Preparing for Career Pivots
Date/Time
Date(s) - December 03, 2019
7:00 am - 9:00 am
Location
Spire Innovation Center at Bank of America Plaza
800 Market St.
St. Louis, MO 63101
Online registration is now closed. If you need to make changes to your registration, please contact Kayla Dix at kaylad@focus-stl.org.
“No matter our age, life stage, bank account balance, or seniority, we are all being asked to navigate career changes much more frequently than in years past. … Whether you have hit a plateau in your perfect-on-paper job, are considering taking on a new role in your current job, are thinking about starting your own business, or you want to move into a new industry altogether, one thing remains clear: your career success depends on your ability to determine your next best move.” – Jenny Blake, Author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One
With an average employee tenure of four to five years, the ability to plan and manage career transitions is critical. How can you be ready? Join us for an engaging discussion with professionals across industries as they share their stories and experience with career pivots.
Registration and networking will begin at 7 a.m., followed by a moderated discussion at 7:30 a.m.
Panelists
- Dr. Isaac Butler, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, St. Louis College of Pharmacy
- Dawn Gipson, Director of Marketing, Centene Corporation
- Dr. Raegan Johnson, Public Communications Manager, Spire
- Jorge Riopedre, Departing President, Casa de Salud
- Erin Warner Prange, Executive Director, The Big Muddy Dance Company
Cost
$10 for FOCUS members (be sure to log-in)
$20 for non-members
Light breakfast will be provided.
About Our Speakers
Dr. Isaac Butler is Vice President for the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and Adjunct Assistant Professor at St. Louis College of Pharmacy. As a certified Diversity Facilitator and Gallup Strengths Finder Coach, Dr. Butler owns a leadership consulting company called Think-Dream-Lead. Prior to starting this company Dr. Butler spent most of his career at Express Scripts leading teams in sales, account management, audit, and product development. He is co-founder of the BESt Pharmacy Summer Institute and has served on the boards for the Barnes Jewish Hospital Foundation and the Ark of Safety Christian Church. Dr. Butler has earned three degrees: Doctorate of Pharmacy, Masters in Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He is a graduate of the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Fellows and FOCUS St. Louis Leadership programs.
When Dawn Gipson was in middle school, she took a career assessment test. Twice. And both times, the results were bafflingly the same. Firefighter. Confused and disappointed, she tossed the results, never to think of them again. What she didn’t realize at the time was that this was her very first career pivot. Dawn and firefighters have many skills in common. They are excellent communicators, quick thinkers, and detailed organizers able to remain calm under pressure. Dawn used those skills for 18 years at FleishmanHillard, with stints as a graphic designer, project manager, event producer, and creative program director. Most recently, she was one of the agency’s diversity & inclusion champions, with her efforts earning her a St. Louis Business Journal’s Diverse Business Leaders Award in 2018. Today, Dawn is a Director of Marketing at Centene Corporation. When she’s not battling communications infernos, you can find her on her yoga mat, teaching two days a week at OmTurtleYoga.
Dr. Raegan Johnson graduated magna cum laude from Saint Louis University with a B.A. in communications and a certificate in African American Studies. She has an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a doctorate in public policy studies – with an emphasis on urban and community development — from Saint Louis University. Raegan has worked in the fields of magazine and newspaper journalism, public relations and both corporate and nonprofit communications. She is currently the Public Communications Manager at Spire. Raegan has participated in the FOCUS Emerging Leaders Program, the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative’s Fellows Program, and the FBI St. Louis Citizens Academy. She sits on the St. Louis Symphony Advisory Council, the Regional Business Council’s Young Professionals Network Steering Committee, and the United Way’s Charmaine Chapman Leadership Society Cabinet. In 2010, Raegan helped create and launch the INSPIRE Fashion Show, which has generated more than $500,000 for the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
Jorge Riopedre recently stepped down as president of Casa de Salud, where he’s served since shortly after the clinic opened in 2010. He is the former executive director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis. Jorge is a graduate of LSL 2008-09, was a 2015 USA Eisenhower Fellow, and served on the St. Louis City Board of Health. He has served on numerous advisory boards, including for the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Arts & Sciences, the Brown School of Social Work, and the Nine Network. He was appointed by former Governor Matt Blunt to the Hispanic Business, Culture & Trade Commission, and former Governor Jay Nixon to the Missouri Complete Count Commission. Jorge was previously named a Minority Business Leader by the St. Louis Business Journal and received the Community Service Award from the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Erin Warner Prange holds her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Spanish from Colorado State University, and her Masters of Fine Arts in Arts Management and Leadership from Webster University. In 2006 Erin taught dance for the Boston public school district through the Topf Center for Dance Education and performed for Fusionworks II in Providence, RI. Since back in St. Louis, Erin founded the modern dance program at Dance Center of Kirkwood, served as Education Program Coordinator for aTrek Dance Collective, and was Performing Arts Instructor at the Soulard School. She started at The Big Muddy Dance Company both as a dancer and Managing Director until she took on the role of Executive Director in 2012, and then stepped full-time into that position in 2017. She currently serves as a volunteer for several organizations, including Variety the Children’s Charity, Sign of the Arrow, RISE Women’s Collaborative, and First Congregational Church.