Deborah is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Epworth Children & Family Services.  With over twenty years in executive-level human resource positions in manufacturing and non-profit, Deborah brings a broad business perspective, strategic outlook, and ability to effectively work with individuals at all levels of the organization. Deborah began her career in operations where she became co-owner and Vice President of Operations for a small electronics manufacturing firm.  After 10 years she decided to devote her energies to the people side of the business and became Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Services for Carboline Company, a manufacturer of industrial coatings.  She then moved on to Chief Human Resources Officer for the Gateway Region YMCA and ended her corporate career as Vice President of Human Resources at idX Corporation, a manufacturer of custom retail fixtures.  Before taking her current role, Deborah spent three years as a full-time business faculty member in the online program at ECPI University. Deborah holds a Ph.D. from Walden University in Organizational Psychology along with an MBA and BA in Business Administration from Lindenwood University. Deborah is an adjunct instructor at University of the People and Webster University. In her spare time, Deborah can be found spending quality time with her husband Angus and their three rescue dogs Yumi, Zoey, and Bella.

Dena is a tenured professional with a career in non-profit healthcare organizations across the country. Positions she has held include bedside caregiver, leadership, educator, organizational development and consultant roles.  She received her BS in Nursing from UM- St Louis with a Minor in Psychology, and an MS degree in Nursing/Healthcare Administration from Vanderbilt University.  Her current role is Senior Learning & Development Consultant with BJC in St Louis. She is passionate about helping others to develop personal self-awareness and utilizing their unique gifts and talents in order to find personal fulfillment and joy in their professional and personal endeavors. She is experienced in individual coaching, change leadership consultation, large and small group facilitation, and education in areas of communication, managing conflict, relationship building, and operational analysis.  Her positive and gregarious facilitation style has earned her a reputation for impactful, enjoyable and meaningful experiences in working with and developing others. Dena’s desire to further appreciate and study the field of OD has increased by being involved in the STL ODN – meeting new people, serving on the Executive Team, and re-connecting with the St Louis area after moving back in 2017.  You will find Dena relaxing on weekends with her family and friends, walking, bicycling, reading, cheering on the St Louis Cardinals and traveling as often as possible. 

Joani has 15+ years experience in organization development, including executive assessment, leadership development, onboarding, career management, succession planning, change management and agility, and coaching. Her expertise includes working with individuals to maximize personal and organizational performance, and her passion is coaching and empowering people to expand their leadership capacity and positive impact. 

She is the Women in Leadership Program Facilitator for FOCUS St. Louis. Prior to FOCUS, Joani was an Executive Coach and Consultant with a global consulting company, Director of Career Management at Maryville University, and worked in Procter & Gamble Sales’ regional college recruiting.

Joani earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Organizational Leadership & Development from Maryville University, and completed her coach training with B-Coach. She is a graduate of Class 57 Women in Leadership Program, and FOCUS Diversity Leadership Fellowship Program.

Joani has served on the STL-ODN Program, Conference, and Mission-Vision committees prior to her roles on the Executive Team as Volunteer Coordinator, Communications Chair, and Community Outreach Chair to develop OD partnerships with professional associations and companies in St. Louis.  Joani is also a member of the International Coach Federation.

Joani enjoys yoga, dance, singing in a community choir, travel, and meeting new people.

Dr. Cheryl Throgmorton is a consultant, coach, facilitator, leader, and educator with over 20 years of organization development and learning, DEI, human resource management and leadership experience in a variety of industries in both internal and external consulting capacities. Cheryl specializes in work that builds organization diversity, equity, and inclusion, grows coworker engagement, and enhances leadership capability. She is a lifelong learner who has valued her STL-ODN and ODN memberships for years and enjoys giving back by volunteering with both professional organizations. Cheryl enjoys traveling and hanging out with her beloved cats, family, and friends. She welcomes you to connect on LinkedIn.  

Mary Kutheis started her coaching and training company in 2001 after 17 years in the corporate world. Her clients include those building leadership skills and small business owners who wish to add Leadership skills to the Owner skills they already possess. She’s a Certified Professional Coach, Certified Executive Coach, Certified Foundational Team Coach and Certified Axiogenics Coach. The latter is rooted in the science of neuro-axiology (the fusion of mind-brain science and formal value science) which provides a way to measure, align and maximize the quality of people’s thinking. She published her first book, Making Minutes Matter: Your Guide to Being Content With How You Spend Your Time, in January 2019. She and her husband have a 23-year old-son and two rescue dogs. Connecting on LinkedIn always welcome!

Gray is a MacGyver of Business Ops; his Swiss-Army knife is his diverse background of adult learning, Somatics, emergency response, community development, communications, project management, and the performance arts. He sees the world from a bird’s-eye view and offers a zoomed-out perspective on organizational flow. Gray finds inefficiencies and offers tangible solutions with what’s available (although not chewing gum and paper clips - that’s Richard Dean Anderson’s métier). He is a champion of DEI and the people and strives to ensure everyone has all the tools they need to build self-efficacy.

Gray is an AmSAT-certified Instructor of the Alexander Technique, a Somatic, educational approach to repattern habits and build efficiency. This background serves as a unique framework for his current work as a training program developer and Jr. Director of Business and People Ops for the St. Louis-based legal tech company, Juristat. Gray is finishing a degree at Wash U in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a Certificate in Somatic Studies. He hopes to continue weaving these two fields together in his professional life.

In between work and classes, Gray wrangles two small children who self-identify as dragons and have the ferocity to back it up. You can often catch him in nature (as long as there is plenty of shade) or attending all the incredible performance art shows St. Louis has to offer. He welcomes connections on LinkedIn and will always accept a challenge to a dance-off.

Ramona Jones is a life-long learner who enjoys helping others to grow and succeed. She combines her knack for writing and love for creating with technology in her current role as a Senior User Experience Designer. Her superpowers are partnering and collaborating. As a customer advocate, content design thought leader, and organizational development practitioner, Ramona gets to use all the skills she has gleaned to support teams and improve the user experience.

Ramona is the author of the two books, From Tongue, To Ear, To Heart: So Says The Wise, and Your Legacy Voice: The Prelude To Your Breakthrough. She is also a mental well-being advocate, and coauthor in the two-volume book, Tear The Veil, along with 18 Fearless Visionaries on a mission to restore hope to heal individuals, families, and communities through sharing “from pain to triumph” stories. You can read more about Ramona on LinkedIn Profile.

Wayne is an IT professional with a strong internal consulting career and a long history working in the information technology industry. Currently he works in the Capacity Planning department of Mastercard’s Operations & Technology division, but has also worked in their TQM, Internal Audit, Software Development and Distribution departments. 

He has achieved three Master of Arts degrees in Organizational Development, IT Management, and Management & Leadership from Webster University. During his over 35 years at Mastercard Wayne has gained the skills in Business & IT Processing, Data & System Analysis, IT Strategies, as well as public and person-to-person communication skills.

One of his mottos is “IT Needs OD”, which has driven him for the last 10 years to lead an internal Business Resource Group (BRG) known as  Experience Professionals (ePros). This is one of nine different BRGs at Mastercard dedicated to enhancing employee engagement, diversity and inclusion awareness, belonging initiatives and knowledge sharing. And he is a very proud grandparent of two beautiful grandchildren.