Meet Our New Members
- NADINE ALAMEH, Executive Director, Taylor Geospatial Institute
- ANGELA CLARK, President, Goldfarb School of Nursing
- AKBERET BOYKIN FARR, Vice President, Diversity and Social Responsibly, Emerson
- DAWN KOTVA, Chief Operating, MTM, Inc.
- NALINI MAHADEVAN, JD, MBA, MLO Law, LLC
- CARA STARKE, Executive Director, Pulitzer Arts Foundation
- DR. DORIAN TRAUBE, Dean, Brown School of Social Work, Washington University
- KRISTEN WILD, President and CEO Operation Food Search
Many thanks to Kristen Sorth for all she has done to enhance and extend opportunities at the St. Louis County Library during the last 28 years! Kristin has accepted a position as VP Civic and Social Impact beginning in January. We can’t wait to see what she does in her next adventure! Kristen joined St. Louis County Library in 1998, leading Human Resources and was named Director and CEO in 2013 – the first woman to hold the role. Her unique, community-oriented approach to leadership has transformed the Library District beyond the traditional role as a book and information repository to a vibrant, community–centered organization serving nearly 1 million residents.
RHONDA HAMM-NIEBRUGGE, airport director at Lambert, stepped down from the position in August. Rhonda was hired in 2010 as director. The airport was still struggling after American Airlines scaled back operations for years, ending Lambert’s status as a hub for the airline. She had decades of experience in the industry and ran hub operations at Lambert for both Trans World Airlines and American Airlines, into which TWA merged. Under Rhonda’s leadership, annual passenger counts rebounded to 15.9 million by 2024, the highest since the early 2000s.
Dr. Blanche Touhill, Chancellor Emerita and longtime IWFMo member discussed her latest book “The History of University of Missouri-St. Louis: 1983-2003,” to a crowd of several hundred.
Dr. Touhill has written several books and continues to contribute her leadership skills to many professional and community boards. She was named St. Louis Citizen of the Year in 1997 and received the Right Arm of St. Louis Award in 2003. She has been a SHSMO trustee since 1985. In 2014 she was presented the Society’s Distinguished Service Award.
EMILY PULITZER curates exhibition to celebrate the Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s 25th Anniversary. “Dialogues & Conversations,” features works of art that were assembled with her late husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr., as well as independently. Emmy says that the exhibit is fundamentally about “how artists speak to one another across time.” Alongside pieces from the 2011 National Medal of Arts recipient’s own collection as well as works previously shown at the Foundation, the milestone project brings together artists from the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Harvard Art Museums, and The Museum of Modern Art, all institutions at which Pulitzer previously served as curator. To learn more, visit the Foundation’s website LINKED HERE.
DR. ANGELA CLARK, LISA MELANDRI, and LUCIA LOHMANN have been named 2026 Most Influential Business Women by the St. Louis Business Journal. Since 1999, the event has honored the remarkable achievements of women who are making a lasting impact at their companies and on the St. Louis community. Each year, 25 outstanding leaders are chosen whose innovation, dedication, and influence are driving meaningful change in their industries and beyond. Angela is President, Goldfarb school of Nursing; Lisa is Executive Director pf the Contemporary Art Museum; and Lucia is President of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
TAMARA KEEFE, Founder and CEO of Clementine’s Ice Cream, has completed a $6 million funding round to drive national franchising and new company-owned stores. Next Phase Capital, a Nashville, Tennessee-based growth investment firm, was the lead investor in the round, according to a recent news release.
Judge Russell accepts Sandra Day O'Connor Award
When Missouri Supreme Court Judge MARY RHODES RUSSELL stepped onto the stage in Minnesota to accept the Sandra Day O’Connor Award, the National Judicial College’s highest honor, she carried with her more than a distinguished résumé. She carried decades of relationships, road miles, handwritten columns, and quiet moments spent listening in courthouse hallways. The award, named for one of America’s great champions of civic education, seemed almost destined for her. Judge Russell has twice served as Chief Justice of Missouri’s highest court, guiding the judiciary through years of change with a signature mix of curiosity, innovation, and warmth. But if you ask her what truly drives her, she won’t point to her opinions or administrative decisions. Instead, she talks about people, how they connect, how they disagree, how they find common ground.
“I cannot think of anyone else, not just in Missouri but anywhere, who more closely manifests the spirit of civic education than Judge Russell,” wrote Judge Kelly C. Broniec when nominating her. “It permeates almost everything she does.”
Symphony President Marie-Helene Bernard Named one of the Top Music Professionals in the Nation
MARIE-HELENE BERNARD was one of 30 professionals receiving the honor by Musical America Worldwide. In the past few years, she also raised over $150 million and spearheaded the remodeling of Powell Hall, home of the Saint Louis Symphony. After extensive renovation and additions, Powell Hall was reopened in September 2025. Marie-Helen says: “Along with other cultural institutions, we actively advance St. Louis as a global destination for music and culture, engaging audiences far beyond the concert hall through robust community partnerships. Unparalleled for its beauty and acoustics—and now equipped with amenities for the 21st century—Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center is one of the finest concert halls in the country and is redefining true access to music for all.” READ MORE
IWF Cornerstone Conference in Cape Town, South Africa
GAYLE JACKSON and BETTIE SCHWARTZ has a fabulous time at the Cornerstone Conference in Cape Town! The South Africa Chapter of the IWF wasted no time before strutting their stuff. In the Opening Session, they knocked the ball out of the park by presenting South Africa’s President, Cyril Remaphosa, in person as the keynote speaker. made a deep favorable impression on the 500 Conference Attendees from 30 countries with his articulate and nuanced remarks about the resources, opportunities and challenges facing the African Continent and the notable contributions of women leaders tackling those challenges.