Mr. Komos is Vice President, Administration of St. Louis University High School. Mr. Komos joined SLUH in 2011. In addition to his administrative duties, Mr. Komos volunteers as moderator of the school’s student Fishing Club. Prior to joining SLUH, Mr. Komos served in a variety of financial and technology leadership positions with several privately held companies in the St. Louis area. Mr. Komos is a certified public accountant, a chartered global management accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Komos is a 1981 graduate of St. Louis University and holds a B.S.-B.A. with an emphasis in accounting.

Mr. Komos resides in Ballwin, Missouri with his wife Elaine. Their daughter Megan is an Industrial Engineer employed by 3M. Their son Will is a Federal Attorney with the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Komos enjoys Ice Hockey, Fishing, and History.

“I view the importance of educational innovation through two lenses.  First, the rapid rate of global change dictates that educational institutions must evolve to remain relevant to their customers. Secondly, educational innovation can serve as a critical means to help schools create equitable opportunities for all children, especially those residing in under-resourced and under-represented communities.”

“Innovation in elementary education helps to foster and grow the next generation of innovators and creators. That’s why it’s critically important that we as a community ensure the educational and technological gaps are removed, and all students can flourish and thrive equitably.”

“Innovation and technology are both paramount to student development because it allows them to exercise critical and logical thinking through the art of creative transformation.”

Rikki has nearly 25 years of education experience, particularly in life-long and self-directed learning along with operations, logistics, and human resources management. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Tennessee State University, Master of Public Administration degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and Doctor of Philosophy from University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Currently, Rikki is the Human Resources Manager for Parents as Teachers National Center.  At Parents as Teachers, she leads all areas of the organization’s human resources functions with includes maintaining and implementing HR policies, overseeing employee relations, guiding talent acquisition, maintaining training and development, managing compensation and benefits, performance management, and compliance.  Prior to joining Parents as Teachers, she led the programming, training, and education for innovation at the Center for Emerging Technologies and Cortex.   Additionally, she was responsible for daily and special operations plus the management of staff development.  She maintained operational and capital budgets, developed internal processes and procedures for programming, maintained organization procurements plus guiding the organization through personnel performance measures at Harris Stowe State University.  Rikki is extremely passionate about staff development, compliance, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, evaluation, assessment, mentoring and leadership. One of her most important responsibilities to date is that of wife to Christopher and mother to 15-year-old Chloe Marie.    

“Math was the proverbial ‘great equalizer’ for all students of the 20th century. ‘Technology’ is the great equalizer of the 21st.  And “equalizing” must guarantee equitable access for all children to state-of-the-art resources, innovative educators, and filling opportunity gaps of all students. Anything less is unjust. Consequently, more than ever, we must leverage systemic change to unleash innovation, creativity, and technology in combination with what we know about learning, pedagogy, and leading in our schools.”

Dr. Grace Lee (she/her) is the Dean of Faculty at Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS), an independent school in St. Louis, Missouri. She is also the director of the Equity and Justice Academy in Character Education for Character Plus. Previously, she served as a school social worker, ELA teacher, assistant principal and principal in the Jennings, Parkway, Webster Groves and University City School Districts.  In every aspect of school leadership, Dr. Lee brings her social work lens to her role as an educator.  She works to create systems to ensure equity and access. The core of her beliefs centers on elevating student and teacher voices to leverage leadership to shift the educational landscape for change.  Her work focuses on moving away from incentive based and punitive consequences that only perpetuate the school to prison pipeline but truly engage children as active, equal partners in upholding a school community that fosters a sense of belonging, purpose and recognition of self-worth.

Dr. Lee has presented across the region and country at various conferences around character education, restorative practices and racial equity. She has shared the outcome of her work and what a school looks like when students and teachers feel seen, heard and loved. She continues to reimagine school for children in her current educational home, empowering and supporting students and teachers. She hopes that everyone understands their worth and encourages people to walk unapologetically in their purpose.

“Innovation and technology can broaden the horizon of what feels possible for young learners and help them imagine bigger ideas and exciting futures. By giving students and teachers access to technology and encouraging them to be innovative, we are planting the seeds for individuals and communities to look beyond where we are today and take the first steps toward a better tomorrow.”

Heidi Lim has been an educator since 2008, in both higher ed and secondary education. She spent her childhood in Seattle, and then moved to South Korea, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in English and mathematics. She earned her PhD in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and currently works as a writer and editor for the Neurology department at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, in addition to teaching writing classes for the University of Missouri–St. Louis English department. As a teacher, Heidi is an advocate of emotionally intelligent and adaptive approaches to teaching.

Maren Mellem is the executive director of the WGSD Foundation and an advocate for public education. Maren practiced law for many years, championing children, families, and veterans with disabilities. She then transitioned to the non-profit sector, working for the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition as their director of community relations. After receiving a Master in Social Work, Maren became the manager of forensic services for the St. Louis area child advocacy center, leading the St. Louis City and St. Louis County multi-disciplinary child abuse case review teams and serving on the child fatality review boards for both the city and the county.

Maren has conducted many local and national trainings on trauma-informed, evidence-based child welfare investigations. Her experience working directly with those who have experienced trauma combined with her years of studying and navigating complex systems instilled in her a passion for creating more equitable and just policies and systems. Maren believes that trauma-informed, evidence-based policy around education is essential to a healthy, prosperous society and that technology can be a powerful tool to create and more easily disseminate innovative educational practices, leading to more inspired, accessible, and equitable learning.

“Finding new ways to use technology is part of what makes us human, but it doesn’t happen all on its own. Educators and children need support to ensure they have the creative space to be curious and discover how technology can facilitate learning that prepares us all for what’s next.”

Adam Scimone has been working in education since 2010. He began his work as a naturalist, focused on creating emotional connections with natural resources and later transitioned to science education in a classroom. Most recently he ran a middle school gifted program where he differentiated for the needs of unique learners that require more than a one-size-fits-all approach. He is a former Kirkwood School District Teacher of the Year, a Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year, and a recipient of the Emerson Excellence in Education Award among others accolades. Adam has a BS in biology and chemistry from the University of Illinois and an M.Ed. in Science Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri. He is passionate about empowering children and nurturing curiosity.

“Settling for being good gets in the way of being great!”

Dr. Kendall Ware is an educator from St. Louis, MO, who has been in the field for 14 years. He has a bachelor’s in Mathematics, a master’s in Teaching with an emphasis in mathematics, a master’s in Christian Ministry, and a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Maryville University, where his dissertation explored the effects that Black educators have on their Black students in the discipline of Mathematics. He is a Mathematics Education professor and has taught Mathematics at the middle school and high school levels. He has been the director for multiple student success programs for low-income, first generation students and thrives in designing and implementing educational programs. He started his own non-profit entitled the African American Male Mathematics Fraternity (AAMMF) in 2016 where the goal is to increase the success of Black students in the field of Mathematics. Dr. Ware is married to his lovely wife Erika, and they have 2 daughters and a son. Ware’s hobbies include reading, playing golf, finding new music of all genres, and networking.