U City Mayor Announces Interim Board for Regional Initiative on Youth

University City Mayor Shelley Welsch has announced the names of the leaders who have been asked to serve on the Interim Executive Board of Directors to oversee the “Regional Initiative on Youth” — an new effort that seeks to address the needs and issues affecting youth on a region-wide basis.

Board members will hold their first meeting at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, March 9, in room 132 at Goldfarb Hall at .

The Interim Executive Board of Directors members are:

• Adrian Bracy, chief executive officer of the YWCA of Metro St. Louis
• Jama Dodson, chief executive officer of the St. Louis Mental Health Board
• Gary Dollar, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Greater St. Louis
• Flint Fowler, PhD., president of the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club
• Dr. Delores Gunn, director of the St. Louis County Department of Health
• David A. Hilliard, president and chief executive officer of the Wyman Center
• Andrea M. Jackson-Jennings, M.Ed., director of the Department of Human Services
• Anisha Morell-Charles, special assistant to the Chancellor of St. Louis Community College
• Gary Schlansker, president and CEO of the of the YMCA of Greater St. Louis
• Mayor Tom Schneider, of the
• Don Senti, executive director of the Cooperating School Districts
• Amy Shaw, senior vice-president of community engagement at the Nine Network of Public Media
• Stan Shoun, president of Ranken Technical College
• Bruce Sowatsky, LCSW, director of The Community & Children’s Resource Board of St. Charles County (CCRB)
• Jody Squires, Ph.D., University of Missouri Extension Urban Youth Specialist and St. Louis City Program Director
• Mayor Shelley Welsch, of the
• Rev. Starsky Wilson, president of the Deaconess Foundation

The “Regional Initiative on Youth” was started last year by Mayor Welsch in an effort to bring people from around the region together to work collectively to address the needs and concerns of youth—not only University City but the whole metropolitan region. As part of the regional initiative, several public forums were held to start community discussions among area residents, local leaders and area youth. These public forums helped identify the areas of concern for the region’s youth. The interim board will determine if and how to move forward on Mayor Welsch’s initiative.

“Our goal is to ensure that our youth are getting what they need from the community. Some of the key areas initiative could address may include educational opportunities, physical and mental health issues, job training and how to create social connections within the community,” said Welsch. “By the age of 21, our youth need to be productive members of their community. We need to do everything in our power to ensure the success of our youth, not only for their benefit, but for the future economic health of our region as a whole. ”

For more information about the “Regional Initiative on Youth,” contact Mayor Shelley Welsch at 314-505-8606 or mayor@ucitymo.org.