St. Louis Graduates

Transforming Lives through
Postsecondary Education Equity

Who We Are

St. Louis Graduates is a collaborative network of K-12 and higher education, youth serving non-profit organizations, business and philanthropy committed to eliminating equity gaps in postsecondary educational attainment for low-income students and Black students.

CO-CHAIRS

Trent Ball
Assistant Vice President for Academic Diversity and Outreach, Academic Support Centers,
Southeast Missouri State University

Melissa Findley
Executive Director, Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation

Karissa Anderson
Advocacy Director, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

Scott Baier
Executive Director, College Bound

Elizabeth Bender, Ed.D.
Associate Superintendent for College and Career Readiness, St. Louis Public Schools

Alan Byrd Jr., Ph.D.
Immediate Past Co-Chair, St. Louis Graduates and Vice Provost for Enrollment Management,
University of Missouri-St. Louis

Dr. Lover LM Chancler
Assistant Professor in Child and Family Development Director of the Multicultural and Inclusivity Center
University of Central Missouri

Cynthia Curry Crim
Foundation Program Manager, Commerce Bank

Jane Donahue
Co-founder of St. Louis Graduates, and President and CEO, St. Louis Public Schools Foundation

Wendy Jaffe
Executive Director, The Trio Foundation of St. Louis

Jerron Johnson
Executive Director, Missouri College Advising Corps

Jennifer McCluskey, Ph.D.
Vice President, Student Success, Maryville University

Amber M. Mitchell, M.Ed., PLPC
Professional School Counselor, Ritenour High School

Amy Basore Murphy
Director of Scholarship and Donor Services, St. Louis Community Foundation

Michael Petersen
Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Advisors

Constance Rush
Director of Advocacy, Deaconess Foundation

Allison Williams
Immediate Past Co-Chair, St. Louis Graduates and Senior Vice President, Programs, Wyman

Laura Winter
Project Director
(314) 880-4952

What We Do

St. Louis Graduates works to make the postsecondary education system more equitable, so all students can benefit from education beyond high school.

Read the Report + Watch the Video

Degrees with Less Debt

St. Louis Graduates is proud to be designated as a Talent Hub by Lumina Foundation and Kresge Foundation.

Two-thirds of all jobs require a postsecondary degree or certificate, but when it comes to education beyond high school, opportunity is not equal. Many barriers hold back low-income students and Black students.

Read the new report Degrees with Less Debt: Postsecondary Strategies that Enhance Low-income and Black Student Success to learn what colleges can do to support low-income students and Black students.

Watch the first two episodes of the Degrees with Less Debt video series and register for the premiere of episode 3 at dwldstl.org!

Teams of higher educational leaders and students are committing to end racial and economic disparities in postsecondary degree attainment. Building off of the work underway through the St. Louis Talent Hub, a dozen regional colleges and universities joined colleagues from Talent Hubs in Detroit, MI and Elkhart County, IN for a two-day Institute facilitated by the USC Race and Equity Center and launched the Postsecondary Equity Network. Learn more about the Advancing Racial Equity in Higher Education Institute and the 14 colleges that comprise the Postsecondary Equity Network.

St. Louis Graduates advocates for public and institutional policies that support access, affordability and support for students. St. Louis Graduates' advocacy efforts support the policy positions of the League of Student Advocates (formerly known as the Active Advocacy Coalition), which engages Missouri college students in advocating for higher education policies that make college more accessible and more affordable.

Why It Matters

Two-thirds of all jobs require a certificate
or degree beyond high school.

There are significant disparities in who has the training and education to access well-paying jobs and career pathways.

In the St. Louis region, there is a

16-point gap

in degrees between
African Americans and the population overall.

Only 16%

of the lowest income students complete a degree compared to 62% of those from the wealthiest families.

Transforming Lives through Postsecondary Education Equity

Transforming Lives through
Postsecondary Education Equity