Coro Kansas City is designed to develop future community leaders through exposure to community issues, leadership development, civic leaders and organizations. It is a demanding and full-time internship, and requires an interest in public affairs.
Each intern is assigned an individual internship in each of the five sectors of business, government, labor, media and non-profit organizations. Participants are immersed in these sectors, allowing them to learn experientially and establish significant professional contacts.
The following students have been chosen for the 10-week summer internship program:
- Sarah Alig, Leawood, Kan. (attended Blue Valley North High School, Overland Park, Kan.), attends the University of Kansas
- Kasey Anderson, Kansas City, Mo. (attended Park Hill South High School, Riverside, Mo.), attends the University of Missouri-Kansas City
- Sara Anees, Wichita, Kan. (attended Maize [Kan.] High School), attends the University of Kansas
- Kirby Appollis, Overland Park, Kan. (attended Olathe [Kan.] East High School), attends Park University
- Michael Baharaeen, Gladstone, Mo. (attended Winnetonka High School, Kansas City, Mo.), attends Truman State University
- Brady Bates, Kansas City, Mo. (attended Pembroke Hill School), attends Washington & Lee University
- Jenny Curatola, Lansing, Kan. (attended Lansing High School), attends the University of Kansas
- Ashlie Koehn, Burns, Kan. (attended Remington High School, Whitewater, Kan.), attends the University of Kansas
- Rosemary Loehr, Kansas City, Mo. (attended St. Pius X High School), attends William Jewell College
- James Mitchell, Tulsa, Okla. (attended Broken Arrow [Okla.] High School), attends the University of Missouri-Kansas City
- Godfrey Riddle, Olathe, Kan. (attended Olathe North High School), attends the University of Kansas
- Matthew Woolley, Kansas City, Kan. (attended Piper High School) attends the University of Kansas
They all are outstanding young people and will benefit enormously from the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and network throughout the Kansas City community,” said Kay Barnes, distinguished professor for public leadership in the HSPA and founding director of Park’s Center for Leadership.
Barnes, who served as mayor of Kansas City, Mo., from 1999 to 2007, is the co-director of Coro Kansas City with Don Wise, coordinator and instructor of nonprofit and community services management in the HSPA and associate director of the Center for Leadership.
“Coro helps to develop a group of individuals whose personal skills and civic experiences promote broader community engagement and expand the social capital of our community,” added Wise, a former executive director of the Civic Leadership Training Council.
Coro was started in San Francisco in 1942 by W. Donald Fletcher, an attorney, and Van Duyn Dodge, an investment counselor, to train young veterans in the leadership skills necessary to ensure that the “democratic system of government could more effectively meet the needs of its citizens.”
The program has grown to include Coro centers in six cities — Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and San Francisco.
