Board of Directors

Our Board

The AMCS Board is charged with being the legal authority for Active Minds Charter School. As a member of the Board, a Director acts in a position of trust for the community and is responsible for the effective governance of the organization; establishment of overall long and short term goals; provide objectives and priorities for AMCS to meet the needs of the community and promote Active Minds Charter School membership. From now until the time the school opens, the Board is actively involved in decision making and advice. In June of 2011, the Board will transition from a focus on day-to-day operations to a focus on policy making, planning, monitoring, and evaluation to further support the mission, core values and strategic objectives.

Tiffani Cage, Ph.D

Through working in Organizational Development for Express Scripts, she possesses expertise in the ability to design, plan, organize and drive ongoing, complex, company-wide human resource programs such as recruiting, selection, performance management and employee development. Ms. Cage is trained to analyze and synthesize information from people, process, and systems in order to identify and resolve issues. She is chair of AMCS’ Human Resources Committee which is working to create al employee selection, performance management, and compensation policies and procedures. She has her Masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University. Ms. Cage lives in St. Louis and has family in the area.

Shelley Cosgrove DeFord

Ms. DeFord is currently a full-time community volunteer. She was selected for the Board for her significant corporate and non-profit board experience and her expertise in the financial sector. For over 15 years, Ms. DeFord worked overseas as a financial consultant and as a banker in New York City. She has served substantial tenures on several boards, including the Singapore American School Board of Governors (for which she served as Chairperson), the Raffles Junior College Board of Governors, the Singapore American Community Action Council, and the American Association of Singapore. Ms. DeFord holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University. She moved to St. Louis in 2008, the same year her daughter graduated from Washington University. Ms. DeFord currently sits on AMCS' Development Committee.

Jeanne Heil-Chapdelaine, MA

Ms. Heil-Chapdelaine is Event and Scheduling manager for the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Ms. Heil-Chapdelaine was chosen for AMCS’ Board of Directors due to prior experiences starting a school with an educational philosophy similar to AMCS. Although the school started as an independent private school, it later became a charter school. Additionally, her experiences in event planning and fund development, her degree in Early Childhood Education, and the fact that she lives in AMCS’ targeted area also make her an ideal Board Member. Through her work at Washington University in St. Louis in both the Law School and the Registrar’s Office, Ms. Heil-Chapdelaine has exhibited strong project management, networking, and facilitation skills. Ms. Heil-Chapdelaine has her BA in Child Development and Family Studies and her Masters in Elementary Education from Purdue University. She looks forward to bringing her lessons learned from previously starting a school to AMCS’ school development process.

Michael J. Hennessey

Mr. Hennessey is a commercial insurance and risk management consultant at the Charles L. Crane Agency. He was selected to the Board for his business skills and his perspective and passion as both an alumnus and parent of students in St. Louis schools. Mr. Hennessey brings to the Board 27 years of commercial insurance and risk management consulting experience, primarily in business development and client service. He holds a BS in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri, Columbia. A father of four and a fourth generation St. Louisan, Mr. Hennessey carries a long view of the challenges and opportunities present in St. Louis schools and would like to be a part of a better solution for St. Louis students in the future.

Cynthia Jordan

Ms. Jordan is a consultant for Wells Fargo Advisors. She was selected to the Board because of her background in finance and her commitment to the St. Louis Community. She boosts over 16 years experience in retail, mortgage, specific credit products and business banking sales, business development management, and community relations. Previously, Ms. Jordan was a Business Development Representative at Southwest Bank where she was responsible for the business strategy and execution of over $7 million in business accounts each year. Ms. Jordan has also served as Vice Chair of the Regional Diversity and Inclusion Council, created the Women Leadership group in conjunction with the Regional Business Council’s United Way campaign, and was honored as one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2009. Ms. Jordan is also active on the Board of the Dred Scott Heritage Society. As a lifelong resident of St. Louis and a product of the Public Schools, Ms. Jordan looks forward to helping to provide quality education options to the next generation of students in St. Louis. Ms. Jordan is the chair of AMCS' Finance Committee and sits on the Development Committee.

Barbara Kohm, MAT

Ms. Kohm is currently retired from Captain Elementary School in the Clayton School District. She was chosen for AMCS’ Board due to her experiences running a high-performing school and work in creating the collaborative school environment AMCS seeks to have. Ms. Kohm has 14 years experience as an elementary school principal and 10 years as an early childhood program director. During this time, her school won a national Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in Education, and she learned that deep changes in curriculum and instruction required even deeper changes in power relationships and information flow. As she and her staff worked to raise student achievement, they found that they needed to think differently about their relationships with one another, their own learning, and about how they defined success. Most important, they needed to challenge assumptions that they held as absolute truths. Ms. Kohm, incorporated these lessons into her book Principals Who Learn. She currently works as a consultant and mentor to principals in a variety of school districts and is the author of “Improving Faculty Conversations” in the May 2002 issue of Educational Leadership. Ms. Kohm sits on AMCS' Human Resources Committee.

Julie Lawson, MA

Ms. Lawson has spent 15 years in nonprofit industry, providing strategic, fundraising and board development consultation for more than 35 agencies. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Crime Victim Advocacy Center in St. Louis. For six years, she has served intermittently as a development and programming consultant to the St. Louis Cooperating School Districts, a collaborative of 135 LEAs in the St. Louis region. Ms. Lawson was one of 2 founders of the $1.7 million Parent Engagement Center created to engage parents in the St. Louis Public School system in their children's educational process and advocate for system improvements. She was instrumental in executing the Black Leadership Roundtable's Academic Achievement Gap study, a tool that identifies academic achievement gaps between minority and other students and its impact on the quality of educational resources in particular areas. As Director of St. Louis Services for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, she oversaw the operations of our Head Start program, which was attended exclusively by lower-income and minority children. The combination of these experiences has led her to understand the unique challenges facing children in the urban core and in impoverished areas and how social service needs greatly tie to academic success or failure. She is the Chair of AMCS’ Marketing committee. Ms. Lawson has been a resident of St. Louis for 19 years and is committed to improving the lives of children in the area. Ms. Lawson is AMCS' Board Chair.

Chad Predmore, MBA

Mr. Predmore is the Director of IT for The Korte Company. He was selected for the Board for his business acumen and his expertise in information technology, which will help him plan and budget the IT infrastructure for AMSC. In addition to his 12 years of experience in the business and IT worlds, Mr. Predmore volunteers his time to work with children through various organizations. He holds an MBA from St. Louis University and a BS in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Mr. Predmore believes that a successful school must effectively engage both students and parents – a reflection of AMCS’ philosophy – and he is happy for the opportunity to help shape the education of St. Louis students. Mr. Predmore chairs AMCS' Facilities committe and sits on the Development and Finance Committees.

Timothy C. Sansone, JD

Mr. Sansone understands the importance of and need for due diligence, order, efficiency, and the minimization of risk. As an attorney for 12 years, he has experience drafting constitutions, by-laws, and contracts. Mr. Sansone currently works at Sandberg, Phoenix & Von Gontard and is Chairman of the firm’s charitable foundation, where he has garnered much experience working with non-profit organizations. Mr. Sansone was born and raised in the St. Louis area, and is the parent of two children, who are attending both public and private schools. Mr. Sansone sits on AMCS' Fianance Committee.

Cathleen Slone, MA

Cathleen Slone is Principal of Innovate U, a private Career Education and Development Company.  Her coaching, mentoring and development programs empower clarity, direction and success for individuals and organizations in varied industries with diverse backgrounds.  Ms. Slone was chosen for AMCS Board of Directors due to her vast entrepreneurial, human resources and marketing experience.  Her background includes organizational development, talent management, human resources and  extensive management consulting experience developing emerging leaders personally and professionally to manage change and achieve their goals.  Ms. Slone is dual degreed as Master of Arts in Human Resources Management and Human Resources Development from Webster University with an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication from University of Missouri – St. Louis.  She is a Certified Career Coach, Business Coach, Executive Group Coach and Writer.  Ms. Slone sits on AMCS’ Human Resources Committee.

Monica Stewart, Ed. D

Dr. Stewart has led five different schools as principal and assistant principal, and currently serves on a number of advisory Boards. Dr. Stewart was selected for the Board for her extraordinary depth of experience and skill in both board management and school leadership, including her expertise in assessment, recruitment and marketing, staff development, personnel, and curriculum. Following her work as a Physical Education/Health teacher, she served in an impressive array of leadership roles, including principal and assistant principal of two charter schools, principal of a middle school, assistant principal of a traditional high school, and principal of an alternative high school. While working at the alternative high school, Dr. Stewart was responsible for implementation of curriculum, assessment, policy and procedure, budget, and staff development for grades 6-12. She holds a Doctorate of Education from Maryville University and an Educational Specialist Degree from Webster University. She currently lends her expertise to the UMSL Alumni Governing Board, WILA Alumni Board, St. Louis Association of Secondary School Principals (for which she has served as president), United Negro College Fund Advisory Board, and Community Women Against Hardship Advisory Board. Dr. Stewart was born and raised in St. Louis and sits on AMCS' Human Resources and Development Committees.

Advisory Board

The AMCS Advisory Board consists of members of the community that share a commitment to the vision of the Active Minds Charter School and have expertise in policy, finance, programs, and/or personnel. Members of the Advisory Board give advice and counsel on an as needed basis and have no voting authority over the organization.

David Fisher

Mr. Fisher is the Executive Director of Great Rivers Greenway. Previously, he was the superintendent of parks and recreation in Minneapolis MN. David has been credited with creating the “best-financed, best-designed, best-maintained public open space in America.” David is a resident of Lafayette Square and has taken a collaborative leadership approach to all of his planning and design feats. David was chosen as an Advisory Board Member for AMCS because of his close connections to the St. Louis Community and his work in community development, collaborative leadership and community engagement. Just as AMCS sees part of its mission as bringing together diverse communities in St. Louis, David applied the same philosophy to the development of the Greenway system in St. Louis. David lives in AMCS target zip code.

Damion S. Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Jones has experience with schools of higher education, having taught college students at both two- and four-year institutions. He has also assisted non-profits in designing program evaluations to assess their effectiveness. In his current role at the Monsanto Company, is responsible for contributing to the development of BOD materials on topics of Diversity, Executive Leadership Development and Succession Planning. Dr. Jones has lived in St. Louis for the past 13 years with his family and is dedicated to improving the St. Louis area.

Michael O’Mara

Mr. O’Mara currently represents the Florrisant area as a member of the St. Louis County Council. Through this job, he has garnered much experience working with political leaders from across the state to address local issues. Mr. O’Mara is currently the International Representative for the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Sprinklerfitters. He is a life-long resident of St. Louis and a graduate of Saint Louis University.

Robert G. Porter, JD, MBA

Mr. Porter possesses much experience in Board leadership from his time with the Metropolitan St. Louis Urban League, Guardian Angel Settlement Association, and Marygrove Children’s Home, and also from his experience in collaborating with community members to address unmet needs among vulnerable populations, most specifically in the area of health care. Mr. Porter will be able to provide advice and consultation in developing and sustaining community support for the school’s mission and for creating a sustainable new organization. He has led the design and start up of a new community hospital, integrating the ideas of a broad array of stakeholders and attending to the details of facility and operational design. He has 25 years of experience as a senior leader in not for profit health care. He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for SSM Healthcare in St. Louis. Mr. Porter was born and raised in St. Louis and understands the challenges the region faces.