The Kansas City Beacon is excited to announce the latest cohort of our Community Engagement Bureau Representatives. These eight representatives, who come from a variety of backgrounds and neighborhoods across Kansas City, have deep local expertise, community connections and love for the place we all call home.
Launched in 2022, The Kansas City Beacon’s Community Engagement Bureau is a journalism lab designed to reimagine local media. We equip our community representatives — residents of Kansas City, not professional journalists — with the skills and resources necessary to engage in critical public conversations and produce information that directly addresses community needs. Our community representatives, who are paid for their work, interview community members, attend events to ask what people think local news is missing, and help guide our reporting.
The ultimate goal of our Community Engagement Bureau is to give all communities the tools to eliminate information inequity. We’re excited to work towards that mission with our latest group of community representatives:
Asia Jones (She/Her) is a Kansas City, Mo., native and content creator with a passion for connecting people through better communication. Her previous experience includes supporting city government communications efforts through print and digital content.
Clay Marcusen (He/Him) resides in Midtown Kansas City and is a retired registered nurse who has been very active in community nonprofits, specifically around social justice issues as they relate to public health.
Gabby Moore (She/Her) is a native of Wyandotte County and a professional tattoo artist who has always held a strong desire to further the community and uses her platform to do so.
Rosana Polanco (She/Her) was born and raised in Kansas City and is a mother of three daughters who loves being involved in her community and helping underserved residents.
Max Sheffield (They/He) resides in Kansas City, Mo., and brings a decade of healthcare experience into their career as a speaker and copywriter who believes every person has a unique and powerful story the world needs to hear.
Shakina Shelby (She/Her) is from South Kansas City but resides in Lee’s Summit, Mo. She is a mother of one and has her own party and event balloon decorating business.
Lisbeth Ureña (She/Her) is originally from the Dominican Republic but resides in Johnson County, Kan. She is a recent graduate of Wichita State University and is involved in her community through volunteerism.
Isaac Young (He/Him) has held leadership positions as a student at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Since then, he has worked in the local food industry supporting a small black business.
The Kansas City Beacon’s Community Engagement Bureau is led by Gary Enrique Bradley-Lopez. This cohort will serve as The Kansas City Beacon’s community representatives and continue to help The Beacon shape its editorial process. Learn more about how to become a community representative.
