KC Animal Health Corridor seeks innovators in companion animal, ag tech and food animal sectors
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – March 3, 2026 – The KC Animal Health Corridor is now accepting Emerging Company applications for the 2026 Animal Health Summit, taking place Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 in downtown Kansas City. The Summit provides a global stage for early-stage companies in companion animal health, ag tech and food animal production to present their technologies and business plans to investors, strategic partners and industry leaders.
To date, companies selected to present — representing pharmaceutical, vaccine, nutrition, diagnostic and technology startups from around the world — have collectively raised nearly $1 billion following their participation, in addition to securing licensing agreements, distribution contracts and acquisition offers.
Serve the companion animal health, ag tech and/or food animal production industries
Be seeking $500,000 to $20 million in funding or strategic partnerships
Project $20 million in revenue within five to seven years
Benefits for selected companies
Participants receive:
Access to industry experts
Assistance developing a company pitch deck
Individualized mentoring
Two practice pitch sessions with real-time industry feedback
Development of an investor profile
Promotion to qualified investors
Media promotion
Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. CDT on April 1, 2026. All applicants will be notified of their status by June 19, 2026. Additional details about the KC Animal Health Corridor and the Animal Health Summit are available at www.kcanimalhealth.com.
About the KC Animal Health Corridor Companies with a business location in the KC Animal Health Corridor account for more than half of the sales generated by the global animal health industry. The Corridor, anchored by Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, is home to more than 300 animal health companies, representing the largest concentration in the world. For more information, visit www.kcanimalhealth.com.
400 talent leaders gather as TeamKC reinforces its long-standing role helping Kansas City employers attract and retain top talent
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Feb. 26, 2026 – TeamKC, the talent-focused initiative of the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC), convened hundreds of HR executives, recruiters and business leaders today at The Abbott for its annual Training Camp talent summit — unveiling new recruiting tools, sharing fresh workforce data and spotlighting a year of major economic momentum for the region.
The event reinforced TeamKC’s nearly two-decade legacy as Kansas City’s authority on attracting and retaining top talent, supporting more than 300 major employers and a network of 1,100+ talent leaders across industries in the region.
“Strong data and insights elevate our work and give us credibility — and that’s what talent leaders need to have a seat at the table alongside their business partners,” said Erin Roebuck, TeamKC co-chair and senior talent acquisition leader, global, at Hallmark Cards, Inc.
The program featured nationally recognized speakers, including best-selling author Diana Kander and sportscasting legend Joel Goldberg, alongside regional business leaders sharing insights on workforce trends and building trust in an evolving talent environment.
New and Expanded Tools to Strengthen Talent Growth
A central theme of Training Camp 2026 was a sharpened focus on clarity — in messaging, in data and in the candidate experience.
TeamKC highlighted four cornerstone resources designed to give Kansas City employers a competitive advantage:
TeamKC Scouting Report: A data-driven snapshot of national workforce trends, the Kansas City region’s talent landscape and actionable recruitment and engagement strategies.
KC Options: TeamKC’s award-winning lifestyle and career publication, showcasing the people, places and culture that define life in Kansas City. KC Options remains the most widely utilized resource among employers recruiting to the region.
New KC Hype Video: A high-energy, shareable video asset designed to help employers showcase Kansas City’s momentum, vibrancy and opportunity.
TeamKC Relocation Guide: A new 50-page guide for KCADC’s 300+ investor companies, delivering clear, practical information — from housing and taxes to neighborhoods and community resources — to help new hires transition seamlessly to life in Kansas City.
Together, these assets create a full-cycle recruiting toolkit, supporting employers from initial outreach through long-term retention.
“We know what works,” said Danielle Hilton, managing director of TeamKC. “Vibrant visuals. A confident story. And practical tools that make it easier for talent to say ‘yes’ to Kansas City.”
KC Streetcar Authority Honored with 2026 TeamKC MVP Award
At the event, TeamKC presented its 2026 TeamKC MVP Award to the KC Streetcar Authority for its transformative impact in connecting people and places across Kansas City.
Awarded annually at Training Camp, the TeamKC MVP Award recognizes an organization that has significantly advanced Kansas City as a top destination for talent. Through expanded access and mobility, the KC Streetcar continues to elevate Kansas City as a place where talent wants to live and work — strengthening urban vibrancy, accessibility and regional connectivity.
Business Growth and Talent Pipeline Move in Lockstep
Training Camp also reinforced the direct connection between business attraction and workforce strategy, celebrating marquee investments TeamKC helped to attract to the region in recent years:
Panasonic Energy’s EV battery manufacturing plant, which recently celebrated hiring 1,500 employees.
Fiserv’s strategic fintech hub — the largest office project announced in the United States in 2025 — projected to create more than 2,000 jobs in the region.
As a key component of KCADC’s mission, TeamKC supports companies as they expand and invest in the region. Over the past decade, KCADC — together with state, community and business partners — has helped attract projects resulting in more than 30,000 new jobs in the Kansas City region.
“These wins are about more than headlines,” Hilton said. “They strengthen our talent base, diversify our workforce and reinforce Kansas City’s reputation as a place companies — and people — choose.”
TeamKC also highlighted its support for KC employers as they invest in the next generation of talent. In 2025, the TeamKC summer intern program engaged more than 1,000 interns across industries, providing “KC 101” programming, peer networking and immersive experiences designed to connect young professionals to long-term careers in the region.
A Proven Partner for Kansas City Employers
As national competition for talent intensifies, the 2026 TeamKC Training Camp reinforced a clear takeaway: Kansas City’s workforce strategy is coordinated, data-driven and built for scale.
“People show up when they know the why, and feel proud to be part of it,” said Alicia Bacon, TeamKC board co-chair and director of talent acquisition at Netsmart. “Now, more than ever, it’s great to be in KC. We have a swagger. An energy. We are the place to be. You just have to be here.”
About TeamKC TeamKC, an initiative of the Kansas City Area Development Council, is the regional authority in positioning KC as a premier talent destination. Working alongside regional partners, TeamKC serves as an extension of recruiting and HR teams at more than 300 major employers, supporting a network of 1,100+ talent leaders — providing the insights, tools and data needed to compete in a rapidly evolving talent market. As the region’s unified talent attraction initiative, TeamKC helps ensure top candidates say “yes” to growing their careers in KC. | teamkc.com
About the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) The Kansas City Area Development Council is an economic development nonprofit that promotes the OneKC region’s business and lifestyle assets to companies and talent around the world. Working closely with its two states and 50-plus county and community partners, the region has attracted more than 64,000 new jobs over its 45-year history. KCADC also leads the efforts behind the KC Animal Health Corridor, KC SmartPort, TeamKC and KC Global Design. | onekc.org
When it comes to soccer, KC is unmatched. From roaring stadiums and high-performing professional clubs to communities cheering on youth teams, KC is a hub for soccer (AKA football, to the rest of the world).
The World Cup Comes to KC
KC is one of only 16 cities selected to be a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. The largest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup draws millions of in-person fans and billions of broadcast viewers around the globe, and will shine a spotlight on KC as a hotspot for soccer, tourism and more.
CPKC Stadium is the first in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team. Home to the KC Current, the riverfront venue set new benchmarks for the National Women’s Soccer League — including league-leading attendance and sellout crowds in its inaugural season.
Beyond the action on the pitch, the stadium itself is a statement: the design and construction team was women-led, underscoring Kansas City’s commitment to advancing women in sports, leadership and the built environment.
KC’s Pro Teams
Sporting Kansas City
Major League Soccer
With two MLS Cup and four U.S. Open Cup wins, Sporting KC is Kansas City’s men’s professional soccer club. In addition to their work on the pitch, the club also helps aspiring young players to fall in love with soccer.
Both Sporting KC and its affiliated MLS Next Pro Club, Sporting KC II, are headquartered at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kansas City Current
National Women’s Soccer League
After making it the National Women’s Soccer League Championship in only their second season, KC Current is making history in women’s sports with CPKC Stadium at Berkeley Riverfront Park.
KC Current II, the team’s affiliated Women’s Premier Soccer League team, is high-performing in their own right, winning the 2022 Midwest Conference Championship in their inaugural season.
Kansas City Comets
Major Arena Soccer League
Enjoy soccer all year ’round in KC Heartland and check out the region’s Major Indoor Soccer League (MASL) team, the Kansas City Comets. Playing out of Cable Dahmer Arena, the KC Comets hosted the first-ever MASL all-star game and are two-time winners of the Central Cup.
From Kids to Coaches
With summer camps, youth leagues and training programs like Sporting KC Youth Soccer, kids can kick off their athletic dreams right away in KC Heartland.
United Soccer Coaches, headquartered in KC’s Union Station, is the largest organization of soccer coaches in the world, boasting more than 30,000 members.
The Heartland Soccer Association, America’s largest soccer league and tournament host, brings together more than 30,000 league players and 40,000 tournament players in levels from recreational to premier.
There’s no denying that Kansas City is a special community — supportive, welcoming and proud of the hidden gem that we call home. So, it’s no surprise that Kansas Citians have rallied around the Parade of Hearts, a public art exhibition representative of, and dedicated to, our diverse and eclectic region.
Parade of Hearts was born during the COVID-19 pandemic and intended to help raise funds and awareness for the industries that had suffered the most. Yet this annual installation has achieved an even grander vision in the years since its inception, combining the iconic and beloved KC heart logo with the unique stories, art and design of the Midwest.
The hearts, each measuring about five feet tall, are placed around the Kansas City metro area, interweaving a narrative of hope and inspiration. From healthcare to hometown pride, each tells a different story. Showcasing local artists’ abilities, every installation embodies a unique viewpoint and perspective, all with the goal of bolstering our community.
The culmination of the parade is an auction, where every dollar raised is donated and recirculated to specific facets of Kansas City. Those include focused areas of arts and culture, health and wellness, hospitality and tourism, education and minority-owned businesses.
Now entering its third year, the he(art) installations have become an integral component of the community — spotted in parks, next to local businesses and alongside busy streets throughout the region. And while the amount of talent and creativity in Kansas City is remarkable, what’s even more inspiring is our ability to band together, as one community, around a common cause. To date, Parade of Hearts has raised more than $2.5 million for local charities.
That’s what the Parade of Hearts is truly about — supporting one another through the tough times and the good, giving a voice to worthy causes and elevating everyone that makes Kansas City great.
After years of bold ideas, momentum and intention, TeamKC is embracing 2026 with focus and confidence. This is the Year of Clarity.
As the talent landscape continues to evolve and the region steps further into the global spotlight, our opportunity is clear: make it effortless for talent to see how KC works and why they belong here. That clarity guides everything we do this year, from the experiences we create to the partnerships we strengthen.
This year, TeamKC’s work is grounded in three clear areas of focus:
The KC Story | With the launch of our refreshed website under the OneKC brand, TeamKC is helping present a clearer, more unified regional narrative — one that reflects the power of our region working together. TeamKC and our partners play a critical role in attracting, retaining and supporting talent across KC, and now that story is easier to find and to share.
The Audience | This year, we’re doubling down on clarity around our audience — from interns and early-career professionals to experienced talent and the employers working hard to attract them. By providing clarity on who we’re building for, we can design programs, resources and moments that feel relevant and welcoming.
The Experience | From events and resources to partnerships and programming, TeamKC is focused on creating experiences that feel intentional, seamless and human. No extra noise. No guesswork. Just meaningful touchpoints that help talent engage with KC — and help our partners tell that story with confidence.
Everything we do this year is rooted in helping people see Kansas City — and their place in it — more clearly than ever before. With a unified story, a focused audience and experiences designed with purpose, TeamKC is ready to lead the way forward.
Want to get involved or learn more about what the Year of Clarity looks like in action? Let’s connect.
It’s one of the most pressing topics in hiring today: how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way organizations attract, evaluate and onboard talent.
At a recent TeamKC Roundtable, the network explored real-world examples of what’s working, what still needs human oversight and what policies teams need to drive forward as AI accelerates. Moving far beyond an interesting tool, AI has evolved to become a true thought partner, shaping talent strategies in profound ways.
Key Takeaways:
Before diving headfirst into AI, clearly define a problem in order to select the right tool.
Do your homework – understand the tool, its limits and how it fits your team.
Maintain the human element – treat AI as an enhancer (not a replacement) for the relationships and judgment that define effective talent work.
Dive Deeper
Leaders are increasingly using AI to test tone, translate experience, identify personality traits aligned with team needs and help pinpoint what hiring managers may be overlooking. “If you’re not evolving, you’re moving toward extinction” — a reminder that as candidate expectations shift and applications surge, integrating AI thoughtfully is becoming a necessity, not a luxury.
High-growth organizations are leaning on AI to streamline manual steps, including interview scheduling, resume ranking, sifting for specific skills and matching candidates to the right teams. Many are actively training their platforms so systems better understand company philosophy and the nuances of successful hires. Others have opted to build their own tools for stronger security, consistency and the ability to flex for different workflows.
The rise in efficiency also brings new risks.
A flood of applicants, many of them fraudulent or AI-generated, has made it harder to separate genuine, qualified people from bots or impersonators. Leaders emphasize the importance of combining AI with human intuition to find the best candidates possible.
Despite the challenges, AI is already reducing headaches.
AI can be great at handling tasks like automated email and communications plans, drafting/consolidating job descriptions, pulling market data, translating military or technical jargon and compiling interview transcripts. This frees up recruiters to stay focused on tone, personality and connection.
Taken together, these principles provide a roadmap for using AI thoughtfully, maximizing its benefits while keeping human judgment at the center of talent decisions.
One of the questions we hear most often about our workforce priorities is: How do you measure the impact of talking to middle school and high school educators about career exploration in animal health? It’s a fair question and one we’ve reflected on deeply.
The truth is, it’s nearly impossible to draw a clean line from a single conversation with a teacher to a student ultimately stepping into a career in our industry. There’s no dashboard, no tidy funnel, no tracking mechanism that tells us which young minds were influenced by the resources, stories and insights we share.
But does that mean we stop? Absolutely not.
In a world where organizations rely on KPIs and measurable outcomes to justify their time, it’s easy to overlook the kind of work that shapes long-term possibility rather than short-term metrics. Inspiring future talent doesn’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet and that’s exactly why it requires leadership, commitment and collective effort.
In early December, we attended the National Association of Agricultural Educators Conference (NAAE) in Nashville. We spoke with more than 500 educators, from seasoned teachers to students preparing to enter the classroom for the first time. No matter what their level of experience, their reactions were strikingly consistent. Their first question was: “Are these resources free?” And when they learned that an entire industry rallied together to create, brand and share tools designed specifically to help them guide the next generation, they were amazed.
In that moment, the measurement became clear. Not in data points, but in human moments.
Not in metrics, but in momentum.
When educators feel supported, students feel possibility. When an industry shows up, a pathway appears.
We may never know exactly how many students choose animal health because of something they heard, saw or explored through the resources we have developed on exploreahcareers.com. But we do know one thing with absolute certainty: doing nothing guarantees we lose future talent to industries that consistently show up in classrooms.
If educators, students and parents only hear about careers in crop science and equipment, which are excellent careers, then we risk offering young people only a narrow snapshot of what agricultural innovation looks like. Our field has so much more to give. From science and technology to business, care, innovation and global impact, animal health holds a world of opportunity.
Building the next generation of talent isn’t the job of one company. It’s the responsibility and the opportunity of an entire industry.
By standing together, investing together and showing up together, we are shaping not only who enters animal health tomorrow, but how they see themselves today. And while we may not be able to measure that in numbers, we can measure it in purpose.
