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Drew Rimmer drew rimmer
Henderson Engineers’ senior vice president Drew Rimmer strives to create success by mentoring and being a positive role model for those around him. “Transferring skills is important for creating good engineers,” Rimmer says.
He certainly has skills worth passing on: Rimmer was co-chair of the Henderson Earth Initiative, which promotes sustainability at work and home. He was active in the Heartland Regional Council chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council before helping to form the Greater Kansas City Chapter, for which he is on the board of directors, chair of the advocacy committee and a past president.
“Establishing relationships with like-minded leaders has given me hope for the future of our community,” says Rimmer, who is married with three children.
Rimmer’s approach toward creating success continues into his personal life. The 39-year-old has been active in the Boy Scouts (as a den leader), the Architectural Engineering Institute of ASCE (as an architectural PE exam committee member) and in the Blue Valley Soccer Club (as an assistant coach).
“Creating a positive leadership model for young people to follow is an important aspect of what drives me,” Rimmer says. “Mentoring is about leaving a legacy.”
Joseph Seabrooks joseph seabrooks, jr., PhD        
Joe Seabrooks says to improve communities, start with education.
The 37-year-old president of Metropolitan Community College-Blue River is committed to doing just that. “My goal is to empower individuals who have historically been denied a higher education and to improve their quality of life through a well-rounded collegiate experience,” says Seabrooks, who works with state government and local school districts to engage high school seniors in the college experience. Seabrooks’ work has been recognized by UMKC’s School of Education (it awarded him the 2009 Alumni Achievement Award) and the Missouri Association of Blacks in Higher Education (it awarded him the 2006 Empowering Leadership & Strengthening Diversity Award).
Seabrooks, a first generation college graduate, holds four degrees from UMKC, including an interdisciplinary doctorate in urban leadership and policy studies and education administration. The father of two is also a member of the Eastern Jackson County Workforce Investment Board, a board mem-ber of the Independence Chamber of Commerce and a commissioner of
the American Association of Community College’s Commission on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.
Todd Shephard todd shepherd        
Todd Shepherd says his secret to success is simple: Serve customers the way you’d want to be served.
It’s that mantra that has helped make Creative Planning, Inc., the private wealth management firm where 39-year-old Shepherd is wealth manager, suc- cessful. Creative Planning currently manages more than $900,000,000 in more than 40 states; Shepherd himself manages more than $100,000,000 in investments. Since Shepherd joined the company in 2004, Creative Planning has been featured in Barron’s magazine as a top 100 independent financial advisor and in Worth magazine as one of the top 100 wealth management firms in America.Shepherd, who has his BA in Accounting from the University of Kansas and his MBA from Rockhurst University, also believes in giving back to the community. He is a member of the Church of Ascension, where he leads a team of parishioners in serving a monthly breakfast at Hope Faith Ministries and serves on the executive board of directors for Kansas City Children’s Assistance Network. He’s also the former director at large for the Financial Planning Association of Greater Kansas City. Shepherd stays busy at home, too, as the father of three children.

 

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