This year, 280 leaders graduated from a FOCUS program. They represent all ages and career levels – from high school students to CEOs – and came together from a wide range of sectors, industries and backgrounds. In addition to challenging themselves as leaders, we hope each graduate gained a deeper understanding of our St. Louis region and how they can play a role in making our community stronger.

Please join us in welcoming them to the FOCUS alumni community of more than 11,000 graduates!

Leadership St. Louis 2024-25

Abdul Abdullah, Park Central Development Corporation
Michael Adams, Protective Asset Protection
Maurice Allen, Midland States Bank
Lindsey Alt, Washington University-St. Louis
Jason Archer, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership
Sean Armstrong, Washington University In St. Louis
Kathryn Banks, Saint Louis University
BreAnne Best, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Candace Bingham, Saint Louis Zoo
Matt Burkemper, Commerce Bank
Kristine Callis-Duehl, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Anne Marie Carroll, Veterans Community Project, St. Louis
Vanessa Cooksey, Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis
Adrienne Dawson, Millipore Sigma
Natasha Dunwoody, JACOBS
Jennifer Engeling, Edward Jones
Lathon Ferguson, The Little Bit Foundation
Latosha Fowlkes, The Core Collective at Saint Vincent
Ta’Lisha Franklin, Cornerstone Center for Early Learning
Marissa Hardwrict, Washington University In St. Louis
Reggie Hill, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Helen Hsu, Millipore Sigma
Cindy Hults, Edward Jones
Zasmine Johnson, Girls Inc. of St. Louis
Marius Johnson-Malone, Center for Civic Research and Innovation
Usha Kesavan, MLO Law LLC
Fatima Khan, Thompson Coburn LLP
Ash Kherdekar, Paisley A&C/Youth In Need
Emily Koenig, St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund
Monique Levy, Levy Consulting Co.
Dierre Littleton, KIPP St. Louis Public Schools
Michelle McClay, Ascension Health
Kathleen Navin, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Joe Neely, Behr, McCarter, Neely & Gabris, PC
Erika Nilles-Plumlee, StoneBridge Senior Living
Crystal Officer, Beverly Farm Foundation
Angela Pancella, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Province of Mid-North America
Patricia Parchmon, St. Louis Community Credit Union
Colleen Polak, City of St. Louis
Rachel Pourchot, BJC HealthCare
Rachel Powers, The Opportunity Trust
David Pradhan, The Haskell Company
Sierhah Price, Marian Middle School
Dan Richter, Lifewise
Alex Roberts, FleishmanHillard Inc.
Chris Ryan, STL.org
Ty Schuldt, Enterprise Bank & Trust
Wesley Seaton, Village Tech Schools
Adrienne Sharp, Missouri Historical Society
Tamara Sheffield, Forest Park Forever
Arinola Solanke, My Events Coordinator – Party Rentals
Laura Stallings, St. Louis Public Library
Geoffrey Vaughn, Mackey Mitchell Architects
Jeff Wade, Asian American Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Scott Weindel, Edward Jones
Roy Whitley, Rx Outreach
Patrick Wilkins, Amazon
Chelsey Winsor, Armanino, LLP

Women In Leadership Fall 2024

Jeanice Baker, Explore St. Louis
Suzy Barbosa, International Institute of St. Louis
Faith Barnes, KIPP St. Louis Public Schools
Annessa Blackmun, Ponce Health Sciences University
Alexandra Boyd
Jo Anna Brown, Central States Water Resources
Carrie Burggraf
Yolanda Campbell, Missouri Department of Mental Health
Samantha Chartrand, Edward Jones
Felicia Crawford-Randle, Thompson Coburn LLP
Nicole Dalton, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri
Andrea Donsbach, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Khara Hall, Millipore Sigma
Julie Hantman, The Saigh Foundation
Tori Jennemann, Independent Consultant
Dinitra Jones, Cushman & Wakefield
Christine Keller, Washington University In St. Louis
Jasmin Marshall, St. Louis Community College
Pam Marshall, CareSTL Health
Martha McGeehon, Missouri Charter Public School Commission
Kirby Meyer, Saint Louis Zoo
Victoria Nickerson, Marian Middle School
Tambra Pendleton, BELIEVE Academy
Ali Plackemeier, Logan University
Raven Pugh, Upper Coaching
Kelly Schrieber
Anne Seitz, Nestlé Purina PetCare
Alnita Smiley, United Way of Greater St. Louis
Karyn Spory, St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund
Alison Williams, Accenture
Kimberli Wilson, City Academy
Cierra Wourman, Confluence Academies

Women In Leadership Spring 2025

Thesina Adams, Wells Fargo Advisors
Donna Beck, Advantage Travel Consultants LLC
Rochelle A. Calhoun, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Janell Cross, Bridge 2 Hope Parent Institute
Sauywanna Davis, Keychain Karnival LLC
Rachel Deffenbaugh, Washington University Medical Center
Brandi Evans, BJC HealthCare
Dr. Linda Faas, African Chamber of Commerce
Jessica Fischoff, Jewish Community Center
AshleyRae Fisher, The Salvation Army
Pam Froidl-Cates, Edward Jones
Genesis Glover, Per Scholas
Krysta Grangeno, Limitless Horizons Consulting
Britny Hill, 1% for the Planet
Brooke LaPlaca, Greater St. Louis, Inc.
Veronica Lewis-Kelly, Confluence Academies
Stephanie Lundy, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Syerra Meadows-Haynes, East Side Aligned
Christy Miller, Access Point
Judy Ngugi, St. Luke’s Hospital
Kelli Reeves, St. Louis County Libraries
Katie Reinarman, Missouri Botanical Garden
Lauren Schmitt, Ameren Missouri
Lauren Sharpe, BJC HealthCare
Sharifah Sims-Williams, Affinia HealthCare
Megan Slocum, TechSoup
Adriana Stable, YWCA Metro St. Louis
Jamie Stafos, MLO Law LLC
Sheila Strebler, Millipore Sigma
Patty Sturm, CPP, Alberici Constructors Inc.
Ebony Williams, Bridge 2 Hope Parent Institute
Marquetta Wise, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern MO

Emerging Leaders Fall 2024

Nicole Alexander, County Housing
Tony Ballard, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Rohan Biscuitwala, Caleres
Aariq Clark, Wells Fargo Advisors
Ruth Durrell, Less Annoying CRM
AJ Foster, Digital Promise Global
Sophia Garcia, St. Louis Development Corporation
Mesha Garner, Dear Diary, Inc.
Jake Haggmark, HOK
Robyn Harvey, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Holly Hicks, The Foundation For Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Lashonda Hill, Believe Academy
Dominic Jackson, St. Louis Community College
James Jackson, McCarthy Builders, Inc.
Erin LoRusso
Kenny Miller, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Cassie Moore, Millipore Sigma
Mary Petropoulos, GadellNet Consulting Services
David Piskulic, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Tyler Rogers, Moneta Group
Jordan Rothrock, Concordance
Sara Ruby, Moneta Group
Vince Rug, UMB Bank of St. Louis, N.A.
Elmina Tasic, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Deveny Trautman, World Wide Technology
Allie Wargel, Edward Jones
Sidney Williams, Millipore Sigma

Emerging Leaders Spring 2025

Afua Agyeman, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Christina Angle, CyberUp
Daniel Arias, Crawford, Murphy & Tilly
Saida Cornejo, WEPOWER
Cherrah Dodds, Almost Home
KaWanna Gilyard, Normandy School District
Morgan Groth, JACOBS
Nick Hartzler, Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners
Marlin Hegger, Steris
Ryan Jennings, Ameren Missouri
Brad Jones, Ameren
Rachel Jones-Harris, St. Louis Area Foodbank
Ben Lamport, The Opportunity Trust
Melanie Martin, St. Louis Area Foodbank
Shea Metzler, Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch & Champion, LLC
Megan O’Neal, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Malik Oliphant, Revenue Department
Matthew Pollock, Zoo Museum District
Landon Porter, Youth In Need
Alex Reichert, St. Louis County
Tiare Sadarananda, Girl Louie
Lisanne Stoop, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Jayla Stubblefield, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Curtis Stuesse, Cornerstone Corporation of St. Louis CDC
Sean Sullivan, St. Louis Trust
Reana Thomas, Missouri Foundation for Health
Aliyah Walls, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri
Lexi Warshaw, Miriam School and Learning Center
Shilpi Yadav, Concordance
Robert Yost, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Youth Leadership St. Louis 2024-25 Participating Schools/Organization

Affton High School
Behavioral Health Response
Bishop DuBourg High School
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis /
St. Louis Internship Program
Chaminade College Preparatory School
Confluence Preparatory Academy
Cor Jesu Academy
Crossroads College Preparatory School
Gateway STEM High School
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Nerinx Hall High School
O’Fallon Township High School
Pattonville High School
Roosevelt High School
Saint Louis University High School
St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School
Ursuline Academy
Vashon High School

Experience St. Louis Fall 2024

John Dougherty, A.T. Still University
Gena Kadar, Sonoran University
Doug Neff, Commerce Bank
David Reynolds, Mercer Advisors
H. Garrett Thompson, Logan University