Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

One of the nation’s oldest organizations championing entrepreneurship has named a new President and Chief Executive Officer.

DeAngela Burns-Wallace was named as the top executive of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation following an extensive search. She begins her new duties on August 7 when she will succeed Susan Chambers, who has served as Interim President since September 2022. Chambers will return to her position on the Board of Trustees of the organization founded in 1966.

A native of Kansas City, Burns-Wallace brings a wide range of experience to the Foundation including the public sector, foreign affairs, and higher education. She began her career as a diplomat working for the U.S. State Department, including assignments in China, South Africa, and Washington DC. Burns-Wallace shifted to higher education where she worked across multiple institutions leading admissions and access initiatives, undergraduate education oversight, and diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership. She also served as the Secretary of Administration and the Chief Information Technology Officer for the State of Kansas.