FOCUS St. Louis® has selected 31 talented early-career professionals for the Fall 2024 cohort of Emerging Leaders. This civic leadership program provides participants with an increased sense of engagement in the region, as well as the tools to take an active role as the next generation of St. Louis regional leaders.
Since its launch in 2012, FOCUS Emerging Leaders has trained more than 700 young professionals from across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. During the four-month program, participants meet with area leaders to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of St. Louis, explore their personal, professional and civic leadership styles and gain a diverse network of peers. Upon graduation, participants become part of the FOCUS network of more than 11,000 leadership program alumni.
The Emerging Leaders program is presented with support from Ameren Missouri, Big League Impact, Dierbergs Markets, Kwame Charitable Foundation, the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce – St. Louis, and RGA Foundation.
Learn more about Emerging Leaders and the other FOCUS civic leadership programs at www.focus-stl.org.
Spring 2025 Emerging Leaders Class
Afua Agyeman
Office Coordinator
University of Missouri-Saint Louis, College of Nursing
Christina Angle
Director of Development
CyberUp
Daniel Arias
Mobility Planner
Crawford, Murphy & Tilly
Saida Cornejo Zuñiga
Recruitment and Capital Access Lead
WEPOWER
Cherrah Dodds
Case Manager
Almost Home
KaWanna Gilyard
Chief Human Resources Officer
Normandy Schools Collaborative
Morgan Groth
Interior Designer
Jacobs
Nick Hartzler
Sr. Project Manager, Credits & Incentives
Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners
Marlin Hegger
Manufacturing Coordinator
Steris
Ryan Jennings
Community Initiatives Coordinator
Ameren
Brad Jones
Sr. Analyst, Financial Reporting
Ameren
Rachel Jones-Harris
Director of Partners and Programs
St. Louis Area Foodbank
Ben Lamport
Communications Program Manager
The Opportunity Trust
Melanie Martin
Director of Community Engagement
St. Louis Area Foodbank
Shea Metzler
Business Administrative Assistant
Rynearson, Seuss, Schnurbusch and Champion, LLC
Malik Oliphant
Accounting Manager
Saint Louis County Government
Megan O’Neal
Business Manager
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Matthew Pollock
Executive Director
Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District
Landon Porter
Development Director
Youth In Need
Alex Reichert
Senior Project Manager
Office of the County Executive for Saint Louis County
Tiare Sadarananda
Manager of Creative Services
Girl Louie
Lisanne Stoop
Senior Specialist Talent Management
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Jayla Stubblefield
Senior Information Security Specialist
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Curtis Stuesse
Social Impact Professional
Looking for Employment
Sean Sullivan
Manager
St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Reana Thomas
Strategist
Missouri Foundation for Health
Aliyah Walls
Engagement and Belonging Coordinator
Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri
Alexis Warshaw
Community Development Manager
Miriam School and Learning Center
Shilpi Yadav
Relationship Manager: Pre release and Enrollment
Concordance
Robert Yost
Finance Business Partner
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis