Robert Fruend, Jr.

ROBERT FRUEND, JR.

SENIOR LECTURER OF HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, NYU

Robert Fruend, Jr. is a Senior Lecturer of Health Administration at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Robert has been a health care leader for more than 20 years, focusing on issues of reducing health disparities, implementing community health initiatives to drive improvements in health outcomes, and developing strategic plans to create social change in health care delivery, and in his community.

Currently, Robert services as Senior Manager at Consilience Group, where he designs and leads consulting projects in the Social Service sector, specializing in strategic planning, organizational development, and system improvement/design projects. The Consilience Group practice focuses on developing systems of care across social sector organizations to enable people to live their best lives, with deep expertise in health equity and the social determinants of health.

Prior to joining the Consilience Group, Robert was the founding CEO of the St. Louis Regional Health Commission (RHC). The RHC serves as the regional planning body for health care issues in St. Louis. The majority of the work at RHC has been concentrated on preserving and enhancing the delivery of health services to the uninsured and underinsured in St. Louis City and County. While at the RHC, Robert built and led a health plan for 26,000 people in poverty in St. Louis (Gateway to Better Health), and founded several successful organizations dedicated to improving access to care and health equity (St. Louis Integrated Health Network, Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis, Health Literacy Media, Alive & Well Communities).

Prior to joining the Commission, Robert spent seven years in the health care consulting practice of Ernst & Young LLP, focusing his practice on strategic planning, organizational change, and post-merger integration.

Robert has served on more than twenty non-profit or higher education boards and committees over the past 20 years and taught for seven years as an adjunct faculty member at Washington University School of Medicine. Robert was named by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the “Most Influential People” in St. Louis.

Robert is a life-long native of the St. Louis region. He spends his free time with his wife Holly and two sons, Trey and Andrew.

Dale Wright

DALE WRIGHT

ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ADVANCEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA CHAMPAIGN

Dale Wright serves as associate vice chancellor for advancement at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (UIUC). In this role, besides managing a small portfolio of donors and prospects, he provides vision, strategic leadership, mentoring, and coaching to a portfolio of chief advancement officers and deans and academic leaders. Prior to this position, he served at UIUC as the associate dean & chief advancement officer for The Grainger College of Engineering with responsibility for the strategy and operations in fundraising and constituent engagement. As campaign director for the college’s $550M goal, as part of the "With Illinois" $2.65B campaign (original goal of $2.25B), helping the college exceed the goal by 21%. Overall, the college secured 25% of the overall campaign total. Over the last 20+ years, Wright has held a variety of alumni and fundraising engagement roles in higher education. He has guided several deans, academic leaders and university leadership through the campaign planning process and execution, over three $1B+ comprehensive campaigns. He is an experienced principal and major gift fundraiser, mentor, and leader, designing engagement programs to help teams and volunteers meet philanthropic goals. Wright is an active CASE volunteer, currently serving on CASE District V Cabinet and appears regularly as a faculty member/speaker at CASE conferences and other CASE educational programs. Wright also holds membership in organizations such as the African American Development Officers Network, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is involved in other non-profit work, including serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the American Legion Boys State of Missouri (Missouri Boys State). He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Missouri (Mizzou).

Hon. Paul Wilson

HON. PAUL WILSON

CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI

The Honorable Paul C. Wilson is the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri. He is a native of Jefferson City and attended Missouri Boys State in 1978.

Judge Wilson earned his undergraduate degree from Drury College in Springfield and his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, where he was named to both the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barristers. He clerked at the Supreme Court of Missouri and then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before becoming a litigation associate at the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. He returned to Missouri in 1996 to work in the attorney general’s office, culminating there as deputy chief of staff for litigation. He served as a circuit judge in 2010 in Cole County before joining the Columbia law firm Van Matre, Harrison, Hollis, Taylor and Bacon PC. Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon appointed him to the Supreme Court in December 2012, and voters retained him for a twelve-year term in November 2014.

Dr. Joey Deak, PhD

JOSEPH DEAK, PH.D.

RESEARCH SCIENTIST, YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Joseph Deak, PhD attended Missouri Boys State in 2005 and graduated from Seckman High School in Imperial, MO in 2006. He went on to complete dual Bachelors degrees in Biology and Psychology at Saint Louis University, a Masters and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri, and his clinical internship across the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry. He is currently completing a 3-year fellowship at Yale School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry’s Division of Human Genetics. At Yale his work focuses on using big data analytics to identify genetic risk factors for addiction and mental health disorders, including his recently featured work on the opioid epidemic and excessive alcohol intake in Veteran populations. His research has been published in numerous scholarly journals, has been presented across national and international scientific conferences and has been funded by multiple awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Jim Maher

JIM MAHER

ATTORNEY, FOUNDER OF ARCHFORD CAPITAL STRATEGIES

Jim Maher, an attorney and CPA, holds a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia. As the CEO and founder of Archford Capital Strategies, he believes that the most important asset for the business owner is the employees themselves. Jim has brought together a team of advisors.

Jim has earned seven certifications and designations along with his advanced degree. Three are the highest certifications obtainable in the retirement-plan benefit area. These designations help him to efficiently design and implement both financial and tax-advantaged plans. He also created a consulting division to assist business owners with a wide range of solutions for business continuation or succession planning. As a Certified Exit Plan Advisor (CEPA®), he helps closely held family businesses to establish resources for business owners in transition.

Maher is a member of the Missouri Bar, The National Center for Employee Ownership, and Vistage. He is president of the St. Louis Chapter – Exit Planning Institute and serves on the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois. In 2009, Maher was named “Donor Advisor of the Year” by Leave a Legacy, Planned Giving Counsel, and The Greater St. Louis Community Foundation.

Jim and Jenny have four boys who enjoy giving back to the community through philanthropy, traveling and playing soccer at a development academy and national team competitive level. Jim and Jenny are very proud of their boys for their high academic and sport achievements.

Col. Rusty Jones (Ret)

WILLIAM R. "RUSTY" JONES (RET)

FORMER COLONEL, US MARINE CORPS

Currently President of Wm R. Jones Consulting, Inc. He has served for over 40 years with Missouri Boys State in numerous capacities. A native of Kennett, MO, he graduated from the US Naval Academy and took his commission in the US Marine Corps. He continued to serve on the Missouri Boys State Staff. A Naval Aviator, he flew combat missions in the AH-1J Sea Cobra from amphibious ships in North Vietnamese waters. Transitioning to the AV-8A Harrier and AV-8B Harrier II, he commanded Marine Attack Squadron 231 during Operation Desert Storm. He later commanded Marine Aircraft Group-32. He left active duty as a Colonel after 29 years and worked for a defense-related firm in Arlington VA for 7 years. He continues to serve as an Outside Director on a number of industry boards. Currently serves on the MBS Board of Directors and is a Trustee on the MBS Memorial Trust. He was inducted into the Missouri Boys State Hall of Fame in 2015.

Joe Castellano

JOE CASTELLANO

AUTHOR

Author Joe Castellano spent the majority of his professional career as a business executive at Anheuser-Busch, the international beer company for which he ran six different groups in 26 years. Before that, though, he was a sportswriter for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, where he wrote about the St. Louis Cardinals, pro football, college sports, and such special events as Leon Spinks’s fights with Muhammad Ali. In 1979, he was voted by his peers as Missouri Sportswriter of the Year. Currently, he works as a business and personal career counselor in St. Louis. He believes his professional career was greatly influenced by his experience as a member of the overachieving St. Louis U. High football team in 1970, which he chronicles in his memoir Bull in the Ring / Football and Faith: Refuge in a Troubled Time. Castellano graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He and his wife Lyn live in St. Louis, as do his two married children and grandchildren.

Ryan Rippel

RYAN RIPPEL

DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND OPPORTUNITY, BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

Ryan D. Rippel is the Director of Economic Mobility and Opportunity for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and oversees the foundation’s national work to strengthen pathways out of poverty and ensure all have access to the American Dream.

Over the past four years, Ryan has led the foundation’s learning initiative on U.S. poverty, which included establishing the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, site visits and meetings with families, local leaders, and advocates in over three dozen communities around the country, and a number of partnerships to generate new data and public goods in service of those working to address barriers to opportunity.

A native Midwesterner, Ryan is an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he created and co-leads a course on local government law and urban revitalization. He also serves on the boards of the Missouri Foundation for Health and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. He is a graduate of Harvard College, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Law School.

Steven Erich

STEVEN ERICH

FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, ADVERTISING

Steven Erich is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Erich & Kallman, which has been honored as an ADWEEK Fastest Growing Agency, named on the AdAge A-List and has twice been awarded Small Agency of the Year by AdAge.

Before this, Steve spent 11 years at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, most recently serving as President / Partner of the global agency. During that time, CP+B was named “Agency of the Decade” by Advertising Age, “Agency of the Year” 13 times in the trade press and received more Cannes Grand Prix awards than any other agency in the world.

Steve oversaw partner relationships, business development, media/analytics, strategic planning and was ultimately responsible for the success of the agency’s clients across all eight global offices, which included Activision, American Express, Best Buy, Burger King, Charles Schwab, Domino's, The Gap, Infiniti, Kraft Foods, MetLife, Microsoft, Mondelez, Netflix, Old Navy, Pay Pal, Turkish Airlines, Volkswagen and Xbox. He worked in all three US offices over the years and opened CP+B’s first international expansion with the London office in 2006.

Prior to CP+B, Steve worked at TBWA/Chiat Day, The Martin Agency and Vitro/Robertson managing work on Timberland, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Kyocera Wireless, Cobra Golf, Penn Tennis, Ketel One Vodka, Baskin-Robbins and Newcastle Brown Ale. He has overseen work that's been awarded two Grand Effies and over 300 other strategic and creative awards, been a guest lecturer at both the University of Missouri and University of Colorado Schools of Journalism, and a featured speaker for the Minneapolis Ad Club, the Word of Mouth Conference in Hamburg, and Marketing 2.0 in Paris.

Ted House

TED HOUSE

CIRCUIT JUDGE, ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO

Ted House (born August 22, 1959) is an American circuit judge assigned to St. Charles County and a former Democratic politician who served in the Missouri Senate. Between 1989 and 1993, he served in the Missouri House of Representatives. He previously served as field representative for U.S. Congressman Ike Skelton.

House was born in Kansas City. In 1977, he graduated from Fayette High School. He has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Central Methodist University and a Juris Doctor degree from University of Missouri-Kansas City law school.

In 2011, House became the new president of the Missouri Circuit Judges Association, succeeding Judge Kathleen Forsyth of Jackson County. He was elected associate circuit judge in 2002 and circuit judge in 2004, being re-elected as circuit judge in 2008

James Schisler

JAMES SCHISLER

HARVARD FELLOW, MISSOURI GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

James Schisler is a proud Boys State alum and Richardson resident, 2014. Since Boys State, his path has taken him from his hometown of Saint James to Washington University to Harvard, where he now studies public policy. This summer, he is working in the Missouri Governor's Office as a summer fellow through Harvard. Across the past nine years, the lessons he learned at Boys State have continued to impact Schisler and make him a better person and leader.

"My project this summer is building a leadership program for young employees in the state government, and I've found myself drawing on my time at Boys State, including the law school."

Chad Day

CHAD DAY

NATIONAL JOURNALIST, PULITZER PRICE RECIPIENT

Chad Day, based in Washington, is the Election Decision Editor and one of the senior editors who conducts the final review of AP race calls before the news organization declares winners.

Day is the former lead data reporter on The Wall Street Journal's national politics team and recently won the prestigious investigative Pulitzer Prize. Chad covered presidential campaigns, elections, demographics and money in politics during his time at the WSJ. He also built newsroom tools that help reporters explore data to better understand the changing American electorate.

He formerly worked with the investigative team at the Associated Press, where he covered special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and the 2016 presidential campaign. He has also previously worked at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Kansas City Star.