Staff

Executive Director

Mary Kay Digby
Ms. Digby comes to ECM from the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University where she worked with various St. Louis not-for profit organizations on collaboration, mentoring opportunities, and successful enterprise ideas. She has extensive experience with community organizations in the St. Louis region and elsewhere and has been of service to young people throughout her career.

Ms. Digby is currently a volunteer with Focus St. Louis, the United Way of St. Louis, and the National Conference for Community and Justice of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is a member of St. Michael and St. George Parish and the proud mother of three grown children. Ms. Digby holds a B.S. Degree in Mathematics Education, an M.S. in Information Technology and Management, and is a graduate of the Coro Women in Leadership program in St. Louis.

Administrative Assistant

Chris Wagnon
Chris became the ECM Administrative Assistant in November, 2008. She will be working part-time while raising her children, Ben and Liz. Chris has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Iowa. Previously, Chris worked in concert production and special events at the Saint Louis Symphony. She is a member at Emmanuel Episcopal Church.

Chaplaincy Staff

The Rev. Mickey R. Hassler
A Baptist minister, Rev. Hassler is the St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center chaplain. He has been instrumental in increasing the participation of people from the community in programs at City, including the development of a cadre of trained volunteer visitors who spend time with the youth whose own family members cannot or will not visit them while they are in detention. Rev. Hassler also provides a solid role model for the largely African-American male population of that institution. Rev. Hassler earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and the Master of Divinity Degree from Eden Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

The Rev. Julie B. Jennings
Ordained in the United Church of Christ, Rev. Jennings serves as the chaplain at the St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center. She has developed an outreach program that educates detention residents on a variety of community issues and needs, including homelessness, domestic violence and hospice care, and offers youth an opportunity to make immediate positive contributions to agencies engaged in these needs through service projects. Through many creative outlets, Rev. Jennings encourages youth to think (and live) outside the box as they search for meaning and purpose in their lives. She serves as an advisor to the Family Court’s JAIBG committee, and she is on the Board of Directors for Emmaus Homes. Rev. Jennings earned her Master of Divinity Degree from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Rev. Dietra L. Wise
Ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Rev. Wise is the chaplain at Lakeside Residential Treatment Center. Rev. Wise has spent eight years serving adolescent youth in chapels, churches, and community organizations across the country. She has devolved programs to engage Lakeside youth in spirituality around their interests in media and music. Rev. Wise organizes ECM’s quarterly Christian Hip-Hop Chapel Services and she teaches weekly Hip-Hop Faith Dance classes, a dance form that combines creativity, hip-hop culture, and Christian spirituality. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University in Washington DC, and her Master of Divinity Degree from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.