You have a lot of supporters who want you to succeed in college!
Who We Are
The mission of St. Louis Graduates is to increase the proportion of low-income students in the St. Louis region who earn a postsecondary degree. St. Louis Graduates' goal is that 50% of adults in the region will have a postsecondary degree by 2020. St. Louis Graduates supports this goal through collaboration, service coordination, professional development, communications and advocacy.
St. Louis Graduates is a collaborative network of youth-serving college access provider organizations, K-12 education, higher education, philanthropic funders and businesses. St. Louis Graduates was formerly known as the St. Louis Regional College Access Pipeline Project.
St. Louis Graduates Steering Committee
Jane Donahue, co-chair
Vice President, Deaconess Foundation
Faith Sandler, co-chair
Executive Director, Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis
Alan Byrd, Dean of Enrollment Services, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Stacy Clay, Deputy Superintendent of Institutional Advancement, St. Louis Public Schools
Cynthia Curry Crim, Foundation Program Manager, Commerce Bank
Melanie DiLeo, Group Manager, State Director Missouri Community Development, Citi
Myrtle Dorsey, Chancellor, St. Louis Community College
Sherry Harsch-Porter, Principal, The Porter Bay Group
Dave Hilliard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wyman Center
Wendy Jaffe, Executive Director, The Trio Foundation of St. Louis
Mary McMurtrey, President, Gateway Center for Giving
Amy Basore Murphy, Director of Scholarship and Donor Services, The Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation
Cheryl Polk, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Engagement Officer, United Way of Greater St. Louis
Kathy Reeves, Corporate Community Relations Director, Enterprise Holdings
Beth Tankersley-Bankhead, Executive Director, Missouri College Advising Corps
Erica Tyson, Program Director, College Summit
Allison Williams, Senior Vice President - Programs, Wyman Center
Lisa Orden Zarin, Chief Executive Officer, College Bound
St. Louis Graduates Administrative Support
Laura Winter, Project Manager
Kris Lewis, Team Leader, Professional Development Institute and Learning Circles
Angela Whitlow, Team Leader, Lunch & Learns
Why St. Louis Graduates Exists
What St. Louis Graduates Has Already Done
Published two regional data reports on college access and degree completion, increasing awareness of the importance of degree completion among low-income students;
Advocated for need-based financial aid in Missouri;
Convened nearly 70 community leaders in developing the region’s first strategic plan for college degree completion among low-income and first-generation students;
Engaged hundreds of counselors, college access professionals and higher education administrators in professional development programs to build regional capacity to serve students.
Established Scholarship Central where students can access scholarships in one place.
St. Louis Graduates' Ongoing Role
Working to Better Coordinate Services in the Region: Providing data and connecting resources to better serve students.
Capacity Building: Providing professional development to college access and persistence professionals.
Addressing Affordability: Working to reduce the affordability gap through Scholarship Central and advocacy.
Collaboration: Aligning St. Louis Graduates' work with other degree completion efforts in the region.
Broadening Awareness: Maintaining and expanding the network of service providers, educators, business and philanthropic leaders who are working on college access and success.