Lea Loudon has made serving others an essential part of her professional life.
In May, she began a new role as Community Engagement Manager with the 10-member Development Team, a people-focused position that complements her depth of industry knowledge.
Lea has worked at Cornerstones of Care for ten years, most recently as Program Manager for ShowMe Healthy Relationships. Previously she served as Resource Development Administrative Assistant, Resource Development Specialist, and Placement Finding Manager. Each of these positions was directly involved with identifying, licensing, and supporting foster parents.
Away from Cornerstones of Care, the mom of four is in the middle of her term serving her constituents in Ward II of the Mission, Kansas City Council, after defeating two challengers for the seat in the last election. Lea and her family have lived in Mission for about 20 years, and her position on the city council allows her to give back to the city she loves. Recently, she was voted to serve as the Chair of the Community Development Committee, which works with developers and entrepreneurs who want to do business with Mission to ensure that their concepts fit within the master plan of the city.
In March, Lea had the opportunity to attend the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., an annual three-day event that brings representatives from cities all over the country to the capitol to discuss issues affecting constituents.
It was Lea’s second year of attending. In 2022, she had the opportunity to hear several prominent political figures speak, including Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi.
“It took everything I had not to fangirl too much,” said Lea.
In her new position at Cornerstones of Care, Lea will be responsible for implementing, managing, and organizing in-kind gifts support and community engagement through volunteer opportunities. In 2022, volunteers donated 3,275 hours of time to the agency. Lea will be the point person who coordinates volunteers and establishes and fosters relationships with agencies and businesses that provide volunteer support.
”One of the things I’m most looking forward to is I’ll get to be outside more,” said Lea, referring to Cornerstones of Care’s numerous events around the city as well as volunteer projects that take place outdoors at each of our campuses.
“It will also give me an opportunity to be closer to the kids. I’m looking forward to Christmas because we manage the gifts provided to kids that are case managed by Cornerstones of Care.”
Katlin Brown will replace Lea as the Show Me Healthy Relationships Program Manager. Katlin is a recent Kansas State University graduate with a master’s degree in Human Development and Family Science with a specialization in Prevention Science.
ShowMe Healthy Relationships (SMHR) is a five-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, and conducted through a partnership with the University of Missouri (MU) and Cornerstones of Care, one of three community agencies involved with the project.
The project offers free online classes for single adults to receive relationship education. It teaches participants to improve communication and conflict management skills, identify and address red flags in relationships, and understand their unique relational needs and wants.
Since June 2021, Lea and her team of two have served 321 individual clients through the SMHR program. They have also seen a growth in class sizes and increased participant diversity, resulting from strategic outreach to the LGBTQ+ community and other underrepresented groups.
“I will miss connecting with the individual participants and supporting them,” said Lea. “That’s been my favorite part of this job is connecting all these different resources that are available in the community. So where one agency can’t, another can, and together we ensure that nobody falls through the cracks.”
Now, in her new position as Community Engagement Manager, Lea can focus on her role at Cornerstones of Care during the day and dedicate her time to the City Council and her family at night. Each of these commitments allows Lea to do what she does best: bring people together and connect them with the resources and support they need to thrive.
“I love Mission; I love the KC Metro area, and I’m playing my part in making these communities better,” said Lea. “We can focus on the kids here and make sure they have what they need to be successful because they may not have started in the best circumstances. With the city, it’s doing my part to improve that community, too.”