Our Board of Directors
Naretha A. Hopson
Founder & Executive Director -Ever-Appropriate Etiquette Institute
Naretha Hopson is an international speaker, author and lifestyle coach. She is the founder and president of Ever-Appropriate Etiquette Institute (EAEI). EAEI empowers youth and professionals to "polish" their personal and professional lives though modern and relevant refinement and confidence training.
Clients include Wells Fargo, Regional Business Council, Mariott International and University of Wisconsin. Naretha’s book, Ever- Appropriate Etiquette: 5 Steps to the Professional Presence that Pays is leveraged as Professional Development Curriculum in schools across the nation.
Gloria Reed
Sr. VP, Human Resources - Brado
Gloria has nearly 20 years of combined experience in healthcare and retail management and Human Resources Leadership, currently working in the marketing and tech industry. She is viewed as a valuable business partner with the ability to combine business strategy with human capital competencies.
She is passionate about employee engagement and purpose driven work and is glad to work for organizations that strive to create an exceptional experience for both their customers and their employees.
Jerina Phillips
Member - Lewis Rice, LLC
Jerina D. Phillips maintains a wide-ranging litigation practice representing individuals, companies, and municipalities in a variety of disputes, including complex commercial litigation, employment litigation, media and communications law, and consumer litigation. Jerina has successfully represented clients throughout the United States and across nearly every industry.
Prior to joining Lewis Rice, Jerina clerked for judges at every level of the Missouri state court system, including an internship with the Missouri Supreme Court and a one-year clerkship with the Missouri Court of Appeals after her law school graduation. Jerina also completed a federal clerkship in the Southern District of Illinois.
Kelly Pollock
CEO | Berges Family Foundation
Kelly joined the Berges Family Foundation (BFF) as the inaugural CEO in September 2022, bringing leadership with vision and integrity, relationship and partnership-building expertise, fiscal management and stewardship of resources, and her passion for St. Louis’ non-profit community and the BFF.
Kelly has depth and breadth of leadership experience, including over 24 years at St. Louis’s Center of Creative Arts (COCA), where she became Executive Director in 2010. Under her leadership, COCA, the fourth largest multidisciplinary community arts center in the US and an arts-education leader, pioneered new programs and partnerships that led to significant growth of its arts, education programs, enrollments, and fundraising.
Kelly led COCA’s Create Our Future Campaign, securing $49 million to grow its endowment and expand its historic facility, including its new 460-seat, state-of-the-art theatre – the Catherine B. Berges Theatre – made possible by a gift from the Berges Family Foundation.