Book A Specialist
The Community Reference Team has specialists that can meet with you virtually, one on one, for help with your job search, small business, personal finance, health research, and government information.
Research Assistance
Health & Wellness
Join fitness classes, explore online wellness databases, or attend information session about topics ranging from chronic illness to Medicare.
Jobs & Career
Land a great job or take your next career step. Get resume and cover letter help, connect with live tutors, or improve your interview skills.
Legal & Government
Connect to resources for tax preparation, voter education and registration, and civic life.
Nonprofits
Build and fund your nonprofit organization with useful grant research and writing resources.
Business & Entrepreneurship
From market research to business plans to connecting with local entrepreneurship networks, we can help get your business in gear.
Your Money
Whether it's saving money for college or a home, personal investing, or retirement, we have tools to help you do more with your money.
ONE-ON-ONE APPOINTMENTS
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Hadiza Sa-Aadu is the Library’s Small Business Engagement Specialist. She holds a BA in Economics and French from Emory University and an MBA with a specialization in Data Analytics from the University of Iowa. Her career has spanned marketing, sales and data analytics in both the public and private sectors. She can help you mine and analyze data as you conduct industry research and help you develop a marketing plan. Hadiza is passionate about leveraging data to inspire stakeholders to take action, creative place-making (ask her about this if you’re curious!), mission driven organizations including social enterprises and human centered design.
Health & Wellness
Jamie Placht is the Library’s Health & Wellbeing Specialist. He holds a Master of Science in Education in Health Education from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of Indianapolis as well as a certification as a Health Education Specialist. Jamie has worked as a health and wellness educator at both the university and post-secondary levels and has worked as a community engager within the food insecurity and access space. Jamie is passionate about promoting collaboration within community health, community-driven health equity, and nutrition education. He can help connect you to health and wellness resources within our community.
Legal & Government Information
Jenny Garmon is the Library’s Civic Engagement Specialist. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut as well as Ohio State University, where she earned her M.A. in Public Policy and Management, and Emporia State University, where she earned her Master in Library Science. In addition to her military service, Jenny is a former federal employee recognized for her award-winning work with teams as an analyst, branch chief, and adviser. Her primary areas of focus for the Library are coordinating media literacy and news literacy resources and events, connecting Kansas Citians with civic tools, coordinating tax preparation information, and voter education and registration. Jenny works with Kansas City’s legal and government communities to connect patrons with information and resources.
Career Development & Personal Finance
Rhiannon Johnson is the Library’s Career Development and Personal Finance Specialist. She has a Master of Science in Education from the University of Kansas and Bachelor of Art in Organizational Communication Studies from Ball State University. For the past five years, she has served as a career coach at the University of Kansas. Rhiannon can provide coaching on career development topics including resumes cover letters, career transitions, job searching and interviewing techniques. In addition, she also can help connect you to resources for making informed financial decisions.