that really will finish the downtown.”

Laura Fey

“I know people who view their work as drudgery,” says Laura Fey, 39. “I feel blessed because my work is fun.” A litigator and a trial attorney with Shook Hardy & Bacon, Fey represents large corporations in alcohol, tobacco and food litigation at a national level. She defends national international corporations, including QuikTrip, McDonald’s and Philip Morris. A proponent of diversity initiatives, Fey is active in SHB’s Women Management Council and is always looking to champion attorneys of diverse backgrounds. “In 1999 I had a first opportunity to represent one of our large clients in a trial as an associate, and it was the first time a woman had represented them in court,” she recalls. “I feel fortunate that people at Shook believed in me, mentored me, and put me in a position to try the case. It was both positive for me, and for other women.” Fey is a 1992 graduate of KU Law School, and was an attorney with the Department of Justice prior to joining SHB in 1996. “Whether I’m speaking to groups about diversity strategies or working with preschoolers, I am always reminded of the value of sharing lessons and leading by example,” says the mother of two and Sunday school teacher.

Paul Fogel

Paul Fogel, of Waterford Property Company, says he pursued industrial real estate because it’s objective and emotionless. “No one should get emotional about industrial real estate,” he warns. “The day that I describe a loading dock as ‘enchanting’ or a fire sprinkler as ‘darling’ is the day I leave the country.” But Fogel, 37, does become emotional when it comes to protecting and revitalizing the manufacturing core, the blighted overlooked parts of the city he sees in his daily work. He fights tooth and nail on behalf of these industrial areas as president of the Kansas City Industrial Council. “We, as a city, have an obligation to protect these areas,” he says. “It only takes a little attention to improve the infrastructure’s shortcomings. It’s so curable.” The council has enjoyed several victories lately, including the development of new business and jobs, street expansions and bridge replacements. “My dream is for us to not need a Kansas City Industrial Council,” he says. Fogel feels good about the future of KCIC as well as Waterford Property Company. “We have good presence in the office market,” he says. “I see us expanding our industrial brokerage presence.”