DT | A Better KC: Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, American Jazz Museum - 11:45 a.m.
A seasoned nonprofit leader who has garnered numerous awards and recognition for her work, Kositany-Buckner accepts the position following a 25-year career with the Kansas City Public Library, where she rose from network administrator in the IT Department to Deputy Director.
The announcement follows a comprehensive national search that included significant local stakeholder involvement and discussions with the leadership of some of the top music and African American cultural institutions in the U.S.
“From the beginning, our vision has been ambitious,” said AJM Board Chair Trey Runnion. “and we sought leadership that will help us achieve that vision – to become a premier destination that will expand the influence and knowledge of jazz in Greater Kansas City and throughout the world.”
“While the competition was impressive, there was no question in the minds of the Search Committee and Board that Cheptoo has the broad perspective, experience, and community knowledge to be able to help us hit the ground running and accelerate our progress,’ “ Runnion said.
Third District City Councilman and AJM board member Jermaine Reed echoed the excitement: “The American Jazz Museum will benefit greatly from having a strong, passionate and community-focused trailblazer to help further the rejuvenation of the 18th & Vine District. Cheptoo understands the needs of the community and has the ability to formulate a strategy that would create programs and services beneficial to the surrounding neighborhoods as well as the business community, civic organizations, philanthropic associations and tourists.”
Earlier this month, the City Council heard a proposal sponsored by Reed that would invest $18 million in Kansas City’s Jazz District, including $1.3 million for the Jazz Museum to make improvements to exhibits, the Jay McShann Pavilion on the museum’s north side, and the Blue Room, adding a restaurant to the complex.
“I look forward to working with the city, neighborhood, colleagues at 18th & Vine District, community stakeholders, jazz musicians, civic leadership, the arts community, education institutions, board and staff in continuing to build the AJM brand and its presence – here at home in Kansas City, nationally and internationally,” said Kositany-Buckner.
“Coming to Kansas City in 1988, my first apartment was in Parade Park, and I remember going to El Capitan and the other great places that made up 18th & Vine,” she said. “AJM – and the District as a whole – are so incredibly important to the history and culture of Kansas City and the African American experience here. Today, with renewed energy and support around the District, I firmly believe we are poised to achieve that vision to make AJM and 18th & Vine a premier destination for tourism, entertainment, research, education and a better understanding of the role of jazz in our city’s and nation’s history.”
“Though it is a great loss to the Kansas City Public Library, and to national Digital Inclusion efforts, I couldn’t be more pleased for the Jazz Museum, the City and my friend and colleague Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner for her new job at the American Jazz Museum,” said Kansas City Public Library Executive Director Crosby Kemper III.
“She will put it and Kansas City on the national and international map as she has with our internet endeavors and so much else. Bravo Kansas City! Brava Cheptoo!”
Kositany-Buckner’s Background
In her role as Deputy Director at the Kansas City Public Library, Kositany-Buckner led key projects that include the design and renovation of the library’s L.H. Bluford and Plaza branches, and the development and launch of the award-winning website, “Civil War on the Western Border.” In the Bluford Library, Kositany-Buckner incorporated a Health & Wellness Center, providing resources and health screenings in partnership with Truman Medical Centers. She assumed oversight of strategic initiatives in early 2015, spearheading the Library’s ongoing involvement in a community-wide effort to bridge the digital divide in Kansas City by expanding underserved residents’ access to computer and Internet access.
A recipient of the President’s Award from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, in November Kositany-Buckner was awarded the Lucile H. Bluford Special Achievement Award from the Kansas City Chapter of the NAACP.
A Board member and officer of the Black Archives of Mid-America, Kositany-Buckner has been instrumental in working with the staff to revitalize that organization and managed the first permanent exhibit in the Kansas City area on the history of African Americans in the city. This initiative helped forge a strategic alliance between the Black Archives and the Library.
A native of Kenya, she moved to the United States to attend the University of Central Missouri, where she graduated with a degree in computer information systems, one of only two women in the IT program at the time. She holds a certificate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Executive Education and International Programs. She is a past president of the Mid-American Library Alliance Council, serves on the boards of the Kansas City Public School Retirement System and the KC STEM Alliance, and is a member of the Chancellor’s African American Leaders Council at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the executive committee of American Public Square.
Kositany-Buckner assumes her new role during the first part of March.
Date and Time
Tuesday Aug 30, 2016
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM CDT
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Location
Central Exchange
1020 Central
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
Fees/Admission
Members: $0.00
Non-Members: $35.00
Contact Information
Brenda Lowe, Director of Programs
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