DON DANFORTH III (President)
KELLY TYSON, M.A. (School Principal)
ELIZABETH SERGEL (Director of Business and Administration)
SHELLEY LEEPER (Director of Office Administration)
NIKKI DOUGHTY, M.A. ( Director of Admissions and Placement)
GINGER IMSTER, C.F.R.E (Director of Development)
NANCY RITZEL (Assistant Director of Development)
SARAH LAWRENZ (Director of the Annual Fund)
ANNE SHAW HEINRICH (Director of Communications and Grantwriting)
LINDSEY PEARSON (Director of Extended Programs)
KIM LOWERY (Administrative Assistant)
MARILYN HINTON (Administrative Assistant)
Don Danforth III, School President
ddanforth@cityacademyschool.org
Don co-founded City Academy and assumed the role of President when the school opened in 1999. Previously, beginning in 1993, Don was the Education Director for the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club. He obtained a B.A. in English Writing/History from St. Lawrence University in 1989. Don was the recipient of the 2004 CORO Leadership Center Emerging Leader Award and the Princeton Award for Community Service. He has been named a St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40 community leader and recently received the Opportunity Maker Award from Boys Hope/Girls Hope of St. Louis. Don serves on numerous non-profit boards including the American Youth Foundation, Children's Hospital, MICDS, St. Louis Christmas Carolers Association, and Teach for America. Don and his wife Susannah have four children.
Kelly Tyson, MA, School Principal
ktyson@cityacademyschool.org
Kelly joined City Academy in 2006. She has over sixteen years of experience in teaching and school administration in both public and private settings. Prior to coming to City Academy, Kelly was a district-level administrator in Edwardsville, Illinois. Before working in Edwardsville, she had a seven-year tenure at Community School teaching third, fifth, and sixth grades, with an emphasis on mathematics. She also taught for several years in the Iowa City Community School District serving students with severe behavioral and educational needs. Kelly earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Special Education and Elementary Education from Fontbonne University, and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from the University of Iowa. She has also completed coursework for her PhD at Saint Louis University. In 2003, Kelly earned the St. Louis Science Center/ Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Prize for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science Honorary. In 2004, she earned a Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) scholarship, sponsored by the government of Japan, to conduct a study tour of Japan. Kelly and her husband, Cleveland, have two daughters both of whom attended independent schools in St. Louis.
Elizabeth Sergel, Director of Business and Administration
esergel@cityacademyschool.org
Elizabeth joined the staff of City Academy in 2006. Elizabeth spent several years in the audit department at Ernst & Young prior to accepting a position as the director of finance for The Salvation Army Midland Division, headquartered in St. Louis. In 1994, Elizabeth earned her bachelor of science degree in accounting from Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. She is a volunteer for Cardinal-Glennon Children’s Hospital, The American Heart Association, and The Salvation Army. She lives in north St. Louis with her family.
Shelley Leeper (Director of Office Administration)
sleeper@cityacademyschool.org
Shelley joined the administrative staff in April 2011. Before coming to City Academy, she worked for 12 years as an office manager for a local snack food distributing company. Shelley lives in South County with her husband, Bill, and their son.
Nikki Doughty, MA, Director of Admissions and Placement
ndoughty@cityacademyschool.org
Before joining City Academy in 2005, Nikki was the events coordinator for Churchill Center & School for Learning Disabilities. Nikki attended the Women in International Security Program at Georgetown while pursuing a master’s degree in international relations at Webster University. She has worked with legislators and educators alike in the fields of education and social development and was formerly on the board of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. She is currently on the board of the St. Francis Cabrini School. She is also involved with a number of other non-profit organizations, including the Immigrant and Refugee Women's Project and Changing Prisms of Great Circle.org.
Ginger Imster, CFRE, Director of Development
gimster@cityacademyschool.org
Ginger has served as the school’s director of development since 2001. She is a native Missourian and obtained her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and is the immediate Past President of the local chapter of AFP. She became a certified fund raising executive (CFRE) in 2004. Ginger volunteers with multiple non-profits in the St. Louis community including AFP and the Optimist Club of St. Louis. She lives in St. Louis with her husband Harry and their four children.
Nancy Ritzel, Assistant Director of Development
nritzel@cityacademyschool.org
Before joining City Academy in 2007, Nancy was the assistant director of Hope Happens, a non-profit foundation that funds research for ALS and other neurological disorders. During her four years there, she coordinated all fundraising events, handled all donor correspondence, as well as producing the newsletter and maintaining the website. Prior to working at Hope Happens, she was busy raising her five children and working part-time. She attended Southeast Missouri State University and St. Louis Community College. She lives in University City with her husband Kent.
Sarah Lawrenz, Director of the Annual Fund
slawrenz@cityacademyschool.org
Sarah earned an MA in Non-Profit Administration and a BA in Communications from Lindenwood. She also has an Associates Degree in Network Design from St. Charles Community College. Prior to joining City Academy, Sarah worked in the development offices at the Academy of the Sacred Heart and Villa Duchesne. She lives in St. Charles with her husband Erik and two sons.
Anne Shaw Heinrich, Director of Communications and Grant Writing
aheinrich@cityacademyschool.org
Anne is a graduate of Eureka College, where she majored in English and was a Ronald W. Reagan Scholar. She has more than 20 years of experience in the communications field working for various publications and non-profit organizations in health and education. In addition, she is a nationally published author. Anne and her husband, Bret, live in Kirkwood with their three children.
Lindsey Pearson (Director of Extended Programs)
lpearson@cityacademyschool.org
Lindsey began working with City Academy as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the 2009-2010 school year, and also participated in coordinating the OASIS Tutoring Program for Summer at City 2010. Prior to returning to City Academy, she spent a year as an assistant teacher at the Normandy Early Childhood and Kindergarten Center. Lindsey originates from East Tennessee and completed a Bachelor of Science in Social Work at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville. Lindsey is pursuing a second degree in elementary education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Kim Lowery (Administrative Assistant)
klowery@cityacademyschool.org
Before coming to City Academy, Kim worked for TIAA-CREF Trust Company FSB as an administrative assistant. Prior to that, she sold insurance and worked for Allstate Insurance Company in Collinsville as a receptionist. Kim also worked for the Danforth Foundation for ten years as an administrative assistant. She attended Sanford-Brown College and received a certificate in office technology. Kim and her husband Willie have been married for over twenty years, and they have two children. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, biking, and roller skating.
Marilyn Hinton (Administrative Assistant)