On her 52nd day on the job, new Kauffman Foundation CEO Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace stood on the blue carpet just inside the door of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Offices and personally greeted members of the community. She had invited them to the meet-and greet, with intentionality.
Intentionality was a theme for the evening’s event. She was intentional about meeting each and every person in attendance. She was intentional about sharing her thoughts about leading the foundation into the future, but she was also intentional about having those in attendance to weigh in on shaping the organization’s future.
Burns-Wallace said the foundation is “about to embark on a strategic refresh.”
Her ask was for each of those in attendance to take a brief survey.
“We need your voices. It will help us begin this journey in the right way,” she said.
While education and entrepreneurship will always be at the cornerstone of the foundation’s mission, how they deliver on that mission can evolve.
“Mr Kaufman does not expect us to do it the way that we did it when he was at the helm. He wants us to evolve, he tells it to us in his own words over and over again that we must match the needs of the communities that we serve,” said Burns-Wallace during her address to those in attendance. ”At this moment we have an opportunity to ensure that we are doing that [our mission] in the way that reflects the needs of the community today.”
Burns-Wallace is seeking input for the organization’s refresh from everyone in the community. If you want to have your say, follow this link that will get you directly to the brief survey.
Burns-Wallace, who was announced as the new Kauffman CEO in July, is an award-winning public sector leader and educator “who has championed policies and leveraged resources to improve lives and communities around the world.”
Prior to joining Kauffman, she served as Secretary of Administration and the Chief Information Technology Officer for the State of Kansas under Gov. Laura Kelly. She was the first African American to hold either cabinet seat in the state’s history.
Prior to Governor Kelly’s appointment, she had a 15-year career in higher education, serving at University of Kansas as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, University of Missouri as Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education and Assistant Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, and at Stanford University as an Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.
Burns-Wallace is a Kansas City native. In attendance at the event were many people she says she’s known most of her life, including her parents Jerome and Mary Burns. Also in attendance was her teenage son Xavier Burns. She spoke to the importance of family in her life.
“Without them, I cannot show up every day the way I do… without those individuals being behind me, supporting me, loving me, encouraging me.
