Amy A. Hunter has served as a Senior Global Equity Diversity and Inclusion leader at Boeing since 2018. She joined the team at Boeing in late 2018 where she supported Boeing Defense for St. Louis, Oklahoma, Houston and Florida.  She currently leads strategies for Boeing Corporate and Defense.  Prior to joining Boeing, Amy was the senior manager of Diversity and Inclusion for St. Louis Children’s Hospital. In this role, she led their diversity and inclusion strategies, implementation and measurement while developing educational trainings that impacted retention as well as equitable patient care.

Hunter has more than 20 years of experience in human resources, organizational development, project management and leadership within the corporate and nonprofit arenas. Her responsibilities have included creating and implementing return on investment strategies for recruitment, and curriculums for training and retention strategies.

Her community engagements have included serving on a number of boards for local organizations including Cultural Leadership, We Stories and the United Way.   She has also led the Missouri Business Leaders Network’s Governor’s Council on Disability and been an active member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Corporate Advisory.

Her popular speech “The Talk” was incorporated into a TEDx presentation called “Lucky Zip Codes.” 

Hunter has an earned undergraduate degree and is currently pursuing a doctorate in critical race theory from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

TEDx Presenter: 2014, 2015, 2018

I currently serve as an Assistant Principal at Rockwood Summit H.S., and I've been in this post for two years.  I am also working on my Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at Maryville University.  Prior to being at Summit, I was a Social Studies teacher at Parkway Central High School.  I also had stints at Wright City High School, as well as University High School.  While at Parkway Central, I created a Contemporary Issues curriculum.  The goal of the class was to facilitate constructive discussions on the topics of race, politics, and identity.  At each of my stops, I've been successful in connecting different groups of people, while providing a forum for different ideologies to blend together.  Since becoming an administrator, I've been able to take a lot of the elements I used in the classroom, and I have begun implementing policies of inclusion, understanding, and culture from a school-wide standpoint.  My education includes a B.S. in History with an emphasis on African-American History and a Minor in Sociology from Truman State University; Master of Art in Education from Webster University; and a Master of  Educational Administration from Missouri Baptist University.

Cecil Slaughter is a Professor of the Practice in Dance in the Performing Arts Department at Washington University. He received his MFA from the University of Iowa. His career as a professional dancer includes fourteen years with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Mr. Slaughter was a featured artist in many of the company's works which include the "Junkie" in Eleo Pomare's Blues for the Jungle, Ulysses Dove's Urban Folk Dance, "Lil Lou" in Donald McKayle's District Storyville, and McKayle's Rainbow Round My Shoulder. During his time with DCDC, Mr. Slaughter performed extensively throughout the United States. His international tours include South Korea, Russia, France, and Germany. The company has also been featured annually at such dance festivals as Jacob's Pillow and the American Dance Festival. His theatre credits include Darker Face of the Earth, The Bow Wow Club, The Merchant of Venice, Mahalia's Song, and Applause. He has worked with several professional dance and theatre companies including Upstream Theatre, St. Louis’ Black Rep Theatre, and Mid America Dance Company. He has also choreographed several productions for Washington University’s Performing Arts Department including Spring Awakening, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and Metamorphoses.

Charles Bryson, II, a native St. Louisan, has a passion for service and improving the quality of life for all.

Charles has served in various aspects of human service; from a Case Worker and Case Manager at various programs for persons who were homeless in Baltimore, St. Louis and Springfield Il., to the Director of a Head Start in Springfield Il and Executive Director of a Youth Program in Peoria Il.

Charles has also held various positions in State and City government, including Area Rep for the Missouri Housing Development Commission, Neighborhood Development Executive, Senior Policy Advisor, Director of Department of Public Safety and Director of the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency under both Mayor Slay and Mayor Lyda Krewson.

Diana Barrios has been the Artistic Director of Leverage Dance Theater since it emerged from the company’s previous structure and identity, Atrek Dance Collective. She has been producing, presenting, performing, choreographing and teaching dance for almost 20 years in the St. Louis area.

Leverage Dance Theater is a St. Louis based dance company in residence at the Intersect Arts Center in the Cherokee Street neighborhood. Leverage makes and presents work in non-traditional environments and in non-traditional ways to build new audiences and promote development and accessibility in the field of local dance.

Gina Patterson has been hailed as a choreographer of “startling originality” by Backstage Magazine and Dance Magazine said of her work “Patterson has a voice, that ever-elusive thing, and whatever the future of ballet may be, choreographers like her will always have a place in it.”  

Her versatility as a dancer set the stage with the breadth of experience that informs her voice as an artist today. During her long career as a principal dance artist, Ms. Patterson was known as a versatile, consummate performer, dancing with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Ballet Austin, Ballet Florida, and as a guest artist in the US, Canada, Iceland, Greece, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and France. Performances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Florence Gould Hall, and the Joyce Theatre accentuate her performance career.

Ms. Patterson has created more than 100 choreographies, including 13 full-evening productions that include the Emmy-winning Liquid Roads for MADCO, a contemporary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet for CoDa21, and her one act Hansel and Gretel created for the Croatian National Theatre. She has won international acclaim and such honors as the Choo San Goh Award, a nomination for an Isadora Duncan Award, the Hubbard Street 2 National Choreographic Competition, New Choreographers on Pointe, and the National Choreographic Initiative. On behalf of Chris Hannon, 2016 McKnight Dancer Fellowship recipient, Way of the Dodo was commissioned by The Cowles Center for their SOLO Commissioning Program, funded by the McKnight Foundation. She is honored to receive a Fellowship from the Bogliasco Foundation (fall 2021).

Her work encompasses concept and direction, collaborating across disciplines, and appears in the repertoire of more than 25 companies including VOICE, Nashville Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Austin, Richmond Ballet, Dayton Ballet, BalletMet, and DanceWorks Chicago. Ms. Patterson’s creations have been presented internationally in Italy, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Spain. In addition to commissioned choreography, she educates through classes, creativity workshops and multi-disciplinary collaboration with young artists of all ages, working with Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, Dancers’ Workshop, Interlochen Arts Academy, Point Park University, Goucher College, and the University of Iowa among others.

Ms. Patterson advocates for empathy and compassion through her work as a choreographer, leader, educator, and creative artist. Her work responding to social, economic, and environmental climate illuminates the importance of interconnection with our land and each other. She will work even harder, continuing to bring awareness to issues of equality, beginning with a mindfulness of her own speech and actions. Holding close the power of listening, of respect. 

Full bio: http://ginapatterson.com/bio

James never stops talking, so it's lucky that his job requires a lot of it! As Leader for the Society, James is a public face for the community, ensuring that Ethical Humanist values are represented at rallies and protests, in schools and universities, and in the media. James believes that our culture desperately needs a Humanist moral voice, and he's determined to provide one. You can often find James yelling through a megaphone or posting on Facebook. He loves Star Trek way too much, and tries to find a way to work a Star Trek reference into every Platform Address.

JENNIFER ARCHIBALD, Toronto-Brooklyn based artist is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 dance intensives. She is a graduate of The Alvin Ailey School and the Maggie Flanigan Acting Conservatory where she studied the Meisner Technique. Archibald has choreographed for the Atlanta Ballet, Ailey II, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Kansas City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet II, and worked commercially for Tommy Hilfiger, NIKE and MAC Cosmetics as well as chart-listed singers and actors. In 2017 she will create new works as the resident choreographer for Cincinnati Ballet. Next season new works will be created for Ballet Nashville, Wylliams/Henry, MADCO and Stockholm's Ballettakademien. Archibald’s works have been performed at venues including New York's City Center, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Aaron Davis Hall and Jacob's Pillow Inside|Out Stage and Central Park's Summerstage Mainstage. In 2013, Jennifer was awarded a Choreographic Fellow for Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab under the direction of Robert Battle. She is 2015's Choreographic Winnings recipient by the Joffrey Ballet. She also choreographed “Seven”, a biographical work about Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, commissioned by St. Louis based MADCO Dance Company. In 2017 she will create new works as the resident choreographer for Cincinnati Ballet. Spring 2015 her work was performed in Scandinavia, Germany, France and in the U.S. In 2015 she was appointed as guest faculty lecturer to develop the Hip Hop dance curriculum at Columbia/Barnard College and is currently on faculty at the Yale School of Drama. Jennifer is a guest artist at several universities; Fordham/Ailey, Purchase College, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of South Florida, Goucher College, Columbia College Chicago, and Bates College. This spring she will premier a new work for Miami New World School of the Arts and South Carolina's Governor's School of the Arts, and Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre.

Joshua L. Peugh is the Founder and Artistic Director of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance. After graduating from Southern Methodist University, Joshua moved to South Korea to join Universal Ballet Company. Since then, he has created work for festivals in Asia, Europe, and North America, winning awards for his choreography in South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the USA. He was the recipient of the Grand Prize at the McCallum Theatre's 18th Annual Choreography Festival. He was chosen as one of Dance Magazine's 2015 "25 to Watch" and was named “an important discovery” by The New York Times. Joshua recently served as choreographer for legendary soprano Kathleen Battle’s concert Underground Railroad - A Spiritual Journey. Joshua was the 2018 recipient of the Natalie Skelton Award for Artistic Excellence. He has been commissioned to create for BalletX, Ballet Memphis, BODYTRAFFIC, Bruce Wood Dance Project, Company E, Dallas Theater Center, Eisenhower Dance, Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, MADCO, METdance, Tulsa Ballet, WaterTower Theatre, and Whim W'Him, among others.

Madison Alexander - Student and incarnate word academy and president of the diversity club. Dancer at Dance Plus.

Madison Alexander is a senior at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis. As a student leader at Incarnate Word, Madison serves as the president of Incarnate Word’s Diversity Club and secretary of National Honor Society. In 2019 Madison participated in World Wide Technology’s STEM Student Forum Hackathon where her team came in second place. She has also been involved in the Boeing Explorer program for the past two years. Madison has been a member of the Dance Plus competitive dance team for the past 10 years and trains in jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, modern and tap. She has won many convention scholarships, two national championships and countless high point awards. The highlight of her dance career was participating in the 2018 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition where her group Labels won second place, the audience choice award and the “I” award for the most imaginative, inspiring and innovating routine. After high school Madison plans to attend an HBCU and major in mechanical engineering.

Michael Butler, a native of St. Louisan and a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and holds the distinction of being the first African-American Record of Deeds for the City of St. Louis, after winning the election over his predecessor, who was the 38 year incumbent.

Michael is a former State Representative serving the 79th District in the Missouri House from 2012-2018. During his 2012 State Representative campaign, he worked as an educator in the St. Louis Public Schools System. 

As the Chair of the Democratic Central Committee for the City of St. Louis, Michael is a proponent of voter education and assists in the development of strong political candidates and community leaders to serve and strengthen the Democratic Party.  Additionally, he is the 6th Ward Committeeman serving the community where he resides with his family.

While studying at Alabama A&M, Michael served as Student Government President and as a Board of Trustee member.  Michael is a graduate of Alabama A&M with an undergrad degree in Business Management.

Prior to his many political successes, Michael gained valuable work experience in the legislature while serving as the Legislative Aide in the office of State Senator Robin Wright-Jones, and as the Legislative Assistant to State Representative, Mary Wynne Still. While working in the legislature, he earned a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Michael also has valuable private sector work experience while employed as manager at the home office of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Michelle is a Certified Meeting Professional at Nestlé Purina PetCare Company.  She is responsible for project management of over 200 meetings collectively.  This role requires expertise in travel management and hospitality while providing internal customers top-notch service.  In her short 7-year stint at Purina, Michelle has received various awards and accolades for her work including Purina’s coveted “Five Talls” award.  She was also recently promoted to a Senior Meeting Planner position. 

In addition, Michelle serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Lead for on-campus Diversity & Inclusion events. She also serves on the Meeting Professional International Diversity & Inclusion committee where she was sponsored to attend a Thought Leaders Summit.  In July 2020, she will begin a volunteer board position for MPI St. Louis serving as the Director of Media and Communications. Her personal philosophy is to always put her best foot forward, never stop growing, bloom where she is planted and remain true to her word. 

In addition to her corporate professionalism, Michelle uses her time, talents and treasures in affiliation with the following organizations: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Gamma Omega Chapter; Cultural Leadership; BUBAA (Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance); Big Brother Big Sister and Children’s Church at Westside Missionary Baptist Church.  Further, Michelle is a new fellow in the 2019-2020 St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Cohort 14 (a nomination-based initiative hosted by the Regional Chamber for top talent across the St. Louis region).

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Bradley University. 

Described by The New York Times as "a magician, telling tales and creating worlds," and "a fierce and supple performer," choreographer Nejla Yatkin travels around the globe inspiring empathic connection between people and their environments. She creates solos, choreographs ensemble dances for stages and sites, collaborates on plays and film/video projects, and educates young artists. She is the recipient of multiple grants and awards from the Princess Grace Foundation, the Jay Pritzker Foundation, the Turkish Cultural Foundation, the National Performance Network, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, among others. Based in Chicago since 2010, she has gained recognition and support from 3Arts, the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, the Illinois Arts Council, and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In all her endeavors, Nejla seeks what British philosopher Isaiah Berlin refers to as an “awareness of the deep currents” — a comprehension of the connection between all people.

​Nejla is sought-after as a choreographer, performer, and educator; sharing a contemporary dance artistry that draws on extensive training in numerous dance styles as well as rich personal ancestral, cultural, and artistic roots. She was born in Germany where she began her intensive dance studies and earned a BFA in Contemporary Dance from The Etage, a performing arts college in Berlin. Her expertise also enfolds Japanese Butoh Dance, Middle Eastern dance forms, pantomime, and acting techniques. Curious about dance as a vehicle of heritage and ancestry even in situations of radical displacement, Nejla came to the US in 1995 to dance with African-American modern and contemporary dance companies. As a principal dancer with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (1995 — 1999) and later with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (1999 — 2000), she interpreted the choreography of great Black choreographers Donald McKayle, Eleo Pomare, Katherine Dunham, Ron Brown and Dianne McIntyre and many more. Nejla's body is an encyclopedia of dance masterworks: she has also studied and danced the works of Jose Limon, Anzu Furukawa, Mary Wigman, Pina Bausch, Jiri Kylian, and others.

In 2001 Nejla began to share her deep love and knowledge of dance through teaching at university and professional levels. As a teacher, she supports the development of each student's unique style of expression. She earned tenure while serving as a Professor of Dance at University of Maryland, College Park 2001 — 2008; From 2008 to 2012 she was an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame. She has also taught and created dance with students at Bates Dance Festival, Harvard University, Northwestern University, SUNY Purchase, Webster University, Washington University, and many others; she continues to accept guest artist and visiting professor engagements.

Nejla's solo creations express her multifaceted personal and artistic lineages: The Washington Post called her "a woman with deep reserves of feeling and experience and an invigorating, memorable way of expressing them.” Dance View Times has written that "Nejla Yatkin doesn't disappear for an instant, not within a role and not under the impact of movement. She's a performer inside and outside, from a piercing gaze to expressive shoulder blades and from the coils of her long black hair to her fingertips and toes. As a dancer, she measures on a major scale, thanks to a strong, long body and the amplitude she sustains. Watching her can become hypnotic, even off stage." Nejla's solo pieces include De/Reconstructing Mata Hari, Solo With Bach and most recently What Dreams May Come (2015), created with music by Turkish composers Ahmet Saygun and Kamran Ince and video design by Enki Andrews. This piece—which has toured in the US to New York, Washington DC, San Juan, and Chicago and internationally to Mexico, Russia, Honduras, Peru, El Salvador, India, and Kenya—explores spaces between oppression, freedom, identity, and anonymity.

Dancing Around The World is a major ensemble project for which Nejla literally circumnavigated the globe over the course of one year. Every two weeks she was in another country, guiding community groups in choreographies that blended dancers' personally expressive solos with tenderly merged unison groupings. The piece has traveled to 20 cities in 20 different countries since its 2015 premiere; delighting, surprising, and intriguing audiences in urban spaces. The project continues to be available for bookings. A record of the project created with videographer Andrews was awarded the 2018 Silver Palm Award for Best Documentary Short Film by the Mexico International Film Festival and was officially selected for additional screenings in Norway, Mexico, Italy, Bogota, Kenya, India, and the Philippines.

Nejla's interests in deep, authentic moments of human connection have attracted commissions from dance and theater companies across the US. In 2016 she was invited by the Diversionary Theater of San Diego to develop choreography for The Boy who Danced on Air. When the play opened off-Broadway at the Abington Theater in NYC, Nejla received nominations for Outstanding Choreography from the Chita Rivera Award and the Drama Desk for her culturally-informed and sensitive dance portrayal of the problematic, centuries-old Afghan tradition of bacha bazi (dancing boys). She also developed choreography for Sleeping Weazel's production of James Scruggs' 2017 theatrical 3/Fifths Trapped in a Traveling Minstrel Show, in which three high-voltage actors slyly perform the racist history of the US. Nejla has also created original choreographies for the Abingdon Theater, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, the Dallas Black Dance Theater, The Modern American Dance Company, the River North Dance Chicago, the Open Door Theater, and the Washington Ballet, among many others.

Connection to place and land is a theme that emerges throughout Nejla's oeuvre. Recent creations for small ensembles of dancers such as Moving Nature Dreams (2019), Conference of the Birds (2018) and Dancing With the Garden of The Phoenix (2017) are designed for parks and outdoor spaces. These pieces show Nejla's sensitivity to nature as an underlying source of energy and movement that nourishes dance and human life; they have established an emergent ecological/environmental trend in her body of work. She is open to new partnerships to continue this direction.

Nejla's newest project, The Other Witch, is a multi-lingual hybrid performance/ritual/installation/documentary in response to Wigman’s Hexentanz which Nejla describes as "A dance that manifests the mythical in a deeply sculptured movement, intimating ancient insights in the shadows of a ghostly choreography." The Other Witch is set to premiere in the Fall 2020 as a virtual performance series.

Captain Ronald Johnson, Retired is Owner and Founder of Lodestone Solutions Group, LLC a Leadership training and consulting company. Just like the mineral lodestone our leadership solutions are based on the weight of our moral compasses.

​Captain Ronald S. Johnson, Retired joined the Missouri State Highway Patrol on July 1, 1987. On August 14, 2014, Governor Jay Nixon appointed Captain Johnson to lead protest security in Ferguson, Missouri, following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, Jr.  The rest of Captain Ron Johnson’s story in 2014 is well written in the public domain. He authored a book however titled: 13 Days in Ferguson, published by Tyndale House Publisher’s Inc., in 2018, to tell his story, in his own words.

In June of 2017 the Missouri Highway Patrol Created the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach. The new office was created to focus on cultivating and enhancing partnerships with Missourians, community groups, and organizations across the state that may not frequently interact with the Patrol. As Director, Captain Johnson’s mission involved being a facilitator to engage community members and professionals in developing solutions for challenging social issues.

Captain Ron Johnson, Retired was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He holds a criminal justice degree, is a graduate of Northwestern University Traffic Institute of Police Staff and Command, and a 2014 graduate of the National Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy. He is certified in police instruction and the development/implementation of Assessment Center exercises formatted for command level staff officers. He has served on various committees/boards within the Patrol and Community.

In November of 2001, Governor Bob Holden appointed Captain Johnson, Retired to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. He served a second term as commissioner on the Peace Officer Standards Training Commission after being reappointed in July of 2007, by Governor Matt Blunt. Captain Johnson, Retired served as the Chairman of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission under the appointment by Governor Jay Nixon until his term ended on January 9, 2017.

Captain Ron Johnson, Retired has received numerous Leadership and Service to the Community awards/recognitions including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award, Historical Society of St. Louis County’s 2014 Community Service Award, 2014 Ebony Power 100’s Community Crusader Award, Missouri Community College Association’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award and named one of CNN’s Extraordinary People in 2014.  Captain Ron Johnson, Retired received the 2015 NAACP Rosa Parks Community Leadership Award and the 2017 Ambassador Andrew Young Award for Outstanding Ethics, Service and Commitment to Family and Community.

He is pleased to serve as the Chief Executive Officer for Lodestone, LLC.

Dr. Sarah Uphoff is currently an Education Specialist for the Center of Diversity and Cultural Competence at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.  She brings with her a diverse educational background.  Her B.S. and M.A. are in African American and Women’s Historical Studies from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.  She holds a PhD from Texas State University in Adult, Professional, and Community Education.  With over 20 years of professional experience in Higher Education, she has extensive experience in student and professional staff development and education.  Dr. Uphoff has a deep commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Social Justice work and education.  Much of her research background explores the power of storytelling through arts-based educational approaches, particularly through Spoken Word poetry. 

Stephanie Martinez is a Chicago-based choreographer and 3-Arts Award winner. Martinez creates environments which captivate, connect, and move her audiences along a journey guided by the kinetic momentum of her work. With original creations for Charlotte Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Sacramento Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Kansas City Ballet, Dance Kaleidoscope, Kansas City Dance Festival, Moving Arts Cincinnati, among others, she expands the boundaries of contemporary movement. Stephanie’s choreography has additionally been featured in collegiate dance departments across the country, including Point Park University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Boston Conservatory. In 2010, she assisted Broadway legend Ann Reinking in setting the Fosse Trilogy. Stephanie’s psychologically revelatory works will challenge the viewer’s notions of what is possible. Stephanie looks forward to upcoming commissions with North Carolina School of the Arts, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Ballet Memphis, and Cincinnati Ballet.

Veronica Walton is a Supplier Diversity Executive at Ameren where she is responsible for negotiating access to business opportunity for minority-, women-, veteran and LGBT-owned businesses in the areas of construction and all professional services including IT, real estate, legal and marketing.

In this capacity, she has been instrumental in facilitating Ameren’s investment of over $2.4B dollars with diverse suppliers between 2015 - 2019, and in 2018, Veronica was selected as the Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis.

Prior to joining Ameren, Ms. Walton served as the Director of Communications and Corporate Engagement for the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council – a non-profit organization designed to connect corporations, government entities and other major buying organizations with minority business enterprises (MBEs) for the purpose of doing business.

While she has been recognized for her work supporting entrepreneurs, she, too, is an entrepreneur having run a marketing firm where she specialized in experiential brand management and event production.  Throughout her career, Veronica has led national marketing campaigns, executed over 75 musical events, and promoted supplier diversity and economic parity across America.

Veronica received her MBA from Northwestern University (Kellogg) and her BA from Howard University.