Fr. Justin Mathews, The Serial Social Entrepreneur - Transforming Communities Through Social Innovation, Why Social Entrepreneurship Is The Future Of Philanthropy, and Practicing Of Cultural Humility

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Fr. Justin Mathews, a Kansas City native whose journey from musician/audio engineer to Orthodox priest and social entrepreneur exemplifies the intersection of faith, innovation, and community transformation. Fr. Justin shares his remarkable story of leading Reconciliation Services (RS) at Kansas City's historic racial and economic divide, growing it from a modest $650,000 organization to a $4.5-million force for change with 30 employees. We explore the launch of Thelma's Kitchen, Kansas City's first "donate-what-you-can" café, and discuss how his unique approach to social leadership has earned him recognition as a NextGen Leader and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce's ACE Award. As a Civil Society Fellow and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Fr. Justin offers profound insights into building bridges across Kansas City's racial and economic dividing lines, his intersection of faith, entrepreneurship, and running a not-for-profit, innovative approaches to community development and reconciliation, leadership strategies that drive both social impact and organizational growth, and the future of social ventures in urban transformation.

Whether you're a social entrepreneur, company/community leader, or someone passionate about creating meaningful change, Fr. Justin's contagious enthusiasm and 25 years of experience offer invaluable lessons in transformative leadership.

 

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Justin's bio: With a contagious enthusiasm for social innovation,​ Fr. Justin Mathews is a Kansas City native with 25 years of experience in developing and executing successful strategies for mission-driven for-profit and nonprofit organizations. He is a serial social entrepreneur, retreat leader, keynote speaker, e-course author, mastermind facilitator for social entrepreneurs, and leadership coach. For 10 years Fr. Justin has been the Executive Director & CEO of Reconciliation Services [RS] (www.RS3101.org) a quickly growing social venture located at 31st and Troost, the historic racial and economic dividing line of Kansas City, MO. The vision of RS is “By living our core values of dignity, community, and advocacy, we cultivate a community seeking reconciliation and reveal the strength of our city.” Since Fr. Justin took over as Executive Director RS has grown from a $650,000 organization with 4 employees to over $ 4.5 million annually with 30 employees and hundreds of volunteers. Fr. Justin is a published author and the creator of The Social Leader Essentials E-Course (www.thesocialleader.org), a transformative leadership development course designed to teach CEOs and senior leaders how to lead with greater social impact to transform their company and community. In 2021 Fr. Justin co-founded the Social Venture Studio (www.socialventurestudio.com) with the KCEDC and Downtown Council’s “Launch KC” initiative. Additionally, In 2018 Fr. Justin led the RS team in the launch of Thelma's Kitchen (www.ThelmasKitchen.org), a 5-star Yelp-rated, social venture “donate-what-you-can” box lunch catering company in Kansas City. In 2022 Fr. Justin was named a NextGen Leader by the Kansas City Business Journal, in 2020 he was awarded the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s “ACE Award” for his work in Diversity and Inclusion and then was awarded the “2020 Excellence in Impact” Award from Nonprofit Connect. Father Justin is a Fellow of the fourth class of the Civil Society Fellowship, a Partnership of ADL and The Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Fr. Justin was appointed by Mayor Quinton Lucas to the Heart of the City (Troost) TIF Commission and currently serves as the Vice Chair. He graduated from the Centurions Leadership Program of the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce (2018) where he was the Co-Chair of the “Diversity & Inclusion Committee” and served on the Steering Committee. Fr. Justin attended Belmont University where he graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Business and an emphasis in audio engineering and then in 2007, Father Justin earned his Master's in Divinity from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and was ordained to the Priesthood in 2006.