Military leadership and community leadership may seem like parallel paths. One requires structure, strategy, and decisive action. The other thrives on relationships, trust, and human connection. Throughout his career, Willy Pegues IV has gained a reputation as a leader who brings these worlds together. After serving 33 years in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves, Willy retired as a colonel with a Legion of Merit Bronze Star and four Meritorious Service Medals for exemplary leadership.
Despite these impressive credentials, Willy comes across as warm, thoughtful, and approachable. He speaks candidly about mentorship, opportunity, relationships, and the importance of community support. On any given week, Willy can be found helping a non profit think through growth strategy, mentoring college students as they prepare for professional life, supporting organizations focused on affordable housing, or connecting businesses and community leaders across Kansas City.
Willy currently serves as Vice President Business Development – Healthcare at McCownGordon Construction. Colleagues and community leaders describe Willy as a connector who helps bridge organizations and industries from healthcare and technology to non-profit leadership and civic engagement. His dedication and service to community support recently earned him recognition as a member of The Independent’s 2026 Class Rising Stars.
Willy grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where his father spent his career in law enforcement. Some of Willy’s earliest memories involve watching his father engage with the community and witnessing firsthand what it looked like to make an impact. Those moments left a lasting impression. Willy recalled a classmate once telling him, “One thing about your father, he really cares about the kids in the community.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, Willy’s 33-year military career led him to various leadership roles, including operations officer, chief knowledge management officer, battalion commander, and brigade commander. During deployments, he participated in humanitarian missions focused on giving back to and lifting up communities. Thinking back on his years of balancing military and civilian leadership, Willy noted that he essentially had “two full-time jobs” at once. While in the Reserves, he simultaneously managed his civilian profession, where he developed a career in healthcare leadership. During nearly 15 years at what is now University Health, he served as an IT manager, director of primary medicine, associate administrator of women’s health, and chief diversity officer. Those days in uniform gave him a sense of purpose. “When I retired from the military in 2023, I said, ‘One of the things I’m going to miss is having that sense of purpose,’” he said.
Fortunately, that purpose did not disappear. Instead it evolved through his ongoing volunteerism, mentorship, and leadership. Whether he is on the job or in the community, Willy’s days in the service continue to influence how he approaches the objectives laid out before him. “Strategic thinking is really important in the work that I do,” he said. “You can take that structure and apply it to any industry or any space in terms of how you look at problems and think critically, and I do that daily.”
He explained that this mindset is especially valuable in non profit and civic spaces, where organizations often operate with limited resources. “A lot of times you’ve got to think outside the box,” he said. “The biggest barrier is funding.” Willy has applied strategic thinking in support of organizations that include the Midwest Innocence Project, Urban Neighborhood Initiative, Literacy KC, Gilda’s Club Kansas City, and the Black Chamber of Greater Kansas City. Through leadership and relationship-building, he has helped secure sponsorships, broadened donor networks, strengthened partnerships, and inspired volunteer engagement across multiple sectors within Kansas City.
When asked about the community work and outcomes that have stuck with him, Willy spoke about the work of the Midwest Innocence Project. “You see the immediate result,” he said. “Getting the email that a case has been closed and a person is fully exonerated, that is just such a great feeling.”
At the UMKC Men of Character Academy, Willy found satisfaction from passing down the lessons he learned from his early adulthood experiences. The organization focuses on young men as they enter college,” he said. “In many cases it’s going to be the first time they have been away from home, and they might be having a hard time adjusting to college life. As they get closer to graduation, they are about to transition from college life to professional life, and that is where they need some guidance.” In addition to mentorship, Willy also helped secure early fundraising support for the organization as it continued expanding its programming and student support efforts.
At the Black Chamber of Greater Kansas City, Willy led the committee for the program, “Stronger Together Kansas City, Close the Gap,” an initiative designed to help minority-owned businesses grow beyond their third, fourth, and fifth years by connecting them with essential operational services, including accounting, bookkeeping, human resources, and marketing. “We’re trying to get more businesses to where they can properly scale and be successful,” he said. “As we know, the more businesses succeed in a community, the more that community will continue to grow and thrive.”
Willy describes his approach to networking and community engagement as fundamentally about helping others. “It’s all about building genuine relationships,” he said. “It should be about what’s important to that person at that point in time, because people’s priorities and needs change depending on when you engage.”
Despite decades of military distinction, professional leadership, and civic recognition, Willy speaks about his accomplishments with humility. When asked what he hopes his long-term impact on Kansas City will be, his answer is simple and sincere. “Whatever I can provide, I just want to make it a positive difference,” he said. One relationship, one organization, and one opportunity at a time, Willy Pegues continues to do exactly that.
Featured in the June 13, 2026 issue of The Independent.
By Monica V. Reynolds
Photo Credit: Tom Styrkowicz
