Our Team

With over 25 years of community engagement experience, business management, and project-based development, Dina Newman is the Director of the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s (UMKC) Center for Neighborhoods. Hired in 2016 as the Center’s first director, Dina oversees the organization’s daily operations and strategies – which include the development and implementation of a neighborhood leadership training curriculum, cultivating cross-sector partnerships, project and program administration; budget development; grant writing and fund development; staff and student intern supervision; and asset-based community development (ABCD) neighborhood outreach. With a focus on “communities of concern” (those communities that experience social vulnerabilities, low wealth, poor health, and concentrated poverty), Dina works to promote a neighborhood culture of health through new forms of urban innovation, project implementation, and university-community collaboration. She is also the founder of Kansas City Black Urban Growers, Inc. (KCBUGs), and her favorite vegetables are cucumbers and snow peas.

Tom Meyer is an urban planner who is interested in breaking down the barriers that surround municipal planning and development processes so that the neighborhood organizations we serve can forge their own futures. Tom is a 2020 graduate of UMKC – Architecture, Urban Planning + Design and served as a Center for Neighborhoods intern in the summer of 2018. In his current role, Tom monitors current planning processes, alerts neighborhoods about planning actions in their community, and responds to neighborhood questions and concerns regarding changes to the built environment in their communities. Additionally, Tom works with the CFN team to develop curriculum materials for the Center’s workshops and Cohort Neighborhood Leadership Training classes. Tom’s passion for urban places stems from his many years riding his bicycle, taking public transportation and walking around his historic neighborhood in Midtown Kansas City.

Royce Handy is a multi-hyphenate creative and urban advocate with a background in youth programming, EdTech, music, social media management/strategy, brand partnerships, and creative marketing. He received his BA in Urban Studies from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2023 and is a current MPA student in Urban Policy & Management. His role at the Center for Neighborhoods combines his formal studies, self-taught skillset and entrepreneurial experience, with his love for neighborhoods and community development. Royce serves on InterUrban ArtHouse’s Artist Advisory Committee, was a 2021 International Music Fellow for OneBeat (a program from the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs), and received the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Poetry for Personal Power.

LaMonica previously worked for the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas (KCK) for 14 years serving residents through the Aging & Disability Resource Center and most recently as the Neighborhood Liaison with the Livable Neighborhoods Office.  Her experience in coalition building, grassroots organizing, and facilitation is the driving force in her endeavors in the community.  She serves on many civic and social service organizations’ advisory boards and committees. She’s a Certified Life Coach and a recent graduate of Avila University, Kansas City, Missouri with a Master’s of Science in Organization Development Psychology (MSOD).

Dr. Jacob A. Wagner is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning + Design, the Director of the Urban Studies Program, and Faculty Director and Co-founder of the UMKC Center for Neighborhoods. Dr. Wagner teaches courses in urban planning and urban studies focused on neighborhood planning, equity and community development in the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design (AUPD). He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Urban Design. Dr. Wagner actively represents Kansas City in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as a founding member of Kansas City’s City of Music focal point organization – Creative City KC. He served on the Vacant Lot Task Force for the Environmental Management Commission of the City of Kansas City, MO and is the past President of the Board of Cultivate KC.

Dr. Michael Frisch is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning + Design and Chair of the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design. He teaches Urban Design Studio and Urban Environmental Planning. His research examines community development, housing, environmental justice, and LGBTQ communities. Dr. Frisch maintains certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and he has served on the Kansas City Brownfields Commission.