We support leaders, communities, and organizations in shifting perspective, deepening real-world impact, and turning purpose into meaningful, sustainable growth.
Shanelle DuPree is a Strategic Connector with deep Midwestern roots. She is an author, speaker, lawyer, executive director, course creator, adjunct law professor, wife, and mother of four.
Shanelle is the creator and course instructor of SKIN DEEP: The History of Child Welfare by Race. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Racial Equity Collaborative, a social service nonprofit focused on eliminating racial disparities within helping systems.
A trusted advisor, Shanelle was selected to serve on the Governor’s Transition Team to assess the social services system in the state of Kansas. She has worked as a Campaign Director, Advisor, and Copywriter for multiple political campaigns, bringing clarity, strategy, and powerful messaging to complex issues. She has also delivered testimony before various legislative committees on child welfare and juvenile justice.
Shanelle is a Bible Study Teacher and Adjunct Law Professor who creatively engages diverse audiences. Whether teaching God’s Word, instructing CINC 101: Parents for five years to explain the foster care system, or presenting on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within public systems, she communicates with clarity, compassion, and purpose.
Mark has never accepted “no” for an answer and has fought for justice his entire life.
Known as the “Preacher Man,” Mark prayed for the community he loved—and a community that loved him in return. He spent countless hours in church, learning to listen deeply and love people regardless of their past. A proud follower of Jesus Christ, Mark’s faith has consistently guided his personal life and professional calling.
At the age of 14, that calling was further ignited through exposure to the late Judge Cordell Meeks, Jr., the first Black lawyer and judge Mark had ever encountered. Witnessing Judge Meeks’s impact solidified Mark’s commitment to the legal field and his desire to help others receive justice—much like the man he remembers seeing laid in the street when he was just eight years old.
Despite being told not to run for District Attorney—that it was not his time and that he needed to wait his turn—Mark refused to be deterred. He ran anyway and defeated a 12-year incumbent, proving that purpose, preparation, and faith can overcome expectation.
A community member who saw his community being ignored, and believed Wyandotte deserved better.
A man of faith who believes in prayer and action, and decided to take a leap of faith and run for office in 2017, and is serving his 3rd term in office.
A follower of Christ, who happens to lead a church ministry and a local prosecutor's office.
A husband and father who infuses the ideas of justice, equity, redemption, prayer, and accountability into his personal and professional life.
A public servant who understands progress must be purposeful, but it isn't always pretty.
