From volunteering to her passion project, Whitney Klasna is all about the agriculture industry. Written By: Emily Beal | ×
Whitney Klasna often goes to her cattle pasture to connect to the internet. (Photo by Whitney Klasna)
Editor s note: In honor of Agweek s 35th anniversary, this is part of a series of features on people who seem poised to be a big part of the next 35 years of agriculture in the region. If you have a suggestion of someone who should be featured, email it to
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For some people, down time is a crucial part of their day; perhaps choosing to read a new book, or sip on a coffee while they watch the scenery from their front porch after a hectic day. But not Whitney Klasna; she would rather spend her time giving back to the industry she has grown to love.
But last year, when Angeline Johnson arrived in Wichita, Kansas, as a FUSE executive fellow tasked by the City Manager’s Office with encouraging equitable investment in Opportunity Zones (OZs), she discovered that some residents in northeast Wichita had mobilized to share concerns about their OZ designation.
“There was a legitimate fear of gentrification and displacement,” Johnson said.
The value of OZs to underserved communities has come under scrutiny. Attempting to track the program’s community impact, the Urban Institute released an early assessment recently that identified several issues. The most glaring, said Jorge González, a research analyst in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute, is that the federal government offers no guidelines on which projects receive the incentive, apart from the exclusion of a few “sin” businesses (such as liquor stores and facilities used for gambling), while limited oversight and little tran