2022 Health and Wellbeing Champions

Founding Director, CRE2; William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law. Feminist and critical race theorist who focuses on how law regulates and affects people’s daily interactions, decisions, and identities. Writes extensively on gendered and private law dimensions of American slavery; legal regulation of intimacy, including interracial relationships, polygamy, and sex work; and theories of justice and reparations.

Health Chief Community Health Officer, SSM Health. Deepens SSM Health’s focus on social determinants of health, equity and social justice; led overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oversees the region’s coordinated response efforts as incident commander for the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force.

Director of the Regional Response Team (RRT). Aligns strategic direction with community priorities and needs. Former director of the St. Louis County Department of Human Services since 2011, overseeing the county’s various social services programs under three administrations.

Program Manager, St. Louis Arts. Oversees the operations of arts apprenticeship programs for teens. Works with staff, teaching artists and partner organizations to develop and implement programming to prepare teen apprentices for post-secondary education and employment opportunities.

Washington University’s 15th (and current) chancellor, student mentor. Throughout his career in higher education administration, Martin has taught courses in judicial decision-making and political methodology. Martin has Research funders include the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

Native of St. Louis and CEO of CareSTL Health, a community-based healthcare system that provides medical care to underserved, underinsured, and uninsured populations in the St. Louis region. Clabon leads a staff of more than 200 employees who provide comprehensive medical services to nearly 22,000 patients a year.

CEO of the St. Louis Regional Health Commission (RHC). Over 13 years, has worked to integrate physical & behavioral health services, implement trauma-informed care practices into hospitals and community health services. Administers a $30 million coverage program for uninsured adults in St. Louis City and County.

Considered one of the first African American women to become a millionaire and a pioneer manufacturer of cosmetic products. Founder of Poro College and president of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Colored Orphans’ Home, later renamed Annie Malone Children’s Home in her honor.

One of the first three African-American women to enter the Sisters of St. Mary. Only Black nun present in a religious delegation that marched at Selma. A civil rights advocate, she helped found and served as president of the National Black Sisters Conference. Featured in the 2007 PBS documentary “Sisters of Selma.”

Vice President of Health Equity & Culture, Planned Parenthood. Advocate for health equity and champion for black mamas experiencing maternal health inequities in the US. Dedicated to improving maternal health outcomes for women of color and to amplifying their voices and experiences. Supporter of Medicaid Expansion in Missouri.

President and Founder of SAGES counsulting. Trailblazer, educator, entrepreneur, evangelist, and leader passionately empowering people. His motto: “Enlighten. Empower. Engage.” Creates innovative initiatives in workforce development, mental health/wellness, diversity equity & inclusion, and leadership globally.

Recently selected to lead the Deaconess Foundation (DF) as president and CEO. DF is a grant-making organization building power for child well-being through philanthropy, advocacy and organizing for racial equity and public policy change. DF has invested more than $85 million to improve the health of the St. Louis community since 1998.

Professor of surgery for the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. Cancer epidemiologist whose research focuses on identifying preventive strategies to reduce racial/ethnic disparities.

St. Louis native and chief executive officer of People’s Health Center (PHC), 1975 – 2007. Under Kerr’s leadership, the center grew to over 200 staffers, including doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, and mental health counselors, at three sites. The PHC family continues her legacy of expanding primary care access to all in need.

St. Louis native and first African-American Representative from MO. Served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 – 2001, longer than any other former black Member of the House. Used experience as a civil rights activist and labor union rep to promote legislation to help minorities and U.S. workers. Passionately represented his impoverished inner–city constituents.

Founder, Jamaa Birth Village. Serves the greater St. Louis metro area through culturally competent, comprehensive midwifery and doula care throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Dedicated to lowering prematurity and the infant & maternal mortality/morbidity rates that are significantly higher for Black women through community-led and women-centered care.

Decorated principal and educational leader whose charge has been to provide access to achievement through impactful turnaround and improvement in schools within struggling districts in predominantly African American communities. Consistently works on creating partnerships with students, families, and community members to change the cultures and climates of educational systems, hindered by low performance, low expectations, and poverty.

An internationally-known visual artist and illustrator. “Impacting lives one paint stroke at a time” through positive images of black fatherhood in his 365 Days with Dad series. Art includes family, children, music and a bunch of other cool stuff designed with line, bold color and phunk!

Pharmacist, chemist and instructor. Known as ‘the gray-eyed diplomat.’ First Black instructor at the Christian Welfare Hospital in 1951. Opened his own retail pharmacy in East. St. Louis, Illinois and served the community until his health failed. Graduate of the University of Illinois and an inspiration to future pharmacists and chemists.

Founder & CEO, WEPOWER. St. Louis native activating community power to redesign systems—health, education, justice, and economics—to be just and equitable for all. WEPOWER published The Playbook, a blueprint for building a better tomorrow for all kids and families, regardless of race or income.

Attorney, poet. Develops and executes innovative legal strategies and solutions to protect client interests and further their business initiatives and goals. Board Chair for St. Louis Regional Health Commission and the Missouri Ethics Commission.

WashU alum. President and CEO of Beyond Housing, a Neighborworks America organization based in St. Louis since 1993. Krehmeyer works to build and support thriving communities by helping provide affordable housing and create economic development.

Registered nurse, community activist, organizer, single mother, and ordained pastor for the people of St. Louis. First-term Representative of Missouri’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. First Black woman and first nurse to represent MO; the first woman to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District; and the first activist from the movement fighting for Black lives elected to Congress.

St. Louis native, Brown School alum. Leads efforts at the Brown School to build and sustain bi-directional and meaningful partnerships with organizations and communities to advance social impact, eliminate inequities and improve the health and wellness of individuals, groups, communities and neighborhoods.

Executive director and Lead Strategy Catalyst, Forward Through Ferguson (FTF). FTF carries on the work and vision of the Ferguson Commission, a wide-ranging community policy recommendation process engaging over 3,000 residents after the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. Dwight develops strategic initiatives, and directs the organization’s policy and systems advocacy strategy.

Revered comedian and activist who gained attention as a comedian in the early 1960s. Broke barriers as the first black comedian to widely win acclaim from white audiences. Noted for his political and social activism, he attended the historic 1963 March on Washington. Ran for President under the Freedom and Peace Party, protested the war in Vietnam and police brutality.

Chief executive at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Center. Butler broke ground on a new adolescent behavioral health center, now the Lacy Clay Center for Children’s Health. He has contributed to the community behavioral health center which services both children and adults.

East. St. Louis, IL native with a strong interest in adolescent care, preventative medicine, mentorship as well as fitness. Recipient of The Lifetime Achievement Award from President Obama and author of “Educational Athlete: Why Every Successful Student Needs a Coach.”

Obstetrician and gynecologist, associate professor at WashU School of Medicine. Author and advocate for reproductive health equity, diabetes in pregnancy, and innovations in prenatal care. Appointed Inaugural Associate Editor, Equity, of “Obstetrics & Gynecology” by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Founder of Etoya R. White Therapy and Coaching, developed as a means to assist men and boys in Black and Brown spaces, providing a trusting relationship that encourages social-emotional growth healthy relationships. Provides brief or long-term dynamic therapy and coaching, to children, adolescents and adult clients.

Director, St. Louis County Department of Public Health. Over 22 years of experience in the public health field. Advocate for vaccines and community public health education.

Iconic civil rights leader, lawyer and activist who found to end segregated housing and promoted equal rights. Lead attorney in the landmark NAACP court case Davis et al. v. St. Louis Housing Authority, which ended legal racial discrimination in public housing in St. Louis, Missouri. First woman on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Stayed active in the legal and civil rights arenas into her 90s.

Serves as the commissioner of the city of St. Louis Department of Health. He oversees the daily operations, strategic planning, fiscal responsibilities of a multi-million-dollar program for the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.

Brown School alum, founder and CEO of Fathers & Families Support Center. FFSC has helped more than 18,000 fathers become financially and emotionally involved parents. The center provides fathers with the skills necessary to hold a job and support a family, which has made a positive impact in the lives of nearly 45,000 since its beginning.

Republican lawyer and was a civic leader who fought for funding for a hospital that catered to African Americans in St. Louis. The hospital bearing his name was the only one to serve African Americans from the late ’30s until the late ’70s in the region.

Internationally known scholar on the social and economic development of Black families. Activist and strategist in the Civil Rights Movement, long-time public servant. Social-economic developer of The Helping Village in East St. Louis. Designs and leads workshops for public school teachers across the country focused on improving multicultural classroom environments.

East St. Louis native. Winner of six Olympic Medals and named one of the greatest athletes of all time by ESPN. First woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon, the first African American woman to win an Olympic Medal in the long jump, and the first woman to score 7,000 points in the heptathlon.

Native of St. Louis known for his work with the St. Louis area Urban League, where he held a 28-year tenure as their president and served over 70,000 in the region. Known for bridging tense and wide racial gaps between blacks and whites in St. Louis. Developed programs in job training, violence prevention and housing counseling.

Professor of Pediatrics, infectious diseases at WashU School of Medicine. At the forefront of research on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines for kids. Focused on the impact of antimicrobial stewardship programs in children’s hospitals. Led development of a national collaborative, SHARPS, dedicated to the appropriate use of antibiotics.

With more than 15 years of practice and research experience working with diverse communities, she has managed and implemented community-based initiatives that address racial inequities, promote partnerships, and improve health outcomes among medically underserved communities, specifically black populations.

American-born French entertainer, French Resistance agent, freemason and civil rights activist. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.

Head Nurse of Pediatrics at East St. Louis St. Mary’s Hospital, breaking societal and color barriers to pursue her degree in spite of being a married woman with children. Worked in the hospital all her life, caring for people, advocating for vaccines (e.g., polio), and providing medical care to the isolated Village of Lovejoy, Illinois as an on-call, volunteer community nurse & counselor.

Founded Community Health-In-Partnership Services (CHIPS) in 1990 to increase access to health care for the uninsured and underserved. Member of the Smurfit-Stone Entrepreneurial Alumni Hall of Fame at St. Louis University & recognized for developing and implementing community health and wellness programs. 

Legendary dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th century and directed her own dance company for many years. Called the “matriarch and queen mother of black dance.” Sponsored afterschool programs to enrich youth in the East. St. Louis area.

Manages community relations for St. Louis Children’s & Christian Hospitals. Promotes the presence and visibility of the hospitals along with building community partnerships through education, volunteerism, economic development, and political activism across Missouri and Illinois. Serves as a leader within church ministry and his fraternity.

Highly respected, accomplished, and influential scholar in the field of higher education. Best known for her important cross-cutting scholarship on African Americans in higher education; critical race theory; campus diversity initiatives on college campuses, girls and women of color in educational and social contexts; and college student development and graduate preparation.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Better Family Life, Inc. The non-profit community development corporation has tackled social and economic problems in the community from a holistic approach for more than 40 years. Works to uplift African Americans who are unemployed, underemployed and skill deficient while bridging gaps along class, racial and cultural lines.

St. Louis lawyer and civil rights activist. Wilson became president of the Missouri NAACP in 1962. Starting in 1975, she served nine terms as chair of the national NAACP – the first woman to hold this post.

Co-Founder and Emeritus President of the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club. 60 years of youth programming experience impacting over a million young lives recorded in the recently released biography, “I Trust You with My Life.” Favorite saying: “What you do for yourself dies with you and what you do for others lives on forever.”

Former Dean of the Brown School and first woman to hold the position. Expert in child mental health services and implementation research methods, as well as over 20 years of experience conducting HIV prevention and care-oriented studies, supported by the National Institutes of Health. As Dean, implemented anti-racism training for staff and faculty and always sought to ‘center the humans.’

Director of Health for the City of St. Louis. National and international medical contributor on COVID-19 with a focus on marginalized populations. Associate Editor for Disparities and Competent Care for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

A native of St. Louis with over 40 years of public service, often tackling difficult and controversial issues. Has served in Congress since 1991. Made history as the first woman and first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Serves as a member of the Steering & Policy Committee and is the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease.

Innovative entrepreneurs and civic leaders who founded the Clark-Fox Family Foundation in 2004. CFPI supports the economic development of the St. Louis metropolitan region through program development and investments in K-12, higher education, public health, immigration, social justice, community leadership, and entrepreneurship. Pledged funding for a new forum facility and policy-related programming at the Brown School.

American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer. Civil rights activist who worked with Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Seminal works include “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

STL native and Brown School alum. Advocate for public health and education, holding positions with the St. Louis Public Schools, City of St. Louis, the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFFH), Washington University, the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities, the St. Louis Job Corps, and the St. Louis AAA. Appointed by Missouri AG Jay Nixon as one of 15 founding members of MFFH, the state’s newest and largest healthcare philanthropy.

CEO of The Little Bit Foundation. For the last 20 plus years, has worked with at-risk youth and non-profit organizations. Instrumental in bringing COVID-19 testing to the city and North County, working with local community health organizations and Better Family Life. Worked with FEMA to make STL a federal mass covid vaccine destination as the District Director of Missouri’s First Congressional District.  

Moving towards a “culture and climate of diversity and inclusion” in her role with the Washington University Academy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She has played a role in racial equity in STL through her previous appointments with the City of St. Louis, Ferguson Commission and Forward Through Ferguson.

A civil rights trailblazer and part of the “St. Louis 19,” original protesters of the legendary Jefferson Bank & Trust Company boycotts of 1963, which changed employment policies in St. Louis. An active member of the Congress of Racial Equality, CORE, fighting for equitable employment for people of color.

Lives in the historic Lewis Place neighborhood where she serves as a strong advocate for rebuilding a community that stabilizes and revitalizes families and businesses. Talley was named an African American Women of Achievement for her community advocacy – she’s spent countless hours aiding the residents of North St. Louis in positive ways.

Founder and principal of Emerging Wisdom LLC, a forward-thinking social enterprise In her nearly 20-year career, Rebeccah has helped tens of thousands of people and hundreds of organizations affect positive change in the areas of organizational and community leadership, economic development, educational equity, environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, health and wellness, and women and girls’ empowerment.

Vice President of Responsive Philanthropy. Joined the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFFH) in 2002 and assisted in establishing and growing its Health Policy area. At MFFH, Barker has developed expertise on Missouri’s Medicaid program, health equity, federal health reform issues, and policy options to provide health coverage for the uninsured.

Founding Director of the Race and Opportunity Lab at the Brown School. Nationally recognized scholar on suicidal behavior among Black Americans, expanding the evidence base for effective practice with Black boys and young men. Principal Director of HomeGrown StL, a multi-systemic and 20-years capacity building intervention to enhance the upward mobility opportunities and health of 60,000 Black males ages 12-29 years in the St. Louis region.

A developmental psychologist with expertise and scholarly work on the impact of racism and the use of culturally strength-based assets on the educational and health outcomes of Black American families. Principal investigator for Celebrating Strengths of Black Girls: An Intersectionality Approach, research seeking to advance equity for women and girls of color.

Executive Director of Gateway Human Trafficking. Human rights and social justice activist involved in the prevention of human trafficking in the St. Louis metroplex, the state of Missouri, the U.S., and internationally. She is the driving force behind five conferences known as “Breaking the Chains of Human Trafficking”.

One of the St. Louis region’s most innovative educators working to build equity and well-being among students and the African American community. Works on issues that affect the well-being of African American adults, because children cannot be well if the adults around them are not well. Co-founded The Collective STL, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing free yoga and wellness programs to African American communities in St. Louis.

Influential health policy analyst and leading health economist shaping the national agenda in health insurance, health reform, rural health care, Medicare and Medicaid policy, health economics, and access to health care. Studies the effects of health reform at the state and national levels, the uninsured, diabetes policy, Medicare Advantage, and long-term entitlement reform.

Educator and the owner of Dazzling Dolls Mobile Spa Parties, which specializes in pampering girls ages 3 to 16. Host, creator, and producer of a show called ‘Talk And Tea Time With Dr. G” that airs on AHTV.

Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Brown School. Her scholarship addresses racial identity and socialization, implications of experiences of discrimination and socio-cultural determinants of disparities. Her goal is to empower members of the community to improve their health and well-being through education and opportunities for action.

Served as Shelter Monitor for 33 years at The Violence Prevention Center, and director of the afterschool program at St. Regis Catholic Church, East STL. Passionate about assisting women and children who experienced domestic violence in their lives. Well known in the community, especially through her support of the Catholic Urban Program which assisted low-income families East STL with food and housing.