Ronda Williams (second from left) attends the YPN Leadership 100 dinner with St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and others.

My heart aches today. Ronda Williams, one of our most active Young Professionals Network leaders and a dear friend, has passed away. I saw her just Monday at the quarterly meeting of the YPN steering committee, where she was happy and proud to announce her recent promotion and new volunteer responsibilities.

Ronda was a YPN Leadership 100 member, committed from the beginning to spurring new leaders into action for a better St. Louis. Full of vigor, she was a founding member of the YPN steering committee, using her passion to ignite network and community involvement in YPN and United Way issues. YPN certainly grew, thanks to her commitment.

Always mindful of contributing to St. Louis’ future, Ronda was ardent about sharing knowledge. She participated in the Regional Business Council’s Higher Education Collaboration Mentor Network and developed other young professionals in the legal field.

Ronda was senior corporate counsel at Savvis Communications Corporation. She earned her undergraduate degree at Hampton University and her law degree at Saint Louis University School of Law. She was active in the Mound City Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Women of Color and many other organizations and associations.

I’ll miss Ronda’s enthusiasm, her drive and her commitment to St. Louis’ continued success, just as I know many of you will. We’ll share funeral arrangements soon, and we will be gathering a group to attend the funeral.

Kathy