Kim Riley is a visionary innovator who has a passion for helping people – especially those
with disabilities. She’s the founder and CEO of The Transition Academy and North Star Solutions, which are designed to help disabled students and their
families. Riley has an impressive resume with stops all around Kansas City, and it all started at Swope Health in the late 90s.
Her time at Swope Health
Initially, Riley was a
reporter after earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of
Missouri. However, she decided her passion was working for change, not reporting on community issues. She accepted her first full-time job in the planning and development department at Swope Health, which led grant writing and fundraising work. Her role at Swope Health encompassed public relations and media relations.
“At the end of my
internship at United Way, I saw an ad for the public relations job at Swope
Health,” Riley said. “I hadn’t heard of public relations, but it sounded fun
and was up my alley. I got the job, and it changed my life.”
E. Frank Ellis, Swope
Health founder and CEO at the time, wanted to spread the word about the health
center, and Riley ran with it. She used her gift for storytelling to connect
with media outlets and got plenty of local television coverage – including landing
media coverage for the first-ever Treat Town, an annual trick-or-treating
experience that still takes place at Swope Health Central every October.
“We wanted to bring in
people who weren’t patients to connect them to our mission. The plan was to
make them feel like they were a part of the health center,” she said. “It was
all this fun stuff that I didn’t realize was a job. Swope Health let me spread
my wings, fly, and have a blast.”
Her next chapter
After two eventful
years at Swope Health, she took her talents elsewhere. From 1998-2004, Riley
had similar roles at five different organizations: Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Kansas City, Microsoft, Full Employment Council, Mazuma Credit Union, and
Community Movement for Urban Progress. Eventually, she took time away to care
for her family.
“When my son was
diagnosed with autism, I stopped working full time for a while so I could focus
on him and his therapeutic needs,” Riley said.
Riley worked part-time
for Girl Scouts while taking care of her son. Once he reached kindergarten, she
began an 11-year tenure at Metropolitan Community College.
“I spent the first
three years at the Longview campus,” she said. “Then I went to Penn Valley,
where I focused on community engagement, marketing, and connecting to the
community that it served.”
Path to entrepreneurship
Riley eventually moved
on and worked at WellCare Health Plans before becoming an admissions recruiter
for Kansas City Public Schools. Once her son reached high school, she noticed
there was an educational gap for students who need more help with their transition
into the workforce.
“There were always
bridge programs for special populations – such as Blacks in Engineering, women
in STEM, and Latinos in Medicine – but we never did any overt outreach to
students with disabilities. As my son got older, I wanted to make a difference,
and my path led me to create the solution: The Transition Academy,” Riley said.
While at KCPS, Riley
made strong connections with the school district as well as with district
partners like SchoolSmartKC. The non-profit organization supports Kansas City
schools with strategies and resources, and she joined their staff in 2019.
“I became a consultant
to help them with their work in special education. While I worked with them in
that capacity, I was also able to launch The Transition Academy.”
Two years later, Riley
founded North Star, a web-based college and career navigation tool for high
school students with disabilities. The tech platform is in development.
“I always envisioned
some type of interactive tech product that would guide families through the
different navigations of disabilities,” she said. “The goal of North Star is to
support The Transition Academy youth, families, and teachers so they can navigate
the landscape and be connected to the resources that they need.”
The Transition Academy
is thriving, growing, and positively impacting so many disabled individuals and
their families. Riley credits the success of her companies with what she
learned and experienced at Swope Health.
“My entrepreneurship
path aligned with what I learned when working at Swope Health. It laid the
foundation for what can be done. It showed me what happens when you believe in
the people you serve,” Riley said. “When you believe in them, you do whatever you
can to make sure they’re successful.”
