By developing and sustaining small businesses and microenterprises in the Urban Core of Kansas City, we create local employment opportunities, decrease the disproportionate health disparities gap, and assist in mitigating crime.
Our Staff
Simone Curls
A Kansas City native, Simone Curls spent the last 20 years working and raising her two daughters in Los Angeles, California. Now, living back in Kansas City full time, Simone is dedicated to the encouragement and growth of minority businesses within the Greater Kansas City area. She took over as Executive Director of PBA in 2019 and has since increased the staff, clientele and overall reach of PBA throughout the city while cultivating relationships with industry expert partners from around the city.
Maurice-Gay
Christine-Kelly
With more than 20 years of experience in supplier diversity, Christine understands the barriers to business ownership like the lack of networks that encourage joint ventures, partnerships, mentoring programs, and business-to-business opportunities. She’s fostered relationships with a network of partners to extend MCC’s reach to support diverse business owners in every aspect of their operations. “My love for assisting entrepreneurs,” Christine says, “started at Marion Laboratories under the mentorship of Ewing Marion Kauffman.”
Nina Curls
Originally from Los Angeles, California, Nina has lived in Kansas City for almost three years. Nina works as the team’s Development Assistant. In this role, she coordinates all events PBA hosts as well as taking part in the majority of all program scheduling, from Business Basics cohorts to additional workshops taught by our expert partners.
Brionna Pennington-Green
A Kansas native, Brionna serves as the executive assistant to our executive director. Brionna leverages her legal background to excel in her daily responsibilities of providing high-level administrative support.
James Farnen
James has worked in the public service sector for 15 years, and as a nonprofit fundraiser since 2020. His belief in the positive potential of all people, as well as the powerful importance of economic equity, translates perfectly to supporting under-resourced small businesses and entrepreneurs served by PBA. His grant writing, grants management, and project/program development has secured nearly $1 million in grant funding from both public and private sources at the local, state, and federal levels, including the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Hall Family Foundation, the Kansas Department of Commerce, and the National Endowment for the Arts.