Photo courtesy of Scott Wagner
Photo courtesy of Scott Wagner

Carter Galloway

Editorial Assistant

 Former Indian Mound Neighborhood Association president and Kansas City Mayor Pro Tem from 2015 to 2019, Scott Wagner has served as the community and economic development director for Mattie Rhodes Center (MRC) for the past six years. On Feb. 20, Bridging the Gap — a nonprofit organization, which works toward creating sustainability across Kansas City, according to its website — announced in a social media post that Wagner would be assuming the role of its executive director, beginning March 17. 

Some services provided by MRC — a nonprofit, Kansas City community development and social service organization focusing primarily on the Spanish speaking population — that Wagner said he directly worked with include affordable housing, English as a second language (ESL), financial literacy and workforce development programs. In a recent interview, Wagner shared with Northeast News the difference between these two organizations and what he said led him to make this change.

“It’s a challenge that is very interesting to me and that’s part of the allure. A lot of the work [Bridging the Gap] is doing is in areas of the city like [the Northeast] with people who are paying incredible bills and there are things we can do to help them” Wagner said. “In a way, I’m not building affordable housing, but I am helping people live affordably.”

Wagner said he hopes to change the narrative around environmental programs including removing the stigma around it. An example he shared was the blanket term “tree-hugger” and its tendency to discredit the work done by organizations like Bridging the Gap.

“Hugging trees doesn’t help anybody. Planting trees does,” Wagner said. “This organization is about quality of life and how we improve the quality of life in this community.”

Wagner reflected on his time at MRC and his various accomplishments. His proudest moments, he said, did not involve developing a new program or a specific project, but rather his work to help out the people. 

Wagner recalled assisting a Haitian family who enrolled in MRC’s ESL program. Their main goal within the program, Wagner shared, was to improve their English to be able to pass their drivers test. This would allow them to receive a commercial drivers license, which could help them to find a job. After three months of classes, they stopped showing up.

“The conclusion we came to is that they passed their test. We were able to give them enough English to read and understand instruction, so that they could get the job they wanted and have the life they wanted to lead.” Wagner said. “That’s pretty good. To me, those are real accomplishments, and I walk away feeling better about that than any other big projects.”
For more information on Bridging the Gap, MRC and Scott Wagner’s transition, visit: bridgingthegap.org, or mattierhodes.org.