MICHEAL LAWRENCE CEO

Micheal Lawrence began his career at Big Brothers Big Sisters in 1992. He started as a Case Manager, working directly with the volunteers, children and families in the program, focusing on making long-term, successful matches that made a difference. Prior to coming to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Lawrence worked with runaway children and was inspired by observing a relationship between a Little Brother and Big Brother. During a time of extreme crisis, the only adult that this young person cared about was a volunteer in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

After five years as a Case Manager, Lawrence moved into managing all special events for the agency from 1997 -2007. Lawrence also served as the Program Director from 1999-2004, during which time he implemented new program management systems and created a computer-based volunteer enrollment system that reduced volunteer processing time from 91 to 27 days.

In 2002, the position of Associate Executive Director was created to prepare for the CEO position.

Lawrence became the CEO in 2007. During his time as CEO, he has led the agency to become one of the fastest growing Big Brothers Big Sisters agency in the country, increasing the number of children served by more than 80%. Under his leadership, BBBSKC has been recognized as the top performing BBBS agency in America, earning the prestigious Gold Standard Award and Agency of the Year Award four times from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Employee satisfaction and cohesiveness are important to Lawrence. His leadership style encourages participation and collaboration among staff members. BBBSKC was recently recognized by the Nonprofit Times as one of the best nonprofits to work for in America (#30 out of 100,000 agencies evaluated).

Lawrence lead a board reorganization effort in 2008 that has helped to create a high performing board of directors, that has twice been recognized by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America as the Board of the Year.

Lawrence graduated from William Jewell College with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Lawrence graciously shares his experiences with local and national nonprofit professionals and is often called on to share best practices at conferences. Lawrence sits on the national advisory board for Savers Inc. and is a member of the strategic advisory cabinet for the CEO of BBBS of America. 

Lawrence serves as a Big Brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program himself and has been matched to his Little Brother, Jesse for more than ten years.