Mayor Spencer Announces Tornado Recovery Advisory Committees

Today, Mayor Cara Spencer announced the formation of two committees to advise her and the newly established Recovery Office on the City’s recovery vision and priorities after the devastating May 16 tornado.

“One thing that’s clear to me from being in our hardest-hit neighborhoods, talking with residents, listening to frontline organizations, and learning from national recovery experts, is that St. Louis’ recovery depends on collaboration,” said Mayor Spencer. “The recovery cannot be mapped out from within City Hall. Through these committees, the people whose lives were abruptly changed on May 16, and the people who have stepped up to serve ever since, will play vital roles in helping us put St. Louisans' needs and wishes into action.”

Residents and business owners in the impact zone, as well as community members who serve those in the impact zone, are invited to apply to the Resident and Community Recovery Advisory Committee. The application is online and will be open until Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.

In addition, Mayor Spencer announced a range of local leaders to serve on the Civic Leaders Recovery Advisory Committee. They include:

• Adolphus Pruitt - President, NAACP, St. Louis City Chapter
• Andwele Jolly - President & CEO, St. Louis Integrated Health Network
• Pastor Andre Alexander - Lead Pastor, The Tabernacle 
• Eddie Ross - Founder & Executive Director, Diamond Diva Empowerment Foundation
• Kayla Reed - Co-Founder & Executive Director, Action St. Louis
• Rev. Linden Bowie - Chairman, Spirit of St. Louis Task Force
• LaKricia Cox - Executive Director, American Red Cross Greater St. Louis Chapter
• Dr. LJ Punch - Co-Founder, 314Oasis
• Michelle D. Tucker - President & CEO, United Way of Greater St. Louis
• Michael P. McMillan - President & CEO, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
• Aaron Williams - President, 4theVille
• Dara Eskridge - CEO, InvestSTL
• Linda Nguyen - Executive Director, Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis
• Donald Pohl - President, Ranken Technical College
• Jeff Pittman - Chancellor, St. Louis Community College
• Dr. Millicent Borishade - Superintendent of Schools, Saint Louis Public Schools
• Karl A. Grice, FAIA - Principal Architect, wasGrice Group Architects
• Stacy A. Bourne, FAIA, NOMA - Principal Architect, The Bourne Group, LLC
• Dustin Allison - Interim CEO, Greater St. Louis Inc.
• Karen Branding - President & CEO, Regional Business Council
• T. Christopher Peoples - Director of Equity & Economic Impact, Great Rivers Greenway; Executive Director, Brickline North Community Development Corporation
• Meridith McAvoy Perkins - Executive Director, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri
• Patrick Brown - Chief of Staff, Ameren Corporation
• Taulby Roach - President and Chief Executive Officer, Bi-State Development
• Jim Mann - Trustee, Crawford Taylor Foundation
• Dr. Dwayne Proctor - President & Chief Executive Officer, Missouri Foundation for Health
• Dr. Jason Q. Purnell - President, James S. McDonnell Foundation
• Dr. Kelvin Adams - CEO and President, St. Louis Community Foundation
• Alex Fennoy - Senior Vice President of Business Services, St. Louis Community Credit Union
• William Carson - Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance
• Orvin Kimbrough - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Midwest BankCentre

This committee is still in formation as of this release, and additional members may be added.

The Resident and Community Recovery Advisory Committee and the Civic Leaders Recovery Advisory Committee will play integral roles in the recovery effort by advising the mayor and the Recovery Office on a resident-centric vision for population retention, equity, resilience, and sustainable neighborhood growth in the aftermath of the May 16 tornado. Both committees will hold regular meetings that will be open to the public.

“Recovery can’t be successfully led by City Hall alone,” said Julian Nicks, the City’s chief recovery officer. “Just like the initial response, it takes all hands on deck—and our Recovery Office is ready to work side-by-side with community and civic leaders to accelerate our progress.”

The Recovery Office will form additional working groups and host neighborhood ward meetings to ensure broad engagement with the community at the center of the recovery.

Related Resources

• Application for the Advisory Committee for Tornado Response