Poverty, Pitfalls, and the Price of Diapers HappyBottoms with Jill Gaikowski & Ashley Allison

Kristal Ronnebaum lives in Leawood with her husband Joe, black lab Bentley, son Connor 9 years, daughter Jordyn 7 years old. She’s served the veterinary pharmaceutical sales community in her career for over 15 years and dedicates countless hours to her work with HoneyDewsKC, a company dedicated to providing families with education and local resources that strengthen our relationships. Events are designed to encourage a safe space for growing grace, resilience and compassion for ourselves and one another in this great city we call HOME.

HappyBottoms holds a special place in her heart as the mission works to improve the lives of babies who are in need of diapers. Motherhood is Kristal’s greatest gift and a job she is eternally grateful to hold. Bringing greater awareness and education to the lack of resources available for mothers and babies drives her passion for the mission. It is with great hope, commitment and gratitude to get to serve as a Co-Chair to Diaper Bowl II once again. Now is the time when these babies need our love more than ever.

Decemeber Brammer is not a Kansas City native, but has lived in the city for the last 14 years. And definitely where she calls home now with her husband Scott and two boys Decker and Stricklen. Spending time with her family, designing and decorating their new home, and enjoying a glass of wine or coffee are a few of her favorite things. Being busy is her game! Working as a Project Manager for Sun Life occupies her during the day.  But what she loves the most, is bridging her passion and business of event and wedding planning, Soirée Event Designs, by serving and lending her expertise in the community.


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Pam, Susan, Elizabeth, Stacy, Andrea, Brittany, and Brandon join us today on the podcast.  These folks, along with Ashley and I, keep the wheels of HappyBottoms turning day in and day out. Don't miss Stacy's mic-drop moment!  If you know one of these folks, be sure to give them a huge hug for their passion and work!


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Wendy Doyle fearlessly advocates for women’s economic and civic advancement by amplifying women’s voices and producing results. Wendy is at the forefront of all economic policies that impact women and their families. She regularly educates and informs decision-makers and community leaders about policy solutions for women at local, county, and state levels. Translating information into action, she testifies frequently to state legislatures, publishes op-eds in state newspapers, serves as a dynamic and informative presenter, and champions systemic policy change for governments and corporations through her thought leadership.

During her nine-year tenure at United WE, Wendy has led the organization to invest in research, advocacy, and policy solutions to remove economic barriers for women, including conducting 21 meaningful research studies, advocating for issues resulting in 47 policy actions, and supporting more than 175 women in securing civic appointments. Wendy is committed to impacting hundreds of thousands of women and families through transformative research, scaling United WE’s fast-growing Appointments Project®, advocating for reforms that honor the legacies of women, and contributing to policy solutions that advance equal pay, paid family leave, affordable childcare and occupational licensing, among others.

Since 2013, Wendy has expanded United WE’s focus from serving Kansas City to all of Kansas and Missouri, and her success in the Heartland is spreading nationwide to cities including St. Louis, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and South San Francisco. Wendy’s previous experience as an executive and strategic consultant for large nonprofits provides a unique systems approach to accelerating the pace of change through partnerships.

Wendy earned a B.A. from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, and was recognized in 2021 as an Idealist of the Year by City Year. Wendy was inducted into the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame in October 2021. Her personal interests include running, traveling, modern art and design, and restoring old cars.

To join the upcoming townhall we discuss in this episode, click here: https://united-we.org/townhalls


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Thrilled to have the former Director of Policy and Government Relations from the National Diaper Bank Network on our podcast today. The National Diaper Bank Network brings diaper banks together across the country through an annual conference and resources, like Phillip Vander Klay.  Phillip even went to Jefferson City with HappyBottoms earlier this year to advocate for removing the luxury diaper tax on diapers.  He knows his government, and thank goodness for that!  Please enjoy, Phillip! 


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After 25+ years with the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired, we could not be more thrilled to have Elizabeth join the team as our Operations Director.  She brings calmness, understanding, a long line of experience and wealth of knowledge crucial to this stage of the nonprofit evolution.  We hope you enjoy meeting Elizabeth!


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Jorge was born and raised in Laredo, Texas and joined the Texas Diaper Bank in 2001. His first professional career was 10 years of banking and financial services with a local bank. He worked with the City of Laredo, Economic Development Department as Grant Writer and Laredo Community College, as Program Director of the Rio Grande Environmental Study Center, and Executive Director of Mi Laredo, Goals for the 90’s.   In 2001, Jorge moved to San Antonio, Texas 2 weeks before 9-11.

The Texas Diaper Bank was originally the Hispanic Religious Partnership for Community Health. The organization was a consortium of ten United Methodist Churches providing outreach ministries in the poorest churches of  San Antonio.   In 2011, Jorge secured funding to establish a Diaper distribution program.  In 2013, the Board agreed to change the organizations name to Texas Diaper Bank and in 2017, Hurricane Harvey happened and it changed everything.  We hope you enjoy....Jorge Medina!


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