Malinda Ann Barnett, MSW, has established a distinguished career across nearly three decades marked by a steadfast commitment to advancing the rights and well-being of individuals with disabilities. Since 2025, she has excelled as the executive director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas. Reporting directly to the board of directors, she is responsible for cultivating a robust and active board, with a focus on ensuring that more than half its members are individuals with disabilities. Dedicated to strengthening advocacy efforts and expanding support systems for Kansans across a broad spectrum of disabilities, Ms. Barnett is noted for her strategic approach to organizational development, including actively recruiting new board members and fostering inclusivity within the aforementioned council.
Prior to her present position, Ms. Barnett had found much success with Developmental Disability Services of Jackson County – eitas in Kansas City, Missouri, between 2009 and 2025. As community outreach manager from 2024 to 2025, she established and led the community outreach department, designing it specifically to help individuals with significant developmental disabilities who did not qualify for Medicaid. Under her direction, the department grew to seven staff members and successfully bridged critical service gaps for a highly vulnerable population. Ms. Barnett’s stellar efforts resulted in accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and garnered her the Outstanding Achievement and New Community Services Award in 2018.
From 2018 to 2024, Ms. Barnett served as community outreach supervisor at eitas, overseeing outreach initiatives and supporting individuals with developmental disabilities in accessing essential services. Between 2015 and 2018, she was appointed as the intake and information supervisor, managing intake processes and ensuring that clients received timely information about available resources. Ms. Barnett’s earlier roles at eitas included intake and information specialist from 2009 to 2013 and lead intake and information specialist from 2013 to 2015, where she provided direct support to clients navigating complex service systems.
Ms. Barnett previously coordinated early intervention services for young children with developmental challenges as a first steps intake coordinator at Community Support Services of Missouri in Independence from 2006 to 2009. From 2005 to 2006, she worked as a special education paraeducator in Turner Unified School District in Kansas City, Kansas, supporting students with diverse learning needs. Her tenure as service coordinator II at Kansas City Regional Office of the Department of Mental Health from 2004 to 2005 involved case management for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Between 2002 and 2004, Ms. Barnett was active as an independent living specialist at Coalition For Independence in Kansas City, Kansas, empowering clients to achieve greater autonomy within their communities.
Earlier, Ms. Barnett contributed as a research assistant at University of Missouri-Kansas City Institute for Human Development, now known as the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, from 2001 to 2002. She also held multiple posts for Boone County Family Resources, including teacher counselor from 1997 to 1999, administrative assistant for training and quality assurance from 1999 to 2000, and supported living assistant from 2000 to 2001. Ms. Barnett began her career as enclave supervisor and employment consultant at Advent Enterprises in Columbia in 1997.
Throughout her career trajectory, Ms. Barnett has drawn upon personal experience living with spina bifida—a congenital disability diagnosed at birth—which instilled in her a profound sense of purpose and advocacy. Her parents’ unwavering commitment set a foundation for her lifelong dedication to inclusion and empowerment within educational settings and beyond.
To support her ambitions within her field, Ms. Barnett earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri in 1997, where she embraced the holistic philosophy of social work—evaluating individuals within their broader environments. She subsequently graduated with a master’s degree in social work conferred by the University of Missouri in Columbia in 2001. This advanced education equipped her with clinical expertise and a systemic perspective essential for addressing complex challenges faced by people with disabilities. Her professional development is further distinguished by completion of the dare to lead certification based on Brené Brown’s leadership principles in 2020. This credential has enhanced her capacity for courageous leadership and effective mentorship within disability services.
Ms. Barnett currently serves as vice president on the board of Southern Africa Volunteer Enterprise Inc., a family-founded nonprofit dedicated to funding community programs that align with her passion for disability advocacy. Through this foundation, she directs resources toward initiatives such as Camp MITIOG (Made in the Image of God), where she previously served as a board member, providing annual funding for children with spina bifida. She is also a member of Spina Bifida Kansas City since 2026 after previously operating as as treasurer; she continues to provide financial support to the organization through her family foundation. Additionally, Ms. Barnett volunteers as a Lady Shriner with Ladies’ Oriental Shrine of North America Inc., inspired by personal experiences receiving care from Shriners Hospital during adolescence.
Ms. Barnett attributes her enduring success to the consistent support received from key individuals throughout her life; most notably her parents, whose advocacy shaped both her personal values and professional aspirations. Her achievements have been celebrated through numerous honors, such as the Outstanding Achievement and New Community Services Award from eitas in 2018 and an Award from University of Kansas Medical Center acknowledging departmental contributions to research on reducing disability in Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, she was inducted into Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. Looking toward the future, Ms. Barnett aims to leverage her statewide leadership role at Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas to advocate for positive systems change benefiting Kansans with disabilities by implementing substantive improvements that directly impact the disability community.