Kansas Leadership Center

Ed O'Malley | Matt Jordan | Mark McCormick | Julia Fabris McBride | David Chrislip | Shaun Rojas | Darla Crowell | Shelley Kirkpatrick | Keshia Ezerendu | Jamie Crouse | Thomas Stanley | Sue Dondlinger | Blessy Abraham | Chris Green | Seth Bate | Sheersty Stanton | Allie Denning |

Ed O'Malley (President and CEO)

The titles “president” and “CEO” may conjure up traditional notions of authoritarian leadership, but Ed O’Malley, who holds those titles at the Kansas Leadership Center, doesn’t see them that way. O’Malley spent four years as a state legislator, with a ringside seat for both effective and ineffective displays of civic leadership. To him, leadership is not a title, personality trait or workshop topic. Instead, it’s an opportunity that people can grasp and choose to exercise in many different ways and venues. He sees his role – and that of the Kansas Leadership Center – as fostering an environment throughout Kansas that makes civic leadership opportunities accessible, possible and inspirational for Kansans of all ages and from all walks of life.

Phone: 316-712-4950
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Matt Jordan (Director of Operations)

Matt Jordan embodies the trajectory many Kansas communities want to promote: bright, young Kansans leaving home to learn and grow and then returning home to serve. Matt spent a transformational stint in the Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), an AmeriCorps program that tackles urban and rural poverty. Matt returned to Kansas to complete a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Kansas, which led to an eclectic mix of government and nonprofit organization work including an appointment as assistant city manager in Overland Park. The contrast between the impoverished rural south and the affluence of Overland Park clarified for him the importance of civic leadership, which he saw as the determining factor in the stark disparities between the two communities. As director of operations for the Kansas Leadership Center, he leads civic leadership development initiatives for people in communities across Kansas – people who share his desire to help others and make their communities better places to live.

Phone: 316-712-4952
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Mark McCormick (Director of Communications)

The Kansas Leadership Center’s director of communications, has spent more than 20 years working in newsrooms from Iowa City, Iowa, to  Reno, Nev., to Louisville, Ky, and finally, back home in Wichita. At The Wichita Eagle, Mark served as a news reporter, assigning editor, editorial board member and eventually as the newspaper’s metro columnist. Mark has won more than 20 industry, community, state, regional and national awards for his writing, including three gold medals for column writing from the Kansas City Press Club in his final five years at The Eagle. He authored the 2003 book, Barry Sanders, Now You See Him…His Story In His Own Words, which made the New York Times bestseller list. He also led the Kansas African American Museum as executive director where he boosted memberships, programming and donations.

Phone: 316-712-4945
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Julia Fabris McBride (Director of Coaching & Alumni Engagement)

Julia Fabris McBride is a coach and a connector. She directs the KLCs civic leadership coaching initiatives, training, mentoring and learning with a team of 20-plus coaches and ensuring a top-flight coaching experience for KLC participants. As director of alumni engagement, Julia works to energize a movement of KLC program graduates to transform how Kansans exercise civic leadership. Julia also serves as a member of the KLC core faculty. Prior to joining the KLC, Julia ran her own business for seven years, coaching and training individuals and teams nationwide. She taught classes in leadership for nonprofit executives at the University of Chicago’s Graham School and facilitated the yearlong program for the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute in St. Paul, Minn. A transplant from Chicago in 2006, Julia brings experience from her first career in that city’s Off-Loop theatre to everything she does. Now firmly planted in Matfield Green, she enjoys a rural life with her husband Bill and son Luke and volunteers with the Pioneer Bluffs Foundation.

Phone: 316-712-4947
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David Chrislip (Director of Faculty Development)

David has spent the last 30 years helping people enhance their leadership capacities and create visions and strategies for their organizations and communities by working together. His work focuses on civic leadership development, collaboratively addressing complex community issues, and organizational strategy and development. As Director of Faculty Development for the KLC, David oversees faculty development and scheduling as well as the Design Team. He served as a Senior Associate of the National Civic League and as Vice President of Research and Development for American Leadership Forum. David writes alternately for scholars and lay practitioners. His writings include: Collaborative Leadership (co-authored with Carl Larson); and The Collaborative Leadership Field Book. When David is not working to transform the civic culture, he is on his road bike zooming past riders half his age.

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Shaun Rojas (KCLI Manager)

As a KCLI Manager at the Kansas Leadership Center, he is in charge of planning and implementing the 6 elements of KCLI and Leadership & Legacy in the Statehouse. His bachelor’s degree in political science, with a minor in history, ensures thoughtful and engaged conversation on the topic of leadership. In college Shaun began his experience in civic life by campaigning for a local election, which taught him about the activity of civic leadership.

Phone: 316-712-4956
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Darla Crowell (Office Manager)

As office manager, Darla plays a critical role in piloting the KLC ship. She juggles the Center’s packed events calendar, handles employee benefits issues, oversees KLC insurance and generally manages the facility. Hotel sales managers across Kansas know her by reputation. She negotiates top-flight rates with a combination of business savvy and personal warmth. That care and concern extends from a personal life of selfless giving and deep patriotism. She sacrifices occasional weekends to care for foster kids, giving their parents a break. She mentors and tutors children in her church and volunteers as a member of Blue Star Mothers, a support group for mothers with children in the military.  Her other interests include oil painting Kansas landscapes and studying Kansas history.

Phone: 316-712-4953
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Shelley Kirkpatrick (Bookkeeper)

Shelley arrives at the office every day not only with a cheerful attitude, but with the talent, education and credentials to keep KLC’s financial house in order.  She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations from Wichita State University and more than 20 years of experience in bookkeeping from her husband’s construction business, Kirkpatrick and Sons, Inc., which she helped found. She also has her general building contractor’s license. While at WSU, she reported for the campus newspaper, The Sunflower, and went on to work at Associated Advertising Agency for more than a year as a Public Relations Coordinator and Accounts Service Manager. Shelley contributes mightily at the office, but her heart resides at home with her husband and three children (sons 18 and 20 and an 8-year-old daughter) and with helping girls develop into confident women through her volunteerism with the Girl Scouts.

Phone: 316-712-4954
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Keshia Ezerendu (Program Associate)

Keshia is a "behind the scenes guru" as aprogram associate. But don’t let her gentle, pleasant manner fool you. She rigorously plans and implements KLC programs and already has set new standards for precise program organization.  Keshia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications, with an emphasis in integrated marketing and is working on her MPA. She is an active member of the Nigerian Association and is an alumna member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.  She has previously interned for Young Professionals of Wichita and served as an advisor for the Women’s Panhellenic Association at Wichita State University. When she isn’t working or studying, Keshia is pursuing the art of portrait photography.

Phone: 316-712-4961
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Jamie Crouse (KCLI Program Associate)

Jamie's work at the KLC is centered on implementing and developing aspects of the Kansas Community Leadership Initiative (KCLI).  Her commitment to KLC and her aspirations for healthier Kansas communities runs deep. She earned a bachelor of science in education in community health from the University of Kansas which makes her a perfect fit for our team. She understands that healthier communities result from better leadership as well as healthier personal lifestyles. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, being active, spending time with loved ones and cheering on her alma mater.

Phone: 316-712-4948
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Thomas Stanley (Program Associate)

Thomas is a program associate working with new technologies – which includes the website, the database and the social media strategy -- and how each can advance civic leadership.  In his work away from the virtual realm, Thomas plans and implements programs like Your Leadership Edge throughout the state. He received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Wichita State University and facilitates a leadership course in the spring. When he isn’t hanging out with his wife, Ashley, Thomas enjoys learning, running, gardening, and reading good books.

Phone: 316-712-4958
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Sue Dondlinger (Project Director – Leadership & Faith)

Sue brings a lifetime of management experience, leadership, education and community involvement to her work here, where she manages, plans and recruits for KLC’s Leadership and Faith Transforming Communities program. Sue graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s of science degree and later received her MBA from Wichita State with an emphasis in finance. Sue worked in banking for several years before joining the management faculty at Newman University, where she worked for 15 years. Cessna Aircraft hired her to start a leadership certificate program for their first-level managers, and that work has served her well in her role here at KLC.

Phone: 316-712-4959
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Blessy Abraham (Executive Assistant)

Blessy is the Executive Assistant to the CEO. This task is fraught with the challenge of assisting Ed O’Malley and his busy schedule. Blessy is a 2006 graduate of Wichita State University with a BA in Communications with an emphasis on integrated marketing. Though she grew up in Oklahoma, she moved to Wichita at age 12 and considers herself a true Kansan. She’s worked in several fields prior to the KLC but an internship as a wedding planner prepared her by learning how to organize and plan events. With that skill she has taken on programs and various projects. 

Chris Green (Project Director - Case Studies)

A love of storytelling propelled Chris Green into a career in writing and journalism.  For much of the past decade, he has written about Kansas, its residents and its civic life, interviewing hundreds of citizens and traveling extensively across the state in the process. In the role of newspaper reporter, he has covered government, politics and civic life at the local level.  He also spent four years in the Kansas Statehouse chronicling state politics.  His most recent endeavors include developing a series of case studies on civic leadership challenges facing Kansas communities for the KLC. A native Kansan and graduate of Baker University in Baldwin City, Green lived overseas for a year while obtaining a master's degree in international politics from Scotland's University of Edinburgh

Seth Bate (Project Director – KCLI Consulting)

Seth Bate is the KLC's first Kansas Community Leadership Initiative Consultant, and he also serves as affiliate faculty and a leadership coach for KLC programs. On staff at the Wichita State University Center for Community Support & Research since 2006, he has worked with non-profit boards, coalitions and government agencies all over the state. Seth loves group singing and often travels with a guitar and songbook. He lives in Winfield with his wife, Jenny, and their two children.

Sheersty Stanton (KLC Intern)

Sheersty Stanton, an alumna of KLC’s first Open Enrollment program, is now a KLC staff member. As the Program Intern for the faculty development initiative, her duties include managing the faculty schedule, coordinating quarterly Design Team gatherings, and supporting internal communication efforts and with alumni. She is particularly excited to be working on a new program for young Kansas professionals interested in teaching and consulting in the field of leadership development. Sheersty has a BA in Management from Wichita State University. Away from work, she enjoys spending time with her husband Andrew, swimming, biking, running, writing and connecting with members of her church community.

Allie Denning (KLC Intern)

Allie Denning serves as the Program Intern for The KLC’s Leadership and Faith Transforming Communities program.  She received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Kansas where she studied in the former Czech Republic and in South Africa.  Her work experience includes an internship with former State Senator Janis Lee and an internship in the Washington, D.C. office of former U.S. Congressman Jerry Moran. She recently joined The KLC after a stint with the Ellsworth Co. Independent/Reporter newspaper as an Ad Representative. She spends her time away from the office exploring rural Kansas and cheering on the Jayhawks.