Meet Lashawn Walker of Lee’s Summit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lashawn Walker

Hi LaShawn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Kansas City, MO and from a very early age according to my mom, I was always bringing the kids together in my inner-city neighborhood and trying to solve big problems. My mom recalls when I was just 8 years old I would host block club meetings with friends. So let my mom tell it, she knew I would ultimately grow up to help others as it is no surprise to her that I founded a non-profit. When I turned 11 years old, my mom became a single parent, she worked two jobs to provide for our family of 4. I watched her give back to families in our neighborhood often times preparing meals and making sure the kids on the block had desert every Sunday. My inner-city neighborhood was a close-knit community that watched out for one another. Education was a top priority in our household, I was bused to the Independence School District starting in 2nd grade and was the only black girl in my classroom. Graduated from Van Horn High School and went on to Missouri State University and graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science Degree in communications management/public relations in 1992 and in 1993 I married my college sweetheart. Had a successful 25-year sales career in corporate America as I worked for several years managing banks, followed by a pharmaceutical sales career and then I owned a small business. After moving to Lee’s Summit 23 years ago, the lack of diversity in the neighborhood and in the school was apparent. After enrolling my son in kindergarten to find that he would be one of two blacks in his class, a few years later I founded the non-profit, Suburban Balance which was born out of a need for my own family. With a desire to ensure that he could stay connected to his culture and not get lost as the minority in his classroom and could grow up with balance, I decided to start Suburban Balance. I knew that if this was important to my family it would likely be important to other black families moving to the suburbs. The rest is history, the organization started with just a handful of families and now 12 years later, with more than 2000 students served and growing all across the metro Suburban Balance has become one of the most sought-after non-profits for black families raising children in suburban communities or attend schools that lack diversity. The mission of the organization is to provide educational and cultural opportunities to suburban kids of color to help them live a well-balance, well-rounded lifestyle while growing up in their suburban communities or attend schools that lack diversity. Through our robust educational programming that focuses on youth entrepreneurship, college prep, exposure to career and workforce development opportunities, we are filling that important gap of culture exposure and supporting students with the resources and supports they need to prepare them for the real world.
Recently I was humbled and honored to receive the Humanitarian of the Year award for the work that I’ve been championing through Suburban Balance from the Truman Heartland Community Foundation following in the footsteps of Buck O’Neil who was the last African American person to receive the award. In addition to providing substantive programming for students, Suburban Balance also has a strong and robust and impactful advocacy arm that advocates for diversity equity, inclusion and belonging in schools across the metro and for the removal of barriers/inequities that create disparities, Suburban Balance also works tirelessly for an equitable electorate through our voter education arm with a goal of advancing participating in democracy. Giving back to community is in my blood, it stems from watching my mom “DO FOR OTHERS” even at times when we didn’t have much to give… she gave anyway. It has always been important to impact the community in which I live in. Not only did I watch my mom give back, I watched her encourage those in our community to go VOTE in order to see policies that align with our values which is why through my non-profit we have built a powerful voter education arm. More than anything else Suburban Balance serves as a community of support to help families navigate through the sometimes difficult challenges of raising kids in suburban communities. In addition to educating and enlightening the community we also focus on LIFTING up those we serve and those in our communities through our inspirational arm of the organization called, the LIFT HER UP MOVEMENT, LIFT HER UP GIRLS MOVEMENT and LIFT HIM UP for Men/boys MOVEMENT, whereas we celebrate support and honor trailblazers in our communities and through LIFT HER UP we lead on advancing women’s economic power. These inspirational arms also focus on mental health, college prep and entrepreneurship. Suburban Balance has become one of the fastest growing non-profits in both Kansas and Missouri and the racial equity advocacy work that we champion has led to the adoption of equitable policies and practices in school districts to ensure academic success can be achieved by all children. We have made great progress but there is still more work to be done but we are proud of our ability to convene school superintendents and other district leaders each year at our statewide equity in education summit which has become the premier summit in the area. Suburban Balance is a well-respected non-profit that brings leaders to the table to have crucial conversations about ensuring all children feel welcomed valued and included so they are inspired to learn thrive and dream. We are making a difference and remain committed to this work. We care about the health and well-being of the students we serve and it brings me great joy when others in our community refer families to us! It sends a powerful message that we are on the right track as a non-profit that started out as a grass roots organization now known across the metro for the impactful work and the difference we are making in the lives of so many.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would have to say yes it has been a smooth road for the most part because of the need that Suburban Balance addresses. Our mission draws students and families to the organization from across the metro. We host events all over Kansas City and across Kansas and because families value the programming that Suburban Balance offers, parents will pretty much drive wherever the event is being held… kind of like sports…wherever the game is held they show up because Suburban Balance programming events are just that important to their families. I learned early on that strategic planning along with effective communication and a great marketing strategy combined with creative fundraising were all critically important components in building and sustaining a non-profit. My background in sales and marketing prepared me for any challenges that the organization faced in the early years. Families that get involved in Suburban Balance feel that they have a stake in its success. We’ve been blessed as a non-profit to have parent volunteers to assist with events, plan activities and educational programming. To raise funding in the early days, as grassroots organization, parents would donate an annual fee to support the educational and cultural events and activities and they still do 12 years later. We now have grants to support our mission. It’s been a blessing to have received funding from Foundations in the region who support and invest in our mission which includes robust support from the Kansas Health Foundation, Health Forward Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and The Truman Heartland Community Foundation and we have also been a grantee of the United Way Catalyst grant. We are truly honored and grateful for the support from all of these difference making incredible Foundations over the years.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Advocacy work is truly a journey and change doesn’t happen overnight. I’m a justice seeker and I love advocating on behalf of students. As a non-profit leader of an issue advocacy organization the justice seeker in me has always lived by two of my favorite quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King and that is, “the time is always right to do what’s right”. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. The work of a non-profit is to Heal, Educate, Inspire, enlighten, nurture and strengthen the very fabric of our communities. If we want to continue to see progress on the issues that matter the most to our community then we must do the work. We cannot sit on the sidelines and watch candidates run for office who don’t share our values, so as a non-profit we educate the community on what it takes to run for office. We believe it’s crucially important to engage in VOTING in all elections not just the general election but local elections as well. Local elections closely impact our lives the most. We also educate the community on who’s running for office by hosting non-partisan substantive candidate forums. We believe that an educated voter is an empowered voter and more likely to participate in voting if they know who’s on the ballot. We are known for this work in the community and the community trust us! The Suburban Balance Statewide Equity in Education Summit has become the most anticipated summit in the region. The community count on Suburban Balance to bring Superintendents together to discuss adopting equitable policies to make sure all students have the supports and resources needed to achieve academic success. Suburban Balance is known for organizing and mobilizing communities to bring about change. In part, because of our relentless advocacy efforts the Lee’s Summit School district adopted a district wide equity policy. Over the past 5 years parents from Suburban Balance have run for public office and 8 have won seats either on school boards, legislative seats, city council, state rep and more. Suburban Balance is proud of the work we champion and grateful for our team of engaged parent volunteers. We are starting to see the impact of our programming…several of our students have started businesses or have been inspired to want to start a business as a result of our new robust LEAD ACADEMY (Leadership, entrepreneurship and advocacy Division) which inspires young leaders and entrepreneurs to think of all the ways they can create generational wealth through entrepreneurship and to use their voices to become leaders in our society to be the change they seek. Encouraging students to use their voices and stand up for what they believe in will continue to be apart of my life’s work and I’m committed to helping as many children as I can prepare for their futures and will continue to work together with leaders in our communities for common good, transforming our shared beliefs and hopes into action and addressing inequities to ensure every child has the resources and supports they need to THRIVE. I’m proud to see our students thrive and proud to see them seek out their dreams. Suburban Balance has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to students over the past 12 years to help support their goals of going to college. What I am most proud of is to see students want to come back and give back by volunteering during summertime to pour back into students coming up behind them. Furthermore, we have helped prepare hundreds of students for college by providing resources to help them successfully apply to college and graduate. This year was the first time an alumni student came back to get their own family involved in the organization which was indeed a full circle emotional moment!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Build a support system, network and seek funding and build a donor base of support. Funding is available, You have to go after it and pursue all opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.suburbanbalance.com
• Facebook: @suburbanbalance