Bert Berkley was LINC’s founder and our champion. He was the people’s champion. Berkley created LINC 32 years ago in a firm belief in the wisdom and power of communities. He believed in the right of families and neighborhood leaders to shape their own destinies from their homes, schools and meeting halls.
To this work, Berkley gathered the original members of the LINC Commission. Those leaders and a dedicated staff advanced the vision that it is the people who know the needs and strengths of their communities who should inform the policy makers and legislators and lead the action of change.
Bert Berkley died at the age of 101 on July 17, 2024. He lived fully to the end. In advance of his 100th birthday, Berkley reflected on the origin of LINC and his life of service, and his belief that he was the most fortunate man who ever lived.
Looking back at those early days of LINC, he said, he never imagined that it would grow to where it is now, serving thousands of families directly and so many more through a wide network of community services and advocacy.
But he shouldn’t have been so surprised. He started a movement.
We honor Berkley’s legacy in carrying on the work with gratitude to so many families, school and community partners, civic leaders and neighborhood champions who guide us.
Rowland was on the initial LINC Commission established in November 1992 and succeeded Bert Berkley (LINC’s Founder) as chair in December 1995.
Rowland’s exuberance, wide-ranging interests, and deep sense of social justice encouraged the young organization to act on opportunities, be highly accountable to the community, and be stalwart stewards of the funds received.
While highly connected, Rowland deeply valued LINC’s grassroots commitments to “serve the community in need” and its “bottoms up” approach.
He was indefatigable in his efforts, always sending notes or articles to an extensive network of friends and potential collaborators.
Rowland made clear that LINC was “not a program” but “a process” in which “the group exercises restraint in authority over public programs, but puts unlimited emphasis on process, especially fairness and inclusion.”
Rowland considered LINC a “dynamic and lively process” and “a Darwinian kind of exercise” that adapted and thrived.
Tate joined the LINC Commission in 2002 and became co-chair in 2015, taking over leadership from Landon Rowland.
Tate had a highly successful career with Kansas City Power and Light, retiring in 2002 as vice president of administration. He served as president and chief executive officer of the Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City.
In addition to being co-chair of LINC, Tate was a private sector member of the Missouri Family and Community Trust – a public/private sector partnership working to improve state services. Tate’s other civic involvement included serving as president of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and chair of the Kansas City Crime Commission.
“Kansas City is a great city,” Tate commented in the 2012 interview. “But no city is greater than its neighborhoods. No neighborhoods are greater than the families that are there. No families are greater than their children. If you want to live in a great city you have to go and instill those things you feel strongly about into those sectors.”
Tate brought firm, steady leadership to LINC and a range of personal and professional skills and experience which were invaluable.
Gayle A. Hobbs was the founding president of LINC and served for nearly 30 years.
Born and raised in Northwest Missouri, Hobbs demonstrated a passion for helping others from childhood—famously advocating for a classmate who needed shoes when she was just in second grade. This early compassion evolved into a lifelong commitment to social justice and reform.
Before joining LINC, Hobbs worked as a regional supervisor in Missouri’s Division of Youth Services (DYS), where she pioneered reforms that transformed how the state treated at-risk youth. She advocated for seeing children as individuals caught in difficult circumstances rather than as “delinquents,” and implemented humane changes like replacing institutional furniture with actual couches and treating parents as partners.
At LINC, Hobbs developed and implemented the revolutionary concept of community-driven allocation of social service resources. Under her leadership, LINC grew from a small operation in a strip mall office to a major force employing hundreds of people across Kansas City’s community schools network. Her work attracted national attention, including a visit from President Bill Clinton in 1994 to observe LINC’s innovative welfare-to-work programs.
Hobbs was known for her ability to “hold the heat”—managing complex community tensions while building trust across diverse stakeholders. Hobbs successfully led initiatives in foster care reform, brought Medicaid services into schools, and helped secure hundreds of millions in settlement funds that established the Health Forward Foundation.
Her leadership style emphasized grassroots engagement, servant leadership, and unwavering commitment to the communities LINC served.
Thank you to all of our current and past commissioners who have donated their time and expertise to improve the lives of kids and families in our city.
