A St. Louis native, Leon Nevils is a Senior at McCluer South-Berkeley High School. With multiple leadership roles like President of Black Student Association, 12th Grade representative, MAHEC Certified Student, FOCUS Youth Leadership St. Louis Graduate, and 2025 St. Louis Internship Alumni. He is passionate about bringing change and help for those in need. Along with that change he makes …
Kate Cerny is a dedicated student leader at Cor Jesu Academy with a passion for serving others and making a meaningful impact in her community. As a leader for the Pink Ribbon Good Fall Fundraiser, she helped raise both funds and awareness for individuals and families affected by cancer while strengthening her skills in collaboration, organization, and advocacy. Through her …
David LaValle, a senior vice president and senior partner, leads FleishmanHillard’s Public Affairs practice at the St. Louis headquarters. He has developed and managed a wide array of corporate reputation, crisis, issue-based, and public affairs campaigns for a range of corporate and non-profit clients. David spent 10 years in Washington, D.C. in both the public and private sector beginning his …
Tim Jurado is a dedicated financial advisor at Raymond James, committed to helping individuals and families build confident financial futures. He graduated from Fontbonne University, where he developed a strong foundation in finance and relationship-driven service. Tim further expanded his leadership and community impact through the FOCUS St. Louis Emerging Leaders program, gaining valuable insight into regional leadership and civic …
Norma Jackson is the Chief Opportunity and Attorney Development Officer at Thompson Coburn LLP. Driven by passion, experience, and creativity, she leads the firm’s attorney professional development and diversity initiatives across all levels, working in partnership with clients, community organizations, and legal networks nationwide. Norma is a strategic thought leader and trusted advisor who collaborates closely with practice group leaders, …
Jessica Erfling is a strategic leader, community advocate, and relationship builder with more than 15 years of experience advancing people-centered initiatives, organizational growth, and cross-sector collaboration. As Chief of Staff to the Enterprise Leadership Team at Edward Jones, she’s a member of the Managing Partner’s Office and serves as a strategic advisor to senior leadership, shaping enterprise governance and decision-making. …
Madeline Hauck joined the FOCUS team in August 2025 as the Program Coordinator. In this role, she provides comprehensive program support and administrative coordination for all of FOCUS’ civic leadership programs. Madeline brings nine years of experience in education and nonprofit programming, including teaching high school French and adult ESL, as well as facilitating youth financial literacy and career readiness …
Erin Wright joined the FOCUS team in July 2025 as Manager, Community Engagement and Alumni Experience. In this role, Erin assists with program recruitment and alumni relations efforts, as well as providing overall administrative support. She brings a strong operations background, most recently serving as Chief of Staff for Roanoke Construction and previously as Development Coordinator for Operation Food Search. …
Kathy O’Neill is currently president and CEO of O’Neill Advisers, LLC, a consulting firm working with organizations throughout St. Louis and beyond to enhance the leadership capabilities of executives and emerging leaders, while also supporting workforce development initiatives in the region. Kathy worked for 38 years in the banking industry. She spent more than 36 years in various leadership roles …
Reggie Hill is the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment and Career Advancement at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), bringing over 18 years of experience in enrollment management. He is responsible for overseeing enrollment, registration, recruitment, student support services, athletics, financial aid, workforce integration, and marketing strategies. Previously, Hill held leadership roles at the University of the Ozarks, Saint Leo …
Barry Falke joined American Red Cross as a Regional CEO in October of 2022. In this role, he leads a team of 90 employees and 2,500 volunteers to advance all Red Cross mission in a 199-county area that covers the states of Missouri, Arkansas, and portions of Illinois and Kansas. As a native of Fresno, California, Barry graduated from California …
Yinka Faleti is a Nigerian-born American immigrant who has built a remarkable career of public service and leadership. A West Point graduate and U.S. Army Captain who served two tours in Kuwait, Faleti transitioned from military service to law, working as an attorney at a global law firm and state prosecutor in St. Louis. His professional journey includes leading fundraising …
Vanessa Cooksey leads the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis, the largest public funder of the arts in St. Louis awarding more than 8,000 grants totaling over $150million since its inception in 1985 (racstl.org). Over the last three decades, Vanessa has held marketing, communications and philanthropy leadership positions with a variety of companies including Mary Kay Cosmetics, The City of …
Rebecca Brown is the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and University Governance, where she serves as a thought partner to the Chancellor and the cabinet. She is also a designated strategic liaison to various constituencies internal and external to the university. As Board Secretary, Rebecca is responsible for working alongside the Board of Chair and Chancellor on matters of university governance. …
Emily Brasel is the Vice President of Internal Communications at BJC Health, one of the region’s largest employers, with 44,000 employees, 24 hospitals, and hundreds of clinics, service organizations and physician offices in Missouri, southern Illinois and eastern Kansas. Prior to her current role, she led internal communications at Wells Fargo Advisors. She also has held communication leadership roles at …
Dr. Jody Sowell serves as the seventh president in the 156-year history of the Missouri Historical Society. Appointed to the position in July 2022, Jody is hardly new to MHS or to St. Louis. He has worked at MHS for 16 years and has lived in St. Louis for 19. Jody has served in several roles in his time at …
Sekhar Prabhakar is the Co-founder of CEdge Inc, which supports several federal and commercial customers. He has worked as a senior technical staff member for high-tech companies such as Sun Microsystems & Sybase. He has received numerous awards for his commitment to the company’s excellence and philanthropy. Sekhar was recognized as one of the most inspiring CEOs by Industry Tech …
Christina Moore joined Saint Louis University in July 2024 as Senior Associate General Counsel. In her previous role at Husch Blackwell, Christina represented clients in a wide variety of healthcare litigation, including insurance questions, reimbursement disputes, regulatory matter, and Department of Justice investigations. Most of her career has centered on healthcare even in her pre-law days: prior to attending law …
As Vice President of Community Development for Regions Bank, Eric Madkins is responsible for developing partnerships with business groups both internally and externally to assist in successfully identifying community development lending opportunities, investments and services in low and moderate income communities. He is also responsible for corporate compliance for community reinvestment act activities for Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. He earned …
Stephen Lee is currently a Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Ameren Corporation leading the legal department of over 45 legal professionals in support of Ameren Corporation’s various power companies. Prior to joining Ameren in 2020, Stephen was a Managing Counsel at BP for over 19 years leading the downstream legal team in the Americas. Stephen graduated with a …
Melissa Lackey is enterprise president of Dix & Eaton, a full-service strategic communications and marketing consultancy formed through the combination of Cleveland-based Dix & Eaton and St. Louis-based Standing Partnership. She leads the firm’s operating groups across both markets, helping organizations accelerate growth, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and anticipate and manage risk to enhance enterprise value. Before the firms joined forces, …
Missy Kelley is a seasoned professional with over 22 years of experience in strategic growth roles within Fortune 500 companies in the consumer-packaged goods and pharmacy benefits management sectors. Her expertise lies in driving innovation, market expansion and strategic planning. Missy’s strategic insights and leadership capabilities have been instrumental in creating lasting impacts on both the corporate and public sectors. …
LaTonya Keaton is a Regional Vice President for CoBank, one of the largest private providers of credit to the rural economy, delivering loans, leases, and other financial services to agribusiness and rural infrastructure companies in all 50 states. In this role, LaTonya leads a team of five Relationship Managers, who support Grain, Farm Supply, and Food and Agribusiness customers in …
A Leadership St. Louis graduate, Jackie Janus has more than 15 years of experience at leading strategic communications firm FleishmanHillard. Jackie has both B2B and B2C background, including media-strategy chops, executive visibility, thought leadership, and issues-management experience. As a member of the St. Louis office’s leadership team, Jackie helps manage a 35-person corporate reputation practice group and profit center, where …
