The P.A.T.H. Forward

Alison Niermann is the Founder and CEO of Tilley Workforce Solutions. Tilley is an executive search and workforce solutions firm partnering with companies nationwide to create hiring success.

Her own professional journey is backed by a 20-year track record of translating business visions into people strategies and delivering highly innovative workforce solutions. Alison has executed and implemented recruitment and HR initiatives to positively impact hiring, retention, and bottom-line results. Having worked at organizations spanning from start-ups and mid-size companies to global Fortune 500s, her career has given her an immense opportunity to lead internal recruitment teams and deliver top professionals across the nation.

Alison is also an international best-selling author, speaker, podcaster and creator of The PATH Forward to empower others to use the purpose, actions, talents to achieve success.

She sits on multiple boards to make a difference in her community. Alison and her husband have celebrated 23 years of marriage, embracing all of life’s adventures together. They are proud parents of three children and share their home with a fun-loving Goldendoodle. When not cheering on a child’s game, they enjoy travel, exercising, church involvement, and soaking in time with family and friends.

Anne Post is the CEO, North America for Xakia Technologies. As a litigator for 20+ years, Anne loved the practice of law — but was less than thrilled by the administrative hassles like workflow management, budgeting, and reporting. She was inspired to join Xakia Technologies which offers a simple, powerful, and affordable legal matter management system for in-house legal teams that collates information for into a single source of truth. Xakia’s clients benefit from robust legal data analytics and automated reporting that make CFOs and CEOs happy.

Anne is passionate about helping women in law, women in tech and of course women in legal tech; she’s very proud to have launched Xakia’s U.S. operations in Kansas City’s thriving tech community in 2017.

Elizabeth McFadden is Founder and CEO of Novella Brandhouse, a WBE, brand-focused, full-service ad agency. With over 25 years of advertising and branding experience under her belt, Elizabeth brings the expertise, creativity and award-winning strategy to scaling or established businesses. Over a decade ago, she developed a process to help organizations of all sizes find their voice in a crowded market. Taking the brand strategy model used by Fortune 500 companies, she designed a method for smaller companies to develop their brand. She’s worked with mega-brands like Sprint and Bayer, Brookside–a local favorite, plus organizations such as the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department, the City of Cedar Rapids, and The Big Biscuit. Elizabeth consults with both b2b and business-to-consumer clients in industries ranging from commercial development and non-profits to food & beverage and lifestyle brands.

At Novella Brandhouse, her role involves leading the brand strategy side of the house and new business development. She has been featured in The New York Times, the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Business Journal, Startland News, and others. Elizabeth is a published author, co-authoring two business books with April Beach in 2008 and 2010. In 2022, she was named one of the Enterprising Women of the Year and in 2023, one of the 100 Women to KNOW in America. Elizabeth is a Kansas City native and lives in Brookside with her husband Matt, and three boys. She spends her free time attending her boys’ sporting events, doing Pilates, reading, thrifting, traveling, and relaxing at the lake.

Dr. Adrian James is an Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Management for the College of Management at Park University. Before she began at Park University in 2018, she worked for Purdue University Northwest and Texas A&M University. While with Texas A&M, she lived and worked at their branch campus in Doha, Qatar for 4 years. While there she traveled to 32 countries and broadened and deepened her knowledge of best business and leadership practices.

Dr. James is an engaged Platte County resident. She is a member of the Platte County Economic Development Council board of directors. She is the co-chair for the Workforce Development Alliance committee. She was involved with the Parkville Area Chamber of Commerce starting in 2018 and served on the board from 2020 to 2022. Dr. James has facilitated workshops and trainings for multiple Kansas City area organizations, including the Kansas City Chiefs. Dr. James graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a B.S. in Industrial Psychology and an MBA. She received her Ph.D. in Leadership, Education, and Communication from Texas A&M University. Dr. James teaches courses in organizational behavior, management, training & development, and strategy. She has facilitated development trainings, workshops, and retreats nationally and internationally.

Tirzah Gregory, PE, is a vice president at HNTB and currently serves as the Group Director for the regional bridge design office consisting of over 80 engineers, technicians and architects in offices located in Kansas City, Overland Park, Oklahoma City, Des Moines, and St. Louis. Tirzah earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Washington University in 1994 and earned a Master of Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas in 2001. She has worked at HNTB for over 29 years and is a registered professional engineer in Missouri and Nebraska. 

At HNTB, Tirzah is also an advisor to the office engagement committee, dedicates much of her time to mentoring, and participates in activities to promote the HNTB national bridge practice. She currently serves as immediate past president and was a founding member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Kansas City chapter, the University of Kansas School of Engineering Alumni Advisory Board, and supports aSTEAM Village, an organization that provides experiential learning for students in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. She was honored as one of the Kansas City Business Journal’s (KCBJ) 2017 Next Gen Leaders and graduated from the KC Civic Council’s Kansas City Tomorrow program in 2016. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her kids play sports as well as her hobbies including photography and cooking. She is lives in Overland Park with her husband, Ted and two children, Merritt (18) and Delia (16).