Shawn Moore is the current president of the Modern Family Alliance (MFA). MFA is a local Kansas City organization, which aims to help connect LGBTQIA parents and their children to other similar families here in the greater Kansas City and surrounding areas. MFA sponsors annual fall and spring picnics, conferences, and events to help create community and connect LGBTQIA parents.
Shawn was born and raised in a small town in southern Iowa in the late 1970s / 80’s, and knew at a very early age he was gay. Shawn came out to close family members in high school and struggled deeply with the anxiety of community reprisal, parental disappointment, and fear during the AIDS crisis. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 with degrees in Finance and Japanese, worked overseas, and relocated to New York City for work in 2000, where he met Chuck. Shawn fulfilled a lifelong dream of getting married in 2011 to Chuck, and shortly after embarked on the journey to parenthood. Chuck and Shawn recently moved to Leawood, Kansas to be closer to family while raising kids, and to ensure their children would be brought up with Midwest cultural values. The couple have two daughters, a 2 1/2-year-old and a newborn, who are half-sisters sharing common maternal DNA (same egg donor), created by gestational surrogacy (like Kanye and Kim Kardashian). Shawn is a senior program manager for a large custodial bank in New York City, and Chuck is EVP and Chief Strategy Officer of Inlet, LLC, a B2B internet company.
Shawn will talk about MFA and his own journey—from coming of age as a closeted gay teen to becoming a gay dad in his mid-40’s, and the successes and failures he’s had along the way as a son, husband, and father.
I have had the pleasure of hearing Shawn speak and I know many parents will appreciate hearing his story! Join us!
