The Vanguard Cabinet’s mission is to work with Mayor Slay in the creation, promotion, and sustainability of policies and programs designed to cultivate a thriving and diverse culture of civic engagement and responsibility amongst young creative, professional and grassroots leaders in the City of St. Louis.

Move to St. Louis - Live in St. Louis – Grow with St. Louis

Comprised of passionate young adults from different neighborhoods, disciplines and walks of life, the Cabinet aims to position St. Louis as a bastion of opportunity for ambitious urbanites who are committed to improving the city via innovation and collaboration.

The Vanguard Cabinet serves at the pleasure of the Mayor to:

• Generate and execute ideas, programs, or initiatives that assist in the realization of the Mayor’s vision of continued growth and success of the City of St. Louis.
• Serve as respected advisors to the Mayor on issues concerning the next generation of urban leaders.
• Represent the young progressive, creative and professional demographic in the City of St. Louis, and serve as ambassadors to other young adults prospectively moving to the City and region.
• Assist St. Louis in facing its challenges and capitalizing on its 21st Century opportunities.

Structure of the Vanguard Cabinet

The Vanguard Cabinet is comprised of diverse young, passionate urbanites, representing various sectors of the creative, professional and grassroots community. Membership is categorized via a Committee Structure. Each committee will be comprised of about 10 members and from within each committee 1-2 Chair(s) will be selected by its membership to act as spokesperson and organizer for the committee.

Steering Committee

• Committee Chairs
• Mayor’s Office Liaison

Mayor Slay's Vanguard Cabinet will make special effort to incorporate members who are also already associated with civic networks, professional organizations and other community-inspired endeavors in the St. Louis region.

By tapping into existing members of other groups, the VC expands its network markedly and increases its ability to organize support of its initiatives and those of the partnering organizations.

Committees

1. Civic Engagement - Responsible for maintaining the awareness of local and regional activities that promote problem solving and public service while supporting and working with ward & neighborhood organizations as well as other active civic engagement entities.
2. Cultural Diversity - Responsible for celebrating the differences found in residents and neighborhoods of our community. The City of St. Louis has a rich history and the Cultural Diversity Committee will use this to find ways in which our differences actually create synergy opposed to creating division. The Cultural Diversity Committee will promote diversity & inclusion, while embracing our shared histories.
3. Public Relations - The Public Relations Committee is St. Louis’ next-generation PR think-tank. As part of the VC Mission, we want to sell our city to young urbanites in not only our regional economy but also nationally. The Public Relations Committee is responsible for developing ideas that will assist in promoting the perks of St. Louis living.
4. Health & Environment - Responsible for examining health and environmental issues in the City of St. Louis as well as investigating cost effective solutions aimed at making our community healthier and more environmentally friendly.
5. Arts, Entertainment & Recreation - Responsible for presenting and increasing the community’s understanding & awareness of the wide range of high quality performing and visual arts in the City of St. Louis.
6. Transportation - Responsible for researching cost effective ways to provide our community with safe and efficient transportation that seeks to enhance accessibility and mobility in the City of St. Louis. Not limited to traditional methods of transit, the Transportation Committee should consider walking, cycling, and other active transportation options.
7. Education - Responsible for enhancing public responsiveness to the wants and needs of the St. Louis City public school system and finding ways to make further improvements.
8. Economic Development - Our Economic Development Committee’s focus is positively impacting the economic prosperity in the city through incubation, growth, retention, and attraction of YP owned businesses and businesses geared towards hiring passionate young adults.

Download the application to be on the Vanguard Cabinet.