Shamika Hogan Named GreenLight Fund Kansas City Executive Director

GreenLight Kansas City $4M+ Fund II fuels next phase of community-driven change work

Kansas City – September 21, 2026 – GreenLight Fund, a national nonprofit with 15 sites across the country, today announced the start of their next phase of work in Kansas City with new leadership and a second Fund to fuel that work. With support from local families, corporations, foundations and philanthropic investors, GreenLight Kansas City has already raised $4M+ for Fund II. Shamika Hogan, named Executive Director of GreenLight Kansas City, will partner with the community to select and invest in bringing the next three evidence-based social innovations to Kansas City that result in measurable social impact and positive change for individuals, families and children.

Each year, the local GreenLight Kansas City team partners with the community to elevate a specific unmet need, find and assess programs with successful track records meeting that need elsewhere in the country, and launch a program in Kansas City with the best local fit. The five nonprofits GreenLight has helped scale to Kansas City so far are additive to the local social sector, address deep-rooted disparities and have opened economic mobility opportunities for 46,445 children and families this past year alone.

“We are so incredibly grateful for the investor coalition that has come together to fund the next phase of work in Kansas City. Their support along with the measurable track record we’ve already had locally confirms the importance of GreenLight’s work,” said John Simon, GreenLight Fund’s Co-founder and Board Chair. “Shamika’s passion for this work and her deep experience growing effective programs makes her an ideal leader to find and support the next set of evidence-based organizations Kansas City residents tell us are needed.”

Hogan brings to the role a decade of experience across financial services, housing, and workforce development, along with a track record of building programs from the ground up and getting them to results fast.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see the impact of Shamika’s leadership in Kansas City for many years and I am thrilled she will be leading GreenLight’s critical work here,” said Stephenie K. Smith, MSW, Managing Partner Sophic Solutions and Selection Advisory Council member. “As a supporter of the GreenLight Kansas City Selection model, I look forward to this next selection process as Shamika brings her strategic leadership style, collaborative approach and passion for addressing inequities in our city to this work.”

“Being part of the interview process to select Shamika Hogan made it clear to me that her leadership style, experience and passion for this work and our community makes her a great fit for the role. GreenLight Kansas City has taken a thoughtful and data-driven approach to positive change in Kansas City and I look forward to Shamika’s leadership during this next phase of work,” said Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, Executive Director, DeBruce Foundation.

Hogan comes to us from i.c.stars, a national tech workforce development organization, where, as Founding Executive Director, she launched the Kansas City site, bringing the program to the city within seven months of being hired and going on to lead six cohorts through it. Before that, she served as Director of Development at ReStart, one of Kansas City’s largest housing organizations, where she helped stabilize the organization’s finances and set new fundraising records. Earlier in her career, she served as a Community Reinvestment Act Officer at UMB Bank, leading financial literacy programming across eight states. Hogan is a member of Jack and Jill of America and has been recognized as an Ingram’s 40 Under 40 honoree and a graduate of the Kansas City Chamber’s Centurions Leadership Program. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from Washburn University and a Master’s degree in Management and Fundraising from Avila University.

“I’m excited to get started and continue building upon this work in a city I love,” Hogan said. “Kansas City is home for me, and I’ve spent my career closing the gap between talent and opportunity here. Leading GreenLight Kansas City means I get to keep doing that, bringing in solutions that are proven to work and making sure they land in the neighborhoods that need them most.”

As executive director, Hogan will partner with the Selection Advisory Council, an inclusive, cross-sector group of community leaders, residents and experts, to elevate unmet needs and vet and select the next evidenced-based programs to bring to Kansas City to deliver measurable results. In addition, she will provide strategic, on-the-ground support to GreenLight’s existing five portfolio organizations.

“As a committed supporter and part of GreenLight Fund’s Selection Advisory Council, I see first-hand the intentional local focus and results-oriented work GreenLight leads in Kansas City. I am proud to be part of the investor coalition for this next Fund and, under Shamika’s leadership, look forward to the next set of solutions we’ll bring to address barriers and complement the great work already happening here,” said Tyler Nottberg, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Engineering Holdings.

GreenLight Kansas City Fund II will fuel the next set of community-driven selections and is made possible by a strong and growing coalition of generous supporters including: Anonymous, Bain Capital, The Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Mariner Holdings: Bicknell Family Foundation, BuildStrong Foundation, Dan & Teresa Carroll, Deloitte, Dave and Dee Dillon, Driven Brands, Sandy & Paul Edgerley, Goldman Sachs Gives, Mollie Hale Carter, The Hebenstreit Family, iHeartMedia, Jorgenson Family Foundation, The Kemper Family Foundations, Mariner Kemper, Judy O. Kirk, David & Cathy Larrabee, Tracy & David Lockton, Greg & Liz Maday, The McDonnell Foundation, Inc, The NFL, NorthPoint Development, The Leigh & Tyler Nottberg Family Foundation, Phil Polkinghorn, Polsinelli, Sandra Price, Robert D. Regnier, Regnier Family Foundations, MacKenzie Scott, Sherman Family Foundation, John & Susan Simon, The Sosland Foundation, Abby Sosland & Mark Goodman, Truist Foundation, and UMB Bank.

“We believe in the collaborative and community-driven approach GreenLight Fund Kansas City takes to bring proven solutions that are needed to Kansas City and have been proud investors since GreenLight Kansas City’s launch. Fund II will be instrumental in strengthening stability for families and opening additional economic mobility opportunities here. We look forward to Shamika Hogan’s leadership as GreenLight and Kansas City embark on this next phase of work,” said David and Tracy Lockton.

GreenLight Kansas City launched in 2018, GreenLight Fund’s 7th site, and has since invested $3M to bring five evidence-based nonprofit solutions to the city that are delivering change including Youth Guidance Becoming a Man and Working on Womanhood, All Our Kin, Food Connect and mRelief. These five programs have leveraged that investment to secure an additional $7M from public and private funding and demonstrated progress on key social impact metrics. GreenLight Kansas City Fund II will enable scaling additional proven solutions to Kansas City that are needed and wanted by the community, open access to opportunities, and address economic and racial inequities.