Andrea Jackson-Jennings will serve as a representative for St. Louis County on the Bi-State Development Board of Commissioners. (Photo by August Jennewein)

Andrea Jackson-Jennings has been working to meet the needs of residents in the St. Louis region for more than a decade with the St. Louis County Department of Human Services and the Regional Response Team.

Going forward, she will continue that mission with the Bi-State Development Board of Commissioners.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson appointed Jackson-Jennings, who earned an EdD from the College of Education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, to the 10-member board, and the Missouri Senate approved the appointment on Jan. 30. She will serve as a representative for St. Louis County and replaces Commissioner Vernal Brown, whose term expired.

St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page commended the appointment in a press release.

“Congratulations to AJ on her appointment to the Bi-State Development Board of Commissioners by Governor Parson,” Page said. “AJ has built a career on helping others including her time as my director of Human Services, and I know her experience and passion for public service will be of great value to the Bi-State Development Board.”

The board provides overall leadership and policy direction for the regional development authority and is comprised of five members from Illinois and five from Missouri.

Bi-State Development works to promote economic development in the region, serving St. Louis and six adjacent counties including Missouri’s Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis Counties and Illinois’ Madison, Monroe and St. Clair Counties. The organization operates enterprises including the Gateway Arch Riverfront, Metro Transit, the St. Louis Downtown Airport and the St. Louis Regional Freightway.

As a commissioner, Jackson-Jennings aims to advance the continuous improvement of mass transit in the St. Louis region.

“Serving the community is one of the guiding principles in my life,” she said. “Mass transit is critical infrastructure for the success of metropolitan areas. That’s not just true for America but for all over the world. It’s especially critical to ensuring that marginalized communities have access. In my daily work, we work in underserved communities by mobilizing the nonprofit, philanthropic and public sectors to collaboratively address life-threatening crises and system dysfunctions.”

Herbert Simmons, chair of the Bi-State Development Board of Commissioners, expressed enthusiasm to begin working with Jackson-Jennings in a press release.

“We welcome Commissioner Jackson-Jennings to the Board of Commissioners,” he said. “We know in her current position, she is focused on building and preserving a more equitable and vibrant region and that directly fits with our mutual efforts to improve the quality of life for residents in our region through our various enterprises.”