Dear Lou,

There has always been something inside of me that has longed for more out of life. But since childhood, there have been challenges that have made life difficult.

My mother suffered from addiction throughout my childhood, which gave me issues with abandonment. Our family moved so often that I attended 15 different schools, from elementary to high school. As a painfully shy child, meeting new friends every year was difficult. All that moving also made learning more challenging.

Growing up in the church, I’ve always had a love of music. Music wasn’t just a passion—it got me through difficult periods of my life.

At 17, I became a mother, eventually having my second child at 25. Throughout my 20s, I lived in a state of constant fear as I tried to raise my daughter all alone and navigate the world as best I could.

I applied to college and got accepted three times. But each time, I never showed up. I was too afraid. How would I work, attend college classes, and also be there for my daughter?

Deep down, I knew there was more inside of me. I spent 16 years working in early childhood education, working for two childcare centers. I used my love for music to teach children through the power of song.

We don’t realize how big our sphere of influence is and the impact we have on those around us. I learned this by running into kids that I sang to when they were just babies. I ran into one who was in high school, and I began singing one of the songs I sang to him when he was just two years old—and he remembered!

Somewhere on this journey, I learned to use the fear inside of me as motivation. I wanted to be the best I could for my daughters. I wanted to represent my community in the best possible light. I also knew that in order for people to invest in you, they have to see you invest in yourself.

I applied for college for the fourth time and got accepted. And this time, I followed through. I began studying music at St. Louis Community College –Florissant Valley. The whole world opened up for me. I won a scholarship to study abroad in Italy for two weeks.

In 2014, I graduated with a music degree. In 2015, I received a full academic scholarship to UMSL where I earned a bachelor’s degree in 2018. While at UMSL, I began volunteering at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, the symphony hired me full-time.

The wins in my life began to add up. Eventually, those wins turned into bigger victories.

None of it was easy. I had two children. I had no driver’s license. I relied on public transportation to get to and from work. As a single parent, I had to maximize every minute of my day to make it all work. But I never missed a parent-teacher conference for my daughters, even if I had to walk.

Today, my two daughters are doing really well, even though they were raised in some tough times. My world continues to get brighter. A few years ago, I took a small business program and turned a longtime hobby of braiding hair into a business.

My dad retired recently from working in IT for 45 years. I’m happy that he has been able to watch me succeed.

I’m proud of what I have accomplished, but my story is not unique. There are many others like me who are overcoming their circumstances and improving their lives. We know what real hardship is like. And we’ve learned we can overcome.

St. Louis can overcome its challenges, but humans were not created to do anything alone—we need to band together.

If we want St. Louis to become more united, our organizations should lead the way. We have so many organizations doing similar things. We could accomplish much more by pooling our resources and working together.

We also need people who make decisions to consider how those decisions impact everyone, not just their own interests. The reality is that many lives get lost in the balance.

St. Louis, it’s time to rise up and be the change you want to see. As we all continue to work on our healing and growth, realize that each of us is a speck of color on a canvas of greatness. Your speck connects to others, creating a beautiful picture of power and love.

Love on yourself the same way you love others. Support your own in ways that teach them how to succeed and stay that way. Be accountable for your shortcomings and try to recover quickly to avoid being hindered because your life depends on it.

Sincerely,

Michelle Byrd

Dear Lou,

I wish that all native St. Louisans could see their city the way so many others do when they visit St. Louis for the first time.
I wasn’t born and raised in St. Louis. I grew up in New Hampshire and worked on the East Coast before relocating to St. Louis in 2007.
When I first came here, I saw St. Louis for what it is versus what it was in the past. I saw a destination that was rich with potential and approaching a tipping point.

I saw all the brick-and-mortar aspects of a city steeped in history with amazing architecture. I saw the nascent stages of innovation leading the way for St. Louis to become an innovation-based economy. I saw a wealth of education with nearly 30 colleges and universities. The raw ingredients were all here. With its high quality of life and affordability, St. Louis looked like a gem that had yet to be fully discovered and was fast approaching an urban renaissance.

I often feel that many St. Louisans suffer from a perceptual hangover, dwelling on what we once were, instead of being focused and open-minded about what we are becoming. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people lament over the airport or the number of corporations that used to be headquartered in Saint Louis that have since left.

You can't drive down the highway to the future by looking in the rearview mirror.

I think that too often we allow our problems to define us. I don't argue for a minute that we should ignore the real challenges we need to address and overcome. I do implore people, however, to have a balanced perspective.
The most satisfying and enjoyable moments in my work at Explore St. Louis are witnessing the surprise and delight of people visiting St. Louis for the first time—including people who had either low expectations or no expectations at all.

When so many people visit here, their jaws drop. They’re amazed how exciting and fun St. Louis is to discover and the amount of treasures around every corner. They’re blown away that we have a world-class zoo and museums that are free for all who visit. They see how affordable and accessible St. Louis is. They see opportunity and potential. They say things like, “I want to buy a house here... I want to have a second home here... Maybe I should move my company here.”

I’ve never been more bullish on St. Louis’ future than I am today.
When you look at the billions of dollars that have been invested in cultural and entertainment amenities such as Union Station, City Foundry, the Armory, St. Louis City SC and their new stadium, the Gateway Arch National Park, Forest Park, the Brickline Greenway—the list goes on and on—the momentum is undeniable.

When you look at our amazing food and restaurant scene and the fact that we have nationally renowned restauranters who have moved back to St. Louis because of the abundance of opportunity, when you see all of this new energy, I believe we have finally reached that tipping point and the transformation we have been longing for is finally taking hold, and our best days are ahead of us.

Yes, we have a hundred problems just like every other city in the United States, but we’re working hard to address them. Instead of letting those problems define us, let’s make St. Louis better for everyone. We have the opportunity to lead the nation forward by improving societal issues that have beset American cities for more than 200 years.

Instead of looking at what we have lost, look at all we have gained.
In downtown St. Louis alone, we have four stadiums. We have world-class theaters. We have an entertainment complex in Union Station. You have one of the most interesting and eclectic places—literally in the entire world—called City Museum. All within a 10-block radius.

We just need more people to see the abundance that St. Louis has to offer—and I believe that starts with us. I believe St. Louisans are instrumental in helping us propel this transformation. I’d argue that the image that needs the most work is the image we have of ourselves. Let's start celebrating all that is right instead of focusing on all that is wrong. Let’s stop making apologies that we’re from St. Louis. Let’s be proud and vocal and have more swagger.
Instead of lamenting the shortcomings of our past, let’s focus on the momentum we are creating today and the promising future in front of us.

Sincerely,

Brian Hall
Chief Marketing Officer, Explore St. Louis

Dear Lou,



When I first moved here at age 9, I had a major hate relationship with St. Louis. Coming from Moscow into the heat and humidity of August was a huge shock. I had a very bad attitude too. I missed my family and friends.


You see, back then I was already a two-time refugee. I was born in Afghanistan in 1990, but I went to Russia at age 3 and stayed there for five years before coming to the United States. I really fought to hate St. Louis for a very long time, and I made good on my vow to leave as soon as I could. But I always found my way back.


The pattern ended for good after I moved to Memphis in 2020. I was so homesick for St. Louis. I realized it’s the closest thing I know to a home. It’s the city I’ve lived in the longest, for 23 years. Most importantly, I realized that the things I thought I didn’t like about St. Louis were things that needed healing within me. All the trauma from having lived in a war zone, being a two-time refugee—those were the things bothering me. It was never the city.


I know there are others who have similar experiences of not feeling at home anywhere because of the trauma they’re holding in their body. And I decided I want to be part of making the St. Louis region awesome for people like me.


In Farsi, we have a quote that says, “Drop by drop, you get the ocean.” That’s how I view the work of building a better, healthier, thriving region. All of us need to reflect on what we see as St. Louis’ greatest challenge and then take the initiative to resolve it, step by step. For my part, I think segregation is a big issue. I would like to see St. Louis united, without any gaps or bridges between communities. I would like to see the diversity of the Festival of Nations be the everyday norm—all the foods, the scents, the sounds, the languages, the music. Hundreds of thousands of happy, joyous people in a multicultural, cooperative, inclusive region filled with opportunities.


My whole job at the International Institute is to sell people on why they should move to St. Louis. I have all the metrics. Low cost of living, women-owned businesses, entrepreneurial opportunities, affordable housing, post-secondary education—those top the list. And we’re working on the things we’re missing, things like a culture of inclusivity. We have a rich history of philanthropy that even the country’s most successful cities can’t match.


Before I accepted this job, I was an activist for 11 years. I was active in supporting Black Lives Matter, but if there was another cause that needed highlighting, I was excited to be there as a humanitarian, whatever part of the world was involved—Palestine, China, Syria, Egypt, Myanmar. Little did I know that my birth nation would fall to the Taliban (again!) like it did in August 2021. I felt pulled to volunteer for the Afghan Support Program, but I ended up becoming much more involved when I accepted this job at the International Institute in 2022.


The Afghan Support Program has already made an impact. We have a newly opened community center. We’re publishing a newspaper. We’ve had 24 weeks of soccer programming. Our Chamber of Commerce is coming together. We have a team of leaders working to build the community. And we’ve offered scholarships and grants.


My personal impact is being an Afghan woman who’s outspoken and brave and not caught up in the ideologies that brought us to this situation. I have a real focus on the women from my culture. I pay special attention to the girls who are about the same age I was when I came to St. Louis. They’re so observant about both cultures. I talk with them—truly entertaining their dialogue and asking them questions.


I love and adore them because I see myself in those girls. When I arrived, I didn’t have any role models other than my mother. And she’s a bold, courageous, heroic person—for example, she went to Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban, and not only did she get out again in one piece, she brought both her parents with her. It was a miracle of God. But I didn’t have anyone else besides my mother to look up to. I want to empower more women like me so we can grow as a community.


My message to my fellow St. Louisans is to activate yourself and those around you. Don’t be complacent. Don’t be a bystander or a complainer. Reach for unrealistic goals.


It’s inspiring to see all the intentional work being done in St. Louis to create safe, healthy spaces where women of color can heal. But there’s still so much more that needs to be done. In the Afghan refugee community alone, thousands of people need us now. That’s my focus. I’m doing what feeds my soul.


Moji Sidiqi
International Institute
Program Manager – Afghan Community Development Program

Dear Lou,

Our history with you runs long and deep. For more than 120 years, we’ve been proud to call you, our home. And proud to power the quality of life for generations of St. Louisans.

As a neighbor and an integral part of every St. Louis community, we believe the St. Louis region is only as strong as the communities within it. And that every community matters.

When communities struggle, so does the greater region.

It’s time to change this. It’s time to empower people, progress and prosperity, especially in our communities that have been underserved for far too long.

And this means stepping up to make a meaningful difference in the lives of all families. It means investing in inclusive economic growth so good jobs are available to everyone.

These challenges are too great for one person or group to handle on their own. But when St. Louis’ organizations and leaders combine our energy, we can create this thriving community.

Together, we have the power. Let’s build a more sustainable future for the St. Louis community, once and for all.

Dear Lou,

My family is proof that you don’t have to be from a city to love it. My wife and I are native New Yorkers, and we didn’t know much about St. Louis before we relocated to the region a decade ago.

All it took was one immersive weekend at places like Grant’s Farm, the Saint Louis Zoo, the Gateway Arch, and restaurants on The Hill for us to fall hard for St. Louis. And after we moved here, the more we discovered, the more we found to love. Our kids’ school. The sports. The food. I’m Italian and my wife is Chinese, and we are just in awe of the restaurants here that speak to our hearts through our stomachs.

We’re big believers that you can’t just live in a community and take from it; you need to give back. So my wife and I joined boards and volunteered. I started a chess nonprofit in North St. Louis County in collaboration with the St. Louis Chess Club and inaugurated the Ascension Charity Classic PGA golf tournament at Norwood Hills Country Club.

On the East Coast, St. Louisans have a reputation for working hard and being valuable employees, but they tend not to stick around out there. Now I understand why. I’m humbled to be able to contribute to all the things that are wonderful about this region through my energy and optimism.

I tell people all the time that when you choose to live somewhere, you love it even more. Because I’m not from here, I have a different lens for viewing all the things that make St. Louis special. I’ve become an unofficial brand ambassador for the region—it’s the best-kept secret in the United States. Through my vocation as a marketing professional, I have a great platform to share that message.

When I’m not working, my avocation is writing books about big-stakes decision-making. I’m especially passionate about the study of leadership at the presidential level. I look at how and why presidents made big, bold decisions—like Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal or Lyndon Johnson and civil rights. I study the things that motivate and inspire people to take on big challenges.

I apply what I’ve learned authoring those books to day-to-day life by thinking about how to motivate and inspire stakeholders to achieve big things locally. In St. Louis, we need bold, forward-looking leadership that doesn’t turn a blind eye to challenges but tackles them with hope, optimism, and solutions.

I’m a big believer that as a region, we’re only as strong as all the communities within it. It’s incumbent upon all of us to make each community strong for all its residents, because we’re competing with other strong metro areas—and it’s an intense competition—for jobs, young people, investment, and tourism.

The key is public-private partnerships between local government, businesses, and nonprofit. We need to come together and work toward the same goals without getting distracted. We all have the right intentions. We just need to get aligned on a couple of critical things to flourish.

First, we need to have an equitable and inclusive growth that fosters economic opportunity for everyone. Toward this goal, I’ve championed things like the Ascension Charity Classic, which raised more than $2.5 million in 2.5 years for the Urban League and other nonprofits.

While the money is important, I’m even more excited about how the tournament has played out as a love letter to the St. Louis region that’s live on the Golf Channel for three days, eight hours a day. It reintroduces St. Louis to the rest of the country—because we don’t always put our best foot forward in the news.

Second, we need to strengthen our urban core and ensure it’s a destination for people to work and live. This means addressing safety, infrastructure, and transportation.

Third, transportation across the whole region needs to improve so there’s easy access for businesses and other travelers. Plans to expand and renovate the airport are a good step toward this goal.

All three of these goals are interlinked and reinforce each other—and that’s key. We have to keep trying to create things in a very focused way, not trying to boil the ocean. If we can’t focus, we’re going to lose ground to other cities. I want to make sure St. Louis doesn’t just survive but flourishes.

My children were both very enthusiastic about moving to St. Louis a decade ago. Now my son is a freshman at the University of Chicago, but he’s already talking about his life after graduation and his plans to move back to St. Louis. I love that his roots here go deep, and I hope every other newcomer also finds their connection to this wonderful region I’m proud to call home.

Sincerely,

Nick Ragone, EVP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Ascension

Dear Lou,

You can be a tough nut to crack.

Like many of those born here, to understand you, I had to learn about you. About your history, your policies, and the forces that shape your economy. That zip codes can exist within miles of each other, but the residents of each might as well live in different worlds. It wasn’t until much later that I understood how you became that way. You’ve gotten in your own way, sometimes, St. Louis, and blocked your own progress by keeping people locked out of opportunity.

My family experienced the impact of your racial segregation up close, and I knew the isolation it imposed as one of the very few Black children at my school and in our neighborhood. And now, I have devoted my life to helping you build equitable health outcomes for all—not just the few in privileged zip codes.

What would it be like if we lived—not in different worlds—but in the same equitable world? I don’t think it’s as complicated as some make it out to be. I’ve talked about you so much and for so long that I can quote myself now: you don't have an innovation problem. You have a distribution problem. You are not at a loss about how to develop healthy residents who enjoy safe living environments, jobs, and schools. It’s not rocket science. We make up stories about how people can make it out of your darkness with hard work. But your structures are rigged.

You can’t wait anymore to change it. Don’t wait. If we wait to change a critical mass of hearts and minds, we’ll be waiting another century. No single person, family, politician, or business can do it alone.

There's so much to love about you, and your vast reservoirs of goodwill. You have brilliance, talent, and potential. You are often named one of the most charitable cities in the country.
But ask yourself: why is your charity necessary in the first place? It’s not enough to just be generous. The rules of the game have to change. We can’t just program and social service our way out of inequity.

I encourage you to grow. It's easy to get complacent, comfortable, and unwilling to change or accept external ideas about how we could be. It’s almost like you have an “allergy” to outside methods or ways of being sometimes. “Where did you go to high school?”—what could be more provincial than that?

I have hope. Your major institutions, many of which have announced commitments in the right direction, are leading change—like the 2030 jobs plan. I am encouraged by your St. Louis Anchor Action Network, comprised of 16 large organizations devoted to improving economic outcomes in a 22-zip code geography that has faced disinvestment for too long. They understand their collective power, and are banding together in service, not just of their individual ambitions, but for our region, our home, as a whole. Not every city has that.

I am also encouraged by your Once and for All effort from Beyond Housing which is opening hearts and minds to why investing in your most under-resourced communities is the key for moving the entire region forward and creating stronger, more equitable, and prosperous St. Louis for all.

I am heartened by your people, who are willing to have conversations about reorganizing the logic of our systems and structures to ensure the health and well-being of everyone, regardless of race or zip code.

Sincerely,

Jason Purnell
President – James S. McDonnell Foundation

Dear Lou,

You have the most generous heart. So many of your residents put their energy, time, and money toward something positive, something they believe in. Per capita charitable giving in St. Louis County is the highest in the state and earns top scores on rankings of our nation’s most generous places.

Collectively, we’ve invested in world-class cultural amenities, outdoor attractions, places of worship and healing and gathering spots where we can come together to enjoy good food and good fun.

I’m an optimist by nature. I disagree when people say there’s not enough investment in St. Louis. If anything, there is so much generosity. We are such a generous region. But we’re not always efficient, and our efforts are often duplicated.

It would be great if we could be more strategic and unified in our objectives, otherwise we will never move the needle for our region to advance.

I believe it’s possible for us to come together around a common goal. Early in my career, I was a lobbyist in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. I had the opportunity to truly get to know our leaders, their interests, and their values, regardless of their party. I learned that while we may disagree about the best path to accomplish our goals, at the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want people to feel safe. We want crime to go down. We want businesses to thrive. We want newcomers to move here and longtime residents to stay.

When we operate from our shared interests, it’s impressive how many stakeholders can move something forward, no matter how big the goal. I acknowledge that there are real challenges on the ground, but I believe we can work together to foster opportunities for all.

It’s also possible to focus on region-wide priorities while also impacting lives on a day-to-day basis. As a representative of construction contractors, our industry provides pathways into life-changing careers that provide generational wealth. While we focus on industry-wide priorities, we also dedicate time and resources to educate young people who might not know of these opportunities.

The footprint Beyond Housing serves will always be near and dear to my heart. My father was an immigrant from Sicily who owned a union cabinetry shop in Pagedale for 35 years. Through his hard work and the community’s support of his business, he was able to provide for our family well and send seven children to Catholic schools.

My hope is focused through my lens as a man of faith, a father, a husband, and an uncle. I hope everyone in the entire St. Louis community will have access to secure housing, a safe living environment, quality education, fulfilling careers, thriving families, and economic growth.

My vision is that we will continue investing in St. Louis as a global brand. We must be smarter and more strategic to impact lives and change our region’s trajectory for the future.

Sincerely,

Anthony Lancia
Vice President of Labor Relations at AGC of Missouri

Dear Lou,

Like many other St. Louisans, after college I moved away for work. After my husband and I had kids, we moved back to be near family and friends and because you are our home. Since doing so, I have been fortunate to able to make a difference in the world right here in the city I have always called home—and I hope I can make a difference that leaves you better than I found you.

I have so many hopes and dreams for your success which I know are shared by so many other St. Louisans. We all want to see you succeed. You have so many wonderful people, neighborhoods, and institutions that truly make you one of America’s most hidden gems.

Of course, you also have more than your share of challenges.

I’m particularly concerned that very few young people move to St. Louis. So many people that move here are from here originally and, like me, decided to move back.
I hate to say it, but hardly anyone graduating from college says “I want to move to St. Louis” unless this is where they are from.

At the St. Louis chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), we are focused on fostering greater corporate growth in St. Louis and creating a network of opportunity for professionals and businesses. A big part of doing that is attracting and retaining more young talented professionals to St. Louis.

If St. Louis is going to grow and succeed, we need to fill our pipeline with the next generation of talent who will contribute to our region’s success. Young people are also naturally more open-minded, more diverse, and think more innovatively. These are qualities our region needs.

This is why ACG St. Louis created Emerging Leaders, a young professionals peer group, and given it a major focus going forward. People need a community to support others and be supported, and there is a lack of this within the business community, particularly for young people and especially for outsiders.

But this is only one of St. Louis’ many challenges.

I have learned that if you ask people what the solution is to creating a better St. Louis, you will get a myriad different responses—everything from reducing crime to improving education, greater equity of opportunity, a more unified structure of government, and dozens of other answers.

What I’ve come to realize is that there is no one simple answer to our problems. The real answer is that, if we want to really move forward, we have to come together and address all of our major challenges—but in a more unified, cohesive way than what we have ever done before.

It’s amazing that we have roughly 19,000 nonprofits in the St. Louis area. We are such a charitable community and are fortunate to have so many organizations working to address our various problems. With all of these resources, why can’t we coordinate more of these organizations to work together in a collective effort to really make the change our region needs?

Better yet, imagine if more of our nonprofits, our businesses, and our civic organizations and leaders began working together to address St. Louis’ challenges as a unified force for change.

If we want to attract more younger and innovative professionals, we should go even further to embody that spirit within ourselves, be open to new ideas to create change, and show the world we embrace the future more than the past.

We have seen in other metropolitan regions that change is possible. Milwaukee, Detroit, and Pittsburgh have had similar struggles but have managed to make significant strides forward. I believe the biggest reason is because enough people and organizations have come together to create a critical mass.

I realize that I am just one voice in more than two and a half million. I wonder if I am the person qualified to say these things. On the other hand, I think that, for the good of our region, more of us need to stop waiting for others to lead us.

It’s time for new voices to help lead in creating the change we desire. The future of our city depends on it.

With love and optimism,

Amy Ruebsam
CEO, Midwest Region at Association for Corporate Growth
Executive Director, ACG St. Louis

Dear Lou,

I was born in 1969, one year after the Fair Housing Act passed, making housing segregation and discrimination illegal. Moving from St. Louis City to Pagedale in 1974 meant following the American dream for my parents and so many others. And so, the magic began. Through the eyes of my youth, my childhood was like a fairytale. The community looked out for and were accountable to one another.

Unfortunately, I would later understand that this shielded existence was far from our region’s racially influenced narrative:
• The myriad of municipalities in St. Louis County and resulting fragmentation had been a historic tool to control the racial composition of neighborhoods through racially restrictive deed covenants, indentures, and ordinances.
• Despite the legal end of segregation and redlining, the value of our homes would continue to be suppressed. As such, my parents would never build meaningful housing wealth that could be leveraged to finance college for their children or passed on as generational wealth like their majority counterparts.
• Disinvestment would occur through the decades as business owners sought more affluent communities. The combination of low housing values, middle class flight and commercial decline would result in perpetually fewer resources to fund our city services and schools and a decades-long fight to restore vitality.

I am 52 now, and the vestiges of our racial past still loom large today. The home I currently own is in a municipality with a now-illegal racial covenant which historically only allowed people of color to dwell in a domestic capacity. Imagine what it feels like to read that the home I currently occupy was not meant for me simply because of the color of my skin.

And during the 2018/2019 school year, the highest-spending majority White district spent $8,412 (nearly 40%) more per student than the highest-spending majority Black district and 2.4 times (about $18,000) more per student than the lowest-spending districts. Have we contemplated the compounding impact of this inequality over decades to communities of color? As a member of the Missouri State Board of Education and former member of the Normandy School Board, this challenge weighs heavily on me. I am determined to do all I can to bring about the structural and systemic change required.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞

An awareness of the interconnectivity of housing, education, and employment systems is emerging. Purpose-driven initiatives such the St. Louis Anchor Action Network are bringing together institutions, businesses, community leaders, and other stakeholders to address inequities through efforts to increase employment, income, health, and wealth building. Our region has made other inroads, such as our Cortex Innovation Community a myriad of new residential and commercial developments.

Yet despite this progress, too many people experience generational poverty in racially segregated communities with inequitable access to opportunity. This has an ugly genesis in segregation and racism—the ugly truths we talk around and choose to omit to avoid pain, shame, and guilt.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?

To move forward and repair the harm, we have to 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 about our ugly racially biased past, the long-term restriction of resources to communities of color, and the harmful impacts that linger to this day.

Despite our challenges, I have faith in us because we St. Louisans have a unique superpower: our philanthropic spirit of giving. Our spirit of giving can:
• Propel us forward to invest in our fellow residents and apply an equity lens to everything from schools to infrastructure.
• Help ensure that zip codes are no longer determinants of health, economic, academic, and other important outcomes for our children.
• Drive workforce development, increase population growth, and attract international investment.
• Ultimately fuel my most fervent wish: For St. Louis to become a unified region where everyone can thrive.
We can accomplish so much together by leaving our agendas at the door and working to heal the fractures that divide us. But we must first be willing to face the truth of our past and work with and learn from people whose views differ from our own.

I am proud to be part of organizations that are expanding cultures of inclusion and to take action with coalitions of civic-minded partners.

I love St. Louis’ distinctive yet very American commitment to giving and uplifting others. I look forward to channeling that spirit toward revealing truth and healing, removing structural barriers, redesigning systems, and aligning resources to support and strengthen all our residents. I cannot wait to see the magical experiences our children and grandchildren will have because of our work now.

With love, hope, and optimism,

Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge,
Normandy school district graduate and current resident
Member of the Missouri State Board of Education
Board member of Beyond Housing
Principal, Edward Jones

Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation in 2022 around making a stronger St. Louis—once and for all. It was a year of incredible change and growth, but the work doesn't stop here. We can't wait to see what comes next.

Donate today: https://www.onceandforall.org/donate/

To all of St. Louis, please like and share this video to help make 2023 even better, and follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/once-and-for-all-stl/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnceAndForAllSTL
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(Featured in chronological order: Peter Blumeyer, Dr. Dwayne Proctor, John F. Risberg, Amy Ruebsam, Chris Krehmeyer, Doug Black, Jason Purnell, Adam Wainwright, Demetrius Grooms, Kendra Holmes, Ray Boshara, Amy Shaw, Arrey Obenson, Pamela Westbrooks Hodge)

Dear Lou,

You have been my second home for the last seventeen years. What a blessing it has been to experience all that we have together. From winning championships to having my kids grow up here, I couldn't have asked for a better situation professionally and personally.

There are so many things I love about St Louis: the baseball, the barbecue, and most of all—the people. You have embraced us since day one and I will forever hold a dear place in my heart for the great city and people of St Louis.

If I could offer you one piece of advice, it would be to stay true to who you are.

You are a city that loves deeply and gives with a generous heart. I have seen our charity Big League Impact grow to a level that I never dreamed was possible, and it was all because of your loyal support. Without you, we would have never been able to reach as many people who were living without the basic essential needs. Things we take for granted like food, clean water, shelter, and medicine are things not everyone is afforded so easily. No matter what our initiative, you have jumped behind us full steam to make sure that those in need could be found and helped.

Keep being you, St Louis—the world is a better place because you're here.

The last thing I want to say is plain and simple: I love you, St Louis. Thank you for helping shape me and my family all these years.

Adam Wainwright
Pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals

Dear Lou,

I came to you to lead Missouri Foundation for Health, where we work with others to achieve health equity across Missouri. That encompasses everything from reducing childhood obesity and firearm violence to pushing Medicaid expansion, focusing on infant vitality and women’s health, and more.

I grew up in Washington, D.C. in the 1960’s and 70’s, where I was exposed to social justice movements and racial strife. I came from a family of nurses, police officers, ministers … people who live lives of service. I knew I would too. I have worked at nonprofit organizations for almost three decades.

Before I became a St. Louisan, I worked with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in New Jersey, which spans the entire country. Here, what we do is just as important, and just as complicated. For so long, equality has been the great American ideal—and it has taken us far. But as we know, especially in my line of work, health equity is really our opportunity to go even further. To create a greater ideal.

Saint Louis first drew me as the place that ignited calls for justice, dignity, and equity across the globe after Michael Brown's death. I still carry that heartache and awe with me. When I arrived, you charmed me with your rich, deep culture, your art, jazz, and innovative food scene.

I have found strong leadership, interested in upholding the will of the people and working with communities to make their lives better. People who understand that health equity is the path to solving so many other problems, and that racism has no place, especially in the public systems that serve us all. That awareness and accountability—which are not everywhere—are important drivers for the change we all want to see.

I have also found an abundance of kind, curious people here. They ask: Where did you go to high school? What brought you here? Do you have a dog? You really surprised me with your sense of neighborly charity. If one of your own has a problem, their neighbors, their communities, show up. That happens elsewhere too—but here, I see it so frequently. I know that if our systems work better for everyone, that spirit could go so much further, and that's what we're working to do. Remember, Lou—you can love people you don't know.

Traditional visions of health equity teach us to examine issues as opportunities to work with others and help those who need it most, who then get labeled “needy.” But they aren’t needy. They're strong. They’re resilient. They’re brilliant, in so many ways.

Is true health equity achievable here? Of course, it is. And it will happen because of the people of Missouri who deserve a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest lives.

Dear Lou: You bring a tear to my eye.

Sincerely,
Dwayne Proctor
President and CEO, Missouri Foundation for Health

Dear Lou,

Communities that focus on their challenges are defined by their challenges. Instead, I would like you, Lou, to be defined by your opportunities.

The history of St. Louis has been written by people who came from all over the world, painting a colorful tapestry of what this community has looked like in the past. When you explore the depths of St. Louis, you’ll find people from everywhere. And that’s one of our best, untapped strengths. I’m from Cameroon, and I relocated to St. Louis for work in 2002. This is the only home my children have known, and anytime we’ve thought about moving, our love for the region has outweighed any other location.

In the twenty years I’ve lived in St. Louis, I’ve seen great changes—and I’ve seen large setbacks. New additions like the upcoming soccer team and innovation in the Cortex Innovation Community change the dynamic of the city for the better. As well as the increasing focus on inclusive growth and the growing consciousness to create opportunities for the under-privileged to create greater success for all.

St. Louis needs to be an international hub again, bringing people from all over the world to our community. We must be deliberate in welcoming new arrivals to this community. When someone arrives in St. Louis, they must be greeted by quality, affordable housing; opportunities to accelerate skill development for high-paying jobs; and an embracement of arts and culture from all over the world.

We must also balance creating opportunities for immigrants to move to St. Louis while simultaneously addressing the underlying challenges that our existing populations face. By focusing on the opportunities, we can create a pathway from the welcoming process to prosperity that will extend all across the region.

St. Louis, you truly shine when there is a need for people to come together. We saw this with the arrival of the Afghan community. Your citizens are known for their philanthropic attitudes, and volunteering one’s time is a community norm. Generations of St. Louisans are invested in supporting people—thank you! In a time when it’s common to hear what’s wrong with St. Louis, I’d like us to focus more on what’s right—and our history of volunteer work is a shining example of that.

The glory days of our past will not return. We must simultaneously focus on a better future by capitalizing on the current opportunities before us.

If we base our future on the structures we have built today, we’re limited to our current capabilities. Instead, I hope we can look to a future that is very different from our past. Together we can paint a picture of a new St. Louis region, one that celebrates and appreciates diversity and offers the opportunities we all need to grow.

That future will take work from all of us, and the benefits will impact everyone too. This is our greatest opportunity yet, and I believe we can rise to the challenge. Together.

With optimism,

Arrey Obenson
President & CEO, International Institute of St. Louis
Author of Bridging the Opportunity Gap

Dear Lou,

I was born and raised in St. Louis, as were my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. We’re a multi-generational St. Louis family, with each generation intentionally choosing to live, work and raise our families here. Quite simply, we love and believe in St. Louis—it’s home.

While times were obviously different for each succeeding branch of my family, I know there were defining moments for my ancestors, just as there were for me.

I remember our neighborhood was connected to what seemed like a million other neighborhoods, and our parents sent us outside to play for hours at a time. We spent days riding bikes and playing baseball, pretending to be our favorite baseball players. Sometimes we rode out to Spencer’s 5 and 10. This not only built strong memories, but significant bonds within our communities.

I also remember family outings, and my favorite was going to Cards baseball games one-on-one with my dad, then stopping at Ted Drewes for frozen custard on the way home. It doesn’t get much more St. Louis than that.

I was about 10 when I started noticing some differences in our community. My elementary school had kids from all over St. Louis, from the county to the inner city. It didn’t register until about fifth grade that some of my fellow students were waking up at 4:45 in the morning so they could attend a county school.

They would tell stories about hearing gunshots and running into their parents’ rooms—but they spoke about it like it was a regular occurrence. I suddenly realized we inhabited very different worlds even though we lived in the same city.

One of our biggest challenges today is the same as it was then—the disconnect between these two worlds. We need to work toward a unified vision and goal for what we want our community to look like, from downtown to the county to all the municipalities.

There’s room and need for many voices to collectively figure out the end game and then work to achieve it as a cohesive region. A leader’s job is to help people achieve their goals to the best of their ability. As a business leader and community advocate, this issue is front and center with me.

I know some people are discouraged about the present reality in St. Louis, but I would encourage them to not give up hope. There are many people you never see or hear about who are working every day to make St. Louis a better place. And things are starting to happen that we never thought possible. Important conversations are taking place. People are acknowledging that we have to do this together because a rising tide lifts all ships. I’m extremely optimistic about our future.

By nature, people can become hung-up on what happens day-to-day. You can feel like you didn’t make as much progress as you wanted, but every action helps. Real change in our city won’t happen overnight—it will take years to achieve.

I want St. Louis to prosper in technology, to lead in the medical fields, to land Fortune 500 companies and build businesses. I also want us to not lose what made St. Louis great for me growing up. I want us to keep our values and ethics and sense of community. I want us to enjoy the moments.

I hope we can all take a step back and appreciate what we have already accomplished. And let’s not forget that we can have fun along this journey.

I tell my kids it’s important to recognize our mistakes and to learn from them, but it’s also important to not be too hard on yourself. I want my kids to appreciate their growth and enjoy their journeys. Too often, as adults we think, “If I could just get there,” and we don’t pause to appreciate where we already are. While we work hard to address our challenges, we have wonderful, amazing things to take pride in.

My hope is this progression will be our generation’s next defining moment.

Dear Lou, this is for you,

Peter Blumeyer
President – UMB Bank St. Louis

Dear Lou,

I know you have grown weary of the problems before you. I know that at times you are energized by the discussions on how to move you forward and at others times it all becomes overwhelming to the point that it’s easier to turn away.

Do not look away.

Do not lessen your standards. Do not slip back into comfortableness and complacency, or lower your head in defeat thinking the problems are just too big to solve or that some things will never change.

Things can always change if enough people want them to.

I believe your collective will to finally create the change our region needs is greater than ever. But this is a window in time. A moment we have arrived at together that we must capitalize on to the fullest.

If we go forward half-heartedly, if we simply throw resources at our problems without truly understanding what is behind them and what is needed to really create change, this window will shut and we will go back to our former less courageous and ambitious selves.

We have been talking about these same challenges for more than forty years. If we want a different result, we need to take action in a way that is far different and far bigger than what we have ever done before.

Do not look away.

Every movement begins with a call for change.

This is not the time to be timid. This is the time to be bold. This is the time to think bigger and be audacious in our goals.

We don’t have a shortage of resources. We have a shortage of results.

Our organization Beyond Housing created Once and for All as answer to our growing call to change things for the better and to provide a real solution—a solution based on facts and common sense that we can all agree on and that benefits everyone.

I am an optimist at heart. I truly believe our biggest challenges are our greatest opportunities. I would not be writing to you now if I didn’t wholly believe there is a real answer to our problems and that real change is within our reach.

While I am optimistic about our future and our ability to create a better St. Louis for all of us, I am not naïve.

I can’t promise you that everything we do will turn out perfect and wonderful. I can’t promise you that this change will come easily or overnight. What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that if we keep doing what we’ve always done before, we’re going to get the same results.

Do not look away. Instead, join us.

We’re looking for individuals who are tired of the status quo, who believe there is a better way and have the courage to take a new course of action.

We’re looking for leaders with the ability to bring others on board and who want to leave a legacy of lasting change that will be felt for decades to come.

If that sounds like you, join us in creating a stronger, more equitable, and prosperous St. Louis—once and for all.

Sincerely,

Chris Krehmeyer
President and CEO – Beyond Housing

Dear Lou,

I wish we viewed both parts of our region as complementary rather than as two separate constructs. When I tell people where I’m from, I say St. Louis. I love where I live in Hazelwood, but I identify with the city.

Growing up, I lived in the county with my mom but spent lots of time with my grandparents in the city. I have fond memories of the safety and stimulation of my school during the day and of riding bikes and playing sports with families on my grandparents’ street in the evenings and on weekends.

Today the dynamics of those two worlds are different. I feel very comfortable in the county because I’m surrounded by people who look like me. But I also know that many of them have been pushed out of their neighborhoods in the city. The people who lived on my grandparents’ street weren’t able to create generational wealth and pass it on to their children through their property.

Too often, the lines separating the city and county are drawn because of race. It seems like we don’t even recognize the advantages that our collective strength could have. And until we get over those issues, our region will continue to suffer.

But even though it hurts my heart to hear city and county leaders fighting about what they think they’re giving away in regional turf battles, I am optimistic for the future.

Our business community knows how to create opportunities—and opportunities change mindsets. Now we have to figure out how to ensure equitable access to those places and spaces.

We know how to attract people-first large businesses that can lead the way when it comes to financing and technology. We know how to grow small businesses and entrepreneurial thinkers.

Our region has plenty of resources. Now we need to decide that our common humanity is more important than divisiveness—especially in education. Our kids can lead the way forward, if only we can stop dividing up our assets in ways that sabotage them.

Our residents have the same goals for good jobs, for safety, and for fun stuff to do on the weekends. I believe we know how to prioritize and reimagine public safety for residents in all parts of the city and county. We just need to implement it.

I know the systemic issues in our region are solvable. My prayer for St. Louis is that we can maintain a holistic focus on issues that improve families and communities, that we can think more like one group and not multiple pieces.

I have three children, and I don’t want them to feel they have to leave to pursue their dreams. My oldest child is a little pessimistic because he’s starting to understand the challenges. My second child knows she’s going to change the world. My youngest not only knows she can change the world, but she thinks she has already figured out how to do it.

Like me, they’ve been born and raised here. In the future, when they say where they are from, I hope their proud answer of “St. Louis” will represent a strong and successful metropolitan area where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Demetrius Grooms
Principal, Client Onboarding Operations at Edward Jones

Dear Lou,

I was thrilled to move back to St. Louis in 2003 to continue my work in public media. I grew up here and it was good to be home. Even today, when I see the Arch from the distance, it feels like home. When I was a kid, my mom took us on outings every summer. We went so many places, but my favorite was always Forest Park and the zoo. Fourth of July was always spent watching the fireworks at Crestwood Plaza.

But as much as St. Louis is home, there is an ingrained narrative of division that doesn’t serve us well. East-West. North-South. Black-White. Old-Young. Have-Have Not.

After my return to St. Louis, I gradually started to understand the root causes and the systemic nature of the significant disparities that exist here. Growing up, I had the privilege of being oblivious to so much. I think I’m not alone in that, yet it seems that more of our region’s residents are becoming more aware and conscious of the impacts of these disparities and the ways they limit us from flourishing.

Professionally, as president and CEO at Nine PBS, I think about the disparities a lot. We’ve had opportunities to help our community deepen understanding of local opportunities and challenges. We’ll be doing even more of this going forward, and we’re determining the best way to focus on the things people are doing to help St. Louis flourish in meaningful ways. We’re also working collaboratively with extraordinary partners to ensure children are represented authentically in stories for and about them.

Who gets to tell these stories matters. It’s important to share information about people as they would describe themselves and their neighborhoods and give people a voice. In the 24:1 footprint in North St. Louis County, for example, there’s a powerful alignment of community aspirations and forces working to realize those aspirations, yet many of us are either unaware or stuck with incomplete or false narratives about what’s happening.

There are so many amazing people all around us in our region, and often we have no concept of how special they are. Let’s give the people in our region the ability to tell their own stories authentically. And we can’t avoid difficult conversations. St. Louisans can be very proud of the many things that benefit our region even while addressing the systemic challenges. Both can be true at the same time. I don’t think we’re being disloyal in calling out what doesn’t work, especially when the impacts are disproportionately lived by people of color.

In St. Louis we tend to be deeply apologetic for all the things we are not and disappointed in the things we are. It’s time for that to change—it’s time for a counter narrative. There’s so much here that we can use to create the future that benefits all of us.

When we understand the complexity of all the pieces together—and what happens as all those pieces work in tandem—we’ll be better equipped to process the history of how we got to now. We’ll grasp why there is anger and frustration and skepticism. We’ll have the courage not to kick these issues down the road another twenty years for someone else to address. We’ll be able to center those who are most impacted as we generate solutions.

During my years away, whenever I thought of St. Louis, I felt a sense of place and home. Since returning, I’m committed to strengthening our collective home and creating a stronger, more equitable, and prosperous St. Louis, once and for all.”

Sincerely,

Amy Shaw
President and CEO, Nine PBS

Dear Lou,

You have been my home for my entire life. I grew up close to the Central West End, went to St. Louis public schools, and even went to college here at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

As I look back on my years here, I have fond memories of my education, all your great food and restaurants, and cultural institutions. I remember field trips to the zoo, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Grant’s Farm, and St. Louis Symphony that broadened my horizons. The St. Louis Science Center sparked my interest in science and medicine.

If I could say one thing to you, it’s this: a rising tide lifts all boats.

I think we’ve gotten away from the idea of community. We need to understand that we are all interconnected. If a group of us fails, we’re all impacted by that failure as a place. How many large business opportunities has our region lost because of our crime and other issues?

If you look at other cities that are thriving, there seems to be less division and disparity between the haves and have-nots. Those are the cities that people and businesses are really flocking to. If we don’t address the fact that here in St. Louis, roughly 30% of Blacks live in poverty compared to roughly 9% of Whites, we’re not going to be able to move forward.

We have an opportunity in St. Louis to be a really thriving area but until we address the disparities that exist in healthcare, education, and economic opportunity, we will always struggle with crime and other challenges.

It’s not about bringing anyone down. It’s about raising others up to lift us all.

There’s a lot we need to improve on.

We need to improve our education system so that our children growing up can become successful adults, and so our businesses have the best possible talent.

As someone who has worked in healthcare my entire career, I’m especially passionate about removing the severe health disparities in our region. Our maternal and infant outcomes within the Black population are similar to those in third-world countries. That is unheard of in an area with so many great medical institutions. We have some of the best hospitals in the nation. It doesn’t have to be this way—we can fix this.

I think education and healthcare all are linked to economic mobility for individuals and communities. All of these things—education, health, businesses, jobs, a talented workforce—impact each other.

We need to change our mindset if we want different results. We lose a lot of talented, innovative, forward-thinking people to other cities because of our lack of innovative thinking. We need these people to help lead our region and help us thrive.

We need more leaders and organizations to be brave enough to say “this isn’t how it has to be... we can be better.” It seems like such an easy thing, but I don’t hear many people or organizations saying that in St. Louis at all.

We need to get out of this mentality that “this is just how things have always been.” We need to be uncomfortable. We need to be brave and innovative.

I believe that’s the only way we can move forward.

Sincerely,

Kendra Holmes
Chief Operating Office, Affinia Healthcare

“Dear Lou,” is a movement created to spread awareness for “Once and for All”—a plan
to create a stronger, more equitable, and prosperous St. Louis. This plan is based on
the truth that St. Louis is only as strong as all of our communities. In order to create a
stronger St. Louis region for everyone, it’s vital that we address the high levels of poverty in our
underserved communities—once and for all.

https://www.onceandforall.org/
https://www.beyondhousing.org/

“Dear Lou,” is a movement created to spread awareness for “Once and for All”—a plan
to create a stronger, more equitable, and prosperous St. Louis. This plan is based on
the truth that St. Louis is only as strong as all of our communities. In order to create a
stronger St. Louis region for everyone, it’s vital that we address the high levels of poverty in our
underserved communities—once and for all.

https://www.onceandforall.org/
https://www.beyondhousing.org/