OUR BOARD
Bill
Krenn
Board President
& Treasurer
Bill Krenn brings to the Assisi House Board his experience as CEO and CFO of a local manufacturing company. Bill Krenn has been a servant of homeless outreach for the last 35 years, with emphasis on those experiencing severe mental illness. Beginning with serving at St. Patrick Center’s Shamrock Club in 1984 then founding the original Assisi House, launching one of the first Housing First models of accommodation in 1989. Also serving as a winter outreach advocate with Winter Patrol in the early 1990’s then continuing with Saint Louis Winter Outreach. The original Assisi House is still in operation along with the next five houses established in this new development.
Jerry
King
Jerry King retired from his real estate development career after over 40 years in the industry, and over 30 years directing his own housing development companies. Mr. King developed over 1,500 units of housing in the City of St. Louis, both market-rate and low-income, new construction and rehabilitation, and for ownership as well as rental. His experience in this field is utilized at AHI in his role in directing the acquisition and renovation of the Assisi House buildings.
Kevin Donohue
Kevin has been a faithful volunteer of Assisi House over the last year and recently transitioned to a role on the Board. His early career just out of college was as a psychiatric social worker, and though he has spent the last 23 years as a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones, those early years have deeply informed his current involvement & relationships with Assisi House residents. He has been married to his wife Jen for 17 years and together they have three children. Kevin's experience with Assisi House started first by getting to know the residents of the houses & he is thankful to be a part of the mission. His newest role has been serving as the chair of the fundraising committee.
Rochelle Nevels
Bio to follow.
Derrick
Thomas
Bio to follow.
Tyrone
Hobbs
Bio to follow.
Deborah Sheperis
Secretary
A retired healthcare executive, Deborah Sheperis has extensive people management and organizational skills, plus a masters degree in counseling. Ms.Sheperis combines her experience and skills to assist with organizational planning, and actively participates in business oversight of Assisi House operations, and day-to-day management of existing residences.
Kimberly Brown
Kimberly comes to Assisi House with 23 years of experience in direct care for unhoused individuals, with specific experience in the mental health and substance use fields. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy Administration, is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and Certified Dementia Practitioner. Though Kimberly has known of Assisi House for many years, she was formally introduced to us by current board member, Rochelle Nevels. Kimberly's wealth of experience is a foundation for the work ahead and continuing to provide this kind of service is a goal she says she can never see herself "completing".
Lisa
Cagle
Lisa works as the Director of Innovative Services Metro Transit in Downtown St. Louis, as well as serves as Executive Director of Blackrock Consulting, a majority woman-owned local business. She also serves as the Board President for earthday-365, an environmental nonprofit that runs the annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival in Forest Park, as well as the Green Dining Alliance and other programming. Most of her work is cross-sector: making connections between things that other folks might not see as related in any way. She focuses on collaborations that do the hard work of building a more inclusive, more equitable, more sustainable, more just, and more joyful world.
Chris
Kruetz
Chris is a real estate investor in St. Louis and houses many tenants who receive assistance from a variety of service agencies in the city. He was first introduced to Assisi House by board members, Teka Childress & Rochelle Nevels after building a relationship through housing their clients. Since joining the board, Chris has jumped right in and now serves as the chair of the Real Estate Committee as we work toward our next building for Assisi House.
Teka Childress - Emeritus
Teka Childress is a forty-year advocate of unhoused persons, starting at age twenty. She lived for over twenty years at a shelter with homeless women and children at Karen Catholic Worker House and then started a co-housing community with some of their formerly unhoused families. She has worked 16 years as a outreach worker to unhoused persons with mental illness for a community mental health center and has been an ongoing member of St. Louis Winter Outreach. She is currently part of a coalition to break down barriers for homeless persons to be sheltered and housed in neighborhoods throughout the city.
Interested in joining the Assisi House Board?
Please reach out to our Board President, Bill Krenn at wjkrenn@gmail.com