When Kansas native Jenna Johnson was teaching financial literacy to women in Senegal, Africa as part of her work in The Peace Corps — a U.S. Government affiliation, which sends volunteers from America to assist with communities in other countries — she never could have imagined this work would lead her to her current role as executive director of Heartland Women In Trades.
However, among her work, one core principle has remained: her passion for helping people and workers — especially women — gain financial freedom and economic independence.
Johnson became the executive director of Heartland Women In Trades — a nonprofit organization of union tradeswomen working to provide education, skills and empowerment for women in the trades, according to its website — in July 2025 after working with the organization through her work in the U.S. Department of Labor and The Women’s Bureau.
After obtaining a masters degree in human rights and public policy from the University of Denver it was when, she shared, she became more involved with unions and programming.
“I’m fortunate to have many passions, but at the core of everything I do is a commitment to helping people and communities build strong, fulfilling lives for themselves, their families and their children,” she said.
While Johnson didn’t officially become executive director until July, she began completing work behind the scenes in April to prepare for the transition. Her role, she shared, was made possible through Accelerator for America — a nonprofit organization, which works to build connections and offer resources to local leaders with an economic emphasis in underserved communities, according to its website. Heartland Women in Trades is a subgrantee of a project grant that Accelerator for America was awarded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which included building Heartland Women In Trades’s organization capacity as a primary goal.
Working for the Weekend
So far, Johnson has worked toward two goals for Heartland Women In Trades: increase the organization’s capacity and expand its membership.
As part of its professional growth, Johnson explained that a key focus has centered around bringing more structure and intentional strategic planning to the work at Heartland Women In Trades. Central to this effort, she shared, has included engaging with its membership — inquiring how they envision the future of the organization and where they want to see it grow.
Over the past four months, Heartland Women In Trades has broadened its membership by 78%.
“It’s what I’m most proud of,” Johnson said in an interview. “Being able to provide structure and add more capacity to do outreach and make connections.”
Some of these opportunities have included hosting happy hours, professional development training and volunteer opportunities such as an upcoming do it yourself (DIY) Repair Workshop to help women in the community learn how to do simple home repairs.
“I appreciate everyone who has supported and been involved with this transition,” she said. “We’re really positioning ourselves well — it’s exciting.”
In addition to growing its organization, in May 2025, Heartland Women In Trades collaborated with Missouri Women In Trades and the Missouri Works Initiative to host the inaugural “Midwest Tradeswomen Summit” at Stephen’s College — a private, women’s university — in Columbia, Mo. What the nonprofits hope will become an annual event, the Midwest Trades Summit provided an opportunity for the two organizations to partner together, women to share stories, network and to learn from each other over a one-day period.
While Johnson was working with The Women’s Bureau at the time, she shared that she was able to assist with volunteering at the 2025 Midwest Trades Summit and is both excited and hopeful for the next summit in Spring 2026 to participate completely.
Of accomplishments over the 2025 Fiscal year, Heartland Women In Trades hosted its annual Unions United Kickball Tournament fundraiser on Oct. 11. This year, Johnson shared, reached record-breaking numbers in both funds raised and people attended.
With 12 teams competing throughout the day and around 200 patrons from players to spectators, the organization raised around $73,000, which will go toward organization operations and sending tradeswomen to the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference.
The kickball tournament was the last fundraiser Heartland Women In Trades has planned for this year. However, Johnson shared they plan to have another fundraising event in the spring.
Safety Measures
With the foundation Johnson is building for Heartland Women In Trades, ensuring its members feel safe in the workplace remains at the forefront of her work.
Following an incident on a worksite on Nov. 11 in Minnesota, which led to the death of Construction Welder Amber Czech (20), conversations have arisen across Union communities surrounding job-site safety and questions as to how trade industries can prevent future instances.
“The senseless and violent murder of Amber Czech is not just a disgusting tragedy, it is a national call to action. There is no place in our industry or our nation for bigotry, racism, misogyny or any other form of hate. It is the mission of organized labor to elevate those rights, civil and human, that are natural and inherent to each and everyone of us and to root out the hate of the past,” Ralph Oropeza, business manager of the Greater Kansas City Building & Construction Trades Council said in a statement.
“The Greater Kansas City Building & Construction Trades Council will redouble our efforts to transform the culture of work in our region in our industry. We call upon our thousands of members to do the work to uphold the values of the labor movement, a movement that transcends wages and benefits and seeks to transform the relationship of workers with the conditions of, and relationship to, their own labor.”
However, the Greater Kansas City Building & Trades Council is not the only local union with concerns and working to create a safe space.
Johnson shared one way Heartland Women In Trades recently worked to address worker safety was through co-hosting a Mental Health First Aid certification training, facilitated by Wellness Tools for the Trades, for members and the broader community with the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).
“It’s important that not only leadership is prepared, but they should be training everyone on the job,” she said.
And one way to initiate this training is through conversation surrounding job safety, which is something Heartland Women In Trades plans to continue, along with offering harassment-focused know your rights education for its members.
Johnson emphasized the importance of strong human resources policies — particularly those addressing harassment and bullying on job sites. She noted that these issues must remain part of an ongoing, open conversation and that the policies and reporting mechanisms for workers experiencing these behaviors must be clearly and consistently communicated to all workers on every job site.
Over the past year, Heartland Women In Trades has worked to research and develop a training program centered around job site safety, combating violence and harassment, bystander intervention and mental health. The idea to offer this community training stemmed from feedback the nonprofit received at the 2024 Heartland Women In Trades’s Equity Summit, where participants expressed inadequacy with current training resources.
Part of the program Heartland Women In Trades hopes to implement originates from a training toolkit called “Rise Up,” which was created by ANEW — a nonprofit, apprenticeship training organization in Tukwila, Wash. Heartland Women In Trades’s training program is currently still in the planning stages and the nonprofit has not yet released a launch date.
On Nov. 18, a “Wear Blue for Amber” movement was supported in communities across the country in memoriam, including right here in Kansas City, with Heartland Women In Trades tradeswomen sporting blue attire for Czech.
While Johnson has goals she is working toward for Heartland Women In Trades’s 2026 fiscal year, one aspect she looks forward to, and encourages, is connecting with other unions.
“We’re here to be a resource; we want to engage and work with our unions to help support them in meeting their recruitment goals,” Johnson said in an interview. “We’re doing a lot of work to build and do more. We want to welcome people to come to the table and join us in this work, people will see a lot of big things in the next year.”
For those who are interested in working with Heartland Women In Trades, the nonprofit can be reached through emailing Johnson directly at: j.johnson@hwitkc.org, by phone: 816-945-4948, filling out the contact form on its website: https://www.heartlandwomenintrades.org/contact or by attending a meeting.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
