Leanlab launches edtech certification with focus on accountability to classrooms

Jill Bertelsen, Crib Coaching, pitches in May at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge; photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Henry W. Bloch School of Management and the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

A new product certification from Leanlab Education means increased transparency for edtech companies — as well as added credibility for their work within schools.  “We want to give teachers and school administrators a quick way to understand if an edtech product reflects the insights of educators, students, and parents — the true end users in education — and…

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Actor David Dastmalchian fought his own demons; now the KC native is sending ’80s-inspired monsters to you

David Dastmalchian, "Count Crowley"

Growing up in Kansas City, David Dastmalchian was enamored with his hometown’s most shadowy corners: its fabled haunted houses, the shelves of Clint’s Comics, “Crematia Mortem’s Friday” on local TV, and even his Overland Park neighborhood’s mystical-seeming creeks and forests.  Each of these childhood haunts planted a seed for the Hollywood actor’s latest project —…

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Built to last, bought with intention: How JE Dunn set supplier diversity as a cornerstone

Kisha Bausby, JE Dunn

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  Approaching supplier diversity for the long haul means defining the work — without limiting it, said Jason Banks, describing how Kansas City-based construction icon JE…

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