No Ceiling by SBJ Podcasts

Krista Peryer is the president and co-founder of The Geek Foundation, a revamped idea on school that’s accelerating graduates into the technology workforce in just 6 months. Krista was inspired to start the nonprofit, which provides its education at no cost, after running into barriers to get into the industry herself. She was a single mom who’d struggled with poverty and the thought of years in c...

Joselyn Baldner is the new president and CEO of Central Bank of the Ozarks. Joselyn started her career in banking as a teller, but earned her first manager role at just 22 years old. Joselyn says leadership is a trait she and others identified in herself early on. When she was tapped as a possibility to take on leading local bank operations, she said she took time to discover if it was what she re...

Heather Hardinger is one of the newest members of Springfield City Council after winning 41% of votes for General Seat A during the April 2021 election. Heather has devoted her career to workforce and economic development, while also pursuing passion projects by volunteering with equity commissions and national hunger relief initiatives. As a child growing up in Alaska, there were times when her f...

Saehee Duran is the lead pastor of Life360 Intercultural, a church on a mission to celebrate cultural diversity of its members by making everyone feel at home. Saehee didn’t grow up religious, but she says an introduction to Christianity by an former stepfather led to her life’s calling. As a young female minister, she’s says she’s intentional about creating space and opportunity for others who fe...

Katie Towns is acting director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. As part of the leadership team, she’s spent the past year educating the community on staying healthy and safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The path to this role is one she didn’t expect, but now she says it’s her calling. As she vies for the director position, Katie says she’s learning to embrace her own style of lea...

You won't want to miss the 10 episodes of No Ceiling Season 2! Local women share their journey to the top of their professions and the challenges and triumphs they faced along the way. They’re rewriting the script on success and there’s no ceiling.  Season 2 is coming April 28, with episodes released weekly. 

Stephanie Ireland is the owner of 20-year-old Springfield architecture firm Ireland Architects. Stephanie says its no wonder she ended up in this field – her dad was a woodshop teacher and her mom an interior design and architectural history professor. But the road to gaining her license was not easy. She took a non-traditional education path and she experienced a set back early in her career when...

Restaurateur Anne Baker is the co-owner of downtown’s Finnegan’s Wake, Civil Kitchen and Tinga Tacos. Her work in the hospitality industry started just as she became a teenager, bussing tables at a family friend’s restaurant. She grew up poor, the daughter of immigrants from Korea. Her parents taught her the value of the dollar and hard work. Anne says those values are peppered throughout her life...

Carol Taylor has served as the president of Evangel University since 2013. She announced her plans, officially this time, to retire in November 2020 after 45 years in education. That date was postponed so she could stay on to lead the school through the COVID-19 pandemic. That move was in Carol’s nature, she’s not one to back down from a challenge. We’ll talk about her abrupt appointment to lead V...

Shurita Thomas-Tate is a speech pathologist who teaches about language and literacy development and disorders at Missouri State University. It’s her deep passion for equity and understanding that drives her work, and it’s also what led her to run for the Springfield Public Schools’ board. Compared to the rest of Springfield, the school district is very diverse. She says those kids needed a voice,...

On April 30, 2019, a devastating series of tornadoes ripped through the Ozarks. About 100 homes were damaged, and several were destroyed. One home that was leveled was owned by Susan Haralson. She’s the co-owner of Premier Home Heath Care and a local leader of networking and service organization, Rotary. Her and her husband survived the EF2 tornado, and in the days and weeks that followed, Susan s...

In 2019, Brandy Harris was hired as the CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield after working for the children’s nonprofit for nearly a decade. Her love of kids and passion for helping them succeed in school and at home stems from a dark childhood. Brandy shared with us stories of abuse she faced at the hands of stepdads, crippling poverty and constant moving. She said she finally felt at home...

As a young girl living in Haiti, Darline Mabins’ mother and brother died in a tragic car accident. She says repercussions from that loss were felt throughout her life. The accident was shortly followed by another pivotal moment—a move to the United States. We’ll talk about growing up in a country where she didn’t speak the language and finding success and joy in a career path she never expected. S...

Jennifer Charleston has worked at the Springfield Police Department for two decades and is one of the department’s leaders, holding the title of lieutenant. Policing is not a profession full of women, and that’s a part of Jennifer’s career she’s proud of, helping make opportunities for female officers that will come after her. We’ll talk about the new role she took on this year, serving as a liais...

Jennifer Jackson is the publisher of Springfield Business Journal. Her mother founded the company in 1980, and Jennifer’s first job at the journal was in high school, helping typeset copy. But assuming ownership of the paper was not in her long-range plan. She was working toward a career in higher education administration when her mother asked if she’d like to learn the business. It was a move tha...

Jordan McAdoo is a software engineer who works at StitchFix, a national company that uses technology to help match customers with clothing that fits their style. She focuses on the company’s app and the user experience. She’s taken her skill set into the community, helping connect other women with her industry. She says a diverse workforce makes a better product.

Local women share their journey to the top of their professions and the challenges and triumphs they faced along the way. They’re rewriting the script on success and there’s no ceiling.