DeAngela Burns-Wallace on Legacy, Leadership, and Living Unapologetically

In this episode of The Authority Company Podcast, Joe Pardavila sits down with DeAngela Burns-Wallace, CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, former U.S. diplomat, and author of Made for This: Lessons in Leadership, Legacy, and Living Unapologetically. Together, they explore how family, faith, and community built the foundation of her leadership journey. DeAngela shares how her grandmother’s example of service shaped her view of responsibility, why Youth Sunday at Paradise Missionary Baptist Church became her first leadership training ground, and how early exposure to Robert’s Rules and public speaking prepared her to lead in high-stakes rooms. She reflects on confronting racism as a high school senior, the emotional weight of reliving that experience, and how mentors and community at Stanford helped her move forward with strength rather than fear. The conversation also dives into her lifelong love of education, the belief that knowledge creates agency, and her work advancing economic mobility through barrier removal and access. DeAngela explains how she approaches the word “equity” in a divided climate and why strong communities benefit everyone. This episode is about legacy, intentional community building, and the responsibility leaders carry to create environments where the next generation can thrive.