Kauffman Foundation introduces three new leadership roles

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announces the appointments of Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, Yvonne Owens Ferguson, Ph.D., and Gloria Jackson-Leathers to the Foundation’s new leadership team.

These three executives will lead the Foundation’s renewed approach to Program Strategy; Research, Learning, and Evaluation; and Community Engagement to support the mission of economic stability, mobility, and prosperity for all.

“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, Kauffman Foundation President and CEO. “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.”

Bajracharya, Ferguson and Jackson-Leathers join Chief of Staff Susan Klusmeier, Ed.D., and Chief People Officer Brandy Johnson in the Foundation’s updated leadership suite.

The executive team also includes Chief Financial Officer Kristin Bechard; Chief Investment Officer Lisa Murray; and General Counsel John Tyler.

As the Foundation continues its evolution under Dr. Burns-Wallace’s leadership and prepares to share an updated strategic plan, each leader 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,” Dr. Burns-Wallace said. “We are committed to Kansas City and its growth and recognition as a city of innovation, collaboration and connectivity.”

Learn more about the new leadership roles at the Foundation:

Allison Greenwood Bajracharya

Vice President, Program Strategy

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, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Vice President, Research, Learning, and Evaluation

Yvonne Owens Ferguson, Ph.D., M.P.H., joins the Foundation as vice president, Research, Learning, and Evaluation. Dr. Ferguson’s appointment will be effective on March 28.

An accomplished researcher and evaluator, Dr. 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,” Dr. 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.”

Dr. 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. Dr. 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, Dr. 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.

Dr. 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 joins Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace in the Office of the President at the Ewing Marion 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 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.