Mayor Tishaura O. Jones Announces Stimulus Advisory Board

On Tuesday, Tishaura O. Jones became the first Black woman to be sworn in as mayor of St. Louis. Today, Mayor Jones is announcing her Stimulus Advisory Board, which will advise and assist Mayor Jones by conducting research, building processes, and providing recommendations designed to ensure that American Rescue Plan funds are invested equitably, in line with the community's priorities, and for maximum transformational impact. The Board, which will meet at 3:00pm on Saturday, May 1st, is charged with considering:

• Management & Oversight, by: i) reviewing treasury guidance; ii) researching best practices associated with responsible fiscal stewardship; iii) mapping ARPA funding streams; and iv) designing an executive structure designed to promote equity, transparency, accountability to the community and compliance with the relevant law.
• Direct Relief, by: i) conducting outreach to marginalized communities & institutional stakeholders in order to; ii) assess the immediate needs of city residents; iii) identify opportunities for impactful interventions; and iv) recommend an actionable direct relief framework.
• Process & Planning, by: i) researching best practices for processing and incorporating public input; ii) designing an accessible participatory budgeting process; iii) identifying structural gaps and long term investment priorities and iv) recommending processes designed to empower and engage city residents.
• Data & Evaluation, by: i) compiling data and analysis relevant to assessing the urgent needs of the St. Louis region; ii) conducting a thematic analysis of community input received thus far; iii) identifying opportunities to expand data infrastructure in city government; iv) recommending a system for the independent evaluation of stimulus funded programs, including regular reports to city residents.

The Stimulus Advisory Board includes:

• Darlene Green, Comptroller
• Lewis Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen
• Dr. Megan-Ellyia Green, 15th Ward Alderwoman, City of St. Louis
• Jared Boyd, Chief of Staff to Mayor Jones
• Rodney Boyd, partner with Nexus Group
• Patrick R. Brown, former Chief of Staff in St. Louis Mayor's Office and community development executive with Ameren Missouri
• Lisa L. Cagle, Director of Innovative Services at Bi-State Development/Metro Transit
• Brandon L. Comer, Managing Partner, Comer Capital Group
• Nancy E. Cross, former vice-president of SEIU Local 1
• David Dwight IV, Executive Director at Forward Through Ferguson
• Dara Eskridge, Executive Director of Invest STL
• Nahuel Fefer, Director of Policy & Development to Mayor Jones
• Cristina Garmendia, Principal at URBNRX
• Erica Henderson, Independent Consultant and Strategist, former executive director of St. Louis Promise Zone
• Grace Kyung, campaign director at COVID-19 Regional Response Team
• Molly Metzger, senior lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis
• Sandra M. Moore, Managing Director and Chief Impact Officer with Advantage Capital
• Arrey Obenson, President and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis.
• Jason Q. Purnell, Vice President of Community Health Improvement for BJC HealthCare and Associate Professor in the Brown School at Washington University
• Wally Siewert, former Professor of Public Ethics and Director of Civic Engagement at FOCUS St. Louis
• Blake Strode, Executive Director of ArchCity Defenders
• Mike Talboy, former Missouri State Representative and Director of Governmental Affairs of Burns & McDonnell
• Richard von Glahn, Policy Director of Missouri Jobs with Justice
• Rebecca Weaver, Cities Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy in Missouri
• Aimee Wehmeier, President of Paraquad

Process is policy, and community involvement will be at the center of Mayor Jones' administration. Empowering and engaging citizens in the democratic process improves the quality of public investments and serves as an antidote to the public's lack of trust in government. Mayor Jones also calls on city residents to share their priorities for the $517 million in federal funds St. Louis is set to receive from the American Recovery Act via the People's Agenda page on the Mayor's website.