For over 25 years Kirk has been working in the field of community development, advancing equitable outcomes in the areas of education, housing, economic development and community organizing and leadership development. For 13 years he served as the Founder and Executive Director of Growing Together, an organization that worked alongside the community (of which he and his family lived) from one of disinvestment to the only inclusively grown neighborhood in the city of Tulsa, OK. While at Growing Together, he led over $50m in investments into his neighborhood schools, leading to the transformation of the local high school from one of the highest dropout rates in the city to the second highest graduation rate. Additionally, under his leadership,

• Founding of a Federally-Qualified Health Center and subsequent building of a state-of-the-art health primary health clinic

• Trained and mobilized community to advanced numerous community leaders into public office,

• Construction of over 500 units of mixed-income housing ,

• The creation of the a mixed-income neighborhood trust,

• The implementation and management of the local iteration of the National Communities In Schools program

• The creation of a community loan fund providing training and capital to local businesses

• And, the renovation of three amenity-rich public park spaces

Kirk has a lifetime’s worth of experience working with neighborhoods and community development organizations to create communities that are by and for its residents. Advancing visions of inclusive growth and thriving. Kirk is also bilingual in Spanish and English.