Leadership

Rashaan Gilmore is the founder and CEO of BlaqOut, which was established in 2017 as a grassroots movement to organize and mobilize Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ community and develop a leadership core. 

As a serial entrepreneur, community connector, organizer, and collaborator, Rashaan has worked with high profile corporate, civic, and nonprofit leaders in vital fast-paced advisory, organizational, and strategic roles. He is particularly passionate about making a difference and has found a home for his voice in service of marginalized and stigmatized communities where he brings his candor, intelligence, and wit to empower individuals to assert their right to be visible and thrive. 

Previously, Rashaan directed multiple significantly-sized SAMHSA and CDC-funded HIV prevention grants for a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Rashaan’s stellar and innovative work led to his being the distinguished recipient of the 2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Award. 

His keen insight and vast professional experience as a public speaker, researcher, and writer establish him as a sought after cultural and political analyst and commentator on radio, online, and television. For four years, Rashaan hosted and executive produced the popular live broadcast public affairs radio show “Unbossed and Unbothered with D. Rashaan,” which aired weekly on KKFI 90.1 FM. 

Currently, Rashaan can be both seen and heard monthly as host and moderator of “Flatland,” a live broadcast television show airing on Kansas City PBS, for which he won his first EMMY® Award in 2022. Additionally, Rashaan’s gripping essays and compelling op-eds on how race, gender, sexuality, and ability intersect and impact culture can soon be found in Newsweek.