ST. LOUIS – Today, Mayor Cara Spencer announced the formation of two committees to advise her and the newly established Recovery Office on the City’s recovery vision and priorities after the devastating May 16 tornado.
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“One thing that’s clear to me from being in our hardest-hit neighborhoods, talking with residents, listening to frontline organizations, and learning from national recovery experts, is that St. Louis’ recovery depends on collaboration,” said Mayor Spencer. “The recovery cannot be mapped out from within City Hall. Through these committees, the people whose lives were abruptly changed on May 16, and the people who have stepped up to serve ever since, will play vital roles in helping us put St. Louisans' needs and wishes into action.”
Residents and business owners in the impact zone, as well as community members who serve those in the impact zone, are invited to apply to the Resident and Community Recovery Advisory Committee. The application is online and will be open until Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. It can be found here.
In addition, Mayor Spencer announced a range of local leaders to serve on the Civic Leaders Recovery Advisory Committee. They include:
Adolphus Pruitt - President, NAACP, St. Louis City Chapter
Andwele Jolly - President & CEO, St. Louis Integrated Health Network
Pastor Andre Alexander - Lead Pastor, The Tabernacle
Eddie Ross - Founder & Executive Director, Diamond Diva Empowerment Foundation
Kayla Reed - Co-Founder & Executive Director, Action St. Louis
Rev. Linden Bowie - Chairman, Spirit of St. Louis Task Force
LaKricia Cox - Executive Director, American Red Cross Greater St. Louis Chapter
Dr. LJ Punch - Co-Founder, 314Oasis
Michelle D. Tucker - President & CEO, United Way of Greater St. Louis
Michael P. McMillan - President & CEO, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
Aaron Williams - President, 4theVille
Dara Eskridge - CEO, InvestSTL
Linda Nguyen - Executive Director, Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis
Donald Pohl - President, Ranken Technical College
Jeff Pittman - Chancellor, St. Louis Community College
Dr. Millicent Borishade - Superintendent of Schools, Saint Louis Public Schools
Karl A. Grice, FAIA - Principal Architect, wasGrice Group Architects
Stacy A. Bourne, FAIA, NOMA - Principal Architect, The Bourne Group, LLC
Dustin Allison - Interim CEO, Greater St. Louis Inc.
Karen Branding - President & CEO, Regional Business Council
T. Christopher Peoples - Director of Equity & Economic Impact, Great Rivers Greenway; Executive Director, Brickline North Community Development Corporation
Meridith McAvoy Perkins - Executive Director, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri
Patrick Brown - Chief of Staff, Ameren Corporation
Taulby Roach - President and Chief Executive Officer, Bi-State Development
Jim Mann - Trustee, Crawford Taylor Foundation
Dr. Dwayne Proctor - President & Chief Executive Officer, Missouri Foundation for Health
Dr. Jason Q. Purnell - President, James S. McDonnell Foundation
Dr. Kelvin Adams - CEO and President, St. Louis Community Foundation
Alex Fennoy - Senior Vice President of Business Services, St. Louis Community Credit Union
William Carson - Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance
Orvin Kimbrough - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Midwest BankCentre
This committee is still in formation as of this release, and additional members may be added.
The Resident and Community Recovery Advisory Committee and the Civic Leaders Recovery Advisory Committee will play integral roles in the recovery effort by advising the mayor and the Recovery Office on a resident-centric vision for population retention, equity, resilience, and sustainable neighborhood growth in the aftermath of the May 16 tornado. Both committees will hold regular meetings that will be open to the public.
“Recovery can’t be successfully led by City Hall alone,” said Julian Nicks, the City’s chief recovery officer. “Just like the initial response, it takes all hands on deck—and our Recovery Office is ready to work side-by-side with community and civic leaders to accelerate our progress.”
The Recovery Office will form additional working groups and host neighborhood ward meetings to ensure broad engagement with the community at the center of the recovery.
