When Friendship Meets Opportunity: The Story Behind Future Pathway

It started the way most great business ideas do … over conversation, shared vision and the kind of trust that only comes from years of working alongside people who genuinely get it.

Anna Hennes, Jessica Palm and Molly Weaver had built impressive careers in Kansas City's business community and worked together closely for more than a decade on many projects shaping the region’s talent ecosystem. They respected each other's expertise and, increasingly, had the same conversation: "We can do this differently."

"I can see the opportunity," Molly says. "When both sides understand each other, magic happens." From her vantage point in health care recruiting, she watched students discover career possibilities they never knew existed when someone took the time to show them. She saw employers transform their talent strategy by looking beyond traditional criteria. "Opening minds on both sides … that's where the real potential lives."

Anna saw the same opportunity from a different angle. "The relationship between employers and employees is ready for reinvention," she explains. "It needs to be a two-way mirror with both sides invested, both sides growing." After two decades of building collaborative networks across Kansas City's pillar institutions, Anna understands what's possible when those relationships are built on mutual commitment and trust.

For Jessica, what drives her is empowering that discovery while building the community infrastructure to support it. "Real empowerment means creating networks, opening doors and making sure that when someone takes a bold step to explore something new, there's a community ready to champion them," Jessica explains. "Imagine a world where people feel free to explore what excites them and have the connections and support to make that exploration sustainable. That's what we're building."

The Moment It Clicked

Somewhere in those conversations—the professional ones that turned personal, the friendly check-ins that turned strategic—these three women realized they weren't just talking about opportunities. They saw the same opportunity from three different perspectives.

Molly understood talent acquisition and candidate experience inside and out. Anna brought deep expertise in learning and development and the power of collaborative networks. Jessica knew how to craft messages that moved people and build brands that resonated. Separately, they were creating impact. Together, they could transform the entire ecosystem.

The friendship made it possible. They'd worked together over the years, watched each other navigate challenges, celebrated wins and supported through setbacks. They knew each other's strengths and, more importantly, genuinely liked working together.

So they asked themselves: What if we combined everything we know and built something that changes how people find their path?

Building Something New

Future Pathway emerged from that question. Not as three separate consultancies working in parallel, but as an integrated firm that brings talent acquisition, learning and development and strategic communications together… because the opportunity they saw required all three.

Their approach is rooted in The Human Advantage Framework, a system for designing talent strategies around human experience. What if every touchpoint were a chapter in your employer brand story? What if your organization knew how to holistically engage and grow talent?  It's about uncovering what truly matters to candidates and employees, focusing on high-impact moments that shape perception, and building systems that scale connection without adding complexity.

They've designed events that bring the ecosystem together in powerful new ways. Discovery Lab connects employers directly with upstream talent through hands-on career exploration. Spark Summit takes education into industry through immersive experiences, giving educators real-world insights to bring back to their learners. Industry Unplugged provides “last mile” learners with guidance as they transition from classroom to career. Fuel Your Future connects developing talent directly with employers, training programs and funding sources to chart debt-free pathways.

Their workshops tackle the questions that matter most: How do you move from credentials to competencies in hiring? How do you build education-employer partnerships that create lasting impact? How do you communicate strategically across the entire talent lifecycle?

The “Why” Behind It All

At the heart of Future Pathway is the belief that rising tides lift all boats, and these three women are building the infrastructure to make it happen.

Molly opens minds on both sides of the talent equation, showing students opportunities they didn't know existed while helping employers see potential in unexpected places.

Anna creates space for people to discover who they are while keeping options open. "It's about integrity between employer and person, in a relationship that's always evolving," she says. She's rebuilding trust through authentic two-way commitment.

Jessica is dismantling the myth of the linear career while building the community connections that make exploration possible. "We need people brave enough to explore and networks that make that exploration sustainable and supported."

Together, they're transforming how the entire ecosystem thinks about work, potential and possibility.

What's Next

Future Pathway is just getting started, and the three founders are building from a position of strength with decades of combined expertise, deep Kansas City roots and the kind of friendship that turns bold ideas into reality.

They're accepting consulting clients, designing partnerships and convening conversations that bridge industry, education and community. They're speaking at conferences about where AI stops and humans must show up, how to close the skills translation gap and how to design processes with purpose.

Most importantly, they're proving that the answer to creating better pathways isn't just a new program or platform … it's the right people, with complementary strengths and shared values, deciding to build something better together.

Connect with Anna, Jessica and Molly to learn more about Future Pathway.