Ally Melvin – President

Ally works in wealth management helping individuals and families with their banking and investment needs. By aligning clients’ goals and values to their portfolios, Ally can help ensure families feel financially confident that their investments are having a positive impact in the world. Outside of her professional responsibilities, she serves as a community volunteer at various organizations and is a junior member of the St. Louis Woman’s Club. Ally loves traveling, hiking, and taking her dog Callie on evening walks.

Liz Reeves - Board Secretary

As a fundraising professional, Liz has devoted her career to improving civic and cultural life in St. Louis. Liz joined the St. Louis Public Library Foundation in 2008 to run the community phase of a $20 million capital campaign for the restoration and renovation of the iconic Central Library in downtown St. Louis. As director of the St. Louis Public Library Foundation, Liz is responsible for the management of the foundation’s endowment, capital campaigns, and fundraising efforts to support children, teen, and adult programming throughout the library system. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Liz came to St. Louis to attend Webster University. There she met her husband and the two eventually settled in Clayton where they raised their three grown daughters.

Becky Courtney – Board Treasurer

After retiring from a two-part career in the banking and travel industries, Becky spends her time traveling with friends and family, golfing, reading, and volunteering in various pursuits. Her favorite volunteer activity is cuddling the babies in the NICU at Mercy Hospital. This is her second term serving as SOS board treasurer. 

Joni Karandjeff - Nominating Committee, Chair

Joni is a community volunteer who dedicates her time to organizations that support children, health, and education. Her interests have included the Women of Achievement, Miriam Foundation, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Women and the Kemper, the Women’s Society of Washington University, Greater St. Louis Book Fair, and the United Way of Greater St. Louis, in addition to Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund.

Pat Crowe - Education Committee, Chair

Pat is retired from a more than 40-year career in advertising, marketing, public relations and communications for both corporate and non-profit organizations including the Saint Louis Art Museum. She also serves on the board of the St. Louis Media History Foundation and is an alumnus of Leadership St. Louis and Leadership Belleville. When not volunteering, Pat enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and fitness. Being a part of a collective giving organization fulfills her desire to give back to those organizations who are working to better the St. Louis region.

Dr. Rose Carnes-Bruce – Education Committee, Vice Chair

Dr. Rose Bruce is an award-winning educator who has devoted time and energy to serving urban children in educational settings, providing effective and positive outcomes for children. For many years, Rose has also worked with her public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Saint Louis Alumnae Chapter, by holding leadership positions and actively participating in programming and activities. Throughout the years, Rose has participated with and held leadership positions in other community-based organizations in order to positively impact those in need. She looks forward to broadening the ability to invest further in our community and meet the needs of individuals and families.

Joan Gallagher –  Grants Committee, Chair

Prior to retirement in 2020, Joan was the manager of interior design at Centene Corp. She currently teaches interior design classes at St. Louis Community College at Meramec. A native of St. Louis, Joan has lived in Clayton for nearly 30 years. She is a mother to three adult stepchildren and an adult daughter she hopes to one day recruit to join SOS. In her retirement, Joan hopes to travel to more National Parks and volunteer at St. Louis nonprofits. In her spare time, she enjoys crossword puzzles and paint by numbers. 

Barbara “Barb” A. DuBois - Grants Committee, Vice Chair

After working for 36 years in public accounting, Barb retired as a certified public accountant and principal from Clifton Larson Allen LLP (CLA). While working at CLA she also served on the company’s foundation grants committee as a volunteer grant reviewer. Since joining as a member of Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund in 2020, she has served on the Grants and Finance Committees.  She also has had the privilege of volunteering at past SOS grantees including Earthdance Organic Farm, Eye Thrive, The Collective Thread and Springboard to Learning.  Barb is a recent volunteer at Seton Regional Catholic School, Sweet Celebrations, Cardinal Ritter Senior Services and St. Louis Area Foodbank. She is a married and has two adult children. She loves dogs, pickleball and fitness. 

Nancy Hamilton –  Impact Committee, Chair

Nancy is a retired attorney who specialized in corporate governance, securities law and mergers and acquisitions at two major public companies in St. Louis. She is a member of a number of professional associations and most recently served on the board of Grace Hill Settlement House before its merger with the Urban League. She loves gardening, reading, traveling, and – of course – her activities with SOS.

Joyce Roman - Impact Committee, Vice Chair

Joyce served as chief executive officer of two Nashville-based nonprofits – Safe Haven Family Shelter and NCCI Community – before she moved to St. Louis in 2021. For her professional accomplishments, she earned the title of Nashville’s Most Admired CEO in 2018. Since joining SOS in 2021, Joyce has participated in site visit teams, letter of interest reviews, and joined the impact committee, bringing her extensive experience with grant writing, program evaluation, fundraising, and board and staff development to both SOS and grantees. 

Kathy Frost - Marketing and Communications Committee, Chair

Sarah Woodburn – Membership Committee, Chair

Sarah has an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Illinois. She held analyst and management positions in banking, insurance, and healthcare before becoming a community volunteer on Chicago’s North Shore.  Her favorite roles included grant allocation, board recruitment, volunteer engagement, and health advocacy.  Sarah loves St. Louis and is launching a career reboot while volunteering with SOS and the International Mentoring Program.

Cynthia "Cindy" Pilling – Technology Committee, Chair

Cindy is retired from Mastercard where she was a Principal Engineer leading teams building digital wallet solutions. For 13 years, she has participated as a classroom teacher in Mastercard’s Junior Achievement In a Day program. She also volunteers at the St. Louis Area Foodbank with co-workers from Mastercard. She is an avid cyclist and has traveled on two wheels in many parts of the U.S. and Europe. She and her husband enjoy traveling, golf, and tennis together.

Berta James - Board Member At-Large (Governance)

Berta retired as a business consultant to Make-A-Wish America, where she advised chapters throughout the United States. She has been an active member of SOS since 2014, serving as chair and vice chair of the Grants Committee. She also served on the Impact Committee, and she currently serves on the SOS Advisory Committee. Berta has a breadth of knowledge and experience in the nonprofit sector including nonprofit board governance and strategic planning. She currently serves on the board of Home Sweet Home and volunteers for the Ronald McDonald family room at Mercy Hospital.

Megan Nangle Riley - Board Member At-Large

Megan has served as a senior retirement plan advisor for Moneta for the last 28 years. In addition to her valuable experience and knowledge in employee retirement benefits, investments, and fiduciary responsibility, Megan is well-versed in working with nonprofits. She served as a board member with Ready Readers for six years and is currently a member of the Ready Readers Advisory Board.  She is also involved with a variety of other charities throughout St. Louis.  Since joining Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund in 2020, she has been an active member, attending nearly every event. In her downtime, Megan enjoys traveling and cheering for St. Louis City SC with her husband and three children.

Ellen Schapiro – Board Member At-Large (Book Club)

Ellen retired from early childhood education, serving first as a teacher and later as director of the Ethical Society Nursery School. Ellen’s community experience includes serving on the board of the St. Louis Jewish Community Center, where she also chairs the salon committee on the Nishmah Board, a program which inspires, engages, and supports Jewish women. She also chairs the early childhood education committee and serves as a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility committee. She serves on the program committee of the Scholarship Foundation Board.

Erin Torney - Board Member At-Large             

Erin is a commercial real estate investment advisor at Colliers International. Since joining Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund in 2019, Erin has served as a site visit leader and as a member of the Membership Committee. She also serves as a member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) St. Louis, as well as SOS.

Shelby Schagrin - Advisory Council Chair/Founder & Initial SOS Co-Chair

Shelby is a managing director of investment banking for Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. She founded SOS and co-chaired it with Susan Block for its first three years, 2006-2009.  Her goal was to bring together a group of women and pool their collective resources of time, talent, and money to improve our community.

Susan Block, Founder & Initial SOS Co-Chair/Member At-Large

Susan Block owns The Designing Block, a home décor and designing business.  She volunteers with and sits on the boards of various nonprofit organizations. With Shelby Schagrin, she co-chaired the Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund for its first three years, 2006-2009.