Rhea M. LeGrande leads her team and initiatives to enhance literacy and educational outcomes for children in the Kansas City area. With a robust background in educational leadership, Rhea is dedicated to making a more beautiful world for us all, one reader at a time.

Prior to her current role, Rhea served as a Senior Consultant at Education First and the Founder and CEO of LeGrande Solutions, providing strategic consulting and change management guidance to a variety of social impact organizations. Her leadership experience includes a pivotal tenure at Teach for America as Senior Chief Program Officer, where she optimized program impact, coached multi-level teams, and managed substantial budgets. She was also a founding member of the Educator Academy.

Rhea is currently pursuing a PhD in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction at Kansas State University. She also holds advanced degrees in Secondary Education and Philosophy.

Having struggled to become a reader early on, Rhea now loves reading across every genre to learn more about the world, fall in love with a new character, get lost in a new world. Outside of work, you can catch her and her husband, her high school sweetheart, cheering on their three children in all they do.

Mark Jorgenson is a retired financial services executive who continues to be active in various commercial and civic organizations, including currently serving as the President of the KC2026 World Cup Board of Directors.

Prior to retirement, Jorgenson served as Executive Vice President and Head of Community Banking for U.S. Bank, following his two decade stint as Market President in Kansas City. In his role for Community Banking, Jorgenson was responsible for leading the bank’s 1,158 branch offices and 8,504 employees located in the non-metropolitan communities throughout U.S. Banks 24-state footprint. Jorgenson had been employed by US Bank and its predecessor banks in the Kansas City market since June 1981.

Active in industry and community affairs, Jorgenson is presently on a number of boards, including the following organizations: The Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, Hall Family Foundation, Kansas Venture Capital, Inc. (KVCI), Hunt Midwest Enterprises, The Police Foundation of Kansas City, U.S. Bank KC Advisory Board, and Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Past board affiliations include KU Hospital Authority, National WWI Museum, Urban Neighborhood Initiative, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Area Development Corporation (KCADC), The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, Heart of America Council Boy Scouts, United Way of Greater Kansas City, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Central Exchange, Kansas/Western Missouri Chapter March of Dimes, Entrepreneur Assistance Corporation, Milburn Country Club, and Southminster Presbyterian Church.

He has served as president or chairman of the following organizations: The Civic Council, KCADC, National World War I Museum, KVCI, Heart of America Council Boy Scouts, Urban Neighborhood Initiative, KS/MO Chapter March of Dimes, and Milburn CC. In addition, Jorgenson has chaired numerous charity fund raising events including Treads and Threads, United Way Campaign for Greater KC, St. Mark Child and Family Development Center Sustainability Campaign, Ozanam Gala, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Gala, KC Repertory Theatre Gala, Harvesters Chefs Classic event, KC GIFT Gala, and Rose Brooks Cabaret Gala.

Jorgenson graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Coe College and also received his MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a member of the inaugural class of the Ewing
M. Kauffman Distinguished Eagle Scout Award for notable contributions to the Kansas City community. Other recent awards include the Henry Bloch Human Relations Award for promoting social justice in the region and the Starlight Theater Star Award.

Jorgenson and his wife Mary live in Kansas City, Missouri. They have four grown children.

Bob Kendrick was named President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in March 2011. Founded in 1990, the NLBM is the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its profound impact on the social advancement of America.

Kendrick’s appointment as President marked a celebrated return to the NLBM after a 13-month departure. He became the museum’s first Director of Marketing in 1998 and was named Vice President of Marketing in 2009 before accepting the post as Executive Director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled-Kansas City in 2010. Kendrick is responsible for the museum’s day-to-day operations and the development and implementation of strategies to advance the mission of the 501 c3, not-for-profit organization. Since rejoining the NLBM in 2011, he has helped orchestrate a nearly $20 million turnaround that has helped the NLBM regain its vitality and financial stability.

Kendrick began his association with the NLBM as a volunteer during his 10-year newspaper career with The Kansas City Star. As senior copywriter for The Star’s Promotions Department, he won, or was part of a creative team that won, numerous local and regional advertising and marketing awards. He developed the advertising concept and campaign that helped attract more 10,000 people (in less than 30 days) to see the debut of the Museum’s first traveling exhibit in the summer of 1993. The success of that promotion led to an appointment to the museum’s Board of Directors in the fall of ‘93.

In his nearly five years on the Museum’s board, Kendrick served as Secretary/Treasurer and chaired the Membership and Event Planning committees. He was co-chairman of the Museum’s grand-opening gala celebration that attracted nearly 2,000 people to Bartle Hall in November of 1997. The event raised more than $500,000 in support of the NLBM.

Kendrick has been responsible for the creation of several signature museum educational programs and events including the Hall of Game which annually honors former Major League Baseball greats who played the game in the spirit and signature style of the Negro Leagues.

And while he doesn’t fashion himself to be a historian, Kendrick has become one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race and diversity. He has been a contributing writer for “Ebony Magazine” and the national Urban League’s “Opportunity Magazine.”

In 2006, the Greater Kansas City Black Chamber of Commerce awarded him the Mary Lona Diversity Award and he was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Omicron Xi Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. In 2009, The Kansas City Globe named Kendrick to the paper’s list of “100 Most Influential African-Americans in Greater Kansas City.” In January 2014, Kendrick was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. The Kansas City Call newspaper named him the “Person of the Year” in 2020. In 2021, the Beta Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity named him “Business Person of the Year,” and he was bestowed honorary doctorate degrees from Judson University and William Jewell College, respectively in 2021.

A native of Crawfordville, Ga., Kendrick received a basketball scholarship to attend Park College (Parkville, Mo.) in 1980 and earned a B.A. degree in Communications Arts in 1985.

Emerson Peavey was born and raised in Kansas City and currently serves as the Senior Coordinator of Community Impact for the Kansas City Royals. In her role, she leads the organization’s education and literacy initiatives, including heading up the Royals Literacy League program, designed to build joy around reading in elementary-aged students in public schools in Kansas City.

Emerson plays a key role in supporting grantmaking and fundraising for the Kansas City Royals Foundation that contribute to millions of dollars invested back into the community each year.

Prior to joining the Royals, Emerson worked with the Kansas City Monarchs in both marketing and community engagement roles.

She is a proud graduate of the University of Kansas, where she earned her degree in journalism with a minor in sport management.

Outside of her professional work, Emerson serves on the Board of the Kansas City Public Schools Education Foundation. She has also happily volunteered as a reading mentor with Lead to Read KC since 2023. She is passionate about using sports & entertainment as a platform to support literacy, strengthen communities, and create opportunities for the next generation.

Collin Thomas is a Kansas City native and has over 30 years of finance and accounting experience, of which the last 15 years were in the insurance industry. She began my career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor, where she obtained her CPA license. 

Most recently, for the past few years Collin was the Vice President of Finance and Accounting for Torrent Technologies, a subsidiary of Marsh McLennan, focused on flood insurance. Prior to that she spent many years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, projecting the risk and financial impact of the Affordable Care Act on the health insurance organization. She also spent many years at the Kansas-City based diversified agribusiness company, Seaboard Corporation, working with various domestic and international subsidiaries. 

Collin is a proud graduate of Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences in Kansas City, Kansas. After graduation, she left Kansas City for the east coast and received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in politics and economics. After coming back home, she earned her master’s degree in accountancy from the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. 

She’s excited to be part of the Sporting KC team, and having been a soccer mom for many years, she has a great love for the sport. She is energized to work for a hometown organization and loves being a member of the Sporting KC family right here in the heartland.

Collin has three adult children and enjoys spending time with them and her two dogs, Tux and Biscuit. In her free time she enjoys playing the piano and traveling with her husband.

Sarah Cousineau is the VP, Director of Marketing and Community Impact at Central Bank of Kansas City, where she is passionate about strengthening communities and expanding opportunity. She has been a dedicated Lead to Read KC volunteer for 14 years — nearly since its founding by her dad’s neighbors, which made the mission especially meaningful from the start. Sarah believes literacy is life-changing, building confidence and opening doors for young students. She treasures the relationships formed through reading sessions and is inspired by each student she meets, knowing that even small moments can help shape a brighter future.