Michelle Wimes (B.A. ’88)
College of Arts & Sciences
Wimes has used her UMKC Spanish and Communications degrees to spearhead workforce diversity and inclusion across the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Currently the director of Professional Development and Inclusion at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, Wimes previously served as the director of Strategic Diversity Initiatives at Shook, Hardy & Bacon and its nine city offices in the U.S., and abroad. She has garnered many professional and community awards for her work, including The Daily Record’s Leader of the Year Award.
Kamlesh Patel (B.S. ’00)
School of Biological Sciences
Patel is assistant professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University in Saint Louis and a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. After completing his medical degree at the University of Arizona, he held a craniofacial fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Boston. His practice includes the treatment of cleft lip/palate disorders, reconstruction for facial malformations, ear reconstruction for children with abnormal or absent ears, and facial trauma reconstruction.
Esther George (M.B.A. ’00)
Bloch School of Management
Recently named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, George was the bank’s chief operating officer and first vice president. Prior to that, George served as executive vice president of the Supervision and Risk Management Division, making her the top banking regulator in the region, responsible for the supervision of 175 state-chartered banks and 1,000 banks and financial holding companies. George is a member of the UMKC Board of Trustees and has been active with the UMKC Bloch School Advisory Council.
Hagos Andebrhan (BSCie ’78)
School of Computing and Engineering
Andebrhan is CEO of engineering firm Taliaferro and Browne, which he purchased in 1992 with colleague and fellow UMKC engineering alumnus Leonard Graham. Born in Eritrea, Andebrhan was one of only 30 students selected for the Ethiopian Airlines pilot training program. During training, he was offered a scholarship from Wilson Aerospace Center in Kansas City, where he was introduced to engineering as a career. Today, Taliaferro and Browne is one of the top 25 Kansas City engineering firms, known for helping shape the redevelopment of downtown.