Kansas City

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The Kansas City Division honors John Fierro, a community leader and president and chief executive officer of The Mattie Rhodes Center.

As a bilingual, non-profit organization, The Mattie Rhodes Center works to enrich the lives of individuals, families, and communities in a respectful, multi-cultural environment. The center offers cultural programming in four areas: family services (behavioral health, family violence, substance abuse), youth services (in-school intervention, youth development, supportive living), community support (health and wellness, community engagement), and cultural arts (arts education, exhibits, and collections).

Mr. Fierro is also involved in many community and civic groups in Kansas City, including Mayor Sly James’ Task Force for the Arts, the Board of Commissioners for the Port Authority of Kansas City, the Kansas City Metro Community Mental Health Stakeholders, the Jackson County Safe Family Coalition, the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Group, and the Guadalajara Sister City Committee.

Mr. Fierro formerly held the position of president of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation board of commissioners. In that capacity, he assisted the FBI and the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association with the group’s 2010 national community engagement project.