Tag Archives: YPN

In Memoriam: Ronda Williams

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

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

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Ricky Vigil

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Ricky Vigil

Ricky Vigil (left) attends an event with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis?

That’s what we’re addressing in our blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100.” Over time, we’ll introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

Today’s featured YPN Leadership 100 member is Ricky Vigil, CFO at Life Systems, Inc. Ricky earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Truman State University and is involved with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Nurses for Newborns and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, among others.

Learn more about Ricky in our Q&A below! Continue reading →

Good News Tuesday

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good news tuesday

What’s your good news?
By richkidsunite, via Creative Commons

In our Good News Tuesday post on the first Tuesday of each month, we highlight some of the accomplishments that members of our Young Professionals Network share with us. This month, we’d like to offer congratulations to these members of the RBC community:

New Jobs

  • Robert Haire III, manager of legal department operations, Scottrade
  • Rachel Seward, deputy superintendent of institutional advancement, St. Louis Public Schools

Community

  • Charles Brown has joined the Great Rivers Greenway board of directors.
  • Mac Carheel of Carheel Consulting is launching the program “Act Like an Employee, Think Like an Employer: Job Placement & Career Development Training.”
  • Khalia Collier, owner of The St. Louis Surge and guest coach for St. Louis F.O.R.C.E. Athleticz girls sixth-grade basketball team, hosted WNBA legend Cheryl Swoops during the kick-off for the 2013 season. The Surge will host their home opener May 4 at UMSL.

Recognition

We’d love for you to be part of Good News Tuesday, too. Tell us when you’ve been promoted, if you’ve landed a brand new position or if you’ve launched another company. You can even announce your new baby, your volunteer efforts or your speaking engagements. Simply email the news to ypn@stlrbc.org by the last Tuesday of the month, and we’ll consider it for publication. Here’s a tentative schedule:

  • News received by April 30 is published May 7.
  • News received by May 28 is published June 4.
  • News received by June 25 is published July 2.

Be sure to include full information, including pertinent names, titles, companies/organizations and contact information.

We’re proud of how hard our YPN members work to make St. Louis a better place to thrive, and we’re excited to sound the trumpets in congratulations. Join me in offering best wishes to this month’s YPN members, and don’t forget to share your own good news by emailing ypn@stlrbc.org!

Kathy

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Pradeep Rajendran

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Pradeep Rajendran and Charlie Dooley

Pradeep Rajendran (second from left) attends a YPN Leadership 100 event with St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley (left) and others.

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis? That’s what we’re addressing in our blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100.” Over time, we’ll introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

Today’s featured YPN Leadership 100 member is Pradeep Rajendran, a senior IT project manager and consultant at AT&T. Pradeep graduated from the University of Madras, India, and earned advanced degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He volunteers with the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

Learn more about Pradeep in our interview below! Continue reading →

What Is the Regional Business Council?

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Regional Business Council logoIf you’ve recently moved to the St. Louis area, just accepted a new leadership position or simply found this blog on accident, you might not be familiar with the Regional Business Council (RBC). Here’s a primer on who we are and what we do for St. Louis.

Who We Are

The Regional Business Council is a consortium of Presidents and CEOs from 100 of the St. Louis region’s largest companies. RBC member companies have a tremendous impact on the economic health of the region, collectively employing over 120,000 people and generating more than $63 million in revenue annually. RBC companies are located across all corners of the bi-state region and have a vested interest in vitality of the St. Louis community. We truly believe that the vitality of our community is an imperative business issue.

What We Do

The RBC’s mission is to unite and engage members to act on high-impact business, civic, and philanthropic initiatives for the betterment of the St. Louis region. Together, we strategically invest our talent and resources in five areas of commitment: business diversity, higher education and talent development, K-12 education reform, business-friendly public policy and infrastructure, and quality of life. We take a hands-on, outcomes-based approach with our investments and work hard every day to be a catalyst for change and positive growth in our community. Take a peek at some of our successes.

Learn More

Want to learn more about how we’re making St. Louis an even better place to live and work? Visit our website.

If you’re a younger member of the leadership set, stay tuned for information about the RBC’s Young Professionals Network, which offers leadership development and networking opportunities tailored to you!

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Tara Pham

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Tara Pham at Sloup

Tara Pham smiles before a Sloup event. (Submitted photo)

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis?

That’s what we’re addressing in our new regular blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100″ as we introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

This week’s YPN Leadership 100 member is Tara Pham. Tara is an entrepreneur and a member of Brain Drain, a collective of diverse minds dedicated to enhancing the vitality of cities and turning shared experience into shared initiative through creative projects. She graduated with a B.A. in urban planning from Washington University in St. Louis and contributes to many organizations, including Sloup, Mayor Slay’s Vanguard Cabinet, CityArchRiver and the Contemporary Art Museum.

Learn more about Tara in our interview below! Continue reading →

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Steven Harris

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Steven Harris

Steven Harris, right, interviews RBC member David Steward of World Wide Technology.

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis?

That’s what we’ll address in our new regular blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100.” Over time, we’ll introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

Our first featured YPN Leadership 100 member is Steven Harris. Steven is a partner at RubinBrown LLP who concentrates on client account management and provides auditing, tax and consulting services. Steven has a B.S. in accounting from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and is involved with many area organizations, including the National Association of Black Accountants, Junior Achievement of Greater St. Louis and the St. Louis Language Immersion School.

Learn more about Steven in our interview below! Continue reading →

Good News Tuesday

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good news tuesday

What’s your good news?
By richkidsunite, via Creative Commons

In our Good News Tuesday post on the first Tuesday of each month, we highlight some of the accomplishments that members of our Young Professionals Network share with us. This month, we’d like to offer congratulations to these members of the RBC/YPN community: Continue reading →

Introducing YPN’s 2013 Professional Development Series ‘Fellows Lite’

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diversityinitiative_audienceclap

Graduates of the Fellows Program enjoy a special ceremony. Can you picture yourself here?

Many members of the Young Professionals Network are familiar with the Regional Business Council’s longtime partnership with the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative’s Fellows program, a prestigious year-long professional development curriculum.

But what’s available for YPN members without the time or budget for the full Fellows program?

Don’t worry — our new opportunity has got you covered.  Continue reading →

Good News Tuesday

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good news tuesday

What’s your good news?
By richkidsunite, via Creative Commons

The Young Professionals Network is full of exceptional professionals, from presidents and CEOs to consultants and managers. We’re proud of the diverse businesses and ideas you bring to the St. Louis region. That’s why we’ll be implementing Good News Tuesday on our blog.

On the first Tuesday of each month, we’ll highlight some of the accomplishments you share with us. To kick off the first edition of Good News Tuesday, we’d like to offer congratulations to these members of the RBC community:

New Jobs

  • Joe Mark, Enterprise Financial, Commercial Banking
  • Pam Weston, Senior Manager Corporate Giving, Express Scripts

Promotions

  • Sheldon Jackson, Director, Equifax

Civic Initiatives

  • Nino Clarkin, President, Professional Women’s Alliance

We’d love for you to be part of Good News Tuesday, too. Tell us when you’ve been promoted, if you’ve landed a brand new position or if you’ve launched another company. You can even announce your new baby, your volunteer efforts or your speaking engagements. Just email the news to ypn@stlrbc.org by the last Tuesday of the month, and we’ll consider it for publication the following week. Here’s a tentative schedule:

  • News received by Feb. 26 is published March 5.
  • News received by March 26 is published April 2.
  • News received by April 30 is published May 7.
  • News received by May 28 is published June 4.

Be sure to include full information, including pertinent names, titles, companies/orgaizations and contact information.

We’re proud of how hard our YPN members work to make St. Louis a better place to thrive, and we’re excited to sound the trumpets in congratulations. Please offer your good wishes to Joe, Pam, Sheldon and Nino, and don’t forget to share your own good news by emailing ypn@stlrbc.org!

Kathy