about us

LaShawn Walker is the Founder, President and CEO of Suburban Balance, a non-profit Family organization that provides educational and cultural opportunities to suburban kids of color to help ensure they experience a well-balanced lifestyle while growing up in their suburban communities or attend schools that lack diversity! LaShawn founded the non-profit in 2012 and to date, more than 400 families from Missouri & Kansas have joined the organization.

LaShawn is also the driving force behind the new movement, "LIFT HER UP", a movement of nearly 900 followers she founded in 2017 to inspire more women to support, encourage, elevate, nominate, celebrate and LIFT one another up in business and beyond!

LaShawn is a visionary and passionate advocate for culture exposure, equity in education and balance! She founded Suburban Balance 9 years ago with a strong desire to provide educational & cultural opportunities for kids growing up in the suburbs! LaShawn and her family have resided in the suburban community of Lees Summit for the past 18 years! Through Suburban Balance, she has created an avenue for kids to come together to learn about their culture and have fun while doing so! Additionally through SB kids are able to network, bond and build long term friendships to last a lifetime! During the past 7 years she and her leadership team along with SB family volunteers have been filling an important gap of cultural exposure! One of LaShawn's long term goals for SB was to create an organization that caters to the entire family! Through the various initiatives she and her team have launched over the years, her goal has been achieved, SB has now built a strong network of moms and dads, thus making it an organization for the entire family to enjoy! The organization has also tackled important issues such as mental health and equity in education! In part due to the advocacy work of Suburban Balance, her Equity team and families, in June of 2019, the Lee’s Summit School Board rendered a 6-1 re-vote on hiring a consultant to do district diversity training.

In 2016, LaShawn was recognized for her work with Suburban Balance as an “Examiner Women of Distinction Honoree”, a select group of women making a difference in Eastern Jackson County! This recognition was the result of her dedication and commitment and the work she’s done with Suburban Balance. This by far has been one of LaShawn's most notable recognitions since founding the non profit! Being honored for the work that she's so passionate about is priceless! In 2017 LaShawn returned to the awards ceremony and participated in the Examiner Women of Distinction as an Alumni to support the new honorees! Participating as an Alumni opened her eyes to various possibilities to further her work and in part led her to launch "LIFT HER UP".

In 2017, LaShawn was named an appointee of Jackson County Executive, Frank White Jr to serve on the Community Advisory Committee at the Health Forward Foundation. She left her duties in 2018 to focus on building her non-profit. When she's not running Suburban Balance, she works as a Client Relationship Manager at UMB Bank and has been there for the past 6 years. She has held corporate careers in banking, pharmaceutical sales and has been a small business owner. LaShawn has been married to her college sweetheart for 26 years and has one son and a granddaughter. She enjoys writing, reading, landscaping, decorating, spending time with family & volunteering in the community, mentoring young girls and staying busy with Suburban Balance and “Lift Her Up”! Her initiatives for 2020 is addressing Mental Illness again and continuing her advocacy work on Equity in Education and building a strong women's networking group for the Examiner's Women of Distinction Honorees to further her mission of supporting and Lifting others!