An involved Board of Directors and Trustees encourages the administration and teachers to take risks and explore new ideas. The Biome is fortunate to have a Board of Directors wholly invested in the success of our students, our programs and the school. They challenge our teachers and staff while giving them the freedom and resources to be innovative and more deeply in tune with the students’ needs.
Mr. O’Donnell is the chairman of YLC, the parent of The Biome School, of which he is also chairman of the school board. He has been involved with the organizations since the charter school’s formation in 2013.
Mr. O’Donnell is an Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University, teaching “Venture Capital and Private Equity”, a course which he designed nine years ago.
He is also the Senior Partner of O’Donnell Capital Company LLC, a venture capital and private equity firm which he founded in 2007. O’Donnell Capital invests in and purchases growing businesses; counsels middle-market businesses on capital strategy and business succession; and advises private equity fund managers.
Mr. O’Donnell previously was head of Capital For Business (CFB), from which he retired after completing twenty years as Chairman and CEO. CFB specialized in venture capital, mezzanine, and leveraged buyout investments. Under Mr. O’Donnell’s leadership, CFB closed over seventy transactions, specializing in manufacturing company investments in collaboration with their operating teams. Established in 1959, CFB is one of the oldest private equity firms and Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) in the United States. Mr. O’Donnell is past Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC), the professional and trade association for the SBIC industry.
He formerly served on the Executive Committee and chaired the Finance Committee for the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG), the premier M&A organization for middle market deal makers, with 14,000 members internationally. He is past president of ACG St. Louis, one the oldest and most active of ACG’s 55 chapters.
SUMMARY
Retired business owner and entrepreneur with successful experience in all aspects of owning, running and growing a medium size manufacturing company.
Metal Container Corporation , a subsidiary of Anheuser Busch Companies, Inc.
Broad experience as a member of senior management at a Fortune 100 Company.
Responsibilities included management of multi-plant manufacturing network meeting rigorous profitability and quality standards.
COMMUNITY
Ronald McDonald House. Co-Chairman of the $1.5 million Capital Campaign to build the new Ronald McDonald house. Served on the Strategic Planning board for RMH.
Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. Served on the Board of Governors at Cardinal Glennon for 14 years.
Holy Trinity Catholic Church /School (north St Louis Hyde Park neighborhood). Served on the Development Board for the School and served as mentor and tutor for primary school students.
PROFESSIONAL
St Louis County Regional Growth Capital. Advisory board member.
Saint Louis Private Fund, Board Chairman
MoMoney Investors, Founding member and President
MILITARY SERVICE
Unites States Army, 1968-1970
EDUCATION
BS Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, 1968
MBA, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1978
Fred Burdell currently serves as Vice President, Project Management Office and Infrastructure Operations for Emerson’s Commercial and Residential Solutions business platform. Responsible for the Business Solutions Program Management and Infrastructure Management strategy, direction, and execution for 13 business units which represents approximately $5 billion in sales.
Fred joined Emerson in March, 2005 has vice president of Information Technology Shared Services at Corporate and had global responsibility for the delivery of enterprise IT shared services, including telecommunications, application development and hosting. In July 2010, he moved into the role of vice president of Application Delivery and had global responsibility for the delivery of enterprise applications. In May 2011, he moved into role of vice president and Group CIO for Emerson’s Industrial Automation business platform.
Fred came to Emerson from Northrop Grumman, where he spent 2 years as the Director, Software Engineering. He was responsible for the software development, enhancement, and maintenance of Northrop Grumman’s engineering, manufacturing, business, and logistics information systems. He directed a national organization, consisting of over 1,200 managers, software engineers, and database administration professionals.
Additionally, Fred was director of MIS at Naptheon, a Newport News Shipbuilding subsidiary, where he directed a Shared Services organization. He was responsible for service delivery and service management of data center operations; application development and support; hardware and software provisioning, installation, support; and telecommunications.
While at Newport News Shipbuilding, Burdell also participated in a business re-engineering effort that examined the company’s Design, Planning, Materials Management, and Manufacturing processes. The team implemented significant process changes and formed the business case to transform the company’s information system.
Fred holds a bachelors of business administration degree in computer information systems from Eastern Kentucky University. He currently serves on the Youth Learning Center Board, St. Louis Infrastructure Executive Board, and a St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Alumni. He served on the University of Missouri St. Louis Board of Visitor from 2006 – 2008 and Shearwater Education Foundation Board from 2011 – 2013. He resides in Wildwood, Missouri and is married with two children.
Anita Shanks Cross, Esq., is the Leader of Professional Networking (part of CSG Training and Support) and is the firm’s marketing strategist and subject matter expert for networking with tax and legal professionals.
The marketing programs within Cross’ area of responsibility include tax season resources, the Professional Brochure Series, The Connection Journal, and the firm’s website designed exclusively for professionals, www.edwardjones.com/teamwork. In her role, she also shapes classroom training, web conferences, and regional branch training and individual coaching.
Cross is a 1990 graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, GA and earned her Juris Doctorate degree from St. Louis University School of Law in 1994. Prior to joining Edward Jones in 2006, Anita practiced as a business litigation attorney at a large St. Louis based law firm and served for several years as Director of Attorney Development and Legal Recruiting for Thompson Coburn, LLP, a national law firm based in St. Louis, MO.
Thomas J. Donovan, M.D., is a member of the faculty of Saint Louis University School of Medicine as an adjunct professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Donovan earned his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, followed by a general surgery residency at the University of Cincinnati and an otolaryngology – head and neck surgery residency at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
Board-certified in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, Dr. Donovan is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, and a diplomat of the American Board of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Donovan is an attending physician at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center and has clinical expertise in chronic ear disease and hearing loss and sinus disease. In addition to patient care and teaching responsibilities, Dr. Donovan has research interests in hearing loss.
Dr. Donovan’s community service includes serving as a Board of Director of the St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf from 1986-2004, International Medical Assistance Foundation, Inc. starting in October, 2005 to date. Additionally Dr. Donovan is a Medical Director of Por Los Niños, a medical mission to Lima and Reque, Peru and participated as a Medical Director of IMAF, Inc., a surgical Mission to Juticalpa, Honduras from 2001 to 2012.
Dr. Darla Hemrick is currently working at Great Circle in Webster Groves as the school Principal/Director of Special Education. She has been in this position since August 2015. Darla has worked in the field of education for over 25 years. She started her career as a special education teacher and after 10 years of teaching she became a school administrator. Ms. Hemrick spent the next 10 years in the role of Special Education Coordinator, Director, and Assistant Principal in both rural and urban districts in Missouri and Illinois. After receiving her Masters + 30 and her Administration Certificate, she went on to complete her Doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2015. Dr. Hemrick resides in St. Louis Missouri and has 2 grown step sons and a son and daughter who continue to live with her. Darla is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children, National Association of School Administrators, and the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals. Darla also is a member of the National Cheer Organization and has been the Director for the Jr. Cheerleading Organization in the Mehlville District for the last 8 years.
In his current role, Damion is responsible for outlining the inclusion strategy & recommending actions in support of the executive D&I council’s functional & regional oversight of our company culture and operations. This includes consulting with various functions and regions and providing periodic updates for the ET, MAC Diversity Council & BOD regarding our acquisition, development, retention of diverse talent globally and supplier diversity. In recent years, he has led strategic enterprise wide initiatives regarding the design of our diversity dashboard, the diversity components of our leader dashboard for the top 120 global leaders, led phase 1 implementation of an enterprise-wide mentoring initiative, and currently leads the execution of our Global Business Resource Network (BRN) strategy. Currently, we have 21 global BRNs (our ERGs) across 6 geographies.
Prior to his current role, Damion was matrixed between our Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness (LOE) & TA/Diversity divisions and was additionally responsible for project managing the Executive Team people review/succession planning process. At that time, Damion was intimately involved in our corporate governance reporting to the Board of Directors concerning CEO/ET succession and Global Diversity.
Damion received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morris Brown College and both his masters (M.S.) and doctorate (Ph.D.) from Saint Louis University specializing in the areas of both social and organizational psychology. Prior to working with Monsanto, Damion has done focus group and organizational survey reporting work with Ameren & GenAM. In association with Saint Louis University’s Center for Organizational learning and Renewal, he’s worked with several non-profits concerning diagnosis, restructure design, and program evaluation. He’s also worked as a Senior Research Lab Technician with the Missouri Institute of Mental Health on the federal program evaluation of Project Youth Connect.
Academically, Damion has been a guest lecturer, teaching assistant, and instructor in the areas of general psychology, social psychology, the psychology of small groups, and sociology at the Saint Louis College of Pharmacy, Saint Louis University School for Professional Studies, Saint Louis University, and Springfield College of Illinois, respectively. Prior to moving into corporate America, Damion’s social psychological research interests were in the areas of: social stigma, attribution theory, intergroup relations, and the effects of stereotyping and prejudice on academic performance. Similarly, his organizational psychological research interests were in the areas of: organizational identity, diversity, perceptions of affirmative action, and the effects of stereotype threat on workplace performance & evaluation.
Damion currently resides in St. Louis Missouri with his wife Marvis, sons Simon and Aiden and daughter Genesis.
Ellen Moceri earned her BA and MA from Washington University, with Ed.D coursework and exams completed from Teacher’s College of Columbia University. She did the research for two different dissertations, one of which required her to visit four International Baccalaureate schools in Europe to ascertain the impact of requiring community service in the International Baccalaureate diploma program. Before she could finish that dissertation, she returned to the United States from her position as principal of the Upper School at the American School of The Hague, The Netherlands, to become the principal of the Upper School at Horace Mann in Riverdale, NY. While at Horace Mann, she became extremely interested in innovations in independent schools and began research for another dissertation on the impact of a head of school on the introduction and sustainability of innovation. That research allowed her to join with John Ratte and Grant Wiggins in establishing the Independent School Innovation Consortium. As a researcher for that organization, as well as for her dissertation, she visited the top 20 independent day and boarding schools in the United States. The conclusion of her research was that heads of school do not necessarily need to lead innovation, but they must support it wholeheartedly if it is to be developed and sustained.
While taking coursework for her Ed.D at Teachers College, Columbia University, Mrs. Moceri experienced a life-changing course at the Klingstein Center, entitled “Private Schools Have a Public Purpose.” In 1990, she established at John Burroughs School, where she spent the first 25 year of her career in a variety of leadership positions – Department Chair, Director of College Counseling, Director of Studies – Aim High, a program of educational and cultural enrichment for at-risk elementary school children in public schools. After the first two years of the program’s success, she expanded it to a Catholic school, Priory.
As Mrs. Moceri concludes her 48 year career in independent school leadership and returns with her husband to her native city of St. Louis, she hopes to be able to continue to foster opportunities for at-risk students and to help independent schools develop in their students the ability for and the belief in serving their communities.
Seqwana Pryor is an accomplished, results-oriented technical professional with experience in new product development and technology leadership. Seqwana has expertise in managing a highly matrixed, multi-functional organization. She is a success driven achiever who consistently exceeds targets and is a significant contributor with a broad range of management/technology experience applicable to innovating and developing a high performing technology organization. Seqwana is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt- Top Line Growth and has 15+ years of experience in industrial polymers and specialty chemicals industry. She has experience in technology, manufacturing, product & applications development, and marketing environment with knowledge of: polymer processing and coatings applications development, process safety & risk management, technology licensing. Seqwana has strong leadership and team building skills and is a productive, highly ethical self-starter with high energy level and vitality. Other attributes include exceptional change management and organizational development skills, excellent interpersonal and communication skills with all levels of organization, including multi- functional global organization, strong project management skills. She is customer focused, with the ability to build strong relationships, both internally and externally.
Mr. White had a 30 year career in the financial services industry, commencing with the First American National Bank in Nashville, Tennessee in 1971. Since joining the First National Bank in St. Louis in 1973 and it’s subsequent acquisition by Boatmen’s Banchshares in 1988, he served in numerous financial service sectors, including international, commercial and retail lending, and established a loan production office in Chicago. In 1988, upon the acquisition of Centerre by Boatmen’s Bancshares, he was President of the City Region in St. Louis for Boatmen’s, reporting to the chief executive officer. He was responsible for all retail product delivery and middle market commercial lending. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. White was named chairman and chief executive officer of Boatmen’s Bancshares of Iowa, a $1.4 billion operation with 800 employees. Mr. White returned to St. Louis in 1996 as president and chief executive officer of Boatmen’s Investment Services, its full service broker-dealer. After the Boatmen’s acquisition by Bank of America in 1997, he served in senior management positions, including Midwest regional executive of the Private Client Group.
In July of 1999, Mr. White opted for early retirement. In January 2000, he joined Fleishman-Hillard, an international public relations firm headquartered in St. Louis, as vice president in investor relations. He teamed with other Fleishman-Hillard executives managing SBC, United Parcel Services Capital, MasterCard International, Savvis Communication, and Conseco Finance.
In 2002 Mr. White became CEO of the American Red Cross St Louis Chapter, and in 2006 it became the first chapter in the history of the Red Cross to attain High Level Ill disaster preparedness. In 2008 he was named Senior Vice President of Humanitarian Services Operations for the American National Red Cross in Washington DC. He provided technical, budgeting and project support for 650 chapters across the country, and oversaw national initiatives, including Volunteer Recruitment, Chapter Quality Assurance, Compliance, Data Resourcing and Community Resilience. In June 2007, he was appointed a member of the Senior Advisory Council to Homeland Security by Secretary Michael Chertoff. He remained in this capacity for two years. Additionally he was recruited by the Critical Incident Analysis Group (CIAG) and investigated the original Anthrax murders of 2001, with CIAG reporting to the FBI and Justice Department.
In addition to his significant corporate experience, Mr. White has been involved in St. Louis community service since 1986. He has serviced on the board of directors of the Better Business Bureau, the Urban League of St. Louis, the St. Louis Zoo Friends and Variety Club of St. Louis. Mr. White was also chairman of Forest Park Forever, the organization dedicated to revitalizing Forest Park, the site of the 1904 World’s Fair, and helped launch and direct the $45 million capital campaign. He remains a member of that board. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He was honorably discharged from the United States Army in 1977.
THOMAS CY WONG
Mr. Wong is the Managing Director for St. Louis Capital LLC, a firm he founded in 2001 to manage investment banking, merger and acquisition and consulting activities. The company has a portfolio investment in the industry sectors of banking, manufacturing and technology.
Mr. Wong manages and consults in St. Louis Capital’s portfolio in the manufacturing sector that fabricates steel and outdoor equipment for both USA and International markets. In the technology sector, he is assisting in a technology that will replace low sodium street lights to LED, and implement the smart city concept in the City of St. Louis collaborating with the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues and Downtown STL.
From 2009 to present, Mr. Wong created an Investor Group (IG) to acquired controlling interest in Superior Bancshares, Inc. and Superior Bank, which was approved by Missouri Division of Finance and the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC in 2014. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the Executive Vice President to focus on business development to target the Asian and Pacific Islander. This is the first recognized Asian bank in the State of Missouri by the Missouri Division of Finance and FDIC. He remained active as a member of the Board of Directors for both Superior Bancshares, Inc. and Superior Bank until it was sold in the fourth quarter of 2017.
From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Wong served as the Chairman and CEO of Asian Pacific Bancorp Inc., de novo bank concept to introduce a Missouri chartered bank committed to serving the Asian and Pacific Islander community in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.
Mr. Wong’s community involvement is varied and extensive. From 2005 to 2010, he was adjunct faculty of Saint Louis University where he taught Advanced Business Planning to MBA graduate and undergraduate students in the Entrepreneurship Program. During that time, he developed curriculum and served as co-instructor for the inaugural Private Equity / Venture Capital course in the MBA program. Mr. Wong currently serves on the Advisory Board of the YMCA of Greater St. Louis – Mid-County and previously served on the Advisory Boards of U.S. Bank and Gannett Co. (KSDK-TV Channel 5) and on the Board of Directors of SSM Health Care. Additionally, he previously served at the appointment of then-Missouri Governor Bob Holden on the Board of Directors for The Hawthorn Foundation, the focus of which is to work with the Missouri Governors, the Department of Economic Development and other local industry groups to enhance the business climate in Missouri.
Mr. Wong is well-known in the local and national Asian community. He has served as a mentor in the Mentoring Asian American Professional (MAAP) program to assist young Asian professionals in their business careers. He has also served on the National Board of the Organization for Chinese Americans (OCA) and locally as past President of OCA for the St. Louis region. Mr. Wong also served as a past Director of AABA, Asian American Business Association in St. Louis.
Mr. Wong holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Saint Louis University and a Master in Accounting from Saint Louis University.
Glen is a Senior Healthcare Technology Executive with nearly 25 years of experience in Information Technology. He focuses on the strategic use of technology and data to build successful businesses. Glen has been successful in tackling high-threat business situations, turning around failed strategy and performance, and applying technology solutions to produce significant revenue and market growth. He is highly regarded as an innovative leader, with the vision to create forward-looking technologies in a rapidly changing environment.
Most recently, Glen spent over a decade as the Chief Technology Officer of Centene Corporation, managing the organization’s growth from $1B in revenue to its status as a Fortune 100 company with over $40B in annual revenue and more than 30,000 employees. At Centene, Glen led the change in Information Technology from a back-office asset to a differentiated front-line asset. He implemented care management solutions, best-in-class analytic capabilities, and competitive clinical technologies that helped Centene become the nation’s leader in low-income and government-sponsored healthcare.
Prior to Centene, Glen was a Senior Executive with Accenture Corporation where he led the delivery of complex solutions and large-scale IT transformation projects in Fortune 100 organizations such as United Health Group, Walgreens and Deluxe Corporation. At Accenture, Glen was known for leading high-performing teams developing and implementing technologies that improved client performance in business development, marketing, operations and customer service.
Complementing Glen’s experience is an educational background including an Executive MBA from Washington University in Saint Louis and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Glen is now an independent consultant working with both established and start-up companies in the healthcare industry. He is a frequent speaker at industry and technology conferences, and serves as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs and start-up organizations. Glen serves on several non-profit and corporate boards. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife and three sons.
Judy DeLuca-Ford, is President of Managing Partners, Inc. and has been working with executives and boards in the areas of executive coaching, organizational alignment, strategic planning, succession planning, executive assessment and team building since 1987. Her clients include both public and privately held organizations, as well as, not-for-profits. These clients span a variety of industries including consumer products, industrial products, financial services, wealth management, venture capital, health care, legal, pharmaceutical, technology, aviation, insurance, and public relations.
Judy prides herself on long-standing relationships and is honored that all of her work is through referrals. She has also assisted the children and friends of clients with career development, and interpersonal effectiveness.
She has a Masters in Counseling from the University of Missouri-St. Louis as well as an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the same institution. Judy is certified to administer and interpret a variety of assessment tools including the WorkPlace Big, Meyers-Briggs and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment.
Judy is proud of the Biome she and her husband built twelve years ago. It operates in the inner city of St. Louis and has provided after school and summer academy classes to over 1000 underserved children. At the Mayor’s request, they applied to become a Charter School focusing on a STEAM curriculum. She has served on many not-for-profit boards and done pro-bono work with a variety of organizations for the past 25 years.
As chief behavioral officer of Maritz, Charlotte Blank leads Maritz’s practice of behavioral science and innovation. She forges the connection between academic theory and applied business practice, by elevating the use of field research to advance our understanding of human behavior in the modern marketplace. Charlotte has led programs in consumer psychology and global branding during her ten years in the media and automotive industries, including various marketing roles for General Motors. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Incentive Magazine named Charlotte a Visionary and one of 2016’s 25 Most Influential in the Incentive Industry. In 2018, St. Louis Business Journal named Charlotte one of the city’s Most Influential Business Women. Charlotte is obsessed with experiments, ever-curious about what “makes us tick,” and a frequent contributor to PeopleScience.com.
As President of ARCO Holdings Companies, Craig is responsible for overseeing all facets of the ARCO Holdings companies. Using a team management approach, he has been a catalyst for substantial growth within the ARCO Holdings family. Craig’s emphasis on building long-term client relationships has made ARCO Holdings a national leader in the Design/Build arena. Craig received a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has been professionally involved in construction since 1992.
Thomas Cooke is the principal consultant for Fast Forward, LLC, a marketing communications, event marketing and public relations consultancy with extensive experience serving corporate, civic and non-profit clients with targeted, high-impact communications programs. Mr. Cooke is an accomplished, award-winning executive with a background and acumen in public affairs, marketing and crisis communications. Consulting clients include publicly held companies, manufacturers, trade associations, and non-profit agencies in the biotechnology, banking, financial services, telecommunications and public television industries.
Throughout his career, Mr. Cooke has employed a simple operational philosophy to each project he undertakes – to exceed client expectations with programs that are consistently on time…on track…on target.
For 28 years he served as President and Chief Creative Officer of T. Cooke Productions a St. Louis based event-marketing agency producing corporate events, business meetings, industrial theater, multi-media presentations and live satellite video conferences for a variety of Fortune 100 companies including AT&T, IBM, Bosch, Monsanto, Coca-Cola, Kohler Company and Emerson Electric.
In 1990, Mr. Cooke was granted a broadcast license by the Federal Communications Commission to operate radio station KQOL in Columbia Missouri. He acted as President and CEO of NCD Broadcasting and successfully negotiated the sale of the station in 1999.
In 2004, Mr. Cooke merged T. Cooke Productions with Image Technologies Corporation (ITC) a full-service corporate event production company headquartered in St. Louis with branch offices in Kansas City, Atlanta and Minneapolis. Following the merger, he served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for seven years.
In 2009, Mr. Cooke received an appointment to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a part-time Public Affairs officer. He continues to maintain his proficiency and government security clearance and serves on active duty during national emergencies.
Mr. Cooke has received numerous industry honors, including awards recognizing creative and technological excellence from the Chicago Multi-Image Festival and the Athens International Film Festival. Mr. Cooke was selected as one of six business television producers in the country to participate in the EDS/General Motors Business Television Consulting Group.
In addition to his extensive experience in corporate events, television production and public relations, Mr. Cooke remain active in several professional organizations. In 2002, he was appointed a director of the PrivateBank of St. Louis and was a member of Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO peer advisory organization.
Mr. Cooke’s commitment to civic and not-for-profit activities includes current and past board memberships for St. Louis Cultural Festivals, Childhaven, a United Way Agency providing care for developmentally disabled children in the City of St. Louis, the World Bird Sanctuary, and the Trueblood Performing Arts Center on Washington Island, Wisconsin. He was a trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Wilson School and served as a member of the St. Louis Priory Vocations Committee. He has also served as a member of the United Way Allocations Committee and the Kirkwood School District Community Advisory Committee. For more than 15 years Mr. Cooke also served in various roles including public relations chairman of the VP Parade and Fair Saint Louis.
In 1992, Mr. Cooke graduated from the Leadership St. Louis program. He has continued his involvement with Focus St. Louis, by co-chairing the Gateway Leadership Forum, a workshop for newly elected officials in the St. Louis region. In 1993 he produced the Interfaith Flood Relief Rally at the St. Louis Arena. This regional program focused attention on the need for volunteers to participate in cleanup efforts following the worst flood to affect the St. Louis region in over 100 years.
Mr. Cooke was born in St. Louis (2.18.53) and attended Southeast Missouri University. He and his wife, Wendy Edson Cooke have two grown children, Geoffrey (32) and Kathryn (31) and currently live in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Cooke are summer residents of Washington Island, Wisconsin. He is a member of Algonquin Country Club, The Racquet Club of St. Louis and is an avid golfer, sailor, ham radio operator and woodworker.
Dr. Gamble is currently Co-Founder and CTO of Dynamic Surgical, a St-Louis based medical device company that has engineered a new class of robotic materials that can switch their strength and flexibility with the touch of a button. When coupled with flexible tools, these materials provide both dexterity and control, enabling minimally invasive procedures in the office, instead of the operating room. Over the past year, he has been integral in the company’s growth from two founders with an idea to a company that has raised over $500K, made multiple key hires, and generated essential intellectual property.
Prior to his current tenure at Dynamic Surgical, Dr. Gamble completed his PhD in the biomedical engineering doctoral program at Washington University in St Louis while being deeply involved in the entrepreneurial community in St Louis in multiple capacities. While spearheading a tissue engineering collaboration for his doctoral research focused on optimizing cell therapies for spinal cord injury, he launched a health-tech startup, SnapPEAS, bridging the gap between grocery shopping and personal health and also worked in a part-time product engineer for a local VC-backed medical device startup, Neurolutions. He simultaneously served as a strategy consultant to local startups as a two-year graduate fellow in the national InSITE program’s St. Louis chapter.
As his career has progressed, Dr. Gamble has discovered that his true passion lies not solely in technology entrepreneurship, but at the intersection between technology and community development, which he’s vigorously explored in the St Louis region. During graduate school, he served as a cohort leader within the Young Scientist Program’s Continuing Mentoring at Soldan High School, mentoring a class in STEM topics and college applications during their four-year tenure. He currently volunteers with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s pilot middle school program in Normandy, teaching mobile application development to 8th graders who would otherwise receive little exposure to that skillset and related opportunities. For over two years, he’s also been a member of Royal Vagabonds, a historically African-American men’s professional organization in St Louis, in which he’s currently building outreach efforts around creating opportunities for underrepresented teenagers to access the growing technology entrepreneurial community locally.
VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT, Gardner Capital Development, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Scott Puffer joined Gardner Capital in 2015 as senior vice president of development for the Midwest region. Puffer is currently responsible for new business development related to affordable and market rate multifamily apartments, senior living communities, as well as commercial and mixed-use business opportunities. He also manages all aspects of site selection, local government and community relations, due diligence, and the final approval process. As the senior manager of the company’s premier division, located in St. Louis, MO, Puffer cultivates and advances partnership relationships, supporting company principals with the stewardship of more than 20 years of successful relationship building. Additionally, Puffer continues to coordinate and oversee the professional development of a core team of staff resources
VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT, The Michaels Organization, Marlton, NJ
From 2012 to 2015, Scott Puffer supported The Michaels Organization as Vice President of Development. Located in Marlton, NJ, Puffer lead business development initiatives in new and existing markets by building relationships with “Pipeline Partners” and developing Public-Private Partnerships. During this time, he negotiated site control and resolved issues related to layered financing and complex deal structures. In his role, Puffer collaborated with other departments including Equity Syndication, Property Management, and Construction in order to validate financials and orchestrate transitions between departments during the development process. Additionally, he managed the internal team responsible for submission of financing applications and development proposals and met with local stakeholders and potential gap financing sources to secure support and soft funding needs for the project. Puffer also directed the work of development project managers and managed relationships with partners including non-profits, service providers, housing authorities, CDC’s, syndicators, lenders, and government agencies, and secured opportunities in new market segments including states and product types where Michaels does not currently have a presence.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER, Model Group, Cincinnati, OH
From 2010 to 2012, Scott Puffer was responsible for multiple development projects including applications for financing and managing the development team through closing, construction, and occupancy. During this time, he advanced his expertise with the application process, requirements, and compliance for funding sources including Low-Income Housing and Historic Tax Credits, Federal Home Loan Bank, HOME, Neighborhood Stabilization Plan, Replacement Housing Factor Funds, HUD Continuum of Care subsidies, and Project-Based Vouchers.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER, Tom Winkopp Realtor/Developer, LLC, Clemson, SC
From 2006 – 2010, Scott Puffer directed development teams from acquisition through planning, design, financing, construction, marketing, and sales for over $60 million of development projects. He performed feasibility analysis, underwriting, and due diligence for all company projects including creation of debt/equity proposals. In his role, he supervised, mentored, and delegated responsibilities to project analysts and development interns, while managing relationship, design, and successful implementation of groundbreaking University housing program. Further, Puffer implemented process changes to increase collaboration among Development, Construction, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Legal, Accounting, and Property Management teams.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, 1998 – 2006
LEAD BUSINESS ANALYST, Blackbaud, Inc., Charleston, SC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, J.D. Edwards & Company, Charlotte, NC MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Charlotte, NC
EDUCATION
| MASTER OF REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
A two-year interdisciplinary degree program with graduate classes in Business Administration, Finance, Law, Construction |
2006-2008 |
| Management, Architecture, City and Regional Planning, and Real Estate Development | |
| BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH | 1998 |
©2014 The Biome School. All rights reserved.
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