President
Brian Foster is the Research Resources Manager for Sprint’s Corporate Research Center. An 18-year veteran with the company, Foster also serves as Sprint’s representative on analyst firm IDC’s Global Research Advisory Council. Before joining Sprint, he spent five years as part of the Ritz-Carlton Kansas City’s management team, serving on the company’s quality process review team which received the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Malcolm Baldrige Award, bestowed in 1992.
For the past 14 years, Foster has been a registered basketball official in Kansas, and served as a volunteer basketball coach for the YMCA sports leagues for four years. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Euphrates Gallery Inc., and has volunteered with Junior Achievement, the United Negro College Fund, and the March of Dimes; other associations include membership in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Saint Andrew Christian Church. Previously the chapter’s Co-Vice President, Foster is a charter member of the 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City, co-created the group’s reading programs, and served as the organization’s first Education Committee chairman (2007-2011). Foster is an alumnus of Clark/Atlanta University, majoring in Mass Communications, and earned a certification in Project Management from George Washington University.
Co-Vice President
Daniel Smith is employed by the University of Phoenix in a Sr. financial services position, currently managing case load budgets of over $1.5 M. In the last four years, Smith assisted in growing the on-ground campuses through leadership and a commitment to increase profitability and decrease bad debit. Before joining the University of Phoenix, he was part of the Kansas City management team for Health Care Service Group as an Account Manager, managing multiple client accounts responsible for over $100K in company business.
For the last 11 years Daniel has committed to serving his community, currently coaching youth basketball for the University Academy, a K – 12 charter school in Kansas City Mo., and serving on the Mentoring, Communications, and Economic Development committees with the 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City Mo. Other associations include Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the University of Phoenix’s Leadership Development Program, and the Never Give Up Foundation supporting the goal to never give up on life no matter what the circumstances. Smith is a graduate of the John Sperling School of Business with a Masters of Business Administration.
Co-Vice President
Denzil Ross is currently a Hospital Administrator at Truman Medical Center, a safety net 2 facility hospital system in Kansas City, MO. Ross has been in his Special Assistant to the EVP/COO and Night Administrator role for the last 2.5 years. Ross, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, came to the USA on a basketball scholarship where he played and studied at Park University. Ross graduated with honors with a degree in Computer Science and later on received his Masters in Business and Hospital Administration.
When not at work, Ross can be found active as a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Ross was previously the Co-Chair on the membership committee for the 100 Black Men. Mentoring and community service has always been a passion for him and he takes part in random projects throughout the year such as, volunteering at Hope Faith Ministries, King/Weeks reading comprehension program, Holiday baskets and various summer events. Ross is married and resides in Kansas City, MO.
Secretary
After working in Finance and Information Technology for 30 years, Larry Lester recently retired from corporate America to pursue his life-long passion – sports history. Through his company, NoirTech Research, Inc., Lester provides sports scholarship to educational institutions, museums, corporations, libraries and churches.
To achieve this objective, Lester offers a variety of programs through presentations, exhibits, workshops and hosting an academic conference every year since 1998. The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference is the only symposium in the past 10 years dedicated exclusively to the examination of black baseball history and has become the second largest baseball conference in the country.
Lester has authored six books, with articles appearing in World Book Encyclopedia, Dictionary of American Negro Biography, Biographical Dictionary of American Sports, The National Pastime, Major League Baseball’s website and two World Series programs. Lester has made media appearances on CNN, PBS, ESPN, NBC, ESPN2 and HBO, and has served as a consultant on several sports documentaries.
Treasurer
Marcus L. Jackson currently serves as the Treasurer of the 100 Black Men of GKC. As a member since 2007, he has previously served on the Program Development Committee as well as the Chair of the Membership Committee. Jackson has been involved in community outreach for years, having worked as an employee and volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of GKC, volunteering with YouthFriends School Mentoring Program, the United Way, and his local church.
Professionally, Jackson works as a Budget Analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs, overseeing a $1.9B Appropriated Funds Budget for 8 VA Medical Facilities in the Midwest Region. In addition to this, Jackson has been a member of the USAF (ActiveGuard) for more than 18 years, currently serving as a Major, commanding the 139th Communications Flight in the Missouri Air National Guard. Jackson is a graduate of Park College, with a B.S. in Management/Computer Information Systems, and earned his M.B.A. in 2003 from Benedictine College.
Immediate Past President
Anthony D. Williams was the last President of the 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City. Since 2008, the organization developed several collaborative partnerships with GMAC SmartEdge, Prudential, American Red Cross and 20/20 Leadership. Under his guidance, the 100 has successfully expanded its mentoring and education programs to accommodate over 100+ youth from Operation Breakthrough, University Academy, Satchel Paige and King/Weeks schools.
In his 10+ years as a community leader, Williams has demonstrated a passion for urban youth in the areas of mentoring, education, entrepreneurship and economic development. Williams serves the Kansas City community as a mentor, volunteer and board member of organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Red Cross, YouthFriends, Junior Achievement, Phoenix Family Housing Corporation, United Way and the Kauffman Foundation.
Professionally, Williams is a Management Consultant who works with senior-level management at firms ranging from startups to Fortune 1000 companies, working on assignments to develop new business models, identify new markets and opportunities for growth, resource allocation, project management, workforce optimization, financial analysis, and technology integration.