2025 New Board Member Bios
Debra Davis
Debra Davis, Business Development Loan Officer for the Economic Development Corporation, Kansas City. She leads the EDC Loan Corporation entity assisting local small businesses with loan funds, providing growth for their existing businesses. Debra Davis has over twenty-five years of experience in accounting, business ownership, retail, and mutual fund management that she utilizes to serve her current role. She has many years of community involvement, previously serving on the Kansas City Keys Board, KC Lupus Board, Blue Springs South Football Booster Club and currently the Foundation for Delta Educational and Economic Development (DEED). The EDC Loan Corporation is governed by the EDC Loan Corporation Board of Directors, a team of diverse community leaders who are dedicated to the economic growth of minority and women owned businesses in the community. The EDC Loan Corporation’s Revolving Loan Fund portfolio has grown to over two million dollars in loan funding, awarded to sixteen local businesses in the past four years. She believes that small businesses are the heart of the local community and the national economy. Debra is honored and appreciates the opportunity to assist area minority and woman-owned entrepreneurs move their businesses to the next level, serving the community, building generational wealth, inspiring workforce growth, and contributing to the local economic climb.
Hilary Lindstrom, RN, BSN
Hilary Lindstrom, RN, BSN, is the Program Manager for the Nurse-Family Partnership program and the Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs program in Kansas City, Missouri. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from William Jewell College of Nursing in Liberty, Missouri. She worked as an acute care nurse at North Kansas City Hospital before finding and falling in love with public health nursing. She is passionate about walking alongside families as they embrace their own strength and resiliency. She is a wife and a mother of two.
Nancy Spargo, LCSW
Ms. Spargo is currently the Clinical Director at Hermann Center for Child and Family Development in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University. She has extensive experience working with marginalized populations with a focus on abusive family systems. Trained as a Clinical Social Worker and Family Therapist, Ms. Spargo provided direct service to a variety of populations including immigrants and refugees, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), as well as unhoused youth and adults until moving to St. Louis in 2003. Ms. Spargo’s career is characterized by systems integration, program development, service delivery enhancement, and organizational development to create increased access to quality care for underserved populations with a focus on trauma. She has worked within the child welfare, mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse systems, was the co-founder and CEO of Sparlin Mental Health which was innovative in delivering and training others in evidence based treatment modalities, and has consulted to many nonprofit organizations, schools, and courts. Ms. Spargo is passionate about racial equity and workforce development. Ms. Spargo has been adjunct faculty at the Brown School since 2008, and has taught courses in leadership, direct practice, and human development. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Melissa Vaughns-Guein, LCSW
Over the past two decades, Melissa's journey as a therapist, parent educator, and advocate has been both rewarding and enlightening. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Children's Mercy, and therapist at her own practice Melissa specializes in trauma, anxiety, grief, and Child Parent Psychotherapy. Over the years Melissa has worked with a broad range of clients, from children as young as three to teens and adults. Her approach is continually reinforced by belief that change flourishes when people feel safe and understood-when they can authentically share their thoughts and emotions with someone who genuinely listens. For 15 years Melissa had the privilege of stepping into the homes of countless individuals and families across several counties finding that the intimate setting of home visits strengthens the alliance between family and worker. Melissa remains passionate about empowering individuals and families to embrace change through gained tools to tackle their challenges.