9th Grade Coaches & Aides
9th grade is that pivotable year between middle school and a fully integrated high school experience. MLL’s 9th grade coaches understand the special opportunities of this unique year.
Paula combines 30 years in the engineering industry with the soft side of raising daughters. It was in the “raising” that she saw how her girls gained comfort, courage and praise from the outside validation of others. She wants to be that validation for other girls.
Kara’s youth helps her build mentor relationships with 9th grade young women. With her degree in psychology/sociology and professional work at Missouri’s First Step program, she combines a caring heart with academic understanding of human development.
As principal and owner of her Hart Engineering, Paula’s experience spans transportation engineering, site development, utility design and asset management. She is involved with the Engineer’s Club of St. Louis and the American Public Works Association. Education is another focus of Paula’s volunteer time: at her children’s school and at Metro Leadership League.
Mary Anne raised four amazing children while working for 22 years at Spectrum Healthcare Resources. Now that she has retired, as a Senior Vice President of Operations, she fills her heart and her time with her 3 grandchildren….and with the amazing young women in Metro Leadership League. Mary Ann is combining her talent and professionalism with her passion for supporting young ladies by leading and coaching in the new 8th grade class for the 2017-18 school year. She and her husband of 36 years are great supporters of their community!
Passionate about women’s rights and the owner and creative director of Pretty Together, a local wedding invitation design firm, coach Jen Richmond considers the women at MLL her second family. “I am so grateful that I was invited to be part of such an amazing community,” Richmond says. Outside of MLL, Richmond enjoys gardening, cooking, and designing for her company.
Kim Hunt, who has coached at MLL for two years, will be an 8th grade coach this upcoming school year. When MLL visited Hunt for a career shadow at her previous job at AT&T, she instantly connected with some of the “high-spirited” girls. Now that she is volunteering at Lift for Life, the girls remember her and always greet her with smiles. “I’ve watched a metamorphosis,” Hunt says. Some of the societal impact, she says, is yet to be told because the girls are still developing. “But, I see them grow which lets us know they will leave an impact.”
If you are interested in becoming a coach, please contact us!