Kansas Leadership Center

 Ron Alexander | Peter Cohen | Lynette Lacy | Kevin Bomhoff | Lynda Wilkinson | Jan Davis | Tim Steffensmeier

Ron Alexander (Faculty)

Ron Alexander is KLC faculty and President of R.E. Alexander and Associates, LLC. Ron directs and facilitates a range of leadership and community development projects and initiatives throughout Kansas. His work is focused on promoting the healthy development of children, families and communities and the expansion of civic leadership. For more than 25 years he taught and consulted in the areas of leadership development, youth development, prevention, community mobilization and change. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Kansas State University. In addition to leadership development, Ron is passionate about his faith, his family and riding his bike.

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Peter Cohen (Faculty)

With a Ph.D in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan, Peter is deeply skilled in multiple sectors of education; this includes his role as the Dean of the College of Health Professions at Wichita State University, his internationally recognized research in the area of faculty evaluation, and the fact that he has invested nearly four decades as a college educator. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association. Besides his family, his passion is facilitating leadership capacity in others. Some people question whether leadership can be taught, but with poise, Peter holds to the notion that leadership is a learnable skill.

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Lynette Lacy (Faculty)

Lynette Lacy has a deep-rooted passion for Kansas; every aspect of her work is focused on building a stronger Kansas civic culture. This can be seen in her role as KLC faculty, her service to leadership programs through her consulting business (KL Connections), her work with community foundations and her deep ties to the Kansas Community Leadership Initiative. Lynette holds a master's degree in special education from the University of Kansas. She encourages groups to build a shared vision, works on fostering environments to promote deeper relationships and introduces leadership tools and information with the aim of moving the organization forward. Many people would chuckle if you said Kansas was the best place to live, but Lynette would simply agree.

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Kevin Bomhoff (Faculty)

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Lynda Wilkinson (Faculty)

With more than 20 years experience in organizational and non-profit management and working with community leadership programs, Lynda Wilkinson’s roots in civic life run deep. Her experience includes serving as executive director for Southeast Kansas, Inc., a 13-county regional economic development organization. She was also president of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce from 1986-1998 and its interim president from 2004-2005. In addition, Lynda has been an active participant in numerous leadership initiatives with the Kansas Health Foundation and the Kansas Leadership Center before joining the center’s faculty in 2010. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University and a master’s degree in non-profit management from Regis University in Colorado. Lynda lives in Pittsburg where she actively volunteers with the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas and the Pittsburg State University Foundation Board of Trustees.

Jan Davis (Faculty)

Jan Davis is a life-long educator, having accumulated more than forty years as a teacher, principal director of staff development, and assistant superintendent with the Wichita Public Schools.  She also served as a teacher and principal at Wichita Collegiate. Since her first retirement in 1996, Jan has been employed as Director of Operations for Fundamental Learning Center, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas, and Interim Executive Director for the YWCA Wichita.  The majority of Jan’s career has focused on delivering leadership development programs to educators. A career highlight involved developing a diversity training program that was delivered to all Wichita Public School employees.  Committed to civic engagement, Jan currently is a board member for Arts Partners, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Wichita State University’s School of Social Work, Fundamental Learning Center and serves on her church’s Staff Parish.  Jan received her Bachelor’s degree from Emporia State Teachers College and her Masters from Wichita State University.  In her spare time, Jan enjoys spending time with her husband, Richard, and playing golf and bridge.

Tim Steffensmeier (Faculty)

Tim Steffensmeier is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Kansas State University where he teaches courses in civic leadership, democracy, and rhetoric. Tim also serves as a research associate with the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. He has published a book and essays focused on deliberative democracy, argument, and community development. These interests inform his scholarship concerning sustainable community development. Dr. Steffensmeier currently works with Public Square Communities, LLC on community building projects. Tim earned a Ph. D in Communication Studies from the University of Texas, Austin.