The record
35+ years of
showing up.
31 accounts of what he actually did, from a house turned into a classroom to a committee chair deciding what gets built. Each one is the full story, as published.
Every seat at the table
What the claim is built on.
The firm says it has sat in every seat. This is the evidence, grouped by the seat he was sitting in at the time.
2 accounts
Before office
What he did before anyone was watching.
Student Brothers Turn Dreams Into Determination
Turning his mother's house into a classroom at 25.
→ 1996First African American Student Curator: University of Missouri
The Board of Curators governs the four-campus University of Missouri system, and the student curator is its non-voting student representative.
→18 accounts
City Council 1999-2007
Eight years in office, and what he did with them.
Labor Unions Partner with City to Renovate Community Centers
During my time on the Kansas City Council, I forged a working relationship with local labor unions that went beyond endorsements and campaign contributions.
→ July 2000Nash Targets Ground Zero of Blight
Six days on one of the city's hardest corners.
→ September 2000Bridging the Racial Divide
Convening across a divide the city had stopped crossing.
→ November 2000Presenting an Award to Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Hong Kong
The invitation to present an award to Archbishop Tutu came through my PTPI involvement.
→ December 2000Leading a Delegation to Cuba
Cuba's healthcare system is built on a model of community-based primary care that puts a doctor in every neighborhood.
→ 2001International Trade: Mexico, Costa Rica, and Global Economic Development
During my council tenure, I took part in trade missions to Mexico (2001) and Costa Rica (2004).
→ 2004 to 2013Oasis in a Food Desert
Residents in my district had to travel miles to buy fresh food. Not because they chose to live far from grocery stores.
→ 2001Sleeping in Fire Stations: The $276 Million Sales Tax Story
Sleeping in the stations until the city looked.
→ 2001Troost Revitalization
The street that divided the city.
→ June 2002Move Up at Hilltop Townhomes: Living Where the Problems Are
The complex was Hilltop Townhomes, 304 row houses on 34 acres abutting 20th Street and Topping Avenue. About 1,600 people lived there.
→ 2002Taking On Illegal Dumping: Environmental Justice
Illegal dumping in the Third District was not a nuisance. It was an environmental justice issue.
→ 2003Chair of Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development
Chairing the committee that reviews what gets built.
→ 2003When the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Visited Kansas City
Affordable housing in America is funded through a complex web of federal, state, and local programs.
→ September 2004Securing Police Equipment and Safety Resources for the Third District
Working with Councilwoman Weaver, I secured funding for a mobile police trailer and several ATVs for the Third District. These were not luxury purchases.
→ 2004Progressive Legislation for Inner City Neighborhoods
Legislation written for the neighborhoods that get skipped.
→ 2004Fighting for the Prospect Corridor
On the ground, on the record, and often at odds with colleagues who did not share my sense of urgency.
→ 2004Saving Leon's Thriftway and Seven Oaks Shopping Center
Leon's Thriftway at Seven Oaks Shopping Center was that kind of grocery store.
→ April 2005$300,000 for Inner City Youth
Working with Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver, I announced $300,000 in PIAC (Public Improvements Advisory Committee) funds to assist in the funding of the Champions Sports Complex for inner city youth in the Third District.
→2 accounts
Appointments
Named by a governor, and by the federal government.
Named to Presidential Rank Award Review Board
Selected by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to serve on the board that evaluates nominees for the Presidential Rank Awards for federal executives.
→ 2009Appointed to the Missouri Housing Development Commission
Every developer pursuing LIHTC financing in Missouri must apply to MHDC. Every application is scored against the state's Qualified Allocation Plan.
→3 accounts
Consulting
Work that never becomes a building.
18th and Vine Streetcar Feasibility Study
Extending the streetcar to the Jazz District.
→ 2025 to 2026Quindaro Townsite: Reimagining a Nationally Significant Historic Site
The Nash Group is providing commercial development and urban core planning services for the Quindaro Townsite feasibility study, working as a subconsultant to Taliaferro and Browne, Inc. for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
→ July 2002Beacon Hill Redevelopment: Transforming a Neighborhood
Transforming a neighborhood, not replacing it.
→2 accounts
Academia
Teaching the people who will sit in these seats next.
4 accounts
Recognition
What other people said about it.
50 Missourians You Should Know
Being named to this list meant that the business establishment in my home market had independently concluded that my career warranted attention.
→ 2017UMKC Defying the Odds Alumni Award
The university-wide alumni award, 2017.
→ 2020 and 2022Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America
When you say you are good, that is marketing.
→ 2022The Nash Group: A Higher Calling
Savoy, a father and daughter tackling the housing crisis.
→Board and commission service
Health, finance, planning, culture, and the nation.
The seats outside City Hall: public health systems, banks, the region's planning organization, the city's development corporation, national boards and the institutions that make Kansas City home. Current service first.
Serving now
Current
- University Health, Board of Directors
- Paramount Financial Group, Board of Directors
- Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation, Board of Directors (1999-2007; 2013 to present)
Past service
Health
- Truman Medical Center, Board of Directors, Finance Committee (2004)
- Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, Board of Directors (1996-1999), Vice Chair (1997-1999)
- University of Kansas Medical Center and Hospital Advancement Board, Board of Advisors (from 2016)
Past service
Economic development and planning
- Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Board of Directors and Third Vice President (1999-2007)
- Mid-America Regional Council, Board of Directors (1999-2003)
- Downtown Council, Board of Directors (1999-2007)
- Greater Downtown Development Authority (2003-2007)
- Downtown Economic Stimulus Authority (2004-2007)
- Bi-State Commission (2003-2007)
- Urban Land Institute, Advisory Board (from 2014)
- Hawthorn Foundation, Board of Directors (2012-2018)
- Downtown Minority Development Council, Board of Directors (2013-2015)
- Missouri Economic Development Council (2013-2015)
- Old Trails Regional Partnership (2013-2015)
Past service
Public appointments
- Missouri Housing Development Commission, Commissioner, later Vice Chairman (2009-2017)
- Missouri Tax Credit Review Commission, Commissioner (2010-2017)
- Kansas City Tax Increment Financing Commission, Commissioner; Chairman, Governance, Finance and Audit Committee (2014-2019)
- University of Missouri Board of Curators, Student Representative (1996-1998)
- Presidential Rank Award Review Board (2000)
Past service
Banking
- Arvest Bank, Regional Board of Directors (2013-2023)
Past service
National and international
- Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, National Board of Directors (from 2015); Chair, Real Estate Committee; Executive Committee
- National Speakers Association, Board of Directors (2018-2022)
- National Speakers Association, Kansas City Chapter, President (2018-2019)
- People to People International, Board of Directors (from 1998); Chairman, Board of Trustees (2006-2010)
- National League of Cities, Community and Economic Policy Committee (1999-2007)
Past service
Higher education
- University of Missouri-Kansas City, Board of Trustees (from 2017)
- UMKC Chancellor's African American Leaders Council (from 2015)
- Herman Johnson Scholarship, UMKC, Board of Directors (from 2013)
- University of Missouri Law Alumni Board of Directors
- University of Missouri Urban Affairs Task Force (2000)
Past service
Culture, youth and civic
- Starlight Theatre, Board
- American Jazz Museum, Board of Directors and Vice Chairman (1999-2008); former Chair, Finance Committee
- American Royal, Board of Governors (1999-2007)
- St. Mark's Child Development Center, Board of Directors (2013-2017), Chairman (2016-2017)
- Salt Fork Creek YMCA, Marshall, Missouri, Board of Directors (from 2013)
- Foster Grandparent Advisory Board
- Salvation Army Christmas Campaign, Kansas City, Chair (2019)
The underlying evidence
Every clipping, not a selection.
The accounts above cite the coverage. The full set of newspaper and magazine clippings is here, reproduced as published.