Mosaic Steering Committee Member Bob Fox Named FOCUS St. Louis 2019 Leadership Award Honoree
FOCUS St. Louis® is pleased to announce Bob Fox, entrepreneur, philanthropist and chair/co-founder of the Clark-Fox Family Foundation, as the recipient of the 2019 FOCUS Leadership Award.
This prestigious award, chosen by the FOCUS Board of Directors, is presented annually to individuals who demonstrate innovative leadership, generate a meaningful impact in the community, and encourage strong community leadership in others. The award will be presented at the 22nd Annual What’s Right with the Region celebration on Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Sheldon Concert Hall.
A successful entrepreneur and founder of NewSpace, Inc., Fox is best known for his ongoing philanthropic and community leadership, particularly on issues of immigration, education, public health and social justice.
He is the founder and recent past chair of Casa de Salud, a health and wellness center focused on the uninsured foreign-born population, which opened its door to the St. Louis immigrant community in 2010. Today, the clinic provides medical and mental health services to thousands of patients annually, seven days a week. Two years later, he was instrumental in establishing the St. Louis Regional Taskforce on Immigration and Innovation, which one year later launched the St. Louis Mosaic Project with the goal of increasing the foreign-born population in the region.
Fox’s passion for improving education, from early childhood to higher education is evident throughout his work. He has been a trustee of Saint Louis University since 2006, and was the founding chair of inspireSTL, a nonprofit that supports high-potential, underserved middle school students with academic preparation and access to college prep high schools in the region. Launched in 2011, the program merged with Wyman Center in 2016, where he continues to serve on the Executive Committee. He and his wife, Maxine Clark, are founding sponsors of Teach For America and helped launch the first KIPP charter schools in St. Louis. Fox also serves on the External Advisory Board for the Collegiate School for Medicine and Bioscience, a City magnet school.
“As a St. Louis native, Bob cares deeply for our region, and his contributions can be seen everywhere you look,” says Mark Grieman, board chair for FOCUS St. Louis. “He brings an entrepreneur’s eye to every opportunity he encounters and applies this spirit of innovation and collaboration to making our region a better place for all to live.”
With the establishment of the Clark-Fox Family Foundation in 2004 and the Clark-Fox Policy Institute at the Brown School of Social Work and Public Health in 2015, Fox continues to support and advocate for programs, policy and research around social justice issues, ranging from mass incarceration to child well-being. A founding member of the Gephardt National Council for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University, he supports and mentors a cohort of Civic Scholars.
“My wife likes to say, ‘It takes a village to raise a bear,’” says Fox. “We have been blessed to be surrounded by a community that supports our work, and by talented, hardworking, passionate agency leaders and associates who on a daily basis insure that the institutions and causes we are involved with continue to be sustainable assets for the future of our region.”
The St. Louis community is invited to join us to recognize Bob Fox for his leadership and commitment to our region, as well as all of our What’s Right with the Region award honorees.
2019 What’s Right with the Region Awards Celebration
Thursday, May 16, 2019 · 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Sheldon Concert Hall
Tickets now on sale!
Past recipients of the FOCUS Leadership Award have included Dennis Lower, Dr. Kelvin Adams, Dr. Jason Purnell, Frankie Muse Freeman, Anna Crosslin, Chris Krehmeyer and Martin L. Mathews.