Jewell honors civic leaders

08/25/2026

William Jewell College celebrates the start of the academic year with its Opening Convocation ceremony. All community members are invited to join us on Friday, Sept. 18, at 10:45 a.m. in Gano Chapel on Jewell's campus.

In continuing a 45-year tradition, the ceremony also includes presentations of the William F. Yates Medallion for Distinguished Service to valued community members Mark Jorgenson, retired financial services executive and Kansas City civic and community leader; Mary Jorgenson, community leader and volunteer; and Wendy Doyle, United We president and CEO. The guest speaker will be Claire Bishop, executive director and CEO at American Public Square. 

Meet the Honorees

Wendy Doyle is President and CEO of United WE, a national, nonpartisan organization focused on advancing women’s economic and civic participation. Since joining the organization in 2013, she has expanded its reach from Kansas City to communities across the region and the nation. Under Wendy’s leadership, United WE has conducted 38 original research studies, advanced 67 policy actions and equipped more than 5,500 women for leadership at the local, state and federal levels.

A respected civic leader and advocate, Wendy is known for bringing people together across differing perspectives to address complex challenges. Her work has helped advance initiatives related to workforce participation, child and elder care, occupational licensing and civic leadership. She is a frequent speaker and legislative advocate and has testified before state legislatures on issues affecting women, families and communities.

Wendy’s leadership has earned numerous honors, including induction into the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame, the Missouri Lieutenant Governor’s Women of Achievement Award, recognition as a Kansas City Business Journal Woman of Influence, a Fox4 Remarkable Woman, inclusion in Kansas City Ingram’s 2023 Class of Women Executives and City Year’s 2021 Idealist of the Year.

She currently serves on the Park University Civic Advisory Board, the Command and General Staff College Foundation Board and the Midwest Transplant Network Advisory Board. Wendy also serves on the UMKC Starr Women’s Hall of Fame Education Committee.

Wendy earned her bachelor’s degree from Rockhurst University, which honored her with the 2020 Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics.
 

Mark Jorgenson is a retired financial services executive and longtime Kansas City community leader. Prior to his retirement, Jorgenson served as Executive Vice President and Head of Community Banking for U.S. Bank, following two decades as Market President in Kansas City. In his community banking role, he led the bank’s 1,158 branch offices and 8,504 employees in non-metropolitan communities across U.S. Bank’s 24-state footprint. He began his career with U.S. Bank and its predecessor banks in the Kansas City market in 1981.

Jorgenson is deeply engaged in civic and community leadership throughout Kansas City. He currently serves on the boards of The Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, Hall Family Foundation, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas Venture Capital, Inc., Hunt Midwest Enterprises, Tension Envelope, Hodgdon Powder Co., The Police Foundation of Kansas City and KC2026 World Cup.

His previous board service includes the National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City Chiefs, KU Hospital Authority, United Way of Greater Kansas City, University of Missouri–Kansas City, the Heart of America Council Boy Scouts, Urban Neighborhood Initiative, Kansas City Area Development Council, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce among others.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Coe College, Jorgenson earned his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. His many honors include the inaugural Ewing M. Kauffman Distinguished Eagle Scout Award for notable contributions to the Kansas City community, the Henry Bloch Human Relations Award and the Starlight Theatre Star Award.

Mary Jorgenson is a longtime advocate for education, the arts, youth development and faith-based organizations. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Coe College in 1980 and began her career at Penn Valley Community College’s Learning Center before stepping back to raise the couple’s four children.

Mary has devoted decades to volunteer leadership, serving in numerous roles with the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri (GSKSMO), and the Shawnee Mission PTA at all school levels and was membership chair for the Kansas State PTA. Her Girl Scout service included roles as troop leader, service unit manager, challenge course instructor and Day Camp director, as well as board chair for GSKSMO. She also was involved in Boy Scouts as Cub Scout den leader.

Her community involvement also includes leadership with Starlight Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, American Public Square and Coe College, where she serves as a trustee. She has held numerous positions with Presbyterian Women at the church, presbytery, synod and national levels and has served on various councils and commissions within her church and denomination.

Together, Mary and Mark have supported numerous Kansas City organizations through volunteer leadership and fundraising, including the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, Ozanam (Cornerstones of Care), Rose Brooks Cabaret Gala, KU Hospital’s Treads & Threads, Harvesters Chef’s Classic, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Kansas City Repertory Theatre Gala, GIFT KC and the National WWI Museum and Memorial’s Night at the Tower. They live in Kansas City, Mo., and have four grown children.

Keynote Speaker

Claire Bishop, a proud Kansas City native, is an experienced leader who believes in the power of community. As Executive Director and CEO of American Public Square (APS), she champions critical thinking and connecting across differences. Prior to joining APS, Claire spent 15 years in global marketing, serving as Senior Vice President of Media at MMGY Global and later leading global marketing for Children International. She earned her B.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

She has served on the boards of Literacy KC and The Pilgrim Center KC, volunteered as a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City and served as a mentor with Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City.

Claire also has Liberty roots. Her grandparents were both Jewell graduates and met while working in the College’s Athletic Department in the 1930s.

About the William F. Yates Medallion

The Yates Medallion, along with the Alumni Citation for Achievement, is the highest non-degree award William Jewell College bestows. The tradition began in 1980 to honor exceptional Kansas Citians for their invaluable professional contributions, civic engagement and service, and who pave the way for Jewell students on the cusp of becoming the next generation of leaders.

The medallion is named for William F. Yates, graduate of the class of 1898, long-time member of the Board of Trustees and major benefactor. He and his wife provided a generous endowment to establish the chemistry department named for J.A. Yates, their son who died shortly after graduation. Yates-Gill College Union also is named for this prominent banker as well as another loyal friend and former Trustee of the College, Dr. J. Ray Gill of Richmond, Missouri.

The piece itself is of cast bronze and bears the likeness of Jewell Hall, which was completed in 1858 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This building, perhaps more than any other on campus, reflects the sense of tradition and heritage central to the life of the College. The medallion bears the College motto, Deo Fisus Labora, “Trust in God and Work.”