Meredith Walrafen

Meredith Walrafen is a program officer for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. She manages a broad grant portfolio to foster inclusive prosperity through entrepreneurship in the heartland, building and maintaining community outreach efforts and relationships relevant to our work.

Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Walrafen was the program manager with New Roots for Refugees, a program of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. There she held various roles to support aspiring entrepreneurs from refugee communities on their paths to farm business ownership, increased the size of the New Roots team, doubled income for farmers via Farm Share, and incorporated farmers’ voices into program design and evaluation.

Walrafen earned her Bachelor of Science degree in business management and leadership from the University of Kansas. Active in the community, she currently serves on the board of KCK Farmers Market. She also served as a member of the Kauffman Foundation’s Heartland Challenge Community of Practice brought together to discuss solutions to challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.