Mike James

Vice Chair

Mike James is an attorney and partner at James Hutchison & Forth, P.C., a general civil practice law firm located in St. Louis, Missouri.  He represents individual, business and institutional clients in litigation matters in state and federal courts in a variety of circumstances including business and commercial disputes, family law, personal injury, employment and real estate matters.  In addition, Mr. James represents public school districts as general counsel and in litigation matters.  Representative clients include physicians, lawyers, business owners and businesses engaged in a wide variety of concerns, including manufacturing, financial services, real estate, construction, health care services and environmental services.     

In addition to his law practice, Mr. James is actively involved in civic and charitable endeavors. He currently serves as Chair of the Economic Development Commission of the City of Maryland Heights, Missouri and as Chair of the Board of Directors of DaySpring School of the Arts.  In the past he served as Mayor of the City of Ferguson, Missouri and was as a representative on the City's Planning and Zoning Commission.  Mr. James is a past President of the St. Louis County Bar Association and is a recipient of the Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.  Mr. James has also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce.  Finally, Mr. James volunteers as a soccer, softball and basketball coach for CYC athletics.

Mary Vaughan

Secretary

Mary worked for the City of Maryland Heights for 29 years until her retirement in 2016.  She served as the original Recreation Supervisor when the department was developed in 1987.  She was promoted to the Superintendent of Recreation and served for 6 1/2 years as the department head.  In 1997, she was promoted to serve as the City’s second Director. Her full-time duties included overseeing the Parks and Recreation Department in conducting the planning and organizing of recreational opportunities, facility development, and maintenance of all building and grounds owned by the City.

She earned her bachelor's degree in Leisure Management and Recreation from Missouri Western State College and a Master's degree in Public Policy Administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.  Mary served as President of the Missouri Parks and Recreation Association during 2000-2001 as well as many other positions on the Board of Directors.

Mary is also very active within the Kiwanis International Service Organization and the Missouri Arkansas District where she now serves as District Secretary overseeing the organization. She has also served with the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce and the Pattonville Education Foundation.  She also continues to serve on many committees to provide quality recreation opportunities to residents of all ages.

Claudia Alexander

Immediate Past President/Chair

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Christian Boden

Board Member

Watching his two sons perform their first musicals, Christian quickly developed a deep appreciation for DaySpring’s educational excellence that not only nurtures talent, but also develops strong character.  His own education focused on technology, achieving an undergraduate degree in computer science and a graduate degree in information systems engineering. Christian’s professional career includes nearly 25 years identifying, analyzing and managing risks to achieving corporate objectives. When he is not carrying out his role as Risk Analysis Manager at Bunge North America, an agribusiness and food ingredient company dedicated to improving the global food supply chain, Christian enjoys hiking, traveling, playing games and relaxing with his family.

Shonda Gray

Board Member

Shonda Gray serves as the St. Louis Missouri Career Pathways Regional Director with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Shonda has twenty-seven years of work experience. Over her career she has had the opportunity to work on various projects that covered multi departments from legal, public affairs, student services, operations, marketing to human resources.  She has over seventeen years work experience in education as a teacher, administrator, and consultant. Ten of those years were spent working in Education Innovation and Career and Technical Education. Her work included developing partnerships, designing pathways for CTE programs, and enhancing education systems to support academic achievement for all students.  Shonda has the ability to lead group discussions and engage partners around shared values toward a common vision of making sure all students are “Success Ready”. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration from Fontbonne University. She is currently in her last semester in Graduate School at University College at Washington University -St. Louis obtaining a Master of Liberal Arts degree.

Jerome Nance

Board Member

Jerome has retired from a career in Federal service with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He directed a staff of 20 civil servants in providing Human Resource Management consultation, recruitment assistance, and training for Federal agencies in the four states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. Such services were also

provided to state government agencies, as well. Following his federal career, he joined the Grad School in developing and presenting management training for government and private businesses across the U.S. and many countries abroad. Jerome presently serves as an elder of New Covenant Church St. Louis, and has had a long standing relationship of service and support of DaySpring School of the Arts.

Tim Lewin

Board Member

I have always been active in the community in which I work.  I have served on the board of directors in the Springfield Hotel/Motel Association.  While in Springfield, I was an active member of the North Springfield Betterment Association, and actively involved in Children’s Miracle Network.  Upon arriving in Huntsville, I was a member of the Downtown Huntsville Association as well as Rotary of Greater Huntsville and the President of the Huntsville/Madison County Hotel and Lodging Association.  I also served on the board of directors for United Cerebral Palsy of Huntsville and Tennessee Valley. Additionally, I was on the board of the Huntsville Madison County Library Foundation, the Alabama Tourism Council, and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel Advisory Board.

Here in St. Charles I am on the Convention and Visitors Bureau Committee, a member of the Crime Stoppers board, on the board of the Workforce Investment Board, and been on the board of the Missouri Travel Council.

I am a graduate of the University of Denver with a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration.  While at the University, I lettered as a pitcher on the baseball team all four years as well as serving as the President of the Hospitality Management Society and the honor society Eta Sigma Delta.  I have been happily married for 21 years with twin boys who are 18 years old. I spend time outside of work reading about history and current events, participating in outdoor activities with my family, and being a guide runner/bicyclist for road races in which my legally blind son competes.

I have very recently joined the board of Dayspring.  I look to bring my strengths in visionary leadership and strategic planning to the organization.  I hope to use my talents in financial planning and analysis to the board as well.

Mike Maroney

Board Member

Mike Maroney is a State Farm Agent and business owner.  Mike has a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Truman State University.  Mike has spent the majority of his professional career in Sales and Sales Management, both with large companies like Johnson & Johnson, Proctor and Gamble, and now State Farm as well as multiple small businesses he has owned and developed.  In addition, Mike has been heavily involved with the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles in various volunteer and advisory roles. Mike has two children who have participated in various activities at DaySpring including Musical Theater, Drama, Private Voice, Vocal Ensemble, and Art Classes, and is appreciative of the opportunities and growth they have provided.  As a result, Mike is eager to pay it forward, and help develop the future of DaySpring.

Susan Prichard

Board Member

Susan Prichard is the Department Leader for the Branch Team Learning and Development ((BLD) department at Edward Jones. Susan has over 20 years of experience in organizational learning and development. Susan is a wife and mother of four children and leads worship and the children's Wednesday night program at her church. Susan is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the St. Charles City-County Library Foundation. 

Doug Risch

Board Member

Douglas M. Risch founded DMR Events, Inc. in 1987, becoming the starting point of this journey specializing in Front of House Temporary Staffing. In 1993, DMR expand the staffing model to include Culinary Back of the House Staffing; which then bloomed to include Professional Chefs. Today DMR represents some of the most qualified hospitality professionals in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Working with the majority of area Food Service Management companies and 50 self-managed corporate accounts, DMR is recognized as the premier supplier of hospitality staffing talent as we finish 2017. And 2018 is projected to expand our local and national footprint of these services.

Beginning in 2013, fueled by the love of music, DMR partnered with Avery Risch Artist Management, to showcase his ability to identify talent and the organizational expertise to be a catalyst to an artist’s success. Recognizing that major pop entities began moving their writing and publishing business units into Nashville, we moved this entity there in 2016. Risch Group, spearheaded by Avery, is quickly becoming a force in the emerging artist field of pop music.

As 2016 began, some major changes to DMR Events brought another alignment to the ever-expanding reach of Risch. Owner/Founder Douglas M. Risch, acquired all outstanding stock of DMR Events, Inc. to assume complete ownership of the 30-year-old company. This returned DMR full circle and back to private family ownership.

2017 saw what is believed to be the culmination of the planning of the previous 4 years. Douglas stepped away from the day-to-day operation of DMR Events, Inc. Douglas assumed the Managing Partner position of all companies under Risch Group llc, as Avery stepped away from Risch Group to take the position of Personal Assistant to Pat Corcoran, CEO of Haight Brand Management. Haight is the driving management of Chance the Rapper based in Chicago.