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Venessa Huskey
Venessa Huskey keeps telling people – she is not a politician. She is a servant.
True, Ms. Huskey is a county legislator, representing the second district in Jackson County and currently serves as chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and the Justice & Law Enforcement Committee. However, she discovered long ago that her passion is to work with and in the community.
“I do what is necessary to build the community,” she said.
Ms. Huskey saw what service can do from her earliest days. Her grandfather, Robert Taylor, was a contractor adept at all manner of building and repairs. If he knew of anyone in their neighborhood needing repairs on their home, he would volunteer his assistance.
Her mother, Nellie Vester, was a registered nurse and supervisor at the Veterans Administration Hospital. “She was not trying to be a doctor,” said Ms. Huskey, “but people in our neighborhood would come to her for things like advice, how to use a blood pressure cup or to take their temperature if they didn’t have a thermometer. I saw from my childhood how helping others can build a community.”
Ms. Huskey has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Her first paid experience in community building was working through UMKC on a Kauffman Foundation-funded program supporting grandparents raising grandchildren.
“People didn’t realize that for many grandparents in this situation, if they were in a senior living community they would have to move out because the properties did not allow children,” she said. “After the Kauffman program ended, I remember appealing to (the late) Chuck Gatson (founder of CBKC) to see if we could get funding to provide housing for these grandparents.”
While CBKC did not develop a grandparents-raising-grandchildren-specific facility it has built, renovated and/or now manages several residential communities where multi-generational families can grow together. “That is success!” Ms. Huskey added.
She retired from work as a program analyst for the Bureau of Fiscal Services at the Department of the Treasury. She also served for eight years as a neighborhood and community liaison for the city of Kansas City, Missouri.
“I am really concerned about public safety,” she said. “When I was with the city, I partnered with all six divisions of the Kansas City Police Department and did crime prevention and block watch training. Citizens felt comfortable calling me to help solve their public safety concerns.”
She wants to continue that citizen-first service in her role as a country legislator though the responsibilities and how things work are different with the county than they are with the city. “I am still called to be responsive to constituents,” she added.
One of her favorite roles is that as a commissioner of the Freedom, Justice & Courage Wall, located in the Leon Jordan Park, 31st & Benton Blvd. Individuals recognized on the wall have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities in their efforts to enhance the quality of life in the urban community of Jackson County, Missouri.
For the last several years, Ms. Huskey has been one of the volunteers at CBKC’s annual turkey drive where turkeys and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner as well as books, toiletries and flu and COVID vaccinations are given to hundreds of families in need.
She also has a heart for the arts – volunteering and enjoying programs put on by organizations including the Folly Theater, KC Rep, Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the American Jazz Museum, Starlight and, as a concierge, with The Kansas City Chiefs.
Ms. Huskey knows a life of service has to be multi-generational to survive and thrive. Alongside all these matters of service is one question she keeps asking, “What can we do to get more young people involved?”
Meet Vince Walker, Director of Construction Operations for CBKC
Vince Walker
Vincent Walker, director of construction operations for Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC) and CB Constructs, the internal construction management division of CBKC, came to the organization after more than 30 years in residential and commercial construction.
“I went to the University of Missouri at Columbia, studying architectural design and real estate, but started home building right after college,” he said. “I had been exposed to the industry through my father’s career and had been around home builders and developers from my earliest days so, it is where my heart is.”
Through multiple economic cycles Walker gained experience with his own and multiple companies across all spectrums of commercial and residential construction and came to appreciate the time it takes to see the results of his labors.
“I have probably developed 100s of acres of residential ground,” Walker said. “It is a great experience to be able to bring a project along from the very beginning but realizing it can be several years between land acquisition to home production and finally families within the community.”
In the last economic downturn, Walker started looking for opportunities that might be less reactionary to market conditions and turned his attention to the whole non-profit sector, not just construction.
“I knew Emmet (Pierson, Jr., CEO of CBKC) through our daughters who played soccer together since they were grade schoolers and we kept in touch,” he said. “I called him to tell him I was thinking about going to work for a not-for-profit and ask what I should look for, what the life is like.”
After a few conversations, Pierson asked him to consider working for CBKC. “We talked several times,” Walker added. ”Emmet convinced me that CBKC needed and was ready for what I could contribute in skill set and experience. I started in the summer of 2024.”
What surprised Walker about his work with CBKC? “How diversified the projects are and how so much is done with so little staff, CBKC has a lot of projects going on in different sectors,” he said.
Walker is pleased with what the in-house capability of CB Constructs brings to the organization in stretching the dollars further and more closely aligning with community priorities. “In the suburbs, the vast number of residential and commercial projects being offered provide choices to the public,” he said. “In the urban core, choices are more limited so every renovation, every new build and service offering, has the potential to make an enormous impact on the residents and businesses we serve.”
Beyond the bricks and mortar, Walker appreciates the work environment he now enjoys. “Just the culture Emmet has fostered here, it is like nothing I have ever experienced in 30-plus years in construction,” he said. “I have never been on a team so closeknit, who treat each other like family and enjoy each other as they work hard to deliver superior work for the community CBKC serves. It has been a breath of fresh air.”
Walker added that goes hand-in-hand with the non-profit nature of the organization, “CBKC’s focus is on enriching underserved communities. An example of that is owning the Sun Fresh grocery store here on the MLK campus. CBKC stepped up because a grocery store is needed in this community. They continue to operate and provide services even with the knowledge it can be to their own detriment as it is such a big draw on the organization’s resources.”
Walker said that work with CBKC is really satisfying. “I love the fact that you get to see the impact on the community members firsthand,” he added. “The work that CBKC is doing is making a huge impact that will last for generations.”
CBKC’s Emmet Pierson Named The Voice’s 2024 Person of the Year
Community Builders of Kansas City President and CEO Emmet Pierson, Jr., recognized as Person of the Year for his leadership in addressing urban challenges and promoting equitable development in Kansas City’s East Side.
Under Pierson’s leadership, CBKC has undertaken transformative development projects, including the $100 million Offices at Overlook project and the award-winning The Rochester apartment complex. Additionally, it took on the role of owner/operator of two urban core grocery stores in an effort to prevent food deserts.
CBKC has invested hundreds of millions as Kansas City’s largest urban core developer in the commercial, retail and residential sectors while actively supporting contractors and the preservation of quality affordable housing.
Pierson’s work has sparked a broader conversation about the unbiased investment in urban Kansas City. You can read the entire article here:
https://www.communityvoiceks.com/2025/01/13/emmet-pierson-person-of-the-year-2024/.
Partner Spotlight: LINC President Janet Miles-Bartee
Janet Miles-Bartee’s call to serve began as a child, something she attributes to her parents.
“Growing up, my father was a minister and my mother always said that if we have something to eat, the neighborhood has something to eat, even if we have to split it 25 ways,” she said.
In true service fashion, Miles-Bartee began working as a teacher at Ladd Elementary in Kansas City, Missouri. It was there that she first interacted with LINC, which then had on-site services at two local schools. Impressed by the organization’s work at Ladd, Miles-Bartee volunteered to be a group leader. When the site coordinator overseeing Ladd’s program left the following year, she was encouraged to take over the role. Inspired by the new opportunity, Miles-Bartee decided to leave teaching and joined LINC in 1999.
From site coordinator, Miles-Bartee worked her way up to supervisor roles and was named the organization’s first executive vice president in 2021. In November 2023, Miles-Bartee became president and CEO, the icing on the cake of her 26-year career serving Kansas City’s under resourced children, families and neighborhoods.
“I loved this organization and its work from the start,” she said. “I tell people this is not hard work, it’s heart work,” said Miles-Bartee. “You have to a have a heart for the people and community. I come to work every day energized to try to make a difference in people’s lives.”
LINC works with families to navigate the complexities of available social services. Its Caring Communities sites are strategically located in schools, community centers and neighborhoods, providing accessible services. Site coordinators are trained to uncover the root of a family or individual’s challenges and provide help. They also bring together families and neighborhood leaders to form site councils that find and resolve issues.
A lot has changed in the 26 years since Miles-Bartee joined LINC. The organization now has 55 school sites at six public school districts and a public charter school and employs 155 full-time and 575 part-time employees.
Its 2024 highlight reel includes:
- distributing 580,000 pounds of food to nearly 115,000 people;
- assisting 606 foster youth with personal guidance, technology for work or school, driving lessons, life skills classes and independent living needs;
- transitioning 771 parents from government aid into the workforce; and
- providing 19,000 students services like free before- and after-school care, athletic programming, family engagement and social supports.
According to Miles-Bartee, LINC’s success stems from collaborating with communities, non-profits, businesses and government. She has earned praise for her work from the Missouri governor, Kansas City mayor, lawmakers, church leaders and city officials.
“We all know we are better together, with communities, neighborhoods and government working together for the betterment of our children and our families,” she said.
When asked about the nature of her daily work, she said it ranges widely, sharing that “as a true service job, what happens in the world and families’ lives dictates what I do.”
She added that after her day at LINC is over, she goes to Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Of Jesus Christ where her father is still pastor to volunteer with the youth and family life center.
To learn more about LINC, visit https://kclinc.org/.
CBKC’s Offices at Overlook Breaks Ground
The first phase of Community Builders of Kansas City’s (CBKC) pioneering Offices at Overlook District broke ground in November. Located at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Chestnut Ave., the initial construction project is a 60,000-square-foot office building with three stories and private tenant roof terraces. The building’s aesthetic will be sleek and modern while also incorporating cultural artifacts like the stained glass from Zion Grove Baptist Church, which closed in 2018 after decades on the site.
Health Forward Foundation (HFF), a billion-dollar Kansas City-based foundation working to improve health outcomes for the region’s vulnerable communities, announced it would become anchor/owner of its portion of the office building. Health Forward CEO Qiana Thomason said they chose the location because of its proximity to its prioritized populations and to restore, revitalize and rejuvenate the surrounding area.
“Health Forward’s agreement to partner with us on Offices at Overlook was essential to bringing this project to fruition,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., CBKC president and CEO. “The organization’s relocation sets the stage for the recruitment of like-minded organizations that offer financial, legal, technical and health-related services to the residents in the surrounding area.”
Once all phases of the project are completed, the Overlook District will transform what was once underused and blighted property into 180,000 square feet of Class A office space, 19,000 square feet of mixed-use space and 155 multi-family units, marking another first-of-its-kind development for CBKC.
CBKC announced the project in April of 2020. Other features of the development include a three-quarter-mile walking trail open to the public and outdoor event plazas that residents can use for business and personal gatherings.
“Right now there is no other project in this community that includes Class A office space with contemporary upscale housing and sought-after amenities,” said Pierson. The project will attract new businesses services to the area which will enhance quality of life and help the neighborhood flourish,” Pierson said.
The office building is projected to be completed by end of 2025. The project team includes CB Constructs as owner’s representative, Turner Construction as general contractor, Hufft and Helix Architecture + Design as architects, Taliaferro & Browne Inc. as civil engineer and Land3 Studio LLC as landscape architect.
New Eastside Community Action Network Center Opens at 30th and Prospect
On Wednesday, October 30th, a ribbon cutting marked the opening of the new Eastside Community Action Network (CAN) Center 3017 Prospect. Located just down the block from Community Builders of Kansas City’s KC Sun Fresh on Linwood, the center will offer police and other resources for the area that has been plagued by crime and mental health issues.
“This offers real, unique collaboration opportunities between the business owners, shoppers, the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) and the city of Kansas City,” said Melissa Patterson Hazley, 3rd District At-Large Councilwoman. “Business owners brought their concerns to (3rd District Councilwoman) Melissa Robinson and the city really stepped up and made it happen.”
Over two years in the making, the center celebrated its grand opening with the ribbon cutting and a press conference including remarks by Mayor Quinton Lucas, and Councilwomen Patterson Hazley and Robinson. The center will house numerous resources for the area, including two community interaction officers from the KCPD whose job is to build relationships with locals through initiatives like Shop with a Cop at the Sun Fresh and Coffee with a Cop that occur on most Wednesdays. The two officers are based out of the center and available to collaborate with community members on any issues that arise, file reports and partner with businesses, residents and neighborhood leaders to improve the area.
In addition to the police presence, staff from Greater Impact KC, a non-profit organization established in 2022 by the Greater Metropolitan Church of Christ, operate the center’s front desk and provide confidential resources for anyone needing crisis management, trauma treatment, male mentoring, workforce development and holistic recovery support.
Councilwoman Patterson Hazley said the center also houses a city code inspector to respond to issues like noise complaints and the Santa Fe Neighborhood Association has an office on site, providing a one-stop resource for people in the area.
“The goal of the center is to lower crime, improve the overall safety and quality of the neighborhood and connect people to services they need,” said Councilwoman Patterson Hazley.
CAN centers have been around for more than 30 years with nine others covering every geographic region of the city. The centers were developed as part of the city’s Community Policing Initiative and have a variety of partners including Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the city’s Neighborhood Services Division.
“Kansas City has invested over $100,000 in this center through the lease agreement and construction, so we look forward to seeing the positive influence it has on the area,” said Councilwoman Patterson-Hazley.