Goodwill of Western MO and Eastern KS Announces Three Key Leadership Appointments

Kansas City, Missouri – President and CEO Stefany Williams today announced THREE new appointments to the leadership team of Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas, completing the leadership team and diving into year two of a three-year strategic plan aimed at revolutionizing Goodwill’s mission services, improving Goodwill’s reputation in the community and strengthening the agency’s foundation for long-term growth and sustainability.

• Michael Belt is now the Vice President of Store Operations
• Laura Ritterbush is now the Vice President of Mission Operations
• Lauren Solidum is now the Vice President of Mission Advancement

President and CEO Stefany Williams stated, “This news is a clear statement about the future of Goodwill. These are exceptionally talented people who will help lead and shape the path for our agency and I’m honored to welcome them to the Goodwill family. We are now fully poised to meet our ambitious vision for the organization.”
 
Vice President of Store Operations
The Vice President of Operations is a critical position as Goodwill grows its social enterprise in order to maximize the value of every donation and invest more into the programs and services that benefit the greater Kansas City region. Michael will lead Goodwill's sales, production and operations while also being an active participant in, and driver of, the organization's overall strategy.
 
Michael Belt was most recently with H&R Block as their Strategic Business Director- Military US/International. He identified, created and developed global enterprise military channel strategy and led and advanced international operations related to international franchises and military business operations. Before that, he served as the Division CIO for YUM! Brands Restaurants, where he provided strategic and tactical planning as well as the development of information and technology systems for restaurants, franchise organizations and respective corporate offices.
 
Vice President of Mission Operations
As Vice President of Mission Operations, Laura oversees all mission programing including:

• Quest Academy which gives urban youth with disadvantages and different abilities a real-life work experience and soft skills to successfully enter the workforce,
• GoodWORKS Career Resource Centers, which provide free career exploration assistance and is open to the public,
• Career Impact Program that pairs individuals with different abilities with career navigators and career coaches to succeed in the workplace.
• And more – for a full list of programs, visit www.mokangoodwill.org/mission.

Laura Ritterbush was most recently Vice President of Mission Development for Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska and oversaw the day-to-day operations of services and programs for 17 counties.
 
Vice President of Mission Advancement
Vice President of Mission Advancement is a newer position leading innovation within Goodwill’s mission services. Lauren will lead the design and development of internal and external programs and activities that are aligned with Goodwill’s vision and core values. She will complete a community needs assessment to understand the needs of the Kansas City community especially within the employment sector. Once complete, Lauren will work with community partners to create programs and source funding, including overseeing grants.
 
Lauren Solidum most recently was the Assistant Vice President for Catholic Charities in Fort Worth, Texas where she drove anti-poverty solutions within the agency. Prior to that position, she was Vice President, Programs for Enactus United States, an agency that provides business and employment opportunities for college students across the United States by combining social enterprise and corporate social responsibility.
 
Michael, Laura and Lauren join Stefany Williams, Kevin Bentley, Suzanne Gunning, Scott Ciurana and Monica Greer to complete the Goodwill leadership team.
 
About Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas
Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit agency whose mission is to empower people with disadvantages and different abilities to earn and keep employment through individualized programs and services. In 2015, nearly 1.5 million purchases and 450,000 donations funded our mission. 90¢ of every dollar Goodwill spends supports the mission locally with programs like Quest Academy which gives urban youth with disadvantages and different abilities a real-life work experience and soft skills to enter the workforce, GoodWORKS Career Resource Centers, which provide free career exploration assistance and is open to the public, and the Career Impact Program that pairs individuals with different abilities with career navigators and career coaches to succeed in the workplace.
 
Goodwill has a rich history of more than 120 years of service in and around Kansas City. The agency has 14 stores with additional donation sites and GoodWORKS Career Resource Centers.
 
As a member of Goodwill Industries International, we are a part of the world's largest and most successful network to provide employment and training services for people with different abilities.
 
Goodwill is a leader in sustainability, annually diverting 15 million pounds of computers, paper, clothing and textiles from area landfills, recovering the value through resale and recycle.
 
Learn more at www.mokangoodwill.org. To see all the good we do together, follow us on Facebook, Google +,  Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.
 
Contact:
Suzanne Gunning, VP of Community Engagement
816-863-1558
sgunning@mokangoodwill.org