New Executive Director Sean Ackerson joined the Southtown Council on December 14th. Sean and his wife Amy are 19-year residents of KC and are proud parents of two very active elementary school students - Garrett and Brendan. Although a native of Oklahoma, Sean considers Kansas City home. “We love our family and friends elsewhere, but Kansas City is our home. We’ve been in the neighborhood for over 17 years now and Southtown, Waldo and Brookside is my community.”
Sean, a planning and development executive, brings more than 20 years of planning and economic development experience. “The priorities identified in the job description are well-aligned with my background and experience. I’m extremely excited about using my skills and expertise to serve my own community, and to help achieve our goals for the future.”
Jerry Singer, president of the Waldo Area Business Association, who was part of the executive search committee to hire Sean stated, “We had a number of outstanding candidates, so the choice wasn’t easy. When it got down to the finality, Sean was a natural fit overall with who we are in Southtown, Waldo and Brookside. ‘A man that wears many hats’ is the best way to describe him. It was very natural and easy to talk with him. We are happy he is on board and look forward to the future.”
Before joining the council, he served as the assistant city administrator and community development director for the City of Parkville for nearly 12 years. There he led efforts to plan, manage and foster growth and development throughout the community. Sean also led several major community initiatives including highway widening, community and downtown master plans, and several code updates. Prior to Parkville, Sean was a planning consultant with local architecture and engineering firm Bucher Willis and Ratliff, and served numerous public and private clients throughout Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Sean also served as a planning consultant in the Chicago area, working on numerous residential and commercial development plans and area master plans.
Sean is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and along with his wife and two sons, enjoys supporting his alma mater and Kansas City’s professional sports teams. He is a representative on his neighborhood association, and he and Amy are also active in several area professional and community organizations.