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Don Danforth

Don Danforth

President and Co-Founder

ddanforth@CityAcademySTL.org

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

Janice Bailey

Chief Development Officer

jbailey@CityAcademySTL.org

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

Jarrett Young

Head of School

jyoung@CityAcademySTL.org

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

Brian Gross

Chief Financial and Operating Officer

bgross@CityAcademySTL.org

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.