How the Kauffman Foundation is tripling down on its KC-focused strategy with trio of high-profile hires

Three new executives are joining the leadership team at one of Kansas City’s most-impactful foundations — a move meant to deepen connections to the city and drive a renewed approach to its mission of economic stability, mobility and prosperity for all. 

The trio — two Kansas City natives who became experts in their fields and a 25-year veteran of the organization and longtime civic leader — are set to augment the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s ongoing evolution with specific priorities tied to program strategy; research, learning, and evaluation; and community engagement.

DeAngela Burns-Wallace, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

“I’m delighted to fill our leadership suite with these talented, energetic and thoughtful individuals who will be instrumental in shaping the next chapter of the Foundation,” said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. “Each leader brings a genuine approach to connecting with community needs, using an intentional mix of programs, funding and feedback. I’m excited to work alongside them as we build greater access to opportunity in our communities.”

The appointments announced Friday include Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, Dr. Yvonne Owens Ferguson, Ph.D., and Gloria Jackson-Leathers.

They join Susan Klusmeier, Ed.D., chief of staff and Brandy Johnson, chief people officer, in the Foundation’s updated leadership suite. The executive team also includes Kristin Bechard, chief financial officer; Lisa Murray, chief investment officer; and John Tyler, general counsel. 

Burns-Wallace was named the new leader of the Kauffman Foundation in July 2023, ushering in a new era for the organization. An updated strategic plan for the Foundation is expected to be released this spring, and Burns-Wallace said each of her fellow executives is charged with keeping a keen focus on Kansas City while sharing learnings and ideas nationwide. 

“It brings me tremendous pleasure to point out that each person on this executive team has deep, personal ties to the Kansas City region,” Burns-Wallace said. “We are committed to Kansas City and its growth and recognition as a city of innovation, collaboration and connectivity.”

RELATED: Why Kauffman’s new CEO just rolled out the blue carpet (and an ask) for Kansas City

[Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News.]

Meet the new Kauffman Foundation leaders

Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, vice president, program strategy

Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Allison Greenwood Bajracharya joins the Foundation as vice president, program strategy, effective April 15. In this role, Bajracharya will oversee the strategies, results and performance indicators for the Foundation’s programmatic grantmaking and initiatives. 

Bajracharya brings more than 20 years experience developing teams, partnerships and coalitions that deliver systems-level change and equity-centered transformation.

A fourth-generation Kansas Citian, Bajracharya comes to the Foundation from Los Angeles, where most recently, she worked for America Achieves, a national nonprofit that works with communities to advance inclusive economic growth, more equitable access to opportunity and good jobs. There, as the chief strategy and communities officer, she led the place-based team charged with building trust, strategic guidance and capacity for ambitious local coalitions across the country seeking to leverage federal and philanthropic funding to achieve inclusive economic transformation.

“My life’s work has been focused on increasing educational opportunity and economic mobility for all. Philanthropic support has been critical to innovation and progress every step of the way,” Bajracharya said. “To be able to do this work at the Kauffman Foundation, in my hometown, is an honor and a privilege. I am thrilled to join the talented team at the Foundation, building on decades of incredible achievement and ushering in the next generation of community-centered impact.”

Prior to her role at America Achieves, she spent two decades working in public education in Los Angeles and across California, serving as the chief operations and strategy officer for Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, a network of eight schools serving 3,500 students to and through college. She has also led statewide advocacy campaigns, built community organizing programs and developed educational partnerships across the state. Bajracharya started her career as a high school teacher in New Orleans through Teach For America.

Bajracharya is a Pahara Aspen Education Fellow, a board member of United Parents and Students and a board member of Teach For America, Los Angeles. 

She completed her undergraduate degree in environmental policy at Middlebury College and earned her Master of Public Policy from the University of Southern California.

Yvonne Owens Ferguson, vice president, research, learning, and evaluation

Yvonne Owens Ferguson, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Dr. Yvonne Owens Ferguson, Ph.D., M.P.H., joins the Foundation as vice president, research, learning, and evaluation. Ferguson’s appointment will be effective March 28. 

An accomplished researcher and evaluator, Ferguson brings more than 15 years of experience in leading community-engaged research, large-scale program evaluations and data-informed strategic planning. 

“I am honored for the opportunity to lead Research, Learning, and Evaluation at the Kauffman Foundation,” Ferguson said. “The Foundation’s emphasis on learning and long-term impact resonates deeply with me. I am eager to support the mission of equitable economic mobility by leading transformational research, learning and measurement that will advance equitable data systems and build evidence to inform decision-making.”

Ferguson, a native Kansas Citian, comes to the Foundation from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. There, she led the NIH Common Fund Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) program, a more than $300 million, 10-year, first-of-its-kind initiative that funds community organizations directly to work with research partners to conduct health equity research intervening on social determinants of health and structural factors shaping conditions of everyday life. Ferguson has received recognition for her leadership in health disparities and health equity research with NIH Director’s Awards in 2022 and 2023.

Prior to her role at NIH, Ferguson conducted large-scale regional and program evaluations as a senior global health research consultant with nonprofits, governments and civil society organizations in the United States, Switzerland and the Caribbean. 

She completed her post-doctoral training conducting community-engaged research as a Kellogg Health Scholar at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. 

Ferguson received her Ph.D., with a certificate in International Development conducting research in sub-Saharan Africa, and received her M.P.H. in Health Behavior, also from UNC-Chapel Hill. She completed her B.S. in biology from Spelman College in Atlanta.

Gloria Jackson-Leathers, senior advisor to the president, community engagement 

Gloria Jackson-Leathers, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Gloria Jackson-Leathers joins Burns-Wallace in the Office of the President at the Kauffman Foundation as senior advisor, community engagement.

During her more than 25 years at the Foundation, Jackson-Leathers has developed unparalleled community engagement and nonprofit leadership experience.

In this newly created role, Jackson-Leathers is responsible for fostering and enhancing relationships between the Foundation and the diverse communities it serves. As a key advisor on matters related to community engagement, Jackson-Leathers provides vision, direction and oversight to help advance the Foundation’s community engagement initiatives.

“I am honored to serve in this capacity alongside Dr. Burns-Wallace and in the community,” Jackson-Leathers said. “I’m energized by the opportunity to work intentionally with community partners to identify opportunities and challenges where the Foundation may be able to provide resources and support.” 

Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Jackson-Leathers worked for many years in the banking industry as a bank examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and as a community reinvestment act officer with Commerce Bank of Kansas City. 

She is a graduate of both the Kauffman FastTrac New Ventures program and the Kansas City Tomorrow program. She is a former commissioner of the Greater Kansas City Housing Authority and former board member of Visit KC as well as the Ewing Marion Kauffman School.

Jackson-Leathers holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration-management from Park College and a master’s degree in public administration from the Bloch School of Public Administration at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.