June 12, 2025
This week's speaker is Tom Esselman, President, Historic West Bottoms.

Tom Esselman is from Kansas City, where, for 22 years, he was an executive with Hallmark Cards, taking early retirement to begin working in the nonprofit arena. He has led Connecting For Good, and PCs for People KC, both nonprofits dedicated to affordable devices and digital services for low income communities. Since 2024, Tom has been leading DPO-KC, focused on assisting both local civic and philanthropic organizations, and local nonprofits with support for digital access programs and services. Tom also co-chairs the Anchors for Digital Opportunity national policy group of SHLB (Schools, Health, Libraries Broadband Coalition). Tom serves as President of the Historic West Bottoms Association, advocating for the adaptive reuse and development of one of the Kansas City area’s oldest and most historically significant neighborhoods. Tom’s wife Mary is President and CEO of Operation Breakthrough, serving hundreds of Kansas City’s most vulnerable children and families. Tom is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Tom and Mary have 4 kids and (so far) 9 grandkids.