Keynote Speakers

Karen Foss – Senior Vice President Communications and Brand Management Ameren Corporation

Karen Foss was named senior vice president, Communications and Brand Management, of Ameren Corporation in April 2009. She is a member of the corporate executive leadership team and is responsible for Ameren corporate- level communications and for managing the corporate image and brand in cooperation with business segment communications teams. Corporate level external and internal communications teams report to Foss.

Foss joined AmerenUE, the corporation’s Missouri utility, in February 2007 as vice president, Public Relations.

Foss is a nationally recognized former newscaster who spent more than 25 years as anchor of KSDK-TV in St. Louis.

The six-time Emmy award winner was in 2005 inducted into the Silver Circle by the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences for her 25 years of journalistic excellence. Foss is equally well known for her community contributions. Foss has also actively supported a range of organizations from The Salvation Army to Paraquad—a non-profit dedicated to helping the disabled establish homes and jobs to become more independent.

In 1983, Foss received the “Paraquad Service Award.” She also was the first recipient of the St. Louis Ambassadors’ “Spirit of St. Louis” award in 1985. The St. Louis Suburban Journals named her “Woman of Achievement” in 1989. Also in 1989, the YWCA honored Foss with the “Special Leadership Award” for her long-standing volunteer commitment to improving the lives of the disabled and youth in St. Louis.

In 1992, the St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP honored Foss when she became the first television reporter to receive the “Roy Wilkins Freedom Award.” She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, her hometown.

Jen White – Leadership Development Coordinator at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois

Jen White is currently the Leadership Development Coordinator at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois. She is very proud to work with the finest mission-driven, values-based, community-focused healthcare system in Central Illinois. Her unique style of "info-tainment" brings delight...and new knowledge to people of all ages and disciplines.

Jen is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She has a B.S. from Bradley University in Speech Communication, Women's Studies and Creative Writing. Why? Because she wanted to be a stand-up comedian. After graduating from BU (having achieved 8 national titles in competitive public speaking), Jen quickly realized that stand-up comedy is really, really, hard...and doesn't help with student loan payback. So she went to Illinois State University to coach their speech team (achieved yet another national title), fulfill a teaching assistantship, and she accidentally achieved an M.S. in Organizational Communication while she was there. Now she is a student once again – with the lofty goal of achieving her SPHR certification summer 2010.

Jen has worked for nearly 20 years as a leadership consultant with organizations ranging from Caterpillar to Heartland Bank & Trust, the Peoria Civic Center to Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America.

She has a wonderful family – a fun-loving, hard-working husband of 9 years and a 7-year old son who’s very proud to be a 1st grader doing 3rd grade math.

B.S. Speech Communication/Women's Studies/Creative Writing,
Bradley University, 1993
M.S. Organizational Communication,
Illinois State University, 1995
McLean County Leadership, 2000
Methodist Medical Center Employee of the Year, 2006
Certified Facilitator for DDI Learning Systems,
Dimensions Development International, 2006
Certified in Designing and Implementing Succession Management Systems,
Linkage Inc., 2007