Board Members

Deidre Griffith is an experienced public health leader, collaborator, and champion for health equity. Deidre joined BJC in April, 2023 as Vice President, Community Health Improvement. In this role, Deidre leads BJC’s community programs and initiatives to advance health equity across the St. Louis region.

Deidre was also an executive leader with a national nonprofit organization, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, where she lead the programmatic vision for equitable, inclusive and just delivery of the organization’s strategies to transform youth-serving environments and empower youth to develop lifelong healthy habits. Furthermore, she has an extensive background in health philanthropy, having served as Program Director at Missouri Foundation for Health where she led numerous strategic initiatives, including Healthy Schools Healthy Communities– an ambitious and collaborative, multi-million-dollar obesity prevention initiative prioritizing schools in disinvested urban and rural communities. Additionally, Deidre’s foundation as a public health leader was critically shaped by her experience in community-based participatory research as a program manager and research coordinator with Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University.

Deidre received her Master of Public Health from Saint Louis University and her Bachelor of Art in Sociology/Environmental Studies from Loyola University New Orleans. She has received numerous recognitions including Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy and she is an alumna of Leadership St. Louis, one of the most prestigious leadership programs in the nation.

Debbie joins the MCE Board with a deep passion for the outdoors and protecting everything in it. Debbie’s love for the outdoors began after venturing out on her first hike in August of 2019. Shortly after, Debbie founded Black People Who Hike (BPWH), a St. Louis based organization that serves as a platform to empower, educate and expose black people to the outdoors.  Debbie believes spending time outdoors is fundamental to our health and that a healthy lifestyle includes a proper balance of nutrition, exercise and adequate time in nature. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Finance and Management from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and has spent the last 10 years working with people in all aspects of management operations including, sales, hiring, training, recruiting and marketing.  Debbie has experience blogging, creating and managing global social media campaigns and building creative content.  She also enjoys hiking, running, camping, golfing, plant based cooking and spending time outdoors with her dog Brownie.

Nygel is currently the Executive Director of the Physical Therapy Program at Washington University School of Medicine .He has been at WashU School of Medicine since 2018, first as an Executive Management Fellow and subsequently as a Manager of Patient Accounts in Neurology and then Manager of Finance & Administration in the Office of Education and the Department of Genetics.  Prior to joining WashU, he was a policy analyst in the area of healthcare justice in Washington DC and he currently hosts The Healthcare Hustle Podcast, a multi-media project created to highlight the careers of leaders of color across the healthcare industry. When he’s not working, Nygel is an avid lover of cooking, Formula 1, and getting out to enjoy the great outdoors.

Caryn has been a resident of St. Louis City for the past 20 years. She is an avid traveler, music lover, soccer fan and dog mom. Caryn and her one-eared border collie, Oliver, can be found hiking the trails, enjoying a dog-friendly patio (weather permitting) or playing at the dog park. Caryn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and an MBA, both from Saint Louis University, as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Management from Webster University. She also earned a J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law and is currently pursuing an LLM in Environmental Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. Caryn began her legal career as an attorney for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, specializing in water law and hazardous substances, including the regulation of Confined Animal Feeding Operations. Caryn is excited to bring her experience and lifelong passion for the environment to the MCE Board.

Dan Chiles was elected to the Springfield Missouri City Council and also served as Mayor Pro Tem. He served on the Springfield Board of Public Utilities for six years and is a former Chairman of the Board for the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks. He serves on the Board of the James River Basin Partnership and is the Board President of Renew Missouri.  He is a founding member of Missouri Guardrails. He is an officer on the Board of the The Ozark Society and also serves as an ad-hoc member of the board of The Schoolcraft chapter of the Ozark Society. Dan is a founding member and manager of the Ybees, a volunteer organization that builds and maintains construction projects at the local YMCA Camp Wakonda. 

Dan holds an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Harvard University. He was a building contractor specializing in timber frame and light bridge construction for six years. He was a manufacturer of heat exchange devices and mechanical systems for 30 years and holds 10 United States Patents. 

Dan and his brother, Mike own and operate Rockspan Farm, a 250 acre farm near Springfield, MO with a focus on native trees, tree crops and a rotational grazing system for Black Angus cattle and sheep.

He is married to Margy and has four children and eight grandchildren. 

Steve has a 40-year track record as an innovator and leader in the environmental, energy, and natural resource fields.  He was appointed for 8 years by three successive governors as Cabinet Secretary to lead the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.  During his tenure, he added over 60,000 acres to the state park system and led the development and construction of the first LEED Platinum state office.  He also represented Missouri and the US by chairing the NAFTA-US Governmental Environmental Advisory Commission (GAC), serving on the EPA’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) for 13 years, and he received the “United States Presidential Environmental Achievement Award” in 1989.  His work was also the subject of a “60 Minutes” episode because of his leadership in negotiating the first agreement in US history for a corporate buy out of the houses of Missouri citizens whose children were being exposed to lead contamination and smelter emissions.  Currently, he is advising the Nature Conservancy and many influential organizations on climate change, energy, environmental, natural resource and carbon management issues.  Steve holds a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Science from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Yale University Environmental and Management Leadership.

Bryan is a 24 year Missouri resident who earned a Master of Public Health degree from St. Louis University in 2005. His studies at SLU focused on Community Health, Biostatistics and Epidemiology. He is one of the founders of Three Spring Farms in Perryville, Missouri, an MCE “Known and Grown” farm providing sustainably raised beef, pork and chicken to the St. Louis region since 2011. He serves on the faculty of the Department of Surgery in Washington University School of Medicine and has been awarded for his teaching efforts. His previous service on advisory boards includes work with Blackburn College, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He joined the MCE Board in 2020. He is drawn to serve the MCE based on a longstanding passion for sustainability and environmental issues, catalyzed by his interactions with the Known and Grown program.

Tunde received his Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Missouri – Columbia where he was inducted into the MU Rollins Society in recognition of his service to the university and outstanding leadership. His doctoral research examined factors influencing climate change decision-making behaviors, adaptation strategies, and community resilience. His work was nominated for several awards including wining the 2022 International Award for Excellence by the International Journal of Climate Change: Impact and Responses, and the Science-to-Action Fellowship award by the USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center.

 While in his home country Nigeria, he taught undergraduate and graduate level courses at the University of Ibadan. His research interest focused on understanding the psychosocial factors influencing decision-making behavior in the natural environment including broader scale concepts such as environmental justice and sustainability. He is interested in understanding perspectives, interests, experiences, and histories of underrepresented groups in land management and natural resource conservation. He intends to further explore the disproportionate impact of climate change especially among marginalized communities. Presently, he works as a data scientist with a Fortune 25 company where he uses his research, statistical, and programming skills to provide data strategy through consultation and analysis. Tunde brings many interdisciplinary and transnational perspectives to MCE.

Roger resides in Columbia, MO and has a background in conservation and regenerative agriculture. His professional experience includes working with the Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, and LAD Foundation. Roger also has many years of experience working as a consultant with various philanthropic foundations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Roger is an Ozarks native, avid birder and hiker, and passionate about learning history including his family genealogy.  

Gwendolyn completed her Ph.D. in History at Washington University in St. Louis.  Her work has been recognized with an Eisenhower-Roberts Fellowship, awarded by the Eisenhower Institute to support research into the Cold War; a Haas Fellowship promoting “understanding of the chemical industries in relation to societal, environmental, health, and safety issues and in the public understanding of science” completed in residence at the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Rachel Carson Prize for Best Dissertation in Environmental History awarded by the American Society for Environmental History.  She brings to MCE a life-long interest in education, advocacy, and preserving the environment for future generations.  Her research focuses on the nuclear history of the United States, especially the implications of nuclear weapons production for human health and the environment.

Eric is an award winning Filmmaker and Media Developer at the Missouri Historical Society where he produces and creates videos, media, and interactive content for exhibits and other institutional needs.  In 2017 he won an Emmy Award for his Missouri Historical Society produced documentary feature Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri. The film reframes the history of Route 66’s birth and places the Missouri Ozarks as a central player in this story. Also in 2017 he won two Telly Awards and two Hermes Awards for his other works for the Missouri Historical Society. In 2014 his feature film Portrait of St. Louis at 250 Years was the cornerstone presentation for the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, screened at numerous venues, and was a key part of the Missouri History Museum’s 250 in 250 exhibit. He has a life-long passion for environmental issues and enjoys paddling, camping, hiking, and, in his younger days, rock climbing.