Woman-led Stories

Tiffiney Baumgarden and Jennifer Riley, Crossing Broadway

What began as a T-shirt line now boasts a coast-to-coast marketplace backing women-owned businesses

For women in entrepreneurship, competition can hinder collaboration, Tiffiney Baumgarden said, outlining her mission to judge less and live more.  “I was really sick of the way women were talking to each other — particularly online,” said Baumgarden, founder and CEO of Crossing Broadway, detailing her experience (and that of many other local women she’s encountered,…

KC to DC: Students roll out legislation to ban secondhand smoke in vehicles; ‘Quit Kids Smoking’ nationwide

Editor’s note: Startland is the parent organization of Startland News, though this report was produced independently by Startland News’ non-profit newsroom. Click here to read more about Startland’s education and real-world learning work. Four teenagers from high schools across Kansas City have banded together in hopes of passing legislation to prohibit smoking products that contain…

KC Girls Preparatory Academy

Liberation through innovation: Why KC Girls Prep focuses on history, culture to empower students 

Striving to create feminist, anti-racist leaders does not come with a checklist, said Tara Haskins — rather it takes creative thinking and the willingness to go beyond established norms.   “To be anti-racist is to first acknowledge history and the stories we tell,” said Haskins, who serves as the founding school leader at KC Girls Preparatory…

Penny Mufuka, Bamboo Penny’s

Bamboo Penny’s plants KC Thai in Leawood, plating culture alongside pineapple fried rice

Fearlessness is on the menu for Chef Penny Mufuka, a 25-year veteran of the stovetop, bringing to boil plans for a second Johnson County-cooked restaurant in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It makes me sweat everyday,” Mufuka laughed, musing the decision she made with husband and co-owner, Doug Mufuka, to open Bamboo Penny’s in…

Amanda McIntyre, Classy Canines

No-shame salon: How a dog grooming business helped its owner overcome life’s bites

Dogs don’t judge, said Amanda McIntyre as she sat in the grooming shop she built from scratch with a thrifty $5,000 and the experience of a life-changing business program. “I’ve been judged my whole life,” shared McIntyre, who founded Classy Canines after overcoming a turbulent battle with addiction. “But, when it comes to dogs, they…