At the 29th Annual What’s Right with the Region Awards Celebration on May 7, FOCUS St. Louis will recognize two outstanding alumnae of its civic leadership programs:

2026 FOCUS St. Louis Legacy Alumni Award
Amy Shaw, President & CEO, Nine PBS – Leadership St. Louis 2013

2026 FOCUS St. Louis Emerging Alumni Award
Keisha Mabry Haymore, Managing Director, Per Scholas – Emerging Leaders 2013

“Each year, nearly 300 individuals graduate from our FOCUS programs and take what they’ve learned into their personal, professional and civic leadership roles,” says Dr. Yemi Akande-Bartsch, President & CEO of FOCUS St. Louis. “Our alumni awards are designed to recognize FOCUS graduates who have demonstrated this commitment to putting their leadership into action for our St. Louis region.”

A graduate of FOCUS’ Leadership St. Louis program and past FOCUS board chair, Amy Shaw has served as President & CEO of Nine PBS since February 2020, when she became the first woman to lead Nine in its 70+ year history. Under her leadership, Nine PBS has achieved national distinction as the most-watched PBS station in the country for five of the past six years and has emerged as a trusted civic storyteller, earning 87% community trust rating in a recent survey. The organization has also been consistently recognized as a Best Place for Women to Work by the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis. Recognized as a national leader and innovator in community engagement and public media, Amy created the Nine PBS Model for Engagement, designed to guide public media organizations in deepening their impact as essential community institutions.

Amy serves on the national board of PBS, as chair of public media’s Affinity Group Coalition and the Public Television Major Market Group, and on the Grand Center, Inc. board. She is a member of the St. Louis Forum and International Women’s Forum. Amy was an inaugural Eisenhower Zhi-Xing Fellow in 2015, traveling to China to study Chinese media and how communities address complex issues.

An alumna of FOCUS’ Emerging Leaders program for young professionals, Keisha Mabry Haymore is a connector, convener and social entrepreneur on a mission to change the world one connection at a time. She is a Certified Google Coach and Verizon Digital Ready Advocate who has trained thousands in digital strategy and AI adoption. In addition, Keisha is Managing Director of Per Scholas, a tech bootcamp for AI-enabled tech careers and an adjunct lecturer at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She has been selected for several prestigious fellowships, including Aspen Ideas Scholar, Fulbright Specialist, Goldman Sachs, and Tory Burch. She has been a TEDx speaker and is the author of the book Hey Friend: 100 Ways to Connect with 100 People in 100 Days.

 Keisha has delivered more than 150 keynote speeches for Fortune 500 companies and top brands like Spotify, Mastercard, Nielsen, Square, SXSW, Edward Jones, Bayer, Facebook, YUM!, Ikea, SHRM, New York Fashion Week, US Bank and Brit + Co. She has been recognized in the St. Louis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and named among the “Ones to Watch” by St. Louis Magazine.

The St. Louis community is invited to join us to recognize these outstanding alumnae, as well as the 20 What’s Right with the Region award honorees and Leadership Award recipient Lesley Hoffarth, on May 7. Tickets are on sale now! 

 29^th Annual FOCUS St. Louis What’s Right with the Region Awards Celebration
Thursday, May 7, 2026 · 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri – St. Louis