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Julian Keaton
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Community Manager, Harris-Stowe State University’s Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
After launching several businesses himself, including a mobile game that helps connect transplants to their new cities, Keaton has worked to educate and empower other St. Louisans about entrepreneurship and innovation. Before joining Harris-Stowe’s Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, he served as director of the North County Innovation Center, which provides a co-working space, conference rooms, a video podcast studio, and other amenities at the R&R Marketplace in Dellwood.
Darren Seals
Founder, Sankofa Unity Center
The Sankofa Unity Center works to end violence in Walnut Park. Seals’ desire to change the community came in part from his own experience, having previously lived on the streets and witnessing the need for change.
Annissa McCaskill
Executive Director and Lead Strategy Catalyst, Forward Through Ferguson
McCaskill worked in local government, nonprofits, and community organizations before stepping into her current role at Forward Through Ferguson, where she hopes to drive change in the community in a range of ways.
Frank Bell
Executive Director, Elevate St. Louis
Elevate aims to help urban youth thrive and has mentored hundreds of students, partnering with the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Bell has more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning, program development, and organizational leadership.
Dr. Yusef Scoggin
Executive Director, Delmar DivINe Charitable Foundation
Scoggin previously served as director of the St. Louis Department of Human Services and as director of the St. Louis County Office of Family and Community Services.
Cynthia Chapple
Founder and CEO, Black Girls Do STEM
Besides founding Black Girls Do STEM—an organization that “empowers Black girls to achieve equitable STEM representation”—Chapple is the CEO of CC Black Lab LLC.
Christina Weaver
Co-creator and Owner, The Women’s Creative
The Women’s Creative hosts vendor markets, community events, and brand activations. To date, the nonprofit has worked with nearly 800 women-owned businesses, many of them in the metro area.
Susan Colangelo
Founding President and CEO, Saint Louis Story Stitchers
Story Stitchers recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and held a two-day youth empowerment summit that advocated using art as an outlet for teen voices.
Gabriela Ramírez-Arellano
Co-founder, STL Juntos
In addition to co-founding STL Juntos—a volunteer-based organization that initially helped Latinos receive translated information during the pandemic—Ramírez-Arellano serves as the director of entrepreneurship at Cortex and the executive director for the Center for Emerging Technologies.
Jessica Bueler
Executive Director, Welcome Neighbor STL
Welcome Neighbor STL helps immigrants and refugees adapt to new lives in the St. Louis area. Since its beginnings, the nonprofit has provided resources for more than 600 refugees from 11 countries with the help of more than 4,000 supporters.
Charlotte Hammond
President and CEO, Challenge Unlimited Inc.
The Alton-based nonprofit serves individuals with disabilities through work-skills training centers, community-integrated living options, and employment services. Hammond has worked at the organization for more than 18 years, beginning as the company’s chief financial officer.
Cindy Owens
President and CEO, UCP Heartland
Owens recently took the helm at UCP Heartland, a nonprofit that provides care to adults and children with disabilities in St. Louis and Central Missouri. She has more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience, including serving as CEO of the American Red Cross of Missouri and Arkansas, the American Lung Association of New York City, and The Rooted Sisters.
Monique Thomas
Executive Director, Cornerstone Corporation
Launched in the ’70s, Cornerstone has a longtime presence in the West End neighborhood and has accumulated 41 units in the area, which extends several blocks north and east from The Pageant.
Christian Johnson
Founder and Entrepreneur, Founders Lounge
Johnson launched Founders Lounge in January 2024, in part to build off programming formerly offered through Venture Café. Each week, he hosts gatherings as part of the MultiPass Ventures Community, providing a chance for local entrepreneurs to learn and connect.
Barbara Carswell
CEO, Youthbridge Community Foundation
Youthbridge Community Foundation partners with donors to help support charities across the St. Louis region. Carswell oversees the company’s philanthropic connections, with a focus on grants and donor services for children.
Diego Abente
President and CEO, Casa de Salud
For years, Abente has provided assistance to the immigrant community in St. Louis. Prior to his current role at Casa de Salud—which offers health services for uninsured and underinsured patients in St. Louis, with a focus on immigrants and refugees—he worked for nearly a decade at the International Institute of St. Louis.
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT LEADERS
Rachel Witt
Executive Director, South Grand Community Improvement District
In 2024, the South Grand CID and the South Grand Cultural Alliance unveiled its new branding with the tagline “Eclectic Is Electric,” emphasizing that the area is not only home to restaurants but also to creative spaces and entertainment, with many immigrant-owned businesses. Witt’s goal is to continue supporting businesses on South Grand and prioritize cleanliness, safety, quality tenant attraction and retention, and infrastructure improvements in the community.
Kelly Kenter
Board Chair, The Grove Community Improvement District
Six years ago, Kenter received the St. Louis Impact Award for his work in The Grove and across the metro area. The Grove CID aims to foster businesses and residential areas, and to improve safety. Along those lines, the CID has spearheaded such initiatives as a safety window infrastructure program and additional security patrols.
Kelli J. McCrary
Executive Director, Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District
A new CID—with a specific focus on northern downtown—may open within the current one, an approach that McCrary supports. McCrary, who took on her current role in 2020, previously worked as director of security and urban space at Downtown STL Inc.
Emily Thenhaus
Executive Director, Cherokee Street Community Improvement District
Thenhaus, who’s been in her current role for more than five years, oversees the Cherokee Street CID, which centers on the economic, social, and cultural interests of the community between Gravois and Indiana avenues.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated from an earlier version.
