THE MODERATORS AND PANELISTS
Kelvin Adams, PhD (he/him/his) President & CEO St. Louis Community Foundation
Trent Ball (he/him/his) Senior Director Postsecondary Equity and Attainment Missouri College and Career Attainment Network
Kelvin Adams, PhD, is an accomplished academic leader and administrator. He serves as the president and CEO of the St. Louis
Trent Ball serves as the inaugural senior director of postsecondary equity and attainment for the Missouri College and Career Attainment Network (MOCAN) system. As senior director, Ball leads MOCAN’s postsecondary attainment strategy including the Postsecondary Equity Network, as well as the organization’s research agenda and advocacy work. MOCAN’s goal is to raise postsecondary completion rates across Missouri, particularly for students coming from low-income backgrounds and Black, Indigenous, Latinx and People of Color (BILPOC) Missourians. MOCAN was built on the success of two prior initiatives: Missouri College Access Network and St. Louis Graduates. MOCAN is a network of institutions, organizations and professionals committed to greater equity in college and career access, affordability and completion. By working for change at the institutional and systems levels, MOCAN aspires to create a postsecondary education system where outcomes are no longer predictable by race or socio-economic status. Prior to joining MOCAN, Ball retired from Southeast Missouri State University as associate provost emeritus and provided leadership and management of the Academic Support Centers and the TRIO Programs. Ball earned a master’s in psychological counseling and therapy from Southeast Missouri State University and a bachelor’s in psychology/criminal justice from Culver-Stockton College.
Community Foundation, a position he accepted in August 2023. Adams served as superintendent of schools for the Saint Louis Public School District for 14 years until recently retiring in December 2022 as the third longest serving superintendent and the longest in the modern era for the district. After retiring from the Saint Louis Public Schools, he briefly served in April 2023 as the associate dean and first Regents’ distinguished professor for the College of Education at Harris-Stowe State University. Adams’ many notable accomplishments during his tenure as superintendent include regaining provisional and full accreditation from the Missouri State Board of Education and increasing the high school graduation rate from 54 percent to 80 percent. Prior to accepting the superintendent position, he was chief of staff for the Recovery School District in New Orleans. He also served as associate dean/interim dean and charter school liaison for the College of Education for Southern University of New Orleans, as a senior high and middle school principal, as an executive director of middle schools in New Orleans and as a classroom teacher. He earned his doctoral degree in educational leadership in administration from the University of New Orleans. Adams also earned a master’s in elementary education from Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from Northeast Louisiana University. Adams, because of his accomplishments as an academic leader and administrator, is also the 2024 DEI Conference Champion for All Awardee. The Webster University DEI Conference Champion for All Award is presented annually to an influential leader within the diversity, equity and inclusion space. Awardees are those who over the course of their career/community service have championed and made great strides to raise awareness of marginalized and often overlooked diverse voices. Past awardees have included Dr. Donald M. Suggs, Jackie Joyner- Kersee, Valerie E. Patton, Mayor Ella Jones and Lyah B. LaFlore-Ituen.
Jennifer Bell (she/her/hers) Director of Financial Aid Webster University
Jennifer Bell is the director of financial aid at Webster University and has worked within the student financial
aid realm in various capacities for nearly 15 years. Throughout her career in student financial aid, Bell’s work has centered on promoting equitable pathways to higher education, as well as collaborating to create successful outcomes for first-generation, lower income and other minoritized students through outreach, financial literacy education and policy advocacy efforts. In
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