This year’s recipients of the Trailblazer Awards are (from left) Chanua Ross, Grace Desjardins, Ekin Pellegrini, Lynn Staley, Dawn King and Adella Jones. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)
What exactly does it mean to be a trailblazer?
For Terry Freerks, a clinical psychologist, noted swimmer and coach and University of Missouri–St. Louis donor, it means using your fortitude, intellect and creativity. For Maria A. Ellis of Girl Conductor, it means to blaze pathways for everyone who comes after you. And for Sheila Grigsby, an associate professor and the Dean’s Fellow for Community Engagement in the College of Nursing, it means to be a forward-thinking leader who makes history – oftentimes, not even realizing that you’re doing so.
Freerks, Ellis and Grigsby – each a past recipient of the Trailblazers Award – had a chance to reflect on the legacy of the awards during the event’s 30th anniversary celebration on Monday evening. Since 1995, the annual awards have honored the achievements of exceptional individuals who continue to “blaze trails” on campus and in the greater St. Louis region.
“I’m standing on shoulders of those who have gone before me, and they have done great things, great works,” Rita Heard Days, a former Missouri senator and representative and the current chair of the St. Louis County Council, said in a video created for the event.
This year’s Trailblazers Awards were presented to Grace Desjardins, an UMSL senior studying political science; Adella Jones, chief of staff in the Office of the Chancellor; Dawn King, a senior AI/ML geophysical scientist in the Office of Geomatics: Geosciences Division at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; Ekin Pellegrini, associate dean and founding director of the Doctor of Business Administration Program in the College of Business Administration; Chanua Ross, the director of partnerships and program operations in the College of Education’s Department of Teacher Preparation; and Lynn Staley, a teaching professor in the Department of English and faculty affiliate in Gender Studies.
Over 30 years, the awards have honored individuals with tremendous impact across the St. Louis region and beyond. Awardees have included pivotal figures on the UMSL campus such as the late former Chancellor Marguerite Ross Barnett, the first Black woman to lead a major American university, and former Chancellor Blanche Touhill, who greatly expanded academic programming at UMSL by adding more than 30 degree programs.
Former Chancellor Blanche Touhill took the stage to honor UMSL’s three female chancellors.
Barnett, Touhill and current UMSL Chancellor Kristin Sobolik were honored in a special video at this year’s event, and Touhill took the stage to reflect on the legacy of UMSL’s three female chancellors. She credited Barnett for building a bridge between UMSL and the community, noted how she herself grew UMSL’s academic programs and credited Sobolik with getting the campus ready for the next 30 years.
Other Trailblazer recipients have included Kathy Osborn, president and CEO of the Regional Business Council; Anita Manion, an assistant professor political science at UMSL; Natissia Small, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri; and Jessie Bleile, a former geospatial professor of practice at UMSL; in addition to a host of phenomenal faculty and staff.
Myron Burr, UMSL’s program manager for strategic initiatives, hoped this year’s event would not just honor a new class of Trailblazers, but also showcase the history and impact of three decades of blazing trails.
“It’s an extreme honor to be thought of as someone who is blazing trails for others,” Burr said. “A lot of our past recipients would say that they didn’t necessarily see themselves as trailblazers. They were just doing their part in servicing their community and making sure that there was a path for others behind them. I think that once you are awarded the Trailblazer award, it kind of makes you reflect on your career, on your life and the journey that you’ve taken to get here. But it’s always nice to be appreciated, especially as somebody who is opening doors or breaking glass ceilings or moving the conversation forward for a significant group of people. Our Trailblazers not only open up paths; they also illuminate and light the path for others to say, ‘This work is important. I can do this work.’”
Carol Daniel, director of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ Save Our Sisters Empowerment program and a senior producer and host at Nine PBS, hosted the event, and Sheila Burkett, the co-founder and CEO of Spry Digital and a 2014 Trailblazer recipient, delivered the keynote address.
Sheila Burkett, a 1989 alum, 2014 Trailblazer and co-Founder and CEO of Spry Digital, delivered the keynote address.
In her closing statement, Burkett asked the audience, “Who are you going to lift up? Who are you going to mentor? And what kind of system are you going to help build? Because when we educate, mentor and lead, not just for ourselves, but for each other, we don’t just move forward. We move forward together. And as Trailblazers, we have that responsibility and the privilege to build workplaces and communities that support diverse individuals, honor the whole person and create a culture where everyone can thrive and belong.”
The event also featured performances by Bethany Worrell, UMSL’s director of vocal studies, accompanied by pianist Spencer Smith. Worrell performed selections including “At Last, to Be Identified!” with music by Jake Heggie and poetry by Emily Dickinson; “I Shall Not Live in Vain” with music by Jake Heggie and poetry by Emily Dickinson; and “Night” with music by Florence B. Price and poetry by Louise C. Wallace.
Read more below about the 2025 class of Trailblazers:
Grace Desjardins is a senior at UMSL majoring in political science with a minor in public law. Throughout her time at UMSL, she has actively engaged in leadership roles, serving as president of the Political Science Academy, president of the UMSL chapter of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, treasurer of Pride Alliance and speaker of the SGA Assembly. She is also a member of the Pierre Laclede Honors College and currently serves as UMSL’s Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow. This year, Desjardins is most proud of her achievements with ASUM, where she led efforts to send three interns to the state capitol as legislative interns, marking the highest number of legislative placements in UMSL’s history with ASUM. Her passion for public service drives her to contribute to civic collaborations within the St. Louis community. This commitment is reflected in her current internship with the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, where she works to inform voters, advocate for voter rights and promote civic engagement. Grace plans to remain at UMSL to pursue her MPPA, followed by doctoral studies to conduct political analysis research. Her long-term goal is to serve as a public servant in the Missouri legislature. She is truly grateful for this recognition and honored to be part of such an incredible cohort. With a steadfast commitment to meaningful change, she looks forward to continuing her efforts to make a lasting impact on the community and represent UMSL with pride.
Adella D. Jones is a veteran strategist and communications professional with experience in legislative affairs, community engagement, media relations and corporate reputational management. She was named chief of staff for the Chancellor’s Office at UMSL in January 2022. Jones has a portfolio of experience that includes her service as the public information officer for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. She served as the St. Louis press secretary for former U.S. Congressman Richard A. Gephardt, as well as vice president of community and government affairs for the Bi-State Development Agency and Metro Transit. As a communications professional with roots in television news as an assignment editor, Jones has developed and delivered communications strategies for numerous Missouri and St. Louis-based initiatives, including a successful campaign to fund the bi-state region’s mass transit system, as well the launch of the Missouri subsidiary of national health care enterprise Centene Corporation. Jones is a long-time member of the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists and a past director of the organization’s Minority Journalism Workshop. She is a member of the board of directors of the American Red Cross Greater St. Louis Chapter and Citizens for Modern Transit.
Dawn King is a senior AI/ML geophysical scientist in the Office of Geomatics: Geosciences Division at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. During her academic career, King made significant scientific contributions to the understanding of phase transitions in non-linear and agent-based evolutionary systems. In industry, she worked as a data science consultant developing enterprise-level solutions using cloud-based technologies. She has now focused her expertise toward developing modernization practices for use by NGA scientists through her work on artificial intelligence for modeling the Earth’s gravitational field with her colleagues from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. As a proud UMSL physics alum and recipient of UMSL’s 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award, King was crucial to the development and signing of the Educational Partnership Agreement between NGA and UMSL, which aims to develop a variety of academic courses for careers in geodesy, geophysics and geospatial intelligence. She formed the Geoscience and AI Application Lab at NGA, where she is engaged in developing a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of government, industry and academic scientists who focus on the growth of budding research scientists working on NGA’s hardest mission-related problems. She believes the best science is born out of collaboration and mentorship.
Ekin Pellegrini is associate dean, founding director of the Doctor of Business Administration Program, academic director of the online MBA program and associate professor of global leadership and management at UMSL. Pellegrini is also highly engaged in the academic and regional community. She currently serves as the president of the Executive DBA Council and sits on several regional boards, including St. Louis Forum and the International Institute of St. Louis. She is also a co-founder of the Immigrant Professional Women Network in St. Louis. Her educational credentials include a PhD in business administration from University of Miami, MS in management from University of Florida and a BA in sociology from Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey. Prior to graduate school, Pellegrini held multiple management positions at Accenture, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in Istanbul. She is a past recipient of the Anheuser-Busch Excellence in Teaching Award and the National Society of Leadership and Success Excellence in Teaching Award. Her research on mentoring and leadership has been published in numerous elite scholarly journals and cited over 3,800 times. Pellegrini and her husband immigrated to the U.S. over 20 years ago and live in Chesterfield with their two children. In her free time, she enjoys playing backgammon and watching Turkish movies.
Chanua Ross is a dedicated educator, leader and mentor with a strong commitment to equity, innovation and excellence in education. She serves as the director of partnerships and program operations in the UMSL College of Education’s Department of Teacher Preparation, where she spearheads initiatives that enhance teacher preparation, professional learning and translational research. With 16 years of experience in public education, including a distinguished tenure as a principal, Ross has led transformative initiatives in learning science, literacy, special education, STEM innovation, curriculum design, collaboration and data-driven decision-making. Her leadership played a pivotal role in driving schoolwide improvement, earning her school recognition from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a high-performing reward school. Ross earned her EdD in educational practice from UMSL and remains deeply engaged in educational research and instructional innovation. As program director, she collaborates with local school partners to identify educational needs and develops programs that support alternative certification pathways, new teacher development and innovative teaching strategies. She also mentors translational post doc fellows and conducts seminars as a co-primary investigator and core leadership team member, ensuring strong university-school partnerships and continuous program support.
Lynn Staley is a teaching professor in the Department of English and faculty affiliate in Gender Studies. She coordinates the Business Writing Program and is an advocate for community engagement, service-learning and inclusive practices. She writes short fiction and poetry and is a grateful UMSL alum and first-generation college graduate. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Kalamazoo College in Michigan (her home state), her MA at UMSL and her PhD at Saint Louis University. She is a jazz lover and proud stepmom of three who shares her home with her husband, Steve, and her herd of rescued dogs and cats. She is a former faculty athletics representative for UMSL and has been the recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Award for Non-Tenure Track Faculty, the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence to a Non-Tenure Track Faculty Member, the UMSL Hero Award and the Legendary Triton Award. Staley is a member of UMSL’s Voices of Jubilation Gospel Choir.
