OUR LEADERSHIP
Institutions are built by communities.
Not individuals.
This was never meant to be an organization built around one person. It was meant to belong to South County.
FOUNDING CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER
Taylor Miller
Effective July 16, 2026, Taylor Miller — a well-known advocate in the St. Louis area for business and community growth — has been named Founding Chief Impact Officer of The South County Chamber.
Taylor is no stranger to this kind of work. She was one of the original employees at NexCore, where she led the transformation of the Fox Park neighborhood from 2017 to 2020.
South County has incredible potential. I'm honored to help build an organization committed to strengthening businesses, developing leaders, and creating opportunities that will benefit our community for generations to come.
TAYLOR MILLER
Read the full announcement →HOW WE'RE BUILT
Four groups. One community.
Nobody steers this alone. Here's who guides it, who leads the work, who backs them up, and who it all belongs to.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
People heavily invested in this community — financially, emotionally, and every other way that counts. They help guide the organization and shape the direction it takes.
See the group 02CHAMBER LEADERSHIP
The people running the work day to day. They set the culture, build the partnerships, and answer for whether any of this actually gets done.
See the group 03COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
People who take a cause and run with it. Champions spearhead the programs and initiatives that put our commitments into action — and they own them start to finish.
See the group 04AMBASSADORS
People passionate about South County who stand behind our Champions and help pull off the big goals. They're from here. They're part of this.
See the group
THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
Who is on it.
The Council is being assembled as a small group of leaders with genuine ties to South County, willing to look beyond the interests of their own organizations. More names are being announced in the coming weeks.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL 2026–2027
Jim Shelvy
FOUNDER
Grew up in South County and founded the Chamber in 2026, after relocating NexCore here and deciding that opening a business was not enough.
LinkedIn →LEADERSHIP COUNCIL 2026–2027
Dr. Jerry Myers, DMA
INTERIM DEAN AND DIRECTOR, STLCC–SOUTH COUNTY
With St. Louis Community College since 2009 and a South County resident for nearly two decades. The first outside appointment to the Chamber's Leadership Council.
LinkedIn →LEADERSHIP COUNCIL 2026–2027
Announcement Coming Soon
TO BE ANNOUNCED
This seat is being filled now.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL 2026–2027
Announcement Coming Soon
TO BE ANNOUNCED
This seat is being filled now.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL 2026–2027
Announcement Coming Soon
TO BE ANNOUNCED
This seat is being filled now.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL 2026–2027
Announcement Coming Soon
TO BE ANNOUNCED
This seat is being filled now.
CHAMBER LEADERSHIP
Who runs the work.
The people accountable for the day to day — the culture, the partnerships, and whether any of this actually gets done.
Taylor Miller
FOUNDING CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER
One of the original employees at NexCore, where she led the transformation of the Fox Park neighborhood from 2017 to 2020. She guides the Chamber's day-to-day work, its culture and its partnerships.
Position Coming Soon
TO BE ANNOUNCED
This role is being defined now.
Position Coming Soon
TO BE ANNOUNCED
This role is being defined now.
COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
Who owns the work.
SOCO SPOTLIGHT COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Reagan Dortch
Reagan Dortch, a high school senior from Highland, Illinois, leads The SOCO Spotlight as its first Community Champion. Reagan first came to South County helping her mother, Amber, a member of NexCore's leadership team — and returned for NexCore's grand opening, where she met dozens of South County residents, business owners and community leaders. A three-year member and two-year editor of her school's yearbook, she works across photography, writing, editing, design and production, and completed her first SOCO Spotlight interview ahead of Media Cavern's October 17 grand opening.
Marketing takes five different categories and puts them into one — photography, journalism, writing, all of it. That's what I love about it.
REAGAN DORTCH
SOCO CARES COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Cherique Simpson
Cherique Simpson leads SOCO Cares, the Chamber's community-impact initiative connecting South County residents to the help they need, as its Community Champion. A real estate professional who spent years in education before entering the housing industry, she brings both backgrounds to the role. Known professionally as "The Key Guardian," she works with homeownership and down-payment assistance programs. Her early priorities reflect needs she has seen firsthand: period poverty in local schools, and transitional housing for families facing a sudden job loss or housing crisis. Next, she is building a volunteer team organized into stations — school, transition house, county department and health department — with volunteers rotating to find where they fit best.
I'm a trailblazer, and I like the message that you all are bringing. I feel that it's impactful, and I want to impact people.
CHERIQUE SIMPSON
BEST OF SOUTH COUNTY COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Clint Klenke
Longtime community volunteer and former business owner with more than 30 years of service experience.
ONE CHAMPION PER INITIATIVE
RIBBON CUTTINGS
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
DISCOVER SOCO
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
SHOP SOCO
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
CELEBRATE SOUTH COUNTY
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
PROTECT SOCO
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
SOCO TRUSTED
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
VISION SOCO
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
EMPLOY SOUTH COUNTY
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
SOCO RESOURCE HUB
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
OPERATION: SOUTH COUNTY FARMERS MARKET
Champion Announcement Coming Soon
AMBASSADORS
Who backs them up.
People passionate about South County who stand behind our Champions and help pull off the big goals. They're from here. They're part of this. And they want to see this community thrive as badly as we do.
Ambassadors show up when it counts. You bring the energy — we'll point you at the work.
WE'RE ACTIVELY LOOKINGGET INVOLVED
There's a seat at this table
with your name on it.
Whether you want to help steer this, lead a cause, back the people who do, or simply be part of it — we're building the room right now.