By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
A little spark can get a fire going – or in this case, it might help get entrepreneurship going. I’m referring to an organization named Spark which serves as a hub for resources to support entrepreneurs.
Sarah Siders is executive director of Spark. A Kansas State University graduate in social work, she left Manhattan briefly and planned to work overseas but came back a year later. She got married, went to graduate school for clinical social work with the goal of becoming a therapist, and then worked in the mental health department at Fort Riley’s Irwin Army Community Hospital. She and her husband also serve as a co-pastors of a Manhattan-based church, The Well. After nine years in the mental health field, she opened her own business.
“When I started my own counseling and coaching practice, I found I loved the business side of things,” Sarah said. She joined the organizing team of the 1 Million Cups entrepreneurship organization, worked closely with some of the original founders of the Manhattan co-working space called The Fellow, and wrote for Manhattan Business News. In 2019, colleagues encouraged her to run for Manhattan City Commission, which she did but was not elected.
“Five days after the election, a member of the organizing team recruited me to help develop a new entrepreneurship nonprofit organization in Manhattan called Spark,” Sarah said. In the first few months, Sarah developed Spark’s branding and took the lead on the proposal securing the bulk of Spark’s funding. In July 2020, Sarah was selected as executive director and the organization earned 501(c)3 status. Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Sarah Siders, Spark”
