Shamika Hogan

Shamika Hogan always knew she wanted to serve in a capacity that would allow her to impact lower-income communities.

Shamika graduated from Washburn University with a degree in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management and interned in both the government and nonprofit sectors while in school.

After college, Shamika worked as a housing specialist at SAVE, Inc., where she advocated for clients seeking housing assistance. This experience led her to pursue a Master's degree in management and fundraising from Avila University, which she completed in 2017.

At UMB Bank, Shamika started understanding how banks support low—and moderate-income communities. This understanding led her to become the director of development at a large nonprofit in town.

She spent over three and a half years working at reStart Inc., focused on raising awareness, aligning community resources, developing partnerships, and creating plans that continually supported the mission of helping those experiencing homelessness.

Today, Shamika is the Executive Director of i.c.stars |* Kansas City, a nonprofit organization focused on creating economic opportunity for underserved communities by bridging disconnected young adults with the high-growth tech sector.

Participants learn by doing; they build web-based applications to solve client challenges, and coding, business, and leadership instruction are provided along the way. They also gain the professional network needed to jumpstart their careers.

i.c.stars graduates become technologists who earn living wages (300% more than before) working as application developers or business analysts.

Over the last year, i.c. stars opened their offices downtown, launched an advisory board, and graduated their first class.

Shamika has been a United WE Ambassador for the last three years and graduated from the Centurions Leadership Program in June 2023.

Shamika's passion for helping underserved communities has already had a tremendous impact on the KC community, and I cannot wait to see what she can accomplish at i.c.stars. Her dedication, hard work, and empathy are just a few things that will lead to her continued success.

You can visit the i.c. stars website to learn more or donate.