Mark Stansberry – Board Chair
Mark Stansberry, an eleven-year resident of Affton in St. Louis County, retired in November, 2011 after a forty-two year career in health care administration. He has concentrated in mental health services administration since 1986 and has professional experience in not-for- profit, for-profit, and public mental health systems.
From 2002 to 2011, Mark served as Executive Director of BJC Behavioral Health (BJCBH), a large community mental health center that provides services to approximately 5500 seriously mentally ill adults and 1000 seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth. Through its partnership with the Missouri Department of Mental Health and clients it serves, BJC BH provides community-based care through its community support, care coordination, psychiatric care and employment evaluation and training programs in the urban, suburban and rural environments. Mark is a strong proponent of public-private partnerships and has advocated at the federal and state levels on behalf of the public mental health system in Missouri. He is interested in extending his advocacy work to establish programs that assist public mental health clients in progressing toward achieving sustainable independence in their lives. He feels that safe housing, education and employment are essential elements to achieve this independence.
He co-chaired the successful Keeping Kids First campaign, which established the Children’s Services Fund in St. Louis County. This fund provides financial support to over forty agencies delivering mental health services to the children and youth of the County. Mark received his Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Masters in Business Administration degrees from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He is the out-going Chair of the Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri Board of Directors and serves as a member of the St. Louis Psychiatric Stabilization Center Board of Directors.
Lisa Grimes – Treasurer
Lisa C. Grimes is currently Vice President and Assistant General Counsel – Real Estate at RGA Reinsurance Company. She has extensive experience in commercial lending and real estate finance on a multi-state basis and over her 25 year career has documented closed numerous mortgage loans having a total dollar value well into the billions. From 1991 – 1996 Lisa served as counsel at St. Louis Development Corporation representing the Community Development Agency and other quasi-governmental agencies, often working with various non-profit housing corporations in the development and construction of single and multi-family housing. She is a graduate of St. Louis University School of Law.
Laura Cohen – Secretary
Laura Cohen has worked on a variety of community issues in St. Louis for 30 years. She was project director for The Confluence Partnership (1997-2012), coordinating a collaboration of public and non-profit organizations to plan and implement a conservation, heritage and recreation corridor. Previously, Laura served as Assistant to the Mayor of the City of St. Louis (1993-97) where her responsibilities included the master plan for Forest Park and liaison for the Sister Cities program. She also served as Executive Director of Missouri NARAL, a statewide advocacy organization 1983-93. Laura has a B.A. from Hampshire College. She is currently a member of the Missouri History Museum Subdistrict and the board of St. Louis Earth Day.
Peter Czajkowski
Mr. Czajkowski joined Stifel’s Public Finance Department in 1986 and became Director of Public Finance in 2007 after having served as Head of Structured Finance for many years. Mr. Czajkowski also serves as Vice Chair of Stifel Municipal Securities Group’s credit and commitment committee that has facilitated and oversees underwriting commitments. In addition, Mr. Czajkowski has been responsible for the development and implementation of innovative tax-exempt and taxable issues to finance construction projects, minimize short-term borrower costs, refund outstanding debt obligations and maximize returns from invested funds. Under Mr. Czajkowski’s direction, Stifel Public Finance has managed numerous complex, multi-staged transactions and has grown its Public Finance Department from fewer than 20 professionals to approximately 150 professionals across the nation. Mr. Czajkowski’s investment banking work is primarily focused on housing, development and not-for- profit borrowers including hospitals, private universities and secondary schools, senior living facilities and cultural institutions. Notable regional financings have assisted the construction of Ballpark Village, NorthPark including the Express Scripts Headquarters Campus, the renovation of the Peabody Opera House and the St. Louis Downtown Library. Mr. Czajkowski began his career in public finance with another investment banking firm in Chicago. He subsequently joined Stifel Public Finance after receiving an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois. His bachelor’s degree in finance, magna cum laude, was received from the University of Illinois in 1986.
Tracy Howren
Tracy Howren has worked in the field of commercial real estate finance for over 13 years, and is currently leading the Commercial Real Estate practice in the St. Louis region for UMB Bank (2015-present). Previous to her role at UMB Bank, she worked as a commercial real estate lender at Enterprise Bank (2005-2015). Her background includes extensive work in financing affordable and special needs housing utilizing the Low Income Housing Tax Credits incentives among other incentives that benefit affordable housing. As an active member of the community, Tracy serves on the Finance Committee for the St. Louis Equity Fund, and serves on the Executive Board as Secretary for the St. Louis Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). Tracy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in economics from the University of Missouri.
Sam Nuernberger
Sam Nuernberger is a nonprofit professional with a focus and drive surrounding social justice and community issues. With this drive and compassion in mind, and shortly after moving back to St. Louis, Sam began to focus this passion. In partnership with fellow housing advocates, Cynthia Duffe, Francie Broderick and Kelly Wilson, Sam joined their cause to convene Gateway Housing First, assisting the team in community collaboration efforts, start-up fundraising, marketing and essential formation documentation.
Prior to GHF, Sam resided in Chicago, IL where she worked as a Media Associate at Starcom MediaVest Group. She worked on the American Egg Board, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and Samsung accounts, touching on both strategy and activation. In 2011, Sam graduated from The University of Kansas with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications with an emphasis in Strategic Communications.
Today, Sam works for Wyman Center, another St. Louis area nonprofit, as the Advancement Communication Manager, while continuing to stay involved with GHF’s activities and causes.
