Exploring For-Profit and Nonprofit Boards (Prospective Members Welcome)
5/6/20255:00 PM - 7:00 PM CST
Location: World Trade Center St. Louis, 120 South Central, Suite 200 (2nd Floor), Clayton, MO 63105
Registration ends on 4/29/2025
Event Description
This event is open to Forum members and prospective members.
Ticket Information
Members: $40.00
Guests $50.00
Program Description
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on “Exploring For-Profit and Nonprofit Boards.” Examine the key differences between these two types of board service and what makes each uniquely rewarding.
Panelists, Anna Crosslin and Betsy Cohen, will delve into the criteria for service on each type of board, highlighting skills, responsibilities, and governance practices that are critical in each space.
While for-profit boards often emphasize financial performance and shareholder value, nonprofit boards focus on mission-driven outcomes and community impact. For-profit boards can include service in public and private companies.
Nonprofit boards can be an excellent steppingstone to gain experience, network, and contribute to meaningful causes, offering their own deep sense of satisfaction. Among other engagement opportunities, attendees will learn about BoardBridge, a matching program through FOCUS STL, which helps individuals connect with nonprofit boards.
Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences, fostering a collaborative and insightful discussion on the pathways and opportunities in board service.
Refreshments will be provided. Street parking will be available.
Panelists
Betsy Cohen
Philanthropic Futurist, FutureGood
Betsy Cohen leverages her business, government and nonprofit expertise as a Philanthropic Futurist working with advisory firm FutureGood. This builds on her prior expertise as a corporate futurist and her work in business, government and nonprofits. Betsy was the Executive Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project 2013-2025, a regional initiative of the non-profit World Trade Center-St. Louis within the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. This was a public-private partnership whose goal was to attract and retain foreign-born people to St. Louis, resulting in a #1 rating in the US for growth in 2024 data. Prior to the work above, Betsy had a long career at Nestle Purina where she was a Vice President of marketing, sustainability, new products, new ventures and other operations. She was a corporate futurist for business goals.
She is on the external board for Washington University McDonnell International Scholars Academy and on the Cortex Innovation Community Committee for Talent and Community. She is on the advisory board of the consulting firm CEdge. She is the author of a book to help international people find a good US job. She gave a TEDx talk on immigration in 2023. She is a well-known multicultural leader and has been honored by many of the regional ethnic organizations. In 2025 she was honored as one of the St. Louis top 500 business leaders by St. Louis Magazine for economic development. She is a 21/64 Certified Philanthropic Advisor. Betsy is a graduate of Wellesley College and has her MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Anna E. Crosslin
Executive-in-Residence, FOCUS STL
For more than 42 years until her retirement in February 2021, Anna Crosslin served as President & CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, leading our region’s immigrant services and community engagement hub, which serves more than 6,000 immigrants annually from 60 countries.
During her tenure, Crosslin received numerous awards and recognitions from immigrant, business, government, education, and civic groups. She was frequently identified as one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Most Influential St. Louisans” including awards for Diversity and Women’s Leadership. She is a STL Forum Trailblazer.
In June 2015, Crosslin was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for World Refugee Day. She was also awarded two honorary doctorates – one from Webster University and another from Washington University, her alma mater. In 2025 in recognition of her continuing community impact, she was named a “Living Legend” in St. Louis Magazine’s inaugural St. Louis Business 500 special edition.
Since her retirement from IISTL, Crosslin has maintained and, in fact, strengthened ties with St. Louis through expanded volunteerism. She serves on the Steering Committee of the St. Louis MOSAIC Project, has joined the Board of Directors of STL Forum, is an advisory member of Greater St. Louis Inc., and is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of the Missouri Historical Society, including the Missouri History Museum, Soldier’s Memorial and the State Archives. In 2023, Crosslin was appointed by Mayor Tishaura Jones to serve on the St. Louis Charter Commission, a nine-member body responsible for reviewing and recommending ballot measures to change the city’s charter.
Crosslin has also served as an Executive-in-Residence for FOCUS STL since 2023. There, she has developed and continues to oversee BoardBridge, a program which aims to help non-profits in our region build more diverse Boards of Directors. To date, more than 150 St. Louisans have participated in the selection process.
Registration will close on one week prior to the event. Refunds are available to your prepay balance or original payment method prior the close of registration. Once registration has closed, we have submitted our expected attendance count to the venue and/or caterers. Please note that we may opt to extend registration for circumstantial reasons. The date above will continue to be the last date that a refund will be available. For more information, please contact admin@stlforum.org.
Ticket Information
Members: $40.00
Guests $50.00
Program Description
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on “Exploring For-Profit and Nonprofit Boards.” Examine the key differences between these two types of board service and what makes each uniquely rewarding.
Panelists, Anna Crosslin and Betsy Cohen, will delve into the criteria for service on each type of board, highlighting skills, responsibilities, and governance practices that are critical in each space.
While for-profit boards often emphasize financial performance and shareholder value, nonprofit boards focus on mission-driven outcomes and community impact. For-profit boards can include service in public and private companies.
Nonprofit boards can be an excellent steppingstone to gain experience, network, and contribute to meaningful causes, offering their own deep sense of satisfaction. Among other engagement opportunities, attendees will learn about BoardBridge, a matching program through FOCUS STL, which helps individuals connect with nonprofit boards.
Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences, fostering a collaborative and insightful discussion on the pathways and opportunities in board service.
Refreshments will be provided. Street parking will be available.
Panelists
Betsy Cohen
Philanthropic Futurist, FutureGood
Betsy Cohen leverages her business, government and nonprofit expertise as a Philanthropic Futurist working with advisory firm FutureGood. This builds on her prior expertise as a corporate futurist and her work in business, government and nonprofits. Betsy was the Executive Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project 2013-2025, a regional initiative of the non-profit World Trade Center-St. Louis within the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. This was a public-private partnership whose goal was to attract and retain foreign-born people to St. Louis, resulting in a #1 rating in the US for growth in 2024 data. Prior to the work above, Betsy had a long career at Nestle Purina where she was a Vice President of marketing, sustainability, new products, new ventures and other operations. She was a corporate futurist for business goals.
She is on the external board for Washington University McDonnell International Scholars Academy and on the Cortex Innovation Community Committee for Talent and Community. She is on the advisory board of the consulting firm CEdge. She is the author of a book to help international people find a good US job. She gave a TEDx talk on immigration in 2023. She is a well-known multicultural leader and has been honored by many of the regional ethnic organizations. In 2025 she was honored as one of the St. Louis top 500 business leaders by St. Louis Magazine for economic development. She is a 21/64 Certified Philanthropic Advisor. Betsy is a graduate of Wellesley College and has her MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Anna E. Crosslin
Executive-in-Residence, FOCUS STL
For more than 42 years until her retirement in February 2021, Anna Crosslin served as President & CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, leading our region’s immigrant services and community engagement hub, which serves more than 6,000 immigrants annually from 60 countries.
During her tenure, Crosslin received numerous awards and recognitions from immigrant, business, government, education, and civic groups. She was frequently identified as one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Most Influential St. Louisans” including awards for Diversity and Women’s Leadership. She is a STL Forum Trailblazer.
In June 2015, Crosslin was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for World Refugee Day. She was also awarded two honorary doctorates – one from Webster University and another from Washington University, her alma mater. In 2025 in recognition of her continuing community impact, she was named a “Living Legend” in St. Louis Magazine’s inaugural St. Louis Business 500 special edition.
Since her retirement from IISTL, Crosslin has maintained and, in fact, strengthened ties with St. Louis through expanded volunteerism. She serves on the Steering Committee of the St. Louis MOSAIC Project, has joined the Board of Directors of STL Forum, is an advisory member of Greater St. Louis Inc., and is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of the Missouri Historical Society, including the Missouri History Museum, Soldier’s Memorial and the State Archives. In 2023, Crosslin was appointed by Mayor Tishaura Jones to serve on the St. Louis Charter Commission, a nine-member body responsible for reviewing and recommending ballot measures to change the city’s charter.
Crosslin has also served as an Executive-in-Residence for FOCUS STL since 2023. There, she has developed and continues to oversee BoardBridge, a program which aims to help non-profits in our region build more diverse Boards of Directors. To date, more than 150 St. Louisans have participated in the selection process.
Registration will close on one week prior to the event. Refunds are available to your prepay balance or original payment method prior the close of registration. Once registration has closed, we have submitted our expected attendance count to the venue and/or caterers. Please note that we may opt to extend registration for circumstantial reasons. The date above will continue to be the last date that a refund will be available. For more information, please contact admin@stlforum.org.