Our Board
Rex Sinquefield - President & Chairman of the Board
Raised in St. Vincent Home for Children in St. Louis, Rex graduated from Saint Louis University with a business degree before pursuing an MBA from the University of Chicago. Along with associate David Booth, Rex formed Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) in 1981, which today oversees more than $158 billion in assets worldwide. Rex's wife, Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, who has an MBA and a Ph.D. in Demography from the University of Chicago, was instrumental in the achievements of DFA as well.
Through the Sinquefield Family Foundation, Rex and Jeanne support organizations that are focused on music, children and education. Rex recently provided the seed capital for the creation of The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, which is a destination for both new and seasoned chess players in Saint Louis.
Rex Sinquefield is a life trustee of DePaul University and serves on the boards of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri History Museum, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Symphony and Saint Louis University. He is also a member of the Investment Committee of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and the recipient of numerous awards for scholarship and service.
Rachel Keller Brown - Treasurer
Rachel Keller Brown is president of Keller Capital Group, LLC, a fundraising and political consulting firm and co-founder of Pelopidas, LLC, a comprehensive, influence management firm that offers issue advocacy, non-profit fundraising, capital campaign development, and government and public affairs. She also is chief of staff for Missouri based philanthropist, Rex Sinquefield, for whom she advises and directs political and philanthropic giving programs, manages issue advocacy in the areas of education reform and tax policy and oversees daily operations and special projects. Prior to these positions, Keller Brown’s distinguished career covered every corner of the State of Missouri, and included issue, candidate, and capital fundraising; organizing statewide grassroots campaigns and developing coalition strategies. Throughout the years, Keller Brown has forged strong relationships with business and civic leaders and elected officials in Missouri and throughout the United States.
Susan Barrett - Secretary
Susan Barrett is Director of Art and Culture for Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield. She is the president of RKL Consulting, which oversees the partnership of a Saint Louis art gallery and plans to open in the city of Saint Louis. In addition, Ms. Barrett is the art consultant to a private collection that focuses on American Regionalism.
Prior to this fortunate opportunity, Ms. Barrett worked at Metro’s Arts in Transit managing the Cross County art projects and installations. With a budget of over $1.1 million, this was the largest commitment Arts in Transit had made to permanent, site-specific artworks.
Ms. Barrett has almost twenty years of experience in the art world in Saint Louis and New York, including art publishing, gallery work, and education and continues to work on and display her own art.
Ms. Barrett is a board member on Metro’s Art in Transit, Belas Artes Multicultural and Art Gallery and was recently elected to Landmarks Association.
Ms. Barrett holds a Masters of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, a BA in Comparative Arts and French and a BFA from the same university.
Bill Wright - Board of Directors
Bill served in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduated from Macalester College with a B.S. in Business Administration. He holds the Chartered Life Underwriter designation from the American College of Life Underwriters and devoted his career to employee benefits, where he held various management positions. Bill learned to play chess in 1942 and first entered tournament play in the 1980's. His USCF rating places him in about the middle of the pack of all tournament players. He has taught chess in several elementary and middle schools and currently teaches at Solomon Schechter Day School, where his teams have won a number of trophies in the Gateway Chess League. He is a Director and Treasurer of the Missouri Chess Association and has a small chess business: CHESS/WRIGHT, which operates mainly at scholastic tournaments. He is a collector of chess sets and a member of Chess Collectors International. Residents of Kirkwood, he and his wife Ann have four adult children and six grandchildren.
Jim Voelker - Board of Directors
Jim was born in Akron, Ohio, and had some successes in Ohio chess, winning the Cincinnati Championship and tying for first in the Ohio Championship. Jim moved to Missouri in 1992 and was Missouri Champion in 1994, 1998, and 2004. Jim tied for first in the Senior Master section of the 1998 U.S. Class Championships (thanks to some luck and a low turnout), losing a tie-breaker game to IM Michael Brooks. Jim has dabbled a bit in correspondence chess and has a USCF correspondence chess rating of 2378. Jim is a former member of the Missouri Chess Association Board of Directors and is a former editor of the Missouri Chess Bulletin. He has maintained a website for Missouri chess news since 1998. Jim has BA, MLS, and JD degrees and works as a law librarian. He and his wife Joan live in Kirkwood with their son Andy.
Kevin Short - Board of Directors
Kevin Short is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Clayton Capital Partners, a St. Louis-based investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition advisement. In 2007, Thomson Financial, FactSet Mergerstat and Investment Dealers’ Digest all ranked Clayton Capital Partners as a top U.S. M&A firm.
As an expert in mergers and acquisitions, Short writes and speaks frequently on the topic to groups of business owners, advisors to business owners and academics. Groups include: Business Enterprise Institute, Inc., the St. Louis Association of Evaluation Professionals, Edward D. Jones and Washington University. In addition to contributing to various national trade and business publications, Short is the co-author of Cash Out Move On: Get Top Dollar—And More—Selling Your Business (Business Enterprise Institute, Inc., 2008).
Mr. Short devotes his free time first to his family, and second, to the education of children from low-income families. He is an active Board Member for the Today & Tomorrow Educational Foundation, the Laclede Gas Dollar Help program, and the Board of Education for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Mike Lueken - Board of Directors
Michael A. Lueken: Graduate of St. Louis university in 1973 with a BS in Finance. Currently a principle and officer (President) of General Marine Services, Inc. GMSI and affiliates operate barge terminals and provide transportation services on the inland waterway.
Active in Community activities and enterprises. Appointed by Gov Ashcroft to a 6 year term on the 22nd Judicial Commission, appointed to the St. Louis Election Board as Secretary 2003-2005 by Gov Holden. St. Louis Zoo, Board of Directors (representing City of St. Louis)
Member St. Raphael Catholic Church, past Council member and President of the school board. Current chair of the Legacy of Faith endowment campaign.