Gloria Jackson-Leathers to retire this summer after nearly 28 years at the Kauffman Foundation

Well-known as a community ambassador with a stellar legacy of leadership and relationship building, Gloria Jackson-Leathers, senior advisor to the president, community engagement, will retire this summer after nearly 28 years at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Throughout her career, Jackson-Leathers engaged and supported countless community members both locally and nationally. Her work with organization leaders, Foundation associates, and civic leaders has been marked with integrity and trust through her hands-on approach to collaboration.

Gloria has been an ambassador for Kauffman and Kansas City. She has a deep understanding of the community’s voice and champions the ideas and leaders that move us forward as a city.

— Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace
President and CEO, Kauffman Foundation

Jackson-Leathers has been a mentor and thought partner to many leaders in the community and within the Foundation.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with the standard-bearers for the things that are important to Kansas City, unique to Kansas City, and the new things that Kansas City is going to be known for,” Jackson-Leathers said.

She joined the Foundation as a program officer in Youth Development on Nov. 3, 1998. She was assigned to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood working proximate to individuals and neighborhood leaders. She credits her work in Ivanhoe for helping to shape her leadership and establish the foundation for her work in community engagement.

Her tie to the community solidified when she was chosen to formulate and lead the Foundation’s Kansas City Civic community engagement initiative in 2012. During her years heading the Kansas City Civic team, Jackson-Leathers led strategic funding initiatives to improve the quality of life in Kansas City and promote the city’s identity and growth. She elevated the Foundation’s civic role and responsibility in the community by investing in large-scale public organizations deemed “key city assets” and vital to Kansas City’s identity and prominence.

The Foundation’s KC Civic team supported the organizational effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, including service providers for quality after-school enrichment programs, initiatives to mend the digital divide, and sponsorships designed to support annual fundraisers for a variety of nonprofit organizations.

Jackson-Leathers worked to cultivate Kansas City’s innovative capacity through experimental programs and competitions, and by replicating national models. She collaborated with Kansas City’s historic Union Station to launch Maker Faire in Kansas City and directed the Foundation’s early support for students involved in FIRST Robotics, Project Lead the Way, and the KC STEM Alliance. She led initiatives, including the Catalyst Fund in collaboration with the United Way and the Pre-Development Loan Fund with the Local Initiative Support Corp. She played a key role in the formation of Kauffman Scholars, Inc., KC Freedom Schools, served on the KC Regional COVID Relief Fund Committee, and supported efforts to improve outcomes for low- and moderate-income individuals and neighborhoods.

“Gloria has been a thoughtful and trusted partner to the National World War I Museum and Memorial for many years,” said Dr. Matthew Naylor, president and CEO of the National WWI Museum and Memorial. “Her curiosity, candor, and encouragement strengthened both our work and our relationship with the Foundation. Her warmth, integrity, and belief in the mission made a real difference to our institution. We will miss her.”

Paul Schofer – who has known Jackson-Leathers for nearly 30 years, first as fellow Foundation associates and now in his role as president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and a member of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Board of Trustees – said she always wants to do what’s best for others. 

“She never wavers in that commitment,” he said. “From a professional standpoint, her legacy is the manner in which she has demonstrated and modeled Ewing Kauffman’s values and beliefs.”

Prior to joining the 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 currently serves on the board of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Foundation and is a University of Missouri – Kansas City Black Alumni Association member. 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.

Given the nature and focus of Jackson-Leathers’ work, we will host a community open house in her honor July 27 at the Foundation.

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