UMKC Enactus’ Advisor Benjamin Williams was presented with the Jack Kahl Entrepreneurship Leadership Award for the Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow of the Year at the Enactus United States Online Exposition. The award, presented at the competition every year, honors an Enactus advisor who has done the most to advance the Enactus organization during the current academic year, exemplified leadership, made a direct impact on Enactus students, and helped students with career placement.

During his six years as an advisor, Williams has cultivated a team of over 100 members, one of the largest in the Midwest, comprised of everyone from business to biology majors, students with special needs, and mothers earning a degree. Over the last two years alone, Williams has mentored seven Enactus USA semi-national and National Leaders of the Year. He’s personally made over 80 career connections in the Kansas City entrepreneurial ecosystem to graduating Enactus students. In fact, Kansas City’s first Financial Technology Accelerator program, Fountain City Fintech, was entirely created and run by UMKC Enactus alumni and Williams’ mentees.

This award adds to a tradition of excellence among UMKC Enactus advisors. The team’s founding advisor, Cary Clark, was inducted into the Enactus USA Sam Walton Fellow Hall of Fame in 2014.  Clark served as advisor from 2005 until his retirement in 2015.  Erin Blocher, who teaches business communication at the Bloch School, joined Williams as a Co-Advisor in 2018.