Utilizing a career in professional sports, Angel McGee is making an impact in her hometown of Kansas City.

Angel McGee is Kansas City through and through – Gates and LC’s are her barbecue destinations of choice – and since her return to the City of Fountains after graduating from Truman, she has worked to make her hometown better every day.

“My ultimate passion is to be able to give back to the city that raised me through philanthropic efforts and community involvement,” she said.

As the manager of community partnerships and events with the Kansas City Royals, McGee (’12) provides development, fundraising and administrative support to Royals Charities – the team’s foundation – as well as for the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy. If that were not enough, she is also an advisory board member of WIN For KC, a KC Champions board member for Teach For America, a member of the Kauffman Foundation Education Cohort and she works with the Tyrann Mathieu Foundation.

“I have had one amazing opportunity after another present itself through my various roles within the sports industry, specifically with the Royals and Chiefs organizations,” McGee said. “It has been even more rewarding to be an integral part of the impact the organization has had within the Kansas City community.”

Royals Charities supports children, education, youth baseball and softball field renovations, and military families in and around the Kansas City area. In 2020, the Royals Respond Fund was created to address food insecurity and other urgent needs related to the pandemic. To date, Royals Charities has put more than $18 million toward philanthropic endeavors in the area.

It comes as no surprise McGee found a career that enables her to empower youth through sports. Some of her fondest memories from childhood include watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls with her father and grandmother. As McGee studied communication at Truman, she dreamed of a career in broadcasting, working as an analyst and reporter for ESPN. After getting her foot in the door with two part-time positions with the Royals and Chiefs, she parlayed the opportunity into a successful career.

“I initially started as a mascot assistant with the Royals, and that position continued to open up doors to multiple positions along the way,” she said. “It’s been a humbling and reaffirming journey because it solidifies the notion that hard work and commitment really do pay off.”

For a Kansas City native, working in professional sports for the past decade has provided some extra special moments, including a close up view of two World Series, two Super Bowls and two titles for her hometown teams.

“The feeling is truly indescribable,” McGee said. “Growing up in Kansas City, it was always Chiefs, Royals and barbecue, so to be able to work for both sports franchises has been an incredible honor.”

As her career path keeps trending on an upward trajectory, McGee may one day be watching games from the C-suite. She has her sights set on being an executive with a franchise, and in keeping with her nature, she would use the opportunity to benefit others.

“I want to be a role model to the next generation of youth, especially for girls who look like me, to show them that there’s more to the sports industry than solely being an athlete,” she said.