Ron McLinden is a native of Kansas City and holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has been employed by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, since 1967.

Ron is active in the Sierra Club and has held a number of volunteer leadership positions with the Club. He currently is a member of the Club's Missouri Conservation Committee and chairs the Missouri Transportation Committee. He represented the Club on the Missouri Total Transportation Commission appointed by the Governor in 1996, and received the Distinguished Service Award from the Ozark Chapter of the Club in 2001.

Ron serves on the boards of the Regional Transit Alliance of Kansas City and the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, and is an active member of the Surface Transportation and Environment Committees of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

Ron advocates "resource efficient urban form," and has spoken about smart growth and resource efficiency to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, the Governor's Conference on Transportation, the Governor's Economic Development Conference, the Missouri Environmental Quality Conference, Missouri Association of Realtors, and the American Planning Association.