Academy Press Release

St. Louis, Missouri – Nonprofit Services Consortium (NSC) has announced its 2007-2008 participants in two concurrent leadership academies. The "Academy of Women Executive Directors Serving Underserved Communities" and “Academy of Women Executive Directors of Color” are specifically designed for women leading nonprofit organizations. The ten-month academies are funded by generous support from the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH), with additional support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Incarnate Word Foundation and Deaconess Foundation.

Members of the Academy of Women Executive Directors Serving Underserved Communities are: Deborah Bust executive director, Washington County Community Partnership, Potosi; Tonya Carruth, executive director, New Madrid County Human Resources Council Community Partnership, New Madrid; Erin Ercoline, executive director, Alternatives to Living in Violent Environments (ALIVE), Union; Barbara Landrum, administrator, Monroe County Health Department, Paris; Julie Lawson, executive director, Crime Victim Advocacy Center, St. Louis; Sonya Messenger, executive director, Family Bridges, Springfield; Julia Ostropolsky, president/CEO, Bi-Lingual International Assistant Services, St. Louis; Tracy Smith, executive director, Jefferson County Community Partnership, Barnhart; Dawn Stringfield, executive director, Lydia’s House, St. Louis; Julie Waltenberger, executive director, Southeast Missouri Family Violence Council, Bonne Terre; Jayne Dees, executive director, New Madrid County Public Health Department, New Madrid; and Jane Palmer, executive director, RAVEN, St. Louis.

Members of the Academy of Women Executive Directors of Color are: Cynthia Dean, chief executive officer, Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium, Inc., Portageville; Sylvia Jackson, executive director, The Women’s Safe House, St. Louis; Sharon Jackson, executive director, Ministers United Against Human Suffering – Second Chance Shelter, East St. Louis, Illinois; Michelle Smart, director of programs, Department of Mental Health, St. Louis; Jennifer Strayhorn, executive director, HOPEBUILD, St. Louis; Michelle Ducre, executive director, Community Health Clinic of Joplin, Joplin; and Louise Reeves, executive director, Jobs & Employment Support Services (JESS), St. Louis.

The academies focus on leadership training, peer and professional support for women executives who lead nonprofit agencies throughout Missouri and Metro East St. Louis in Illinois. Participants will gather together throughout the year to improve leadership and management skills, establish a sustainable learning community of women executives, and learn how to address daily issues and barriers that can affect their success.

About NSC

Nonprofit Services Consortium (NSC) was started in 1990 and is dedicated to strengthen our region's nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit sector as a whole by providing programs, services, and resources that inform, promote, and connect nonprofits as they work to improve people's lives. As a result of our work, we envision our region's nonprofits serving as leaders in the creation of communities that are safer, more just, and more vibrant places for people to live. NSC offers programs throughout the State of Missouri and Metro East Illinois. For more information visit www.nonprofitservices.org or contact carmen@nonprofitservices.org.

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