Shift Power

Aimee Wehmeier grew up in St. Charles, MO with a belief she could change the world. While attending the University of Missouri, she found a shared sense of culture and empowerment and, for the first time, didn’t feel ashamed of her disability. After advocating at the state level about her personal experiences, she realized the power of her voice. Currently Aimee is the President of Paraquad, one of the first grass roots Centers for Independent Living in the United States. To this day, Aimee believes that by working together and standing up for what you believe in, we can create meaningful policy change and make the world a better place.

Carlton is an operations executive with extensive experience in strategic planning, business development, purchasing and procurement, customer operations and financial management. Most recently, he served as Acting Executive Director of the National Conference for Community & Justice of Metropolitan St. Louis (NCCJ St. Louis), in addition to being their Board President. From 2017-2020 Carlton was Vice President of Pharma Revenue and Invoicing at Express Scripts, where he managed all aspects of pharma invoicing, including strategic planning, operations and audit. Previously, Carlton worked as Vice President of Global Category Management at Mastercard and as Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management at Peabody Energy. He also spent 6 years at Caterpillar, Inc., where he was Global Director, Service Parts Purchasing & Supplier Relations.In addition to his non-profit work with NCCJ, Carlton serves as Board Chair of the Christian Hospital Foundation and as Advisory Board Past Chair for the Center for Supply Chain Executives at St. Louis University. He has been an adjunct professor at St. Louis University as well, teaching courses in strategic planning and leadership.Carlton earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA in Finance from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Dina van der Zalm, originally from Greer, South Carolina, chose to go to college at New York University to study psychology and Italian. After studying in Florence, Italy and graduating, Dina joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching English in northwest China. When Dina returned to the US, she went to graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia and obtained two Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health. Dina joined MRCC in 2016 as the health care organizer, where her work focused on the intersection of mental, physical, and environmental health and social and economic justice. She currently serves as the Community Engagement Director, overseeing healthcare and other programming, as well as leading fundraising efforts. Dina is constantly inspired by the resilience of individuals, despite the challenges they experience, and people’s willingness to stand up for what they believe in and need, especially in small towns where there is no such thing as anonymity. Dina wakes up in the morning to cat snuggles and a fire in her belly for teaching people how to hold their leaders accountable and build enough power to create sustainable changes for themselves and their communities.

Sara is a St. Louis native committed to supporting the work of systemic change to build a more equitable region. Sara received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Saint Louis University and Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked with evaluating and implementing programs that promote positive youth development.Over the past 6 years, Sara has helped raise over $5million to support youth serving organizations in St. Louis. She brings valuable experience related to resource development, project management, and strategy for organizational growth to Forward Through Ferguson.In 2022 Sara was recognized as one of five Outstanding Young Professional’s by the Global Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), an award recognizing fundraising who display excellence in raising funds, inspiring donors, managing campaigns and dedication to the charitable sector.

Lawrence Simonson is a wingtips-wearing, cargo bike-riding, rad dad from Columbia, Missouri. He grew up as a military brat in small towns all over but dreamed of one day living in a big city and riding his bike to work. His first job out of college required a 40-minute drive that was a drain on his finances and his quality of life. He quit. This experience focused his attention on how transportation options affect our opportunities, and how many people are ignored and held back when having to own and drive a car is the only option. He felt compelled to do something. He took a temporary position with Local Motion and 10 years later he is Chief Executive Officer, advocating for walking, biking, and transit solutions to meet people’s everyday transportation needs. And he’s living his dream of riding bikes to school and work with his kids. Lawrence believes that when a transportation system serves the needs of the most vulnerable people in a community, it works best for everyone.

Sarah Owsley is a data lover from Kansas City, Missouri. She started her career in operations and logistics but yearned to do more good in the world. Sarah returned to school to earn her master’s in social work from the University of Kansas. Learning about oppression and structural racism from some of the best grassroots organizers in Kansas City, she knows the power of people standing up to institutions. She currently uses her special skillset for Empower Missouri. As Policy and Advocacy Director, Sarah helps coordinate campaigns on criminal justice reform and expansion and protection of the social safety net. Passionate about housing as a human right, she leads Empower Missouri’s statewide affordable housing coalition.