Welcome Jeff Simon

Jeff Simon Elected to KC Scholars Board of Directors

KC Scholars is excited to announce the election of Jeff Simon to the board of directors, starting a three-year term on July 1, 2021.

Jeff Simon is the Office Managing Partner at Husch Blackwell in Kansas City. Jeff is a known and respected leader in our region’s civic and corporate community. Involvement includes but is even more extensive than: Kansas City Downtown Council Board of Directors, Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation Secretary and Director, Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, Kansas City Economic Development and Incentives Policy Task Force, and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Centurions Program. Among Jeff’s recognitions are Ingram’s magazine, 50 Missourians You Should Know, 2016 and Kansas City Business Journal, Best of the Bar, 2002, 2007, and 2018.

KC Scholars was incubated at the Kauffman Foundation, launched September 2016, and has completed four scholarship application and selection process. KC Scholars currently has over 5,000 Scholars, with over 2,500 that will be enrolled in college in Fall 2021 (others are in 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades of high school and preparing for college enrollment). Developed through a community-engaged process that included involvement of 70+ community members, KC Scholars 1) awards college scholarships – renewable for five total years, 2) provides college advisement and planning support to Scholars and their families, and 3) encourages at least 80% of Scholar graduates to remain in the Kansas City region to work, achieving this by connecting Scholars to regional employers from the moment they enter the program. Individuals eligible to apply are 9^th graders, 11^th graders, and adult learners with some college and do degree from a six-county, bi-state area who are low- or modest-income and may not be able to afford college otherwise. Learn more at: kcscholars.org.

The KC Scholars Board of Directors includes Jan Kreamer (board chair), David Warm (secretary), Tammy Edwards (treasurer), Michelle Kay, Michael Roane, and Beto Lopez. Terry Bassham’s term ends June 30, 2021 – as an inaugural board member, Terry served 4 years.