Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life

Faculty 2011

 

Alana Barragán-Scott,
Director, Department of Revenue
Alana Barragán- Scott served as acting director of the Department of Revenue for four months before being appointed director by Gov. Jay Nixon in October 2009. She had been the deputy director and general counsel. She is also a 15-year veteran of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. A graduate of MU, Barragán-Scott holds dual major in biological science and psychology, and a jurist doctor from the School of Law. She served as an adjunct professor for the law school from 2004 to 2009.

Dr. Brenda Bethman
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Brenda Bethman has been Director of UMKC Women’s Center since January 2007. She also holds appointments as Acting Director of the Women’s & Gender Studies Program and as Affiliated Faculty in German in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Before coming to UMKC, she was founding Program Coordinator of the Women’s Center and then Director of the Women’s & Gender Equity Resource Center at Texas A&M University. Brenda has presented and published on social media, assessment, women’s leadership, women’s literature, Elfriede Jelinek, Marlene Sterruwizt, Ingeborg Bachmann, and feminism in a variety of venues. She is currently revising her dissertation, “Obscene Fantasies”: Generic Perversions in Elfriede Jelinek, into a book manuscript. She holds a B.A. in German Literature from Dickinson College, a M.A. in German Literature from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in Modern German Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies from UMass Amherst.

Tracy Bono,
Founder and Managing Director, Monkey Tales Theatre
Tracy Bono is an actress, managing director and script writer for Monkey Tales Theatre, a professional non=profit 501©(3) theatre group entertaining children of all ages through live stage performances. Tracy holds a BS from Missouri State University and a MS from Linden University. She has worked in executive level human resources and has 15 years of experience working in human services. Tracy has participated in various theatrical productions as a performer and worked on many stage crews. She has also worked in television radio and film documentaries. In 2008, she has the opportunity to direct on original one-act play she wrote for the History Theatre Festival at St. Charles community College. Her favorite roles of all time are starring as “Mommy” to her three talented children (ranging in age from 4 to 17), and “Wife” to her rock-star husband.

Patricia Breckenridge
Missouri Supreme Court Judge
Judge Patricia Breckenridge was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court in September, 2007. She began her judicial career at the age of 25, when she was appointed Associate Circuit Judge of Vernon County. Breckenridge was a member of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District before becoming the third woman on the current Supreme Court, setting a new record. She served as Co-Chair of the Missouri Gender Fairness Implementation Committee, a member of the Missouri Task Force on Gender and Justice and was a Council of State Government’s Toll Fellow. Judge Breckenridge earned a B.S. degree and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Association, and has been the recipient of several awards including honors from the Women Lawyers of Greater St. Louis in 2008, and the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law’s Citation of Merit in 1996.

Leslie Broadnax
Law Office of Leslie Tolliver, LLC
Principal of the Law Office of Leslie Tolliver, LLC Leslie is a 2001 graduate of the University Of Missouri- Columbia School Of Law. She is a former municipal prosecutor for St. Louis City and county as well as City Attorney for the City of Wright City. Now focusing on Family Law and Criminal Defense, her passion lies with assisting women and children in any means possible, legal or otherwise. A self-proclaimed political junkie, Leslie has served as campaign manager for both the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney’s race and a mayoral race in St. Louis County. She also successfully served as a City/county field organizer for the 2004 Presidential Race. Currently she serves as the Chairwoman for the St. Louis County Board of equalization and is a board member of Kids in The Middle. She busies herself with community service and outreach efforts through her church, Shalom Church City of Peace and in her spare time, enjoys traveling, reading writing, and encouraging others. Leslie and her husband Ben are the proud parents of three daughters, Vililla, Madison and Brooke, and are eagerly awaiting Baby Broadnax fall of 2011.

Maria Chappelle-Nadal
Missouri State Senator, District 14
Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal was elected in 2010 to represent Senate District 14, which includes UMSL. She served three terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, from 2004-2010, and is a former member of the Democratic National Committee. Sen. Chappelle-Nadal is a member of numerous Senate committees, including Ways & Means and Fiscal Oversight, and Education. In addition to her legislative duties, she is a director on the University City School Board. In 2002, the National Organization for Black Elected Legislative/ Women (NOBEL/Women) and the Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers selected Sen. Chappelle-Nadal to be one of 16 fellows to attend a national program for women in public policy and politics. She is a graduate of Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. 

Rebecca Dorrill
Documentary Filmmaker
Rebecca Dorrill is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned a degree in political science. A documentary filmmaker, Rebecca is interested in telling the stories of underrepresented populations. She recently completed a project on human trafficking, All About the Money, that was screened on the Wash U campus. For this project she interviewed survivors of sex trafficking as well as service providers and federal law enforcement. Rebecca has been a victim advocate and petitioner assistant for Legal Advocates for Abused Women helping Victims of domestic violence file order of protection. She is also an avid photographer and musician. She has directed, shot and edited three other documentary films. Her research interests also include the pandemic rape crisis in South Africa.

Barbara Fraser
Educator and elected official
As a high school history teacher, Barbara Fraser was deeply committed to education and public accountability. She served four terms on her local school board before Rep. Sue Shear suggested that she run for her State Re. seat, upon her retirement in 1998. Triumphing in a hotly contested primary and general election, Barbara served four terms in the Missouri house. She championed education issues, from pre-K through funding for the University of Missouri campuses, while also advocating for the health and safety of children, seniors and women. Term-limited out of the House in 2006, Fraser then beat a three-term incumbent to win a seat on the St. Louis County Council. She became the champion of the effort to protect the health of restaurant employees and the general public by fighting for country wide limitation on smoking on public places. These efforts resulted in placing the “Clean Indoor Air Act” on the ballot in 2009. Approved overwhelmingly by the voters, this victory resulted in a similar law going into effect in the City of St. Louis. In 2010, she ran for the State Senate and lost by 150 votes out of 61,112 cast. Barbara has two grown daughters and is married to Norm Jones.

Jalesia “Jasha” McQueen Gadberry
Attorney at Law
Jalesia F. McQueen Gadberry was born in Tachikawa Air Force Base, Japan and has moved around her whole life. Her mother is an immigrant from Lima, Peru and her father is a natural-born citizen of the U.S. As a result, Ms. McQueen Gadberry grew up in a bi-bicultural household and is fluent in Spanish. Ms. McQueen Gadberry is a veteran who reached the rank of Captain before leaving the active-duty U.S. Army in 1999. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Tampa, earned a master’s degree from Troy State University in Troy, Al. and attended law school at SIU-Carbondale. She was an attorney with several St. Louis firms, including Thompson Coburn (the regions’ largest), before launching her own firm, McQueen Gadberry LLC in December, 2009. She was appointed to the Missouri Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights in 2007, and also serves on the Hispanic Business Trade and Culture Commission; she is also active in the Hispanic Republicans of Missouri. McQueen Gadberry and her husband, Justin (who manages her law firm) have three- year-old boy twins.

Suzann Gellman
Family Financial Education Specialist, UM Extension
Suzanne Gellman is a Consumer Economics Specialist with the University of Missouri Extension Program. Suzanne develops educational materials and curriculum, coordinates and presents seminars and does consulting on financial planning, financial management practices, and various legal topics. Suzanne works with a variety of community organizations, agencies, and companies to provide high-quality educational information and programs to help individuals and families address challenges and improve their lives. Suzanne coordinates the Women's Financial Education Series locally that has had over 700 participants. She is also the coordinator for the Get Checking program in the East Central Region of Missouri, a program that helps people without a checking or savings account establish or re-establish a relationship with a financial institution. Suzanne has her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Consumer Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has her Law degree from St. Louis University School of Law. She is a member of the Missouri Bar.

Ellie Glenn
Legislative Liason, Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services
Ellie Glenn directs the Office of Governmental Policy and Legislation for the Missouri Department of health and Senior Services. Prior to joining DHHS, Ellie served as the legislative director for State Sen. Joan Bray. She also spent a year after college working as the Northeast Missouri filed organizer for the Jay Nixon for Governor campaign recruiting and organizing volunteers in 18 countries. A 2007 Sue Shear fellow, Ms. Glenn is a graduate of Truman State University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Policy at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Maggie Hales
Deputy Director East West Gateway Council of Governments
Maggie Hales is the Deputy Executive Director of East-West Gateway Council of Governments, a metropolitan planning organization for eight counties in the bi-state St. Louis metropolitan region. At East-West Gateway Hales oversees a budget of $24 million and 57 staff who conduct long-range highway transportation and transit planning, environmental planning and regional security planning and coordination for the eight counties in Missouri, and Illinois. From 2004 until 2006, Hales was Deputy Director of the St. Louis Area Regional Response System, an organization within East-West Gateway that manages grant programs and coordinates planning for regional homeland security. Before coming to STARRS, Hales was counsel for the May Department Stores Company from 1981-1994. She has a B.A. with honors in History from Webster University. Hales is married to Paul Hales and has two daughters, 24 and 17.

Melissa Hattman
Trustee, St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees
In April 2008, Melissa Hattman won 48 percent of the vote in a four-way election to win a seat on the St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees. It was her first run for public office. She is a graduate of the 2008 Pipeline to Local Office program and serves as Director of Community College Relations for the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Paula Hodges
Political Director, MO National Education Association
Paula Hodges is a 2005 Sue Shear Institute 21st Century Leadership Academy Fellow and Political Director for Missouri National Education Association (MNEA). She joined the state’s largest teacher’s union in 2010 after coordinating progressive labor, environmental and women’s groups’ electoral plans at the America Votes table from 2008 through 2010. Paula previously served as deputy director of policy for Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan 2007-2008 after fulfilling several internships through the Secretary of State’s office. She graduated from Truman State University with an interdisciplinary degree in Cultural & Political Advocacy and became interested in politics while serving as a Congressional Page in 2001-2002 for Congressman Ike Skelton.

Monica Huddleston
Mayor of Greendale
Monica Huddleston is serving her second term as mayor of Greendale, MO. She was first elected in 2003 and was the first female and first African-American to be elected to this position in her municipality. She chose not to run for reelection in 2007, but couldn’t stay away; she ran again and defeated the incumbent in April 2011. A former business executive, Mayor Huddleston retired in 2000 after a 25 year career with Southwestern Bell. She is a member of the Advisory board for the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public and serves as Vice President of The Great Rivers Greenway Board of Directors. She is a former President of the National Association of Black Telecommunications Professionals, and a member of the Catholic Charities Board of Directors and the St. Louis County Municipal League Program Committee. She earned a B.A. in Economics at the George Washington University and a M.A. in Telecommunications Management from Webster University.

Bethany Johnson
CEO, St. Louis Integrated Health Network
As CEO of the Integrated Health Network, Ms. Johnson serves as the liaison between the region’s health care providers and the local community. She possesses over 15 years of broad based experience working and volunteering in the non-profit sector for organizations that positively impact life chances for disadvantaged populations. Her leadership in managing the region’s access to behavioral health initiative for the St. Louis Regional Health Commission won the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ (NAMI) 2007 Outstanding Civic Leader Award. Additionally, she was chosen to be a delegate in 2002 Global Alliance for Justice Education Summit in Durban, South Africa. Bethany has a BS in International Business Management from Missouri State University. She also holds a Masters in Social Work from Brown School at Washington University where she was Danforth Urban Fellow and was selected for the Missouri Education Policy Fellowship Program. She is a frequent guest speaker, trainer, and facilitator around spiritual development, leadership and youth capacity building and is licensed Evangelist Missionary in the Churches of God in Christ.

Jenny Johnson
2010 Shear Fellow
Jenny Johnson is a recent graduate from Truman State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and international studies with an emphasis in Arabic. At Truman Jenny was active in Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity committed to promoting service. Prior to graduation, Jenny's senior seminar research on Political Islam and Gender Equality was published in a graduate and undergraduate political science academic journal, Critique. Her academic experience ranges from the London School of Economics and Political Science, to Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. She is a Sue Shear Fellow of 2010. Through networking experiences at the Sue Shear 21st Century Leadership Academy she was able to pursue an internship with Nest, a micro bartering organization for women. In the coming fall, Jenny will be attending the American University of Dubai through the Bill Clinton Scholarship. Following study at AUD she hopes to attend graduate school to pursue her interests in women’s' economic development and empowerment with special emphasis in the Middle East and North Africa.

Tishaura Jones
State Representative (D-District 63, St. Louis City)
Rep. Tishaura Jones was elected in 2008 and represents the 63rd District, which includes all of Downtown St. Louis and several historic neighborhoods South and West of Downtown. Currently in her second term, Rep. Jones serves as Assistant Minority Floor Leader. She is the first African American ever to hold this post in the Missouri House of Representatives. Currently, Tishaura is the Vice President of Public Finance at a minority owned investment banking and financial services company, as well as an active volunteer with her Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. In 2005, she was selected to represent the United States on an American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and she was recently selected for the prestigious Toll Fellowship Program sponsored by the Council of State Governments. Rep. Jones received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Hampton University in 1994 and a master’s degree in Health Administration from the Saint Louis University School of Public Health in 2001.

Sue Kendig
JD, RNC, MSN, WHCNP
Teaching Associate Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis
In addition to her ongoing teaching at UMSL in the areas of Health Policy and Women’s Health Management, MS Kendig began practicing law in these areas after obtaining her law degree from the University of Missouri in 2007. She was the only nurse appointed by Gov. Holden to the MO Commission on Patient Safety (2003-4) and has been appointed to the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee. Her research interests include collaborative community-based program development, health needs of adolescent women athletes, mid-life women’s health and integrated women’s health care. She earned her BSN from Maryville University and her MSN from UMKC.

CJ Larkin
Administrative Director of ADR Programs and Senior Lecturer, Washington University School of Law
CJ Larkin is the Administrative Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Programs and Senior Lecturer in Law at Washington University Law School. Professor Larkin has an extensive legal background as a public defender, appellate attorney, bank counsel, family lawyer and guardian ad litem. She has served as lobbyist and as political staff for a county elected official and U.S. Senate party nominee. Professor Larkin has worked in intercultural conflict resolution leadership training, most recently for the Ethiopian Community Association of Missouri’s Workshop on Conflict and Peacemaking Across Cultures, co-sponsored by the International Institute and Washington University School of Law. She provides conflict resolution consultation and training for St. Louis immigrant-refugee agencies, such as the International Institute St. Louis, the African Mutual Assistance Association of Missouri and the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma. A Fulbright Senior Specialist in Dispute Resolution in Utrecht, The Netherlands, she has served as the project coordinator and trainer for a U. S. State Department grant in Nepal and as a co-mediator with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service. In spring 2004, she was selected as a cultural competence trainer on Arab, Muslim and Sikh Americans for the United States Department of Justice’s Community Relations Services. She is Chair of the Missouri Bar’s ADR committee and serves as the faculty advisor for the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute.

Kathy Lass
Board of Directors, Immigrant & Refugee Women’s Program
Kathy Lass has long been a strong advocate for the poor and dispossessed. In elementary school, she started a drive to a support a child in Europe under what was then the Foster Parents Plan. In college, she worked in the South with Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, registering voters and doing community organizing. She retired last year after almost 10 years as the Director for International Services for the Red Cross in St. Louis. Kathy continues to be active in issues of international interest, and serves on the board for the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program. She holds master’s degrees in Sociology and Public Administration.

Jennifer Lawless
Director, Women & Politics Institute, American University
Jennifer L. Lawless is Director of the Women and Politics Institute and associate professor of government at American University in Washington, D.C. A recognized speaker on the subject of electoral politics, Lawless is the lead author of two books, including It Still Takes a Candidate; Why Women Don’t Run For Office (Cambridge University Press, 2010). Her analysis and political commentary have been quoted in a number of popular news outlets, including USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN.com. In 2006, at the age of 30, she was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Rhode Island’s second congressional district.

Mary Ann Lazarus
Director of Sustainable Design, HOK
Mary Ann Lazarus, AIA, is a founder of sustainable design initiative and serves as Director of Sustainable Design at Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK), a global architectural design and services firm. In that role, Mary Ann promotes the implementation of sustainable strategies in all HOK’s work through development of training, resource material, case studies, and direct consultation with design teams. Under her leadership, LEED accreditation has become a requirement for all firms’ design professionals. As a result, more than 1,000 HOK designers have become LEED accredited during her tenure. In 2005, she co-wrote the book “HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design, 2nd edition,” a reference for a green building integration that is used in college classrooms. Lazarus is the architecture chair of Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ National Council. In addition, she serves on various “green” councils both nationally and locally, including the program committee of the U.S. Green Building Council’s St. Louis chapter and the advisory board of Sustainable St. Louis. She was recognized in 2008 as one of the “Most Influential Businesswomen” by the St. Louis Business Journal. She holds a Masters of Architecture degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Christy Maxfield
VP Business Development and Communications, The Mission Center, L3C
Ms. Maxfield brings more than 13 years of experience in nonprofit management, fund development, board relations and communications to her work at TMC, L3C. Most recently, Ms. Maxfield served as director of development for CID- Central Institute for the Deaf. Before moving to St. Louis in 2005, she held a number of fundraising positions at nonprofit organizations in New York and New Jersey, including Thirteen/WNET, The Ad Council, The Women’s Fund of New Jersey and George Street Playhouse. Ms. Maxfield is alum of the Leadership St. Louis program (2009-2010) and the Coro Women in Leadership Program (Class 48). She also serves on the board of the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis. Ms. Maxfield is a member of the St. Louis chapters of the Social Enterprise Alliance and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Ms. Maxfield earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential in September 2007. She is a licensed insurance producer in Missouri. Her Bachelor’s degree is in political science from Montclair State University.

Margo McNeil
State Representative (D-District 78, St. Louis County)
Margo McNeil was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2008 and was re-elected in 2010. Her district covers parts of Hazelwood, Florissant, and Bridgeton, in north St. Louis County. Rep. McNeil also serves on the St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees in 2006, where she is responsible for approving the approximately $140 million budget and collaborating on the strategic plan for the college. She is a member of a number of organizations, including the Missouri National Education Association, National Art Education Association, League of Women Voters, and the Missouri Women’s Network. She also serves as Secretary of Women’s Democratic Caucus. Rep. McNeil attended Stephen’s College in Columbia, Missouri and received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a master’s degree in art Education from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to her legislative duties, Rep. McNeil worked for 22 years as an art teacher with the Ferguson Florissant School District.

Joyce McRath
Vice President, Normandy School Board
Joyce McRath was a candidate for the Normandy School Board when she participated in the Pipeline to Local Office program in 2009. She was the top vote-getter of four candidates running for two seats in April 2009, and beat her closest opponent by almost 600 votes. Elected to a three-year term, Joyce currently serves as vice president of the board. She was the school district’s Parent of the Year in 2008.

Majorie Melton
President, M3 Engineering Group, P.C.
Ms. Majorie Melton is a licensed Professional Engineer, LEED AP BC+D and currently the President of M3 Engineering Group P.C., a civil and environmental engineering firm. M3 provides high quality engineering planning, design and construction service to water, wastewater and civil/environmental sectors of the engineering industry. The firm also offers support for sustainability and climate protection initiatives. Specific services include storm water modeling, feasibility studies, hydraulic computer modeling, Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design (LEED) owner support, sustainability plan development, energy audits and site development and transportation related design. Ms. Melton is also a member of the Missouri Gateway Chapter of the US Green Building Council where she serves as Treasurer. She also serves on the Advocacy Committee and is a member of the USGBC St. Louis Chapter Speakers Bureau.

Alberta Meyer
Community Volunteer
Ms. Meyer is a long-time activist for women’s rights and good government. A Jefferson City, Missouri resident, she and Rep. Sue Shear worked on legislation together and became good friends during Ms. Meyer’s service to the Bond Administration. She has been a generous supporter of the work of the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life.

Dr. Heidi Miller
Primary Care Physician, St. Louis Family Care Health Center
Dr. Heidi B. Miller attended Harvard Medical School and performed her residency at Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She currently serves as a primary care doctor for uninsured and indigent patients at the Family Care Health Centers, a community health center in St. Louis City. Dr. Miller also works with the St. Louis Integrated Health Network on quality initiatives for the region’s most vulnerable patients; including a project expedite access to breast care. In addition, Dr. Miller is a governor-appointee to the MO HealthNet Oversight Committee that monitors Missouri’s Medicaid program.

Julia Muller
PhD, Sue Shear Institute Advisory Board
Julia Muller Ph.D. is a community volunteer, including her service on the Sue Shear Institute Advisory Board. Formerly, she was Dean of Student affairs at UMSL and President of United Missouri Bank of Kirkwood. Julia was elected to the board of Trustees of the St. Louis Community College and serves of its Foundation board. She has been a Trustee at Stephen’s College and serves on the City of Clayton Economic Development Commission.

Stacey Newman
State Representative (D-District 73, St. Louis County)
Rep. Stacey Newman, a Democrat, represents Clayton, Richmond Heights, Maplewood and smaller portions of Brentwood and Webster Groves in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected in a special election in November 2009, and was re-elected in 2010. Prior to her service in the Missouri House, she served as a founder and the executive director of Harriett’s List, a statewide political action committee honoring the legacy of Harriett Woods, former Missouri Lt. Governor. Previously she served as the executive director of the Missouri Women’s Coalition and the women’s vote director for both the Missouri Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee. Her activism began with her participation in the historic Million Mom March in Washington, D.C. on Mother’s Day, 2000 organizing a delegation from Congregation Temple Israel and afterwards helped found the St. Louis Million Mom March chapter. She also was employed as a flight crew member with Trans World Airlines from 1979 to 1992. Rep. Newman received two undergraduate degrees in both fine arts and education from Emporia State University and taught speech and theatre at the American School in London, England following graduation.

Chris Nicastro
Commissioner, Elementary and Secondary Education
Dr. Chris Nicastro was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to serve as Commissioner of education in August 2009. She is the first woman to serve as Missouri’s Commissioner of Education since the office was created. From 2002-2009, she served as superintendent of the Hazelwood School District (St. Louis County), Missouri’s fifth –largest school district. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA), and she was honored as MASA’s 2009 “Superintendent of the Year”. She previously served seven years as superintendent of Riverview Gardens schools, and was an assistant superintendent in Ritenour School District for 11 years prior to that. She started her career as a social studies teacher and administrator at Northwest R-1 High School in Jefferson County. Dr. Nicastro earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Indiana University; a master’s degree in educational administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; and a Ph. D. in educational administration at St. Louis University. Dr. Nicastro and her husband, Charles, have four children and four grandchildren.


Geoganne Nixon
First Lady of Missouri, Attorney at Law
First Lady Georganne Wheeler Nixon, of Missouri, taught in the public school system and has practiced law. During her professional career, she has served as vice president at Central Trust and Investment Company, director of contacts for William Morrow & Co., Inc., in New York, and director of services for the Missouri Bar. She holds degrees in education and law from University of Missouri-Columbia. As First Lady, Mrs. Nixon has taken a special interest in promoting causes and initiatives relating to the natural beauty of Missouri. She has worked closely with horticulture experts at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, and Powell Gardens near Kansas City, to plan and design a vegetable and herb garden on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion. She is working with the Missouri Department of Agriculture to expand community gardens and farmers’ community markets throughout the state.

Jeanette Mott Oxford
Missouri State Representative, District 59
Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford is serving in her fourth and final term in the Missouri House before being term-limited. She is the vice-chair of the Ethics Committee, and serves as a member of the Children and Families and Financial Institutions committees, and the Special Standing Committee on Disability Services. Prior to serving in public office, Rep. Oxford, a Democrat, was the executive director for the Reform Organization for Welfare and was a Grassroots Coordinator for the American Lung Association. She has received numerous awards including the Progressive Director/Organizer of the Year award from the Progressive Vote Coalition and the Ethical Humanist of the Year award from the St. Louis Ethical Society. She earned an AA degree from Southeastern College, a BS from SIU-Carbondale, and a M.Div. from Eden Theological Seminary.

Kelly Pollock
Executive Director, Center of Contemporary Arts (COCA)
Kelly Lamb Pollock was named Executive Director July 1, 2010 after a national search. Pollock served as COCA’s general manager since 2006, overseeing all business operations and programming. She joined COCA in 1997 and served as its director of development for eight formative years as the organizational budget grew from $1.7 million to its current size of $5 million. She successfully managed COCA’s $10 million Access to Excellence capital and endowment campaign. She was also responsible for securing millions of dollars in grants over the years from National Endowment for the Arts, Wallace Foundation, Kresge Foundation, MetLife Foundation, among others. As COCA’s general manager, Pollock secured one of four national Innovation Lab grant awards from Doris Duke Foundation and EmcArts to develop COCAbiz, a program designed to integrate arts practice and concepts into talent and leadership development in business. Pollock received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is also a graduate of the CORO Women in Leadership Program.

Deborah Price
Interim Dir. of Boards and Commissions, Governor’s Office
Deborah Price is the Interim Director of Boards and Commissions in the Office of Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon. She also serves as the Governor’s liaison to the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration and as the Governor’s designee to the Missouri Workforce Investment Board. She previously served as liaison to the Department of Health and Senior Services. From 2004 to 2009, Deborah worked as an assistant attorney general prosecuting civil and criminal consumer fraud cases in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. She also served as an adjunct assistant professor at St. Louis University School of Law. She earned her law degree in 2004 from St. Louis University and B.A. in history from Washington University in St. Louis. Deborah is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Greater St. Louis.

Angela Turner Quigless
Circuit Judge, 22nd Judicial Circuit
Angela Turner Quigless was appointed Circuit Judge in the City of St. Louis in March, 2003, after over eight years as an associate circuit judge in the court. She received her Undergraduate Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her Law Degree from Saint Louis University. Before becoming a judge, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, an Assistant City Counselor and an Assistant Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis. Her other public service includes working for the Missouri Public Service Commission as Assistant General Counsel, as well as working for the Missouri Department of Revenue. She is married and the mother of a son, Charles, who was born in 2001. She is a member of many professional associations and is involved in the community.

Linda Rallo
Government Relations, Enterprise Holdings, LLC.
Linda Rallo finished her 3rd session as a legislative assistant for the Republican State Rep. Cole McNary (St. Louis Country) two weeks ago, and just started a new job in the Department of Government Relations at Enterprise Holdings, Inc. A graduate of the University Of Missouri School Of Journalism, Ms. Rallo has an extensive background in marketing and public relations. Her work in politics started after a 20-year career as a stay-at-home mom to three children, including a daughter at Mizzou. She joined Rep. McNary’s staff after working as a campaign coordinator during his 2008 election, and was responsible for constituent services, directing legislation and overseeing his capitol office, as well as managing activities in the district. She serves as Vice President of the National Charity League, and is a member of the Chesterfield Day School Board of Trustees and the Community Relations Commission for the City of Town and Country. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in public policy administration at UMSL.

Terri Reilly
Projects Director, ReSource St. Louis
Terri F. Reilly has been an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at Webster University since 1986. She is also working to revamp the curriculum in the M.S. in Environment Management program in the College of Arts & Sciences at Webster. She will graduate from Webster in 2011 with an M.F.A. in Non-Profit Arts Management and Leadership. Most recently, she was the project director at ReSource St. Louis and, prior to that, the executive director of St. Louis Earth Day – an organization dedicated to promoting green initiatives, including the annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival. As executive director, she grew the festival from 5,000 attendees to more than 25,000 in three years. Terri also created and launched the region’s first wide-scale event recycling program, “Recycling on the Go,” and was successful in obtaining grant funding from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and from St. Louis County. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from UM-St. Louis and spent 10 years on the campaign trail, including organizing for the National Equal Rights Amendment Coalition and numerous candidates and issues. Terri is a long-published writer and has worked for Riverfront Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis magazine.

Linda Riekes
Development Officer, St. Louis Public Schools
Linda Riekes has over 35 years of service in the St. Louis Public School system. She began her career as a 7th & 8th grade social studies teacher at Hamilton Middle School in 1970. Since then, she has directed a variety of projects including the Law and Education Project, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program, the St. Louis Consortium for Dropout Prevention, the Law and Citizenship Education Project and the St. Louis Internship Program. She currently serves as the Development Officer and Liaison to the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation.

Sue Schoemehl
Former State Representative
Sue Schoemehl served four terms in the Missouri House of Representatives before being term-limited in 2010. A Democrat, she is running for the State Senate in 2012. While in the House, Schoemehl served as president of the Women Legislators of Missouri and as the Legislative Representative for the First Five Steps Program in the Regional Interagency Coordinating Council of St. Louis County. In 2008 she was appointed to the Missouri Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Also in 2008, she became a member of the Legislative Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Prior to running for office, Rep. Schoemehl received certification in Dental Assisting through Meramec Community College and worked in the Endodontic specialty field. Sue resides in Oakville with her husband, Chris. The have two adult daughters.

Heidi Schoen
Program and Membership Director, Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association
Heidi Schoen is currently the program and membership director at Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association, an organization dedicated to expanding the solar industry and promoting sustainable energy for Missourians. Prior to that she served as the Green-Living Editor at “The Healthy Planet”, St. Louis’ natural living magazine for four years, and owned Grant Writing and More – where she also wrote grants and worked with non-profit organizations – for twelve years. Heidi graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri–St. Louis with a degree in communication and a certificate in non-profit management.

Christine Snively
Director Government Affairs, St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association
Christine leads the development if the RCGA’s annual legislative agenda, tracking and advocating for key policy issues throughout the year. She provides professional staff support for the RCGA’s Public Policy Council and is responsible for planning government affairs events, managing the RCGA’s state Political Action Committees in Missouri and Illinois, and coordinating RCGA’s work with a number of organizations, including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Biotechnology Association, the Missouri Growth Association, and the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis. Prior to joining the RCGA in 2007, Christine worked for the Missouri Republican Party’s Get Out the Vote effort in 2006 as a Field Marshal in mid-Missouri. She also interned for Jack Oliver at his lobbying firm Bryan Cave Strategies in Washington D.C. and with then-Missouri Rep. Jane Cunningham in Jefferson City. Christine received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and received her Master’s degree in Political Management from George Washington University.

Laura Denvir Stith
Missouri Supreme Court Judge
Judge Laura Denvir Stith was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court in 2001, and served as Chief Justice form 2007to 2009. Prior to obtaining this position, she served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, spent 14 years in private practice, and clerked for Missouri Supreme Court Justice Robert Seiler. A native of St. Louis, MO, Judge Stith graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in Boston before obtaining her J.D.- also magna cum laude- from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was Editor of the Law and Policy in International Business Journal. She is the founding director of L.E.A.P (Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance) a public service organization for lawyers located in Kansas City, a Missouri fellow of the American Bar Association, President of the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City, and Chair of the Gender and Justice Joint Committee of the Missouri Bar and the Supreme Court of Missouri. Judge Stith resides in Kansas City with her husband and three children.

Mavis Thompson
Attorney at Law; President, National Bar Association
Mavis Thompson is an attorney specializing in Civil and Criminal Trial practice. She serves as a Prosecutor for the City of Berkeley, MO, and is the City Attorney for Wellston, MO. Mavis is the Immediate Past President of the National Bar Association and is Past President of the Mound City Bar Association. In 1993 Governor Mel Carnahan appointed Mavis the Circuit Court Clerk for the city of St. Louis. In that capacity, she was responsible for the supervision of more than 250 employees and management of a $62 million budget. She was subsequently elected the first female Circuit Clerk and the only African American female holding a citywide elected office in 1994. Mavis graduated for the University of Missouri at Columbia warning a BS in Nursing in 1979 and a JD degree in 1990. She is also a 1995 graduate of the John. F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has worked as registered nurse, primarily in Labor and Delivery, in several hospitals in St. Louis, MO and Washington, D.C. Mavis is a hearing officer for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, a certified diversity facilitator, youth speaker and election law advocate, conducting workshops across the United States. She spends a great deal of time mentoring law students and lawyers newly admitted to the Bar and enjoys international travel. Her personal motto is “Each One Must Teach One!”


Anne U. Tolan
Webster Groves City Council
Anne Tolan is a member of the Webster Groves City Council and also serves of the Sue Shear Institute Advisory Board. She is the President of the Board of Directors of the Miriam School, a private, non-profit institution that serves children with multiple learning disabilities. Under her leadership, the focus has broadened so that 50-year-old organization also assists families in working with their challenged child.

Kacie Starr Triplett
St. Louis Board of Aldermen
Elected at the age of 26 to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Kacie Starr Triplett was sworn in as one of the youngest elected leaders in the history of Saint Louis in April 2007. A life-long resident of the 6th Ward, Kacie has devoted her entire career to public service and improving her communities. She’s been featured in ALIVE Magazine as one of the St. Louis’ local residents with the most “buzz” and in Ebony Magazine as a Young Leader Under 30. Aldermen Triplett has also represented the United States during a bi-partisan delegation to East Asia where she studied the government and the history of Vietnam. During the presidential primary, she served as local spokesperson for the Barack Obama campaign and later serving as a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She previously served as the District Affairs Coordinator for Congressman Russ Carnahan and prior to that, served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for former Minority Leader, Dick Gephardt, in Washington, D.C. and in St. Louis. In 2005, Mayor Slay appointed Triplett to the Affordable Housing Commission, where she served as the youngest Commissioner in the history of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Triplett holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Hampton University and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Webster University.

Susan Uchitelle
Education Consultant
Dr. Susan Uchitelle is an Educational Consultant and the Chair for Confluemce Academy Charter Schools in St. Louis, Missouri. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Voluntary Interdistrict Coordinating Council, the organization that implemented the Metropolitan Interdistrict Student Transfer Program for 18 years in 24 separate school districts in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Dr, Uchitelle and her husband Ben are credited as “Founders” of the Saint Louis Art Fair. She is a local patron and collector.

Shelley Welsch
Mayor, University City
Shelley Welsch won a three-way contest to fill the open Mayor’s seat in University City in 2010. She served on the city council of U City for four years and first sought the mayor’s office in 2006, loosing narrowly to the incumbent. Shelley was one of the founders and the first Executive Director of the Green Center, a center for outdoor environmental education and the arts located in U City. She currently serves as the first President of the Board of the Sutter-Meyer Society, a group working to convert the oldest building in University City into a community museum that will focus on the history of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Hope Whitehead
Attorney at Law
Hope Whitehead is an attorney who heads her own firm, Whitehead and Associates, L.L.C., where she practices criminal, civil and administrative law. She served a brief stint in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2010, after winning a special election in Feb. of that year. She previously served as an Associate Administrative Law Judge for the Division of Workers’ Compensation and as the Director of the Division of Liquor Control. Whitehead has worked as the Associate General Counsel for the St. Louis Housing Authority and as a prosecutor for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. She received a degree in psychology from Fordham University and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law. She is a former member of the Missouri Bar Board of Governors and former president of the Mound City Bar Association. Hope and her husband, Jon, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 2010. They have two boys.

Karen Winn
Administrative Hearing Commission
Karen Winn serves as a Commissioner on the Administrative Hearing Commission, and is the first person to have been appointed to two non-consecutive terms. Prior to her position at the AHC, she served as General Counsel for the Department of Economic Development, Assistant Attorney General for the State of Missouri, General Counsel for the Office of Administration, a private attorney for two separate St. Louis firms, and as a history teacher in Middleburg, Virginia. Ms. Winn holds degrees from Princeton University where she graduated cum laude with a degree in history and Washington University School of Law where she served as Associate Editor of the Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She has received numerous awards, including the State of Missouri Employee of the Month in February 1995 and the Disability Rights Advocate award in 1996. She is active in her local Boy Scott troop, YMCA and Grace Episcopal Church where she sings in the choir.

Virginia Young
Jefferson City Bureau Chief, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Virginia Young has been a state capital reporter since June 1989. In November 2005, she became the Jefferson City bureau chief for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She covers state government including Legislature, the executive branch and Supreme Court. She also covers elections and out-state news. Ms. Young has worked as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and as a writer and editor for the Columbia Missourian and the Columbia Daily Tribune. She has won a number of awards for work in her field and is co-editor of “Women on Deadline: A Collection of America’s Best,” 1991, Iowa State Press. Ms. Young has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from William Jewell College in Liberty, MO. She is married with two children.