Leanne Breiby, of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, talks downtown gondolas, becoming a Jayhawk and more
Name: Leanne Breiby
Occupation: Director of communications, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Twitter handle: @LeanneBreiby
Hometown: Olathe
Current neighborhood: Downtown KCMO
What I do: I encourage donors to give to the causes they care about through charitable-giving accounts, also known as donor-advised funds.
What’s your addiction? Doing. Anything, really — concerts, sporting events, bike rides, happy hours. My friends have started to call me do-anne. It’s not my favorite nickname.
What’s your game? Kickball. Current second baseman of the AAF-KC Kickball League dynasty, Kikkuboru Dojo.
What’s your drink? Whatever Adam Smith at the Milwaukee Deli decides to shake up.
Where’s dinner? Local Pig. My sister is a butcher there.
What’s on your KC postcard? The view from the first tee at Water Works Disc Golf Course.
Finish this sentence: “Kansas City got it right when …” It started promoting itself. Hello top-10 lists!
“Kansas City screwed up when …” It turned the heart of the city into a surface-parking-lot oasis.
“Kansas City needs …” A gondola from downtown to the bottoms. (Shout out to Jared Ficklin’s TED Talk at TEDxKC 2013.)
What are the first two terminal points on your KC rail system? Downtown and the Plaza.
“In five years, I’ll be …” Rich in Southwest Rapid Rewards points. Either that or I’ll have more stamps on my passport.
“I always laugh at …” My best friend, Sara Cahill. She’s a middle-school math teacher, but she belongs in a comedy troupe.
“I’ve been known to binge-watch …” Anything by Ken Burns. The National Parks and Baseball are my favorites.
“I can’t stop listening to …” 90.9 the Bridge. I love its emphasis on local music.
“I just read …” A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure? People watching, usually through my ninth-floor window.
The best advice I ever got: “Most fun wins.”
Worst advice: “Don’t become a Jayhawk.” I come from a long line of K-Staters. They weren’t thrilled when I chose KU over their alma mater.
My sidekick: My “Chiefs wife” Megan O’Halloran. We just celebrated our third anniversary as season ticket holders.
What is your nemesis? Junk food. I’m a serious junkie.
What’s your greatest struggle right now? My cat was just diagnosed with diabetes. I’m thinking about changing his name to Wilford Brimley.
My dating triumph/tragedy: Does riding an elevator with Travis Kelce count as a date?
My brush with fame: As a kid, I was on the cover of a woodworking magazine with a red wagon and a litter of Dalmatian puppies. No one has recognized me yet.
My soapbox: Grammar matters, even in a text message.
What was the last thing you had to apologize for? Taking my smelly trash on the elevator. Sorry, neighbors.
Who’s sorry now? Anyone who left early during the AL Wild Card game.
My recent triumph: Successfully mounting my bike on a Main Street MAX bike rack during rush hour.
