Our Story

Ms. Brodhurst serves as President & Board Chairperson of the Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City.  Her role is charged with providing leadership, succession planning and the advancement of the organizations vision and mission.  Ms. Brodhurst brings more than 15 years of administration and program management skills to the organization.  

Before joining the Back Economic Union, she has developed a career as a Property Manager for several LIHTC properties located in the US Virgin Islands.  Ms. Brodhurst has also served as Executive Assistant to the Regional President of an international construction company  working on an oil refinery project in the Caribbean.  Cathleen has also spent 5 years in management  for a national foodservice franchise brand.  Ms. Brodhurst has shared many hours of volunteering and participation in various community service activities to promote entrepreneurship and also participated in a Caribbean Consumer Advocacy Initiative.  

Mr. Parker is a lifelong resident and Entreprenuer of Kansas City, Missouri.  He graduated from the prestigious Lincoln High School in the Top 5% of his class as the Class President and also distinguished title of All City Basketball.  Mr. Parker is also an alumni of Tarkio College with a BA in Business Addministration and Finance.  He was inducted into the Tarkio College 2009 Hall of Fame AAU.  

Mr. Parker is a retired National Bank examiner with Comptroller of the Currency, (U.S. Treasury Dept.).  Mr. Parker has also served as a Financial Planner with Equitable Financial Services.  Followinng his retirement from the corporate industry, Mr. Parker pursued his entrepreneurial interests as the CFO of The Original Wings & Things restaurant that was located on 18th Street near the Historic Jazz District of Kansas City, Missouri.  This collaboration then developed into his 30 year ownership of Wings & Things Express located on Troost Avenue which has received numerous Community Service Awards and also a  catering operation - Wingworld, LLC.

Mr.  Parker remains a very active member of the Kansas City, Missouri community with his many commitments and Board positions among other local civic organizations - Genesis School, Advisory Board Member, St. Andrew UMC-Board of Trustees & Treasurer, and United Services-Board Member.

Mr. Denmon is also a lifelong resident and community advocate of Kansas City, Missouri.  Mr. Denmon is a Journalism and History major from Coffeyville College and iowa State University.  Mr. Denmon was also drafted by the Boston Celtics.  

Mr. Denmons professional career includes over 30 years in sales with Houghton Mifflin and Pearson Education.  His sales responsibilities included manageing a team focused on major urban school districts; with exceptional successes in Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago, and St. Louis.  

During his intial five years with Houghton Mifflin and Pearson Education, Mr. Denmon was the Midwest Regional Manager and then later became the Vice President for ten years.   

James Coleman serves as one of the organizations Accountant.  Mr. Coleman also volunteers with the Youth Ambassadors Program for the Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City.  Mr. Coleman received a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and a Masters degree from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.  

Mr. Coleman has over 30 years of service to the Kansas City, Missouri community by assisting small businesses and not for profit organizations.  He has also been a long time volunteer with the Kansas City civic organizations and local churches  

Barbara Thomas serves as an Administrative Support member to the Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City.  Barbara supports the organization with its bookkeeping, grant writing, and administrative needs.  

For over 35 years, Ms. Thomas has served both not for profit organizations and small business entrepreneurs with their accounting and administrative projects.  Barbara has been a committed volunteer and advocate for agencies and organizations which provide services to persons with mental illness.  Ms. Thomas is also an avid supporter of the becommunity in Kansas City, Missouri which provides  bike riding experiences to first-time and or returning cyclelists as children or adults.   

Dr. Gayitri Kavita Indar is the researcher and grant writer for the Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City and an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the School of Education and Human Services at Molloy College. She developed BEU's emancipatory approach to research, designing a qualitative methodology curriculum that enables youth to conduct community-based research projects that prioritize the needs of their Black communities.

Previously, she was a DRIVE (Develop Responsive, Innovative, and Visionary Educator) Doctoral Fellow at the University of Kansas, where she graduated with her Ph.D. in Special Education, concentrating on Instructional Design, Technology, and Innovation and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. Before attending the University of Kansas, she was a special educator for ten and a half years in Title I, New York City, Department of Education public schools. Toward the latter part of her career, she served as a Special Education Department Head and a Professional Development Coordinator for the Teacher Leadership Program.