Leadership

Board of Directors

  • Jessica Harkins, President
  • Open, Vice President
  • Mike Rausch, Secretary
  • Dr. Doug Hunt

Staff Members

  • Katina Truman, Executive Director
  • Christine Simone, Executive Assistant and Registrar
  • Mikia Booker, Outreach Coordinator
  • Dr. Doug Hunt, Instructor
  • Ms. Jeanne Ra, Instructor
  • Alex Durick, Instructor (part-time)
  • Warren Clark, Instructor (part-time)
  • Amol Bansol, Tutor
  • Blake Schaper, Tutor

Jessica Harkins, President

My background is in neuroscience with a focus in neurobehavioral early childhood development and a minor in nonprofit management. I live in St. Charles County with my husband, four kids, a sassy dog, cat, snake, and lizard. My favorite food is good sushi, and you’ll find me in my garden most days. 
From a young age, I knew I wanted to work in the field of neuroscience. My family didn’t believe in me as I struggled with math using the Saxon curriculum. It wasn’t until I met a teacher who loved math, loved to teach math, and used the Singapore method that I discovered I also love math. I later received a gifted diagnosis that finally connected the dots. This led me to change my career path, melding my education in neuroscience with parental outreach and training using social media.

Two of my younger siblings are MEGSSS alumni and have carried that experience with them as they travel the world and enter the medical field. I was elated when my oldest child showed interest, too. Once I realized firsthand as a parent how genuine and committed the teachers and volunteers at MEGSSS were to the wellbeing of their students, I was motivated to volunteer as my hope is to ensure that all children have someone who believes in them and their dreams. By equipping parents with the tools and information they need to navigate gifted and 2e pathways for their students, I hope no child out there will ever feel alone when reaching for a dream.

Visit me on LinkedIn

Katina Truman, Executive Director

MEGSSS has a warm place in my heart.  My son participated in the math enrichment program during his middle school years, and what he learned in MEGSSS supported him through his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Engineering and Project Management at Washington University in St. Louis.  Giving back to MEGSSS to support the future growth of the organization is my goal.

Watching children learn, explore, and expand their strategic approach to problems is the joy of my job in elementary education.  This fulfillment will be amplified by serving on the MEGSSS board.  Professionally, I enjoy developing social media campaigns to build and recruit while building strong customer relationship management (CRM) procedures and processes to support the communication side of the marketing push.  My personal volunteer time includes working as a Touch Therapy Team with my dog, Riley.  We trained through Duo to visit hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and schools.

After raising two children, I enrolled at WashU and earned my Masters in Nonprofit Management.  As an adult returning to the classroom, I understand how difficult it can be to change gears and focus on new material after a long day at the office, and I appreciate all the professors and support staff who encouraged me through the journey.  I want to be that voice of support for the parents, educators, staff, and students in the MEGSSS program.  

Visit me on LinkedIn

Mike Rousch, Secretary

I’m a new addition to the board and excited to be a part of the organization! My high school education is from a small community in northeastern Iowa named New Hampton. My undergraduate and graduate schoolwork is from Iowa State University where I became involved with agriculture, entomology, and molecular biology. After graduation I was hired by an agricultural science startup company, Lavie-Bio and moved to St. Louis. My job involves developing biological solutions to problems facing agriculture to decrease dependency on chemical solutions that have negative environmental impacts. Mathematics is used extensively in my field for statistical comparisons of different treatments, as well as use in bioinformatics (collecting and analyzing large sets of complex data such as genes).

Christine Simone, Executive Assistant and Registrar

Christine came to MEGSSS for short-term assistance, and ended up staying!

She just completed a 40-year position at a small industrial company in Ohio where she served as the office manager up to the day they closed the doors.

After achieving her Associates Degree in Accounting Technology from The University of Cincinnati in 2023, Christine is now wrapping up her Bachelor’s Degree in Technical and Applied Studies (Business Technology), also from Cincinnati.

She lives with her adult nephew who is autistic, and is engaged to be married!

Visit me on LinkedIn

Amol Bansol, Tutor

Amol Bansal attends Rockwood School District.  He is a math enthusiast. He graduated from the Elements program with high accolades and was also the student speaker at the commencement ceremony. He has participated in extensive math enrichment activities, including prestigious math camps and math circles.  

To share his math passion with the next batch(es) of Elements students, Amol will be returning as a tutor. In this role, he will be helping students with problem-solving and doubt clarification.  His father is a professor and Chairman of the Finance Department of the Richard Chaifez School of Business at St. Louis University.

Warren Clark, Project MEGSSS Program Coordinator nominated Amol as the first student tutor due to his excellent mathematics and science achievements and exceptionally strong people skills.   We are excited to begin this new opportunity for peer-to-peer tutoring and thank Warren for his vision.

Blake Schaper, Tutor

Blake Schaper, since being introduced to mathematics in preschool, has had a love for numbers, and all abstract ideas for that matter. His love of learning and his quest for knowledge has allowed him to start taking college classes at age 12, and to start calculus at 14. He is a member of the Lewis and Clark Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, since being inducted after dual enrolling in 2019. Blake is also a proud member of the Mathematical Association of America. He has finished Calculus CD this past year and hopes to study differential equations in his senior year. Blake Schaper graduated from MEGSSS in 2020 and is excited to help MEGSSS grow after the pandemic. 

Mikia Booker, Outreach Coordinator

Mikia currently serves as our Outreach Coordinator, bringing in over 7 years of experience in various industries. What she enjoys most about her role is working with other community members like teachers, parents, and counselors to spread the word about the awesome opportunities MEGSSS offers. 

Mikia obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Jackson State University located in Jackson, Mississippi. She currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri where she enjoys traveling, watching TV, eating good meals, and spending time with her family and friends.

Visit me on LinkedIn

Bailey Bridgewater, Grant Writer

Bailey Bridgewater is a grant writer with a background in higher education, where she spent over a decade directing student success efforts including tutoring, mentoring, and disability services. She holds a PhD in Education Administration from Indiana State University, a MA in English from University of Westminster, London, and a BA in English and Philosophy from Goucher College. She is passionate about making education accessible and enjoyable for everyone, at all stages of life.

Visit me on LinkedIn