Juan M. Rangel, Jr., is the Chief Partnership Officer for SchoolSmartKC. Before joining SSKC he was the Director of Gateway to College at Donnelly College. In 2013 he was the director of Community Engagement for Metropolitan Community College/Institute for Workforce Innovation in Kansas City. Rangel worked for 12 years for the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) as the Executive Director, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism through education, awareness-building and conflict resolution training. Prior to working for NCCJ, he worked for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National Education Service Center (LNESC).
Rangel has thirty plus years of professional experience working with vastly diverse populations in the areas of human relations & multicultural training, non-profits and education. Rangel lives in Raymore, Missouri, with his wife (Denise). He has two grown sons (Juanito & Jake) and a loving pet (Ernesto). He has lived in Kansas City most of his life and is a 1985 graduate of Oak Park High School. He earned Bachelor of Science degrees in international business, marketing, and Spanish from Northwest Missouri State University in 1991 and earned a master’s degree in urban education from Kansas State University in 2004.
Rangel currently serves on the Rockhurst University Trustees, current board chair for Swope Health Systems, Inc., and Kauffman Schools. Recently, he has also served on the Menorah Heritage Foundation and Health Care Foundation (now Health Forward). He previously served as a Board of Regents at Northwest Missouri State University, the Boards of Directors for the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, the Kauffman Fund, Synergy, Children’s Mercy Hospital, University Health (formally Truman Hospital), Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Kansas City Area Port Authority, and the Homeless Service Coalition.
Rangel loves all people. He credits the encouragement and support of his family, his parents, and his mentors for enabling him to remain actively involved in the community and professionally to work in areas that meet his passion…helping people. He is dedicated to his motto: Adelante Con Ganas (Forward with Desire).