BUILDING FUTURES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ron is a retired executive from the design and construction industry having served fifty-seven years in management with design/build general contracting firms.  Ron currently has a non-profit consulting firm where he mentors numerous minority contractors in the St. Louis marketplace.  He also founded PEOPLE in 2013 which exists to unite minority contractors with majority contractors for the purpose of “mixing” it up, knowing each other, trusting each other, and ultimately working with each other.  Ron has been active on several boards including serving as Chairman of the AGC Construction Careers Center Charter High School.  Ron also co-chairs our Fundraising Committee

Jusean attended Missouri University of Science and Technology where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. He was an accomplished track and field athlete, which resulted in numerous awards including the “All-American” title in hurdles for two years. Jusean is a Project Engineer with the Paric Corporation construction firm. As his devotion and commitment to building progressed, so did his love to be involved in the community by targeting and positively impacting underprivileged youth. This passion led him to the Building where he is able to do both. He is also a member of the Young Professional’s Board for Catholic Charities. Jusean helps teach Building Futures Saturday workshops every week. Jusean was also honored as one of the “Top 30 Under 30 in St. Louis” in 2018.

Susan is a career educator with twenty years of education experience, who is the Principal of Compton-Drew Investigative Learning Center Middle School. She has served the children of St. Louis Public Schools as a middle school principal for nine years and as a classroom teacher for eight years during which time she obtained two Masters’s Degrees in the field. Prior to becoming a principal in St. Louis Public Schools, she was for one year a literacy coach in Memphis City Schools and for one year a program director at The Bodine School for children with dyslexia and other reading disabilities.

Angela is a teacher in the St. Louis Public Schools for fifteen years. She is currently teaching second grade at Shaw School, St. Louis Public Schools. Angela is a recipient of the “Pettus Award” for teaching excellence. She is a passionate advocate for the present and future of our youth.

Angela’s teaching experience allows her to provide valuable criticism of current and future curriculum.

Barbara, the former Executive Director for Development under Saint Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Barbara spent nearly a decade managing all aspects of the Mayor’s economic development policy. She left the Mayor’s office in 2010 to attend law school at Washington University. For dozens of large-scale projects involving urban planning, federal grants, and tax incentives, Barbara negotiated development strategies and multimillion-dollar budgets while solving a variety of logistical problems, all so developments could successfully advance. She is a licensed architect with more than 40 years of experience in community development.

Susan is a principal at Bond Architects in St. Louis, Missouri. Bond Architects focuses on educational, municipal and commercial projects throughout the St. Louis metro region. Susan’s specialty is creating environments that contribute dramatically to a facility’s functionality, working atmosphere and historical accuracy. She offers a track record of consistently on-time, on-budget projects that exceed client expectations. Sue also co-chairs the Fundraising Committee.

Holston is an emerging entrepreneur in North St. Louis after a 28-year career at Boeing/ McDonnell-Douglas. Most recently he was the senior manager of learning, training and development supporting international employees, customers, and the international vice president for human resources and business development. Holston lived in Europe for 8 years and held site leadership roles in operations, quality, and aerospace supplier development. He has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical aerospace engineering from Princeton University and a MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School and Wissenschaftliche Hochschule fur Unternehmensfuhrung (WHU) in Germany. He is a University City High School graduate and an alum of Inroads, M.I.T.E.S., and the Developing Engineering Students program at McD-D. In addition to serving on our board, he volunteers to work with our students on Saturdays. He also serves as Board Treasurer of Confluence Academies Charter Schools. His concern for underprivileged youth is evidenced by his major service efforts.

Tom divides his work at Mackey Mitchell between designing and managing renovation projects and leading the firm’s technology research, development, and implementation. Tom’s personal passion to instill the “why” habit into young people and teach them how to make things with their hands has lead him to Building Futures. He is a welcome addition to our team.