"To live in a better world we need better people. Better can mean many things, but the best better is a moral better."

“I give priority to the moral side of human flourishing. This is for many reasons – but the most significant is that human goodness will drive societal progress. “

Dr. Marvin W. Berkowitz is a world renowned scholar, researcher and educator. He is the inaugural Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education, and Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and University of Missouri President’s Thomas Jefferson Professor. In 1999 Dr. Berkowitz was the inaugural Ambassador H.H. Coors Professor of Character Development at the US Air Force Academy. He served as Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Ethics Studies at Marquette University. He was also founder and Associate Director of the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research in Milwaukee.

Click here to read more about Dr. Berkowitz.

Melinda C. Bier is Co-Director for the Center for Character and Citizenship (CCC), at UMSL where she has led program evaluation, the design and adoption of K-12 educational innovations, particularly in underserved schools and communities, and professional development for teachers and school leaders. Most recently Mindy has been leading a set of projects investigating whether educational leaders can intentionally cultivate and increase a specific set of servant leadership virtues. Cultivating Virtues For Leadership (CViL) is currently being implemented and evaluated in St. Louis, Kenya, and Mexico.

Click here to read more about Dr. Bier.

“Showing teachers that they are appreciated should be embedded in the very culture of a building.  Appreciation should be ongoing and authentic and not based solely on something a teacher does, but for who they are and what they bring to the table.  True appreciation is beyond the Bagel Breakfast in May; it is asking, listening, grappling and learning with teachers every day.  Giving teachers a voice, honoring their wisdom and experience and making them true partners in school improvement is how great leaders appreciate teachers."

A high school teacher, middle school counselor, and 17 years in administration briefly sum up Dr. Johnston’s three-decade career in education. To truly understand her journey, however, take a moment to click here to read her turn-around story focused on Humble Leadership in Greater Good Magazine. After reading, it is easy to understand why the Francis Howell Middle School (FHMS) was awarded both the Missouri and National School of Character Award under her leadership as Principal.

Dr. Johnston has shared the FHMS Character Education Journey and the importance of a healthy adult culture with audiences everywhere. As a sought after practitioner, Dr. Johnston has presented in numerous settings including Tom Lickona’s Character Education Conference (CEC) in New York, the CHARACTERplus Conference in St. Louis, the CEC in Wisconsin, the National CEP Forum in Houston, the District 20 CEC in Colorado Springs, and the AME Conference at Harvard University. Her work with educators now extends internationally advising school leaders in China and Dubai.   

Dr. Johnston’s academic achievements at the University of Missouri - St. Louis include receiving her Ed.D. Character Education and Democratic School Governance; M.S. Educational Administration; M.S. Counseling. She is a graduate of the CCC Leadership Academy in Character Education. Amy also received a B.S. in Secondary Education, Social Studies and Language Arts from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Dr. Johnston is currently the Project Coordinator for the Character Education for Emerging Leaders (CEEL) program at the CCC. Prior to joining the CCC team, Amy worked as a Consultant for CharacterPlus; Middle School Principal, Francis Howell Middle School; Middle School Counselor and High School Teacher.

In keeping with her personal philosophy of serving others, Dr. Johnston is an equine-assisted therapist as well as board member of TREE House (formerly known as Therapeutic Horsemanship) providing equine-assisted therapy for children with physical, social and or emotional disabilities.

Lauren Maule provides administrative support and coordination for the Center for Character and Citizenship. Prior to joining the CCC, Ms. Maule worked for McKendree University as a VA Financial Aid Counselor. Lauren’s experience also includes working at Lindenwood University’s Belleville, Illinois campus as an Administrative Assistant for Student Development. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Management from Lindenwood University - Belleville, Illinois. In addition, she earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Lindenwood University - St. Charles, Missouri.

Deborah Sanders O’Reilly (Debbie) is the Coordinator for the Center for Character and Citizenship.  Debbie has worked over twenty years in higher education in both the College of Management and Business and the College of Arts and Sciences at National Louis University in Chicago.  Formerly, Debbie held the position of Assistant Professor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department and had experience in academic administration as department chair, also at National Louis University. 

Prior to academia, Debbie worked in advertising and marketing in St. Louis. Debbie holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.  She also holds a Master's Degree in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Saint Louis University.

Christopher D. Funk, Ph.D., is currently a Research Associate at the Center for Character and Citizenship (CCC) and adjunct faculty in the Department of Education Sciences and Professional Programs (ESPP).  Dr. Funk’s expertise includes the fields of character education, sport psychology, and research methodologies.  He has authored and co-authored several articles on the intersection of character development and sport.

Dr. Funk currently serves as a member of the research team examining the efficacy of integrating servant-leadership based virtues into character education professional development for emerging school leaders.  This effort represents a synergy between two CCC projects, Cultivating Virtue in Leaders (CViL) and Character Education focused Emerging Leaders (CEEL), funded by the John Templeton Foundation (JTF) and the Kern Family Foundation (KFF), respectively.

Tamala Stallings is a Graduate Research Assistant for the Center of Character and Citizenship. Ms. Stallings has served the St. Louis community for over 20 years in the health and human services sector, providing grant and program management, grant compliance, and educational and social services to children, adults, and families. While working in the health and human services sector, Tamala earned a reputation as an advocate for social justice, education quality, and educational access.

Tamala has a Master’s Degree from Kansas State University and earned her MBA from Lindenwood University. She is currently working toward her doctorate at UMSL in Higher Education-Administration and will pair her years of experience with her doctoral degree to continue serving the St. Louis community advocating for educational equity and access.

Suzanne Bright, Ed.D is an educational leader and expert in the area of creating and sustaining caring, high-performing schools and organizations. Dr. Bright has over 25 years of diverse experience in leadership, school administration, character education, professional development, and comprehensive school reform. Her passion and expertise are in facilitating and supporting high quality teaching and professional learning that empowers and inspires teachers and leaders across the country. 

Suzanne’s passion for character education was ignited through her participation in LACE, the Leadership Academy for Character Education, in 2001-2003. She went on to serve as a coach for the CHARACTERplus/U.S. Department of Education research project which yielded an evidence-based character education process proven to increase school-wide academic performance, lower classroom referrals, and improve culture and climate. In addition, she served as the CHARACTERplus Program Coordinator where she designed, led, and implemented the inaugural Missouri Schools of Character program, a parallel process to the National Schools of Character Competition conducted by Character Education Partnership. This program is still thriving and now boasts 73 Missouri Schools of Character.

Dr. Bright went on to serve as the principal of a National School of Character in a National District of Character. Under her leadership as principal, the school experienced significant academic growth and improvement and rose to rank in the top ten schools in Missouri (6th overall). She successfully supported a safe, caring, and autonomous environment for students and supported positive change in staff culture to one that was built on listening, understanding, creating new insights, reaching consensus, giving and receiving feedback, and celebrating success. Character education was the fundamental component of this success. 

Currently in her role as President and CEO of Orca Solutions, Dr. Bright partners with schools and districts across the country in developing and sustaining caring and high-performing school communities. She offers leadership and support for teaching and learning through presentations, workshops, institutes, and other professional learning experiences.

In addition to her extensive national and international work as a consultant and keynote speaker, Dr. Bright mentors aspiring principals through the Center for Character and Citizenship’s CEEL program, a multi-layer professional development experience which incorporates Servant Leadership into the CCC LACE program. She also teaches university courses at Missouri Baptist University in the areas of leadership and curriculum and instruction. 

Dr. Bright received her Ed.D. from Missouri Baptist University with an emphasis in Leadership in Teaching and Learning. Additional academic achievements include an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi and a B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Memphis. 

In her free time, Suzanne enjoys family time with her husband, her teenage son, and her two Havanese dogs. Her volunteer interests include supporting foster families through various local foster care agencies and working in the children’s ministry at her church. Her hobbies include working out, hiking, reading, and watching Ole Miss and University of Memphis sports. She and her family enjoy traveling, and she frequently visits her family in the south.

For over 25 years Julie Frugo, Ed.D. has been a thought leader in the education field. Never satisfied with the status quo, her quest to serve more, do more and create more led her from the classroom in the suburbs of Chicago to becoming a founding member of the first charter school in St. Louis MO.  Julie has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and since 2010 the CEO/Superintendent of Premier Charter School (PCS).

Premier Charter School opened the doors in 2000 and continues to operate as  a highly diverse school serving 1,000+ students, speaking 17 different languages in grades Pre K-8. As the only charter school in the St. Louis area designated as both a State and National School of Character, Dr. Frugo, who is a graduate of LACE, Leadership Academy of Character Education, has been at the heart of the school’s character education journey. Her entrepreneurial spirit and relentless pursuit to keep relationship building and empowerment at the center of the work has resulted in a truly amazing place for kids and adults. She continues to  lead and develop the 165+ faculty and staff in deep work around maintaining  a character-driven culture that supports the curious and empowered learner. 

Dr. Frugo received her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and her Ed.D at the University Missouri - St. Louis under the mentorship of Marvin Berkowitz, Ph.D. as a part of the Character Education and Democratic School Governance cohort. Julie was most interested in how leaders support, empower, and cultivate professional learning, and growth in faculty and staff. Engaging through a lens of professional development, Julie eventually created a new framework of leadership called Professional Growth Leadership. Additionally, she has collaborated with three of her Ed. D. cohort peers to create the Connected Leader Framework. Julie has spent time sharing her story as a speaker at national conferences (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Association for Moral Education, Character Education Partnership,  Learning Forward) and works with schools around the region. She was honored as Leader of the Year by Missouri Public Charter School Association and has been interviewed and quoted for several publications including a feature in Parade Magazine.

Although Julie considers the PCS team part of her family she also loves spending time with her own immediate family, Greg and Wrigley (her sweet  Cavipoo pup). She is the youngest of 6 kids and her extended family is large in numbers, but  they are extremely close.  Julie, Greg and Wrigley hit the road often to Chicago for visits ,and yes she is a die hard Cubs fan! She loves to travel and finds inspiration and energy from meeting new people and visiting new places. Julie has always had a love of music and had a long stretch of singing at weddings (mostly friends and family). Now when she has the gift of some extra time you can find her writing poems or song lyrics while she procrastinates writing her first book!

“Character Education is not found in a curriculum or sayings on a wall. Character Education is life skills that define how we work and play.”

Matt Klosterman began his journey in the character Education leadership field when his District joined CharacterPlus in 2000. He graduated from the Leadership Academy in Character Education with Dr. Marvin Berkowitz . As Superintendent, his commitment to forming compassionate students and responsible citizens led to three schools to National School of Character status and the district receiving National District of Character status during his 14 year tenure.

Matt retired in 2019 after a 36 year career in education and immediately began serving as a mentor in the CEEL program at the Center for Character and Citizenship. He also began serving as a site evaluator of National School of Character applicants for Character.org. He does this work to feed his own passion for character education, to assist schools become caring communities in which our children learn to be ethical, responsible and compassionate citizens and to help develop leaders who will transform school communities. Matt also tutors high school students who are in AVID, a program targeted to serve first-generational college students.

Mr. Klosterman’s academic credentials include doctoral candidate Educational Administration, Southern Illinois University- Carbondale; M.S. Educational Administration, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; M.S. Clinical/School Psychology, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; B.A. in Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis.

Matt had a 36 year career in education serving as a School Psychologist, Director of Special Education, Principal, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Superintendent of the Belleville Public School District #118.

Over two decades as an educator then administrator, a National School of Character recipient and a St. Louis Region Middle School Principal of the Year, the best way to describe Kristen would begin with her turn-around story of Ridgewood Middle School. RMS suffered from low attendance, low academic achievement, and disciplinary problems where 36% of its students were on free or reduced lunch. With character education as the focus, RMS transformed itself into one of Missouri’s Top Ten Most Improved Schools in science, communication arts, and math. The difference as shared by Kristen? Dedicated administrative leadership emphasizing effective character education. For nearly a decade Kristen served as the district leader for character education. Not satisfied with her school becoming a National School of Character her work throughout Fox C-6 was recognized as a National District of Character. That incredible journey took Kristen before the Senate in Washington, D.C testifying on the positive impact “social, emotional and character development” has on students regardless their circumstance. Click here to access Kristen’s Senate testimony, a must read.

Kristen believes that “character education, if truly implemented as the foundational philosophy that infiltrates every aspect of the school setting, can work miracles.” Kristen has been a keynote speaker at several character education related conferences and was featured in a USA Today article entitled, “What Can Schools Do”.

Dr. Pelster is currently studying for an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL). Her educational achievements at UMSL also include an Ed.S. in Education Administration; M.A. in Education Administration and she is a graduate of the Leadership Academy in Character Education. Kristen received a B.A. in Music Education from Missouri Baptist University.

In addition to her consultancy work for the CCC, Kristen Pelster is currently the Director of School Engagement, CharacterPlus. Prior experience includes Executive Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, Fox C6 School District; Assistant Principal and Principal, Ridgewood Middle School, Fox C6 School District; Music Teacher, Fox C6 School District.

Outside of work, Kristen serves in different capacities at Oak Bridge Community Church, African Vision of Hope and Missouri Baptist University. Her hobbies include attending as many theater productions and Blues hockey games as she possibly can and cheering on her 2 kids in college – Go Hawkeyes and Boiler Up!

“Character Education is not a word-of-the-month, nor is it a day-by-day binder, nor is it just yet another thing that educators are expected to implement. Rather Character Education IS A WAY OF BEING; A WAY OF DOING; it is WHO YOU ARE; and it is the plate upon which everything else you do sits!”

Dr. Julie Sperry has been involved in the Character Education Leadership field since 2008 when she participated in the Leadership Academy in Character Education with Dr. Berkowitz.  Her passion and vision for what a school’s climate and culture could be exploded and from there she lead her school to National School of Character status in 2012.   After her 14 year principalship, Dr. Sperry wanted to help develop capacity in others to make positive change.   By joining the education service agency, EducationPlus, she was able to impact schools throughout the region with her work.  She served for two years as Director of Regional Professional Development Center at EducationPlus and then through her passion for character, she transitioned to Executive Director of CHARACTERplus in March 2016.  In both of these roles, she was responsible for generating resources and guiding the professional staff of these agencies that, through their wide variety of character-building programs and professional development opportunities, could reach 30,000 teachers and 330,000 students each year. 

Currently Julie continues to serve the region as a Missouri Leadership Development Specialist.  Her work is focused on growing, developing and retaining quality school leaders throughout the St. Louis region.  Her work at UMSL with the CEEL project aligns perfectly with her passion for character and drive to create transformational leaders.

Julie Sperry’s work experience includes serving as adjunct faculty at Fontbonne University, Lindenwood University and the University of Missouri - St. Louis.  She has traveled to various regions in the U.S. to collaborate with schools who want to create school cultures where students and staff thrive including Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, and Alabama.  Dr. Sperry has presented at many regional and national conferences on both leadership and character education topics, including a 2019 presentation at an international Character Education Conference in Cheng Du, China.  Her areas of focus include: Understanding Self as Leader;  Creating your Best Self; and Helping Others be their best by creating cultures where people thrive through Autonomy, Belonging and Competence.

In the Summer of 2021, Julie transitioned back to CharacterPlus as the Director of Character Innovation and Leadership.  She looks forward to expanding the work of Leadership through the lens of character as she and the C+ team work to grow transformational leaders regionally, nationally and internationally.

Dr. Sperry’s academic credentials include an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration, Maryville University, St. Louis; M.Ed. in Counseling, University of Missouri - St. Louis; M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Administration, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership, University of Missouri - St. Louis;   B.A. in Education, Knox College . She is a graduate of the Leadership Academy in Character Education.

Thomas R. Hoerr is currently a Scholar In Residence at the University of Missouri - St. Louis teaching in the Educational Leadership program preparing prospective principals. In addition, as part of the Center for Character and Citizenship team, he assists in embedding the development of virtues and character into the school leadership preparation program.

Prior to his current position at UMSL, Dr. Hoerr headed the New City School in St. Louis, Missouri for 34 years and is now the Emeritus Head of School. He also led the ISACS New Heads Network and founded the Non-Profit Management Program at Washington University in St. Louis.

Hoerr has written six books. His next book, The Principal As Chief Empathy Officer: Creating A Culture Where Everyone Grows, will be published in January 2022. He has also written more than 160 articles, including the “Principal Connection” column in Educational Leadership from 2004 to 2017.

Jonathan M. Tirrell, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. Dr. Tirrell’s research interests include character and virtue development, with a particular focus on forgiveness as a virtue and its relation to individual and communal well-being and justice. He works on the Compassion International Study of Positive Youth Development, a longitudinal, multi-nation, multi-method evaluation of the youth development programs of Compassion International that seek to promote thriving among youth living in poverty.

In addition to serving as editor of the Journal of Character Education, he also serves as associate editor for character development for Applied Developmental Science, and serves as a consultant to UNICEF, working with a technical advisory group for developing measures to study the impacts of adolescent participation worldwide.

Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D. is a clinician-scholar. All of his research, educational leadership development and mental health practice efforts have been focused on understanding and supporting individuals and organizations learn and develop in healthy ways. He works with school systems around the world supporting leadership development and social, emotional, moral and academic learning. He is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Cohen is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, chapters and briefs as well as six edited and/or authored books. His award winning books include Educating Minds and Hearts: Social Emotional Learning and the Passage Into Adolescence (Teachers College Press, 1999), Caring Classrooms / Intelligent Schools: The Social Emotional Education of Young Children (Teachers College Press, 2001) and most recently, Feeling Safe in School: Bullying and Violence Prevention Around the World (Harvard Educational Press, 2020).

Cohen supervises young mental health professionals from clinical psychology doctoral programs, the Chinese-American Psychoanalytic (CAPA) Program and privately. He also teaches and supervises at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology’s Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy program.

Juan Pablo Dabdoub Gonzalez has been a member of the Education, Citizenship and Character Research Group at University of Navarra since 2015. His research focuses on fundamentals, theory, practice, training and assessment of moral and character education. Dabdoub worked as Director of Character Education at Colegio Mayor Belagua from 2011 through 2019, developing a residential learning community program for university students and teachers.

Financed by the Templeton World Charity Foundation since 2015, Dabdoub has researched and promoted character education in public and private schools throughout Latin America, including Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. He also collaborates in several initiatives with the Center for Character and Citizenship regarding character education leadership, servant leadership, and school climate. Dr. Dabdoub currently teaches Character Education, Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, and Theory of Education at the University of Navarra.

He earned a PhD in Education and Psychology and a Master’s degree in Organizational Governance and Culture from the University of Navarra, a Master thesis in Business Ethics from IESE Business School. In addition, he holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the TECNUN School of Engineering.

Mark Liston is a thought leader in positive education and character development. He is the founder of Liston Group, which provides resources for character development and assessment to organizations in the United States and twelve additional countries. Dr. Liston created Character Challenge, a research-based curriculum using movie clips, peer discussion and Positive Psychology exercises.

Dr. Liston received his doctorate at the University Missouri - St. Louis, under the direction of Marvin W. Berkowitz. His dissertation project created and validated the Character Growth Index, a measure of character development. He consults with secondary and higher education, businesses and non-profits on the practices of character development. Mark also received a Master of Divinity and once served as an ordained United Methodist minister.

Mark Liston’s personal and professional experiences with childhood abuse and bullying have developed his character, empowering him to be an effective pastor, professional counselor, author and speaker.

Mike Park’s history with the Center for Character and Citizenship date back to his participation in and graduation from the Leadership Academy in Character Education (LACE™). He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of CharacterPlus®, the largest and most successful community-wide character education initiative in the country.

Mr. Park also served as an Army Intelligence Officer in Europe and later as an executive for multi-million dollar consumer retail companies and continues as a managing partner for Brand-P® companies which include WeBeSchools®, CharacterMoxie®, and Mostbestos®. He is a graduate of The U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School, The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School Executive Development Program and The University of Alabama. Mike’s work has afforded him opportunities to share his experiences and work with K-12 schools and universities, including the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Wolfgang Althof, born 1950 in Germany, earned (the equivalent of) a MA degree in education (1979) at the University of Hamburg (Germany), his Ph.D. in Education at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in 1990 and a second, higher-level doctorate, Dr. habil (called “Habilitation”) for the field of Educational Sciences at the Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany) in 2002. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 1995-96.

Dr. Althof taught at the University of Fribourg (1984-2004) and at UMSL's College of Education (2005-2018), where he served as the Teresa M. Fischer Endowed Professor of Citizenship Education, the Director of the Citizenship Education Clearing House (CECH) and the Co-Director (with Marvin W. Berkowitz) of the Center for Character and Citizenship.

He has authored, edited or co-edited eight books and numerous articles and book chapters. His research focus was on social and moral development and education, citizenship education and education for democracy. Notably, during his tenure in Switzerland, he played a leading role in implementing and evaluating school-wide programs in moral/character and democracy education called "Just and Caring Communities" in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. The major programs he ran as Director of CECH are Kids Voting Missouri and MY LOGO (Missouri Youth Engaged in Local Government); thanks to Sandy Diamond (former project coordinator) and Marvin Beckerman (former chair of CECH Advisory Board).

Dr. Althof's professional service includes serving on the Executive Board of the Association for Moral Education (AME, 2006-2012) and as AME President (2013-2016). He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Moral Education.

Wolfgang Althof retired from UMSL in the Fall of 2018. While he moved back to Germany, he still can be reached at his UMSL email address, althofw@umsl.edu.

Judy Berkowitz began volunteering for the Center for Character and Citizenship in 2020. Her primary focus has been on building and maintaining the CCC website, coordinating the center’s social media presence, and providing the CCC staff with project support.

Ms. Berkowitz worked in the non-profit arena for over 40 years prior to her retirement in 2019. She served as the Director of the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, a program of Jewish Family Services-St. Louis, responsible for oversight of the largest food pantry in the St. Louis Metropolitan region. Before leading the food pantry program, Ms. Berkowitz spent ten years as the Executive Director of Kids In The Middle, a non-profit organization providing counseling for children with parents going through separation, divorce or remarriage. She also served as the Executive Director of the St. Louis Chapter of Hadassah, an international women’s volunteer organization dedicated to philanthropic causes dealing with medical care and education.

Prior to moving to St. Louis in 1999, Ms. Berkowitz lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, working at Jewish Family Services as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Clinic Coordinator for more than 20 years. Judy’s professional career also includes working as a vocal music teacher, an entertainer and a corporate trainer. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Hofstra University in New York and a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from Wayne State University in Michigan.

Along with her work with the CCC, Judy also volunteers for the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation. When not volunteering, you can usually find Judy on a yoga mat.