Mayor-Elect Cara Spencer Announces Additional Hiring Decisions and Transition Advisory Committee Members
St. Louis, MO – Today, Mayor-Elect Cara Spencer announced additional key staff appointments and volunteer transition advisory committee members.
The following St. Louis community leaders were selected as new members of her administration:
Major Shawn Dace, Director, Public Safety
Connie Johnson, Director, St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment (SLATE)
Robert Herleth, Interim Chief Operating Officer
Julian Nicks, Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Dan Guenther, Liaison to Board of Aldermen
Michael Garvin, Interim City Counselor
The Mayor-Elect also announced the following current members of the Mayor’s Office that will continue to serve:
Gilberto Pinela, Director, Office of New Americans
Jonathan Strong, Interim Chief Inclusive Growth Officer
Casey Millburg, Director, Policy
Rasmus Jorgensen, Interim Deputy Director, Communications
Rochelle Pruitt, Executive Assistant to Mayor
Denise Roberts, Executive Secretary
Krizia Lopez, Workforce Innovation & Strategy Lead (Bloomberg Fellow)
In addition, Mayor-Elect Spencer announced additional civic leaders serving* on transition advisory committees. The most current list includes:
Pastor Andre Alexander - President, Tabernacle Community Development Corporation
Patrick Brown - Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman, President & CEO, Ameren Corporation
Kathy Connors - Executive Director, Gateway180; Chairperson, St. Louis City Continuum of Care
Anna Crosslin - Retired President & CEO, International Institute of St. Louis
Brad Dean - President & CEO, Explore St. Louis
Haliday Douglas - President & CEO, St. Louis Public Schools Foundation
Audrey Ellermann - President, Covenant Blu Grand Center Neighborhood Association; President, Brickline North CDC
Dara Eskridge - CEO, Invest STL
Bill Etling - Senior Vice President, Nestlé Purina PetCare North America
Bridget Flood - Executive Director, Incarnate Word Foundation
Dr. Alexander Garza, MD, MPH - Chief Community Health Officer, SSM Health
Leslie Gill - President & CEO, Rung for Women
Jessica Hicklin - Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Unlocked Labs
Lesley Hoffarth - President and Executive Director, Forest Park Forever
Peter Hoffman - Managing Attorney for Neighborhood Advocacy, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Dr. Stacy Gee Hollins, Ph.D. - Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Dean, Anheuser-Busch School of Business, Harris-Stowe State University
Robert Holmes - Chairman & CEO, Commerce Bank of St. Louis
Tim Huffman, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, St. Louis University; Founding Board Member, House Everyone STL
Laura Hughes - Founder & CEO, Fleur De Lis Development Corporation
Jake Hummel - President, Missouri AFL-CIO
Adella Jones - Chief of Staff, Office of the Chancellor, University of Missouri - St. Louis
Larry Middlebrook - Former St. Louis Ward 2 Democratic Committeeman
Jon-Pierre (JP) Mitchom - Director of Equity and Inclusion, Saint Louis Priory School
Julie Murphy - Managing Principal, JFM Strategies, LLC
Brian Phillips - Assistant Vice Chancellor, Washington University Medical Center; Investment Committee, Arch to Park
Jeff Pittman, Ph.D. - Chancellor, Saint Louis Community College
Don Pohl - President, Ranken Technical College
Gabriela Ramírez-Arellano - VP, Entrepreneurship, Cortex Innovation District
Dr. Will Ross, MD, MPH - Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine and Principal Officer for Community Partnerships, Washington University School of Medicine
Jan Sandweiss - President, Laclede's Landing Neighborhood Association
Tamara Sheffield - SVP & Chief Financial Officer, Forest Park Forever
Steve Smith - Founder & CEO, New + Found
Jayvn Solomon - Founding Director and Creative Strategist, Lotus Labs & Loutopia
John Stiffler - Executive Secretary-Treasurer, St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council
Deanna Venker - Chief Operating Officer, St. Louis County
Dr. Cheryl Watkins, MBA - President & CEO, YWCA Metro St. Louis
Stephen Westbrooks - Executive Director of Southern Region, IFF
Aaron Williams - Senior Project Manager, Penn Services; Board Chairman, 4theVille
Michael Wolff - Former Judge and Chief Justice, Missouri Supreme Court; Professor and Dean Emeritus, Saint Louis University Law School
Paul Woodruff - Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, St. Louis Community Credit Union
*A running list of volunteer leaders and more about the committees can be found at https://www.changeforstl.com/transition-team.
Spencer will be sworn in as the next mayor of St. Louis on Tuesday, April 15, only one week after Election Day.
“I’m grateful to these leaders for stepping up to support our transition,” said Spencer. “Together, we’re building a team ready to deliver transparent, accountable, and people-centered leadership for St. Louis.”