Board of Directors
Meet Our Team . . .
Meet the proud Board of Directors for the Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce. We are all professionals committed to the progression of Black owned enterprises.
Veta T. Jeffery
Executive Director
Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce
Marvin Steele
Founder and Manager
Urban Testing Labs
Anthony (Tony) Thompson
Chairman/CEO
Kwame Building Group
Damion S. Jones
Global Head, Inclusion and Diversity
Bayer Company
Alex Fennoy
Executive VP, Community and Economic Development
Midwest BankCentre
Dellena Jones
Small Business Owner
Apollo Carey
Attorney
Lewis Rice
Charlotte VM Ottley
Market Development Strategist Independent Consultant
Patrick Smith
Vice President, Division Operations
Ameren Missouri
Board of Directors
Veta T. Jeffery
Executive Director, Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce
Veta Lynn Thurman Jeffery has spent her life fighting for the rights of others. After graduating from the University of Missouri – St. Louis, Mrs. Jeffery began her professional career advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities. Mrs. Jeffery went on to spend 18 years working in the financial services industry as a licensed professional and the Manager of Financial Services, where she ran agencies gaining national recognition.
Board of Directors
Marvin Steele
Founder and Manager, Urban Testing Labs
Marvin Steele is the founder and manager of Urban Testing Labs, a clinical diagnostic laboratory. His corporate experience began in the early 1970s working with Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). He began as sales engineer and quickly progressed to managing accounts totaling over $40 million in sales.
Board of Directors
Ronald Norwood
Litigation Partner, Lewis Rice
Ron Norwood is a litigation partner at Lewis Rice, a major, St. Louis based law firm. Ron represents various large and small businesses and governmental entities in litigation matters that include general commercial litigation, banking and insurance litigation, health care and products liability litigation, school and municipal litigation, and labor litigation. Ron serves as Chairman of Lewis Rice’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and as Chairman of the HSSU Board of Regents.
Board of Directors
Anthony (Tony) Thompson
Chairman/CEO, Kwame Building Group
Anthony (Tony) Thompson is the Chairman/CEO of Kwame Building Group, Inc. (KWAME), the first African American ESOP corporation in the state of Missouri, which he founded in 1991. Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, KWAME is a construction management/program management firm that serves as an independent agent to the owner. KWAME provides, along with other services, exceptional project management, scheduling, estimating, contract/claims administration and document controls.
Board of Directors
Damion S. Jones
Global Head, Inclusion and Diversity, Bayer Company
Damion Jones is the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Bayer Company within their Talent and Inclusion Division. In his current role, Damion is responsible for outlining the inclusion strategy & partnering with business unit leaders in regions across the company’s global footprint. This includes partnering to outline the global strategic framework, implementing cultural infrastructure and recommending actions in support of the functional & regional oversight of our company culture and operations.
Board of Directors
Alex Fennoy
Executive VP, Community and Economic Development, Midwest BankCentre
Alex Fennoy possesses nearly 25 years of commercial banking experience. He joined Midwest BankCentre in 2010, focusing his efforts on helping local unbanked and underbanked citizens. He has co-chaired the St. Louis Unbanked Tax Force and its Bank On Save Up initiatives since 2013. Fennoy serves on the boards of Better Family Life, Northside Community Housing, the Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion & Equity, the Center for the Acceleration of African American Business and the Jackie Joyner- Kerse
center.
Board of Directors
Dellena Jones
Small Business Owner
Dellena Jones has worked at 911 Hair Salon, at 9193 West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, for thirteen years and has owned the business since 2012.
Board of Directors
Apollo Carey
Attorney, Lewis Rice
Apollo Carey practices in the areas of corporate law, real estate development/construction law, and tax law. His corporate practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions, stock and asset purchases, and business operation and organization. In his tax practice, Apollo represents clients in a variety of tax planning and tax controversy matters. Furthermore, he provides legal advice and practical guidance to for profit, government, municipal, educational, and nonprofit entities and associations.
Board of Directors
Charlotte VM Ottley
Market Development Strategist Independent Consultant
Charlotte VM Ottley was unanimously elected as a board member of the St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce. Her entrepreneurial background matched by her media experience, training skills history of representing financial institutions and civic involvement makes her an excellent addition to the board. Her combined experience, qualifications and access to community leaders, government officials and businesses offer a valued addition to our board.
Board of Directors
Patrick Smith
Vice President, Division Operations, Ameren Missouri
Patrick E. Smith Sr. assumed the role of Vice President, Division Operations in July 2017. In this position, he directs personnel responsible for design, construction, and maintenance of the Ameren Missouri electrical distribution systems that powers the quality of life for more than 1.2 million customers within the state. Smith also has responsibility for Ameren Missouri’s Fleet Operations in addition to leading Hoshin strategy execution for Ameren Missouri’s Customer Operations.