Don Danforth
President and Co-Founder
Joined City Academy: 1999
Education: B.A., St. Lawrence University
Don Danforth co-founded City Academy and assumed the role of president when the school opened in 1999. He began his professional career at Ralston Purina Company in 1989. In 1993, Don was named Education Director for the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club. It was there he was inspired by the late Martin Mathews to found City Academy.
Don serves on the board for the American Youth Foundation. He and his wife Susannah have four children.
Janice Bailey
Chief Development Officer
Joined City Academy: 2021
Education: B.A., Drury University
Prior to City Academy, Janice spent nearly 25 years at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in various fundraising roles including Vice President and Chief Development Officer of the Children’s Hospital Foundation. Janice also served as Assistant Head of School for Mission Advancement at Saint Louis Priory School.
Janice and her husband Jack have two grown children.
Jarrett Young
Head of School
Joined City Academy: 2022
Education: B.A. Bowdoin College
M.Ed., Harvard University
Jarrett came to City Academy from Whitfield School where he was Middle School Director. He has also held several roles in independent schools including the Blake School in Minneapolis where he was a Grade Dean. Prior to working in independent schools, Jarrett worked as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Bowdoin College.
Jarrett is a native St. Louisan and grew up close to City Academy – in The Greater Ville neighborhood. He attended MICDS in middle and high school.
Brian Gross
Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Joined City Academy: 2019
Education: B.S., Northern Illinois University
M.P.A., Northern Illinois University
Executive Scholar Graduate, Northwestern University Kellogg School
Brian and his wife have two daughters who are alumnae of City Academy and both daughters are currently attending a private independent secondary school. Brian has over 15 years of experience working in finance, budgeting, and operations.
Prior to working at City Academy, Brian was the Chief Financial & Operating Officer for North Side Community School and has worked for the City of Crestwood, Village of Montgomery, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Chase Bank (formerly Bank One), and AmeriCorps. Brian enjoys volunteering his time with the St. Louis Area Foodbank.
About Board of Trustees
City Academy’s Board of Trustees advances our mission and impact by serving as leading advocates for the school, philanthropic role models, and guardians of City Academy’s well-being and sustainability.
Michelle Strawbridge, Board Chair, Retail Technology Group, Director of Human Resources
Akberet Boykin Farr, Emerson, Vice President of Diversity and Social Responsibility
Stuart Campbell, Trophy Properties, CFO
Michelle Cohen, Cecil Packaging, President
Andy Cowen, Radialogica, CEO
David Cramer, Community Leader
JiaMin Dierberg, Star Lane & Dierberg Vineyards, Export Sales Manager
Pamela Ford, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Program Manager/IT Specialist
Jennifer Gafford, PhD, Family Care Health Centers, Lead Psychologist
Dan Geraty, Dental Intelligence, CEO
Jeff Giles, Core & Main, Vice President of Corporate Development
Kathleen Hall, KYH Systems, Owner
Robert Harrison, Daniel and Henry Insurance Company, President and Chairman of the Board
Kerrigan Kaplan, Evernorth/Cigna, Managing Director, Marketing
Marty Lyons, Ameren Missouri, President and CEO
Vicki May, Washington University, Assistant Dean in Arts and Sciences and Executive Director of the Institute for School Partnership
Marjorie Melton, M3 Engineering Group, CEO
Jason Mills, UniGroup, President and CEO
Shawn Moore, Daugherty Business Solutions, Senior Consultant
Sarah Mullen, Lewis Rice LLC, Attorney
Michael Small, St. Louis Trust, Executive Vice President
Ginger Smith, Community Leader
Heather Strahorn, Aim Field Hockey, Marketing Manager
Peter Swank, Swank Motion Pictures, President
Chris Thompson, Central Group, LLC, Managing Member
James E. Williams, Jr., Estel Foods, Inc. d.b.a. McDonald’s, CEO / Owner
Becky Young, Community Leader
Lifetime Trustees
Don Danforth III, Co-Founder and President
Trustee Emeritus
Hazel Donald, Retired Educator
About the Friends Board
City Academy’s Friends Board is a group of young professionals devoted to transforming lives through education. They help cultivate new relationships with individuals and organizations throughout the St. Louis community, and support our students and their families through volunteering, hosting events, and fundraising for our scholarship program.
Roster
Diane Swank, Chair; World Wide Technologies
Allie Beath, CIBC Bank USA
Kat Beath, BARK
Tom Bunn, iSelect Fund
Jake Brown, Trophy Properties and Auction
Heather Day, Day Leadership Academy, HBD Enterprise LLC.
Becky Esrock, Stifel
Caroline Fugel, Moneta
Aaron Goeckner, Service/Volunteer Chair; Artisan Partners
Martin Gregory, Washington University in St. Louis
Courtney Harris, Washington University in St. Louis
Lindsey Heisler, Maritz Global Travel
Clare Lucas, TRC Environmental Corporation
Courtney Lucas, NISA
Will Lucas, Edward Jones
Courtney Mach, Immediate Past Chair; Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.
Wes Mellow, Henry and Jones
Caitlin Oppland, Timmermann Group
Julie Peters, Woman’s Exchange of St Louis
Sean Sullivan, St. Louis Trust
Todd Turner, Secretary; Cass Commercial Bank
Patrick VanCleave, Trivia Night Chair; Renaissance Financial
Cari Wilber, World Wide Technology
Learn More
We always want to hear from our community members who share a passion for education and want to join others in the furthering of City Academy’s mission and impact. If you are interested in becoming a City Academy Friend, please contact Lydia Bryant at LBryant@CityAcademySTL.org.