Reed Thomas Shah is a committed and thoughtful student leader from St. Louis University High School who has found deep purpose through his involvement in Youth Leadership St. Louis. His global mindset has been shaped by a U.S. State Department program in Amman, Jordan, where he studied Arabic, participated in service projects, and immersed himself in local culture. He continues …
Born and raised in Saint Louis, Asmaa Mohamood Osman is deeply committed to uplifting and serving the community that has shaped who she is. She is entering her senior year at Rockwood Summit High School. In addition to her involvement with the St. Louis Internship Program and Youth Leadership St. Louis, she has done many extracurriculars such as E.M.M (Every …
Kathy O’Neill serves as President, St. Louis Market leading CommunityAmerica Credit Union’s ongoing expansion in the market, including oversight of retail banking operation, as well as civic, community engagement and philanthropy in the St. Louis region. As an active leader in the community, Kathy serves on the Chairmans Executive Council of Greater St. Louis as well as on the Board …
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 …
Ruth Durrell holds a B.A. in Ed Studies & Sociology from Washington University where they received several leadership awards, gave a TED talk, and did performance poetry. Currently, they are a CRM Coach and fellowship partner liaison at Less Annoying CRM, a small tech company in downtown St. Louis. Previously, Ruth taught high school English at Milwaukee Academy of Science …
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 System, 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 …
Dr. Alisa Warren has served as Executive Director for the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR), a state agency housed in the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, since January 2008. Under her leadership, MCHR works diligently to prevent and eliminate discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Her professional positions are many and distinguished: Director of Diversity Initiatives …
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 Interim 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 Group President of Standing Partnership, a full-service strategic marketing consultancy. In addition to running the firm, Lackey works closely with senior executives to help grow their businesses — whether it’s removing obstacles to growth and mitigating risk or designing marketing strategies to attract and retain customers. She is also frequently called upon to help organizations navigate crises …
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 …
Sara Govero grew up in the small town of Crystal City, Missouri. As a competitive gymnast, she learned quickly that you don’t have to be the best; you have to train the hardest to be the most consistent. Sara applies this principle everyday. At age 19, Sara approached a bank, made an aggressive proposal and was able to purchase her …
Dawn Gipson is currently Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Centene Corporation, where she is responsible for analyzing employee metrics and developing policy recommendations and educational programming that advance the company’s inclusive culture. Before joining Centene, Dawn worked at FleishmanHillard for 19 years, where she did communications strategy, program planning, events management, and DE&I strategic development. As the D&I …
David Erickson, CFA, is the Chief Investment Officer for Ascension Investment Management (AIM). He oversees the administration, management, and coordination of all investments, and has 32 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining AIM in 2009, he served as Chief Investment Officer at the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin. He previously served as Vice President and Investment …
Ja’Net Daniels serves as Agency Chief Operating Officer for AssuredPartners, the fastest growing independent insurance agency in the United States. She leads a change management program, consolidating multiple agencies into one. She is instrumental in creating efficiencies through processes analysis, improvements, structural alignment and fostering a culture valuing career and personal development. Prior to joining AssuredPartners in 2021, She spent …
