Denise St. Omer is vice president of grantmaking and inclusion initiatives for the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. Denise is responsible for overseeing grantmaking activities including the assessment and tracking of all major grants for clients that use the Community Foundation’s grantmaking services, as well as oversight of the Community Foundation’s discretionary funds. In addition, Denise is responsible for leading the Community Foundation’s leadership work focused on equity and inclusion. Denise is a national trainer on grantmaking with a racial equity lens, served as a member of the Equity Advisory Group for Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) and currently serves on GEO’s board of directors.

Prior to joining the Community Foundation in 2007, Denise was the chief trial assistant for the Community Justice Unit in the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Denise received her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1992, where she was a member of the University of Missouri Law Review. In 2012, Denise was selected as a Fellow for the Association of Black Foundation Executives Connecting Leaders Fellowship Program. Denise was included in the 2016 class of Ingram’s Women Executives – Kansas City. The award honors extraordinary women leading in business who have demonstrated significant achievements and leadership in their roles as executives.