Month: February 2016

Gray recognized by Black Achievers Society of Kansas City

Marisa Gray, director of workforce and career development at KCKCC, recently received a Black Achievers in Industry Award from the Black Achievers Society of Kansas City. Pictured with Gray, center, are KCKCC President Dr. Doris Givens and Board of Trustees members Cathy Breidenthal, Don Ash, Ray Daniels and J.D. Rios. (Photo from KCKCC)
Marisa Gray, director of workforce and career development at KCKCC, recently received a Black Achievers in Industry Award from the Black Achievers Society of Kansas City. Pictured with Gray, center, are KCKCC President Dr. Doris Givens and Board of Trustees members Cathy Breidenthal, Don Ash, Ray Daniels and J.D. Rios. (Photo from KCKCC)

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC

Marisa Gray did not always appreciate the value of education, even though she grew up in an environment of educators. A self-described “late bloomer,” it was not until she started experiencing life for herself that she truly began to understand that education was not only the key, but having a credential was the one thing no one could deny.

“I find great joy in empowering individuals – helping others to discover their individual strength, inner power and their own voice,” said Gray, who is the director of workforce and career development at Kansas City Kansas Community College. “Success is sometimes being in the right place, at the right time with the right skills. All you need is a crack in the window to burst through the room. It’s also not just who you know, but who knows you.”

The Black Achievers Society of Kansas City recently recognized Gray for her commitment to education and the community through a Black Achievers in Industry Award.

“Marisa’s selection exemplifies the very heart of this award,” said Susan Lindahl, chief financial officer-chief operating officer at KCKCC. “She models leadership and encourages others to strive to meet and exceed their highest goals.”

Started in 1974, the Black Achievers Society honors African Americans in business and industry. To become a member, professionals in the Kansas City area are nominated by their employer based on several criteria including accomplishments, achievements in education, leadership and community involvement. The decision then goes to a committee and each year, a new group of honorees is recognized at a dinner that is incorporated into the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration held by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

“To be recognized for this award was such a humbling feeling,” Gray said. “I have great respect for this organization and for years have followed their progress. In fact, when I first moved to Kansas City in 2000, I heard about the Black Achievers and thought I would seek out more information about their membership. I learned that it was not an open membership, but based on recommendations.”

Gray said receiving the award was based on her affiliation with KCKCC. She said she has been able to make connections and participate in activities on behalf of the college, giving KCKCC a seat at the table when it comes to community issues.

“Our involvement extends far beyond education and impacts economics, health, entrepreneurship, international relations and beyond,” she said. “It is an honor and a pleasure to represent KCKCC.”

Among the society’s community activities is providing scholarships each year to high school seniors in the Kansas City area. In addition, its members also provide internships and mentoring opportunities.

“All education doesn’t happen in the classroom, but it is important that you learn something from each experience,” Gray said. “As you look to the future, it requires a very broad lens so that you can see beyond your immediate circle.”

Gray, who is working toward earning her doctorate, received a master’s of science in management from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., and a bachelor of general studies from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan. She is involved with numerous community organizations including the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce, the Employment Consortium, the United Way of Wyandotte County and the MidAmerica Minority Business Council.

KCKCC President Doris Givens said that Gray is one of the brightest leaders she has mentored in a doctoral internship.

“Not only is she achieving in her current role, but she also recognizes that achievement is more than a process to complete, it is a journey,” Givens said.

As the director of workforce development, Gray said it is her job to listen so she can become a bridge and connect people to the resources they need to be successful. She said it is her personal mission to help others connect the dots to position themselves to move from the bottom all the way to the top.

“It requires that one thinks of this being a ‘Yes’ world with ‘no excuses.’ You have to know yourself and believe in yourself and be intentional in your actions,” Gray said. “Now getting to ‘yes’ requires innovation, persistence and more than a willingness. There is no room for excuses, blame or shifting of responsibilities. It’s also more than working hard, but working smart.”

In addition to Gray’s recognition, KCKCC received a Corporate Award from the SCLC for its commitment to diversity at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. Gray said to receive the awards in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday means a lot.

“The fight for equality, justice and respect of others still resonate for me today. Dr. King’s mission was for equality and justice in education and the workplace. He also led the fight against racism,” she said. “We have made progress on these fronts, but the battle has not been won. However, for me, that does not mean we stop working to make a difference. My father used to tell me that it is my responsibility to help somebody each day as I pass along the way. My giving back is the rent I owe for being here on earth.”

Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Amendment would outlaw revenge porn in Kansas

Topeka – Rep. Sydney Carlin (D-Manhattan) successfully offered an amendment to a bill on the House floor outlawing revenge porn on Thursday afternoon.

Revenge porn is the posting of nude or sexually explicit photos or videos of an ex-spouse or significant other online without their consent and is not to be confused with amateur or homemade porn, both are very similar as they aren’t filmed by real actors but with one major difference, amateur and homemade porn like that shown on the website watch my girlfriend xxx has been posted online with consent from all parties concerned unlike revenge porn.

“Within hours of a vengeful ex-partner uploading images of a victim to a website, that image can be viewed hundreds of thousands of times,” Rep. Carlin said. “In a matter of days, it can become the first search engine result for a victim’s name and therefore unintentionally viewed by a victim’s family, employer, co-workers, and friends.”

Carlin indicated she hoped the fear of prosecution would deter individuals from maliciously and intentionally violating a person’s sexual privacy. There has been a trend in recent years involving broken up couples posting sexually explicit content of their exes onto websites such as videos hd xxx, though there have been many efforts to prevent this trend from continuing.

“This is not a recent phenomenon, but its prevalence, reach, and impact have increased in recent years due to the internet and cell phones,” Rep. Carlin said. “There should be an expectation of privacy when sharing explicit images within the context of an intimate relationship, and now if that privacy is violated, victims will have legal recourse.”

Carlin said the threat of revenge porn can often play a role in intimate partner violence.

“Abusers will use the threat of disclosure to keep their partners from leaving or reporting their abuse to law enforcement,” she said. “It can also be used as a form of control for sex traffickers, pimps, and rapists.”

While there are many laws protecting almost every other form of privacy including financial, medical, and data, laws protecting a person’s sexual privacy are relatively new. One year ago when I introduced this bill, only sixteen other states had passed similar legislation, since then bills have been passed in ten others states.

“This bill is a tool to be able to prosecute a horrible act that causes immediate, devastating, and in many cases irreversible harm,” Rep. Carlin said. “Private images should not be turned into public sexual entertainment.”

Kansas Senate approves tighter welfare rules

Supporters say reduced TANF enrollment shows more Kansans are working

by Megan Hart, KHI News Service

The Kansas Senate on Thursday approved a bill to further tighten welfare eligibility rules.

The measure – Senate Bill 372 – adds new restrictions to rules established last year in a controversial bill that drew national attention.

Last year’s bill, named the Hope, Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone (H.O.P.E.) Act, lowered the lifetime limit for cash assistance to 36 months from 48 months. The follow-up bill that won Senate approval Thursday reduces the limit to 24 months but allows for “hardship” extensions of up to an additional 12 months.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families estimated about 420 households would be affected if the 24-month limit is adopted this year.

The bill also tightens work requirements.

Sen. Michael O’Donnell, a Wichita Republican, pointed to reduced enrollment in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as evidence that lower lifetime limits and work requirements have been effective in encouraging people to work and getting them out of poverty.

“Having the opportunity to get a work requirement in the bill allows people the opportunity to get their GED, to go to college,” he said. “That’s what’s going to make the difference between being in the cycle of dependence and being out of it.”

In December 2015 there were about 13,000 Kansans on the TANF rolls, down from about 40,000 when Gov. Sam Brownback took office in January 2011. During that same period, the monthly cost of the TANF program declined from $4.4 million to less than $1.5 million.

Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat, disagreed with O’Donnell’s assessment that people no longer enrolled in TANF could quickly find jobs.

“People are out of jobs,” she said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do unless you can show me we’ve created the businesses that are going to create the jobs that are going to pay the living wages.”

The bill initially would have required DCF to cross-check public assistance recipients with a list of people who had won $10,000 or more from the lottery. The committee lowered the threshold to $5,000.

The bill requires food assistance recipients to accept a “suitable employment offer” and forbids them from quitting a job if they were working at least 30 hours per week. The penalty is a three-month ban from food assistance for the first offense, followed by a six-month ban for the second offense and a one-year ban for any subsequent offenses.

Non-disabled adults receiving cash assistance also are required to work, search for work or be enrolled in job training. Mothers of newborns are exempt from the work requirement for three months.

The Senate rejected an attempt by Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, to extend the “new mother” exemption to 12 months. The debate on the proposed amendment touched off a skirmish between Hensley and Majority Leader Terry Bruce, a Hutchinson Republican.

Bruce recently circulated a memo to Republicans outlining a legislative strategy for helping them win re-election. Among other things, the memo said there was “popular support” for tightening welfare rules. Waving a copy of the memo during Thursday’s floor debate, Hensley accused Republicans of putting politics ahead of the interests of struggling Kansans.

“And I can tell you that I’m not going to play politics with the lives of poor people,” Hensley said. “I think that is shameful.”

That provoked what seemed to be an angry response from Bruce, who said efforts by Republicans to reform a wasteful welfare system “that put people in poverty and kept them there” constituted both good policy and good politics.

“What we have done here in Kansas not only is popular with the people … it is getting results,” Bruce said. “We are providing a pathway for Kansans that are poor to have their dignity.”

Other provisions in the bill prohibit individuals who don’t cooperate with fraud investigations from receiving public assistance, require DCF to monitor requests for replacement benefit cards and to investigate possible fraud if a household requested a replacement four or more times, and require the state to verify the identities of any adults in a household receiving public assistance.

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

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