Park's University Board appoints a new chairman and hires four new members.
Park University has announced a significant refresh of its Board of Trustees for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The new board, which includes a mix of alumni and professionals, is set to bring strategic oversight and governance to the institution.
Among the new trustees is Scott Jackman, a resident of Weatherby Lake, Missouri, who has been elected as the new chair of the board. Jackman, the president of the U.S. division and vice president of sales and marketing for Deveron, an agriculture technology company based in Toronto, Canada, brings a wealth of experience to the role. Before joining Deveron, Jackman was the founder and CEO of AtlasTeam from 2017-19, which he sold to Deveron.
Joining Jackman is a diverse group of individuals with varied professional and academic experiences. Ivy Alphonse-Crean '07, Rahul Ballal, Celina Barrios-Millner, James Benenson, Kent Bennett, Kelly Caiazzo, Lise Charlier, Nicole Danforth, Nadia Fenton-Rahim, May Hara, Julia Lloyd Johannsen '93, Ted Noon, Femi Obi, Sara Ofosu-Amaah, Rich Quincy, Sean Abdur Rahim, Anna Sinaiko, Amanda Teo, and Susanna Whitaker Waters '99 are the new trustees. Some of these individuals, such as Julia Lloyd Johannsen and Susanna Whitaker Waters, are alumni of Park University, indicating a strong connection to the institution.
In addition to the new trustees, the governance structure includes positions such as Board Chair Lesley Ryan Miller and Vice Chair Greg Woods, and officers like Rahul Ballal (Secretary) and Sara Leventhal Fleiss '95 (Treasurer), demonstrating the involvement of experienced alumni and professionals.
Meanwhile, Jeff Ehrlich, a former interim president of Park University, has been granted professor emeritus status. Ehrlich served as the interim president from July 2015 to January 2016. Another notable figure, Jeff Anthony, has been re-elected as the board treasurer, while Mara Cohara has been re-elected as the board secretary.
Outside of the board, notable individuals associated with Park University include Brian Mertz, a real estate developer and entrepreneur known for his high-profile endeavor, the Creekside development in western Parkville. Mertz, a resident of Platte County, Mo., owns entities including PC Homes LLC and Parkville Development.
In the business sector, Sam Stahnke, the vice president and operating partner at the Kansas City division of ARCO National Construction, has been recognised by the Kansas City Business Journal as one of the publication's "20 People to Know in Construction" in 2024. Stahnke has been with ARCO since 2007 and oversees business development and overall operational management.
Levi Young, a plastic surgeon and the owner and president of Young Cosmetic Surgery in Leawood, Kan., is also associated with Park University. Young has owned ACSKC Properties, a commercial property in Leawood, since 2020.
Lewis Nerman, a resident of Leawood, Kan., and Naples, Fla., is the founder and managing partner of Truck Center of America LLC in Leawood. Nerman, who has been involved with several boards in the Kansas City area, earned a master's degree in executive education/owner-president management from the Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Young is co-owner of Kansas City Ambulatory Surgery Center in Leawood since 2023, while Jackman earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Webster University, a master's degree in operational art and military history from the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and a Bachelor of Science degree in aviation management from Southern Illinois University.
While the detailed backgrounds of each new trustee are not fully elaborated in the available source, it is clear that the university has refreshed its board with a mix of alumni and professionals committed to strategic oversight and governance. For more comprehensive information, direct access to Park University’s Board of Trustees biographies or official announcements would be needed.
- Scott Jackman, a business professional with a background in finance and agriculture technology, has been elected as the new chair of Park University's Board of Trustees. Alumna Julia Lloyd Johannsen and Susanna Whitaker Waters, both Park University graduates, are also new trustees, demonstrating a strong connection between the institution and its alumni.
- In the business sector, Sam Stahnke, a notable figure in construction, has been recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal as one of the "20 People to Know in Construction" for 2024. Meanwhile, Levi Young, a plastic surgeon and property owner, is also associated with Park University. These individualshighlight the university's ties with various sectors, including business, education-and-self-development, and general-news.
