Board Members

Tower Grove Park is owned by the City of St. Louis and governed by a special Board of Commissioners appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court. The current commissioners are:

Board of Commissioners

Robert J. Herleth, President
Robert S. Holmes, Vice President
Thomas Helm, Jr., Treasurer
Stephen Westbrooks, Secretary
Dr. Kelvin R. Adams Frederick H. Atwood, III Patrick R. Brown
Anna Crosslin
Robert F. Epperson, Jr.
Patricia Hagen
Jason R. Hall
Mike Konzen
Emily Aschinger Martin Edgardo L. Mayuga Lindsay McClure-Hartman
Debbie Monterrey
Steven M. Scott
Cara Starke
Cheryl D. S. Walker
Allison Willibrand
Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson

Robert S. Holmes, President, Tower Grove Park Foundation

Emeritus Commissioners

Jane Gleason
John D. Haffenreffer
R. Crosby Kemper III Steve M. Kidwell
Susan R. Lammert
Thomas Purcell
Dr. Peter Raven
Anne C. Stupp

Bill Reininger, Executive Director

The Past Superintendents / Directors of Tower Grove Park

During Henry Shaw's lifetime, he himself served as de facto superintendent of Tower Grove Park. Upon Shaw's death in 1889, James Gurney, the horticulturist he had brought to St. Louis from London, succeeded him, becoming the first official park superintendent. Gurney's son, James Gurney, Jr. assumed the position on his father's death in 1920. When James Gurney, Jr. died in 1943, his daughter Bernice E. Gurney returned to St. Louis to take on the position. On her retirement in 1976, Bernice Gurney was succeeded by Robert F. Denison. In 1987, John Karel became the fifth director of Tower Grove Park. John retired at the end of 2014.

Click here for a schedule of the 2021 Board of Commissioners Meetings.