MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Godfrey Riddle

Godfrey Riddle, MPA (he/him): artist, nonprofit executive, and serial social entrepreneur is driven to create inspiring communities where people reach their full potential. As a visionary servant leader, Godfrey has created and managed lines of business for nonprofit organizations that have generated over $19.4 million since 2014.

Godfrey was Director of Resource Development with ArtsKC where he and his team raised support for its programs and services designed to “advance lives through the arts.” He also helped found ArtsKC’s six-week Creative Leaders program to train rising stars as adaptive, anti-racist arts leaders and appoint them to arts nonprofit and civic boards.

Godfrey founded Civic Saint in October 2020 as a protest brand offering affirming apparel and accessories to advance social justice through donations to advocate organizations. Today, informed by his life as a Black, gay man and cancer survivor whose late parents struggled with homeownership, Civic Saint has pioneered a process that employs the advantages of earthen building systems, prefab manufacturing, and technology to sustainably produce artful, artist-led affordable housing and adaptive communities for revitalization and wealth creation.

Godfrey is an Ambassador for American Cancer Society and Board Member of BlaqOut which works to improve healthcare access and social outcomes for Black queer people in Kansas City. Past honors include 2023 Power of Diversity ACE Award, INK Magazine “30 under 30”, Foreign Language Area Studies Fellow, and Fulbright National Finalist. Meet Godfrey in Season 1, Episode 5 of “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” streaming on PeacockTV.