St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS) is governed by a Board of Directors. Members of the Board include voting and non-voting Directors appointed by chief elected officials as well as county–level emergency management agencies and then nominated by STARRS subcommittees. STARRS bylaws require the Board to have no less than eight voting Directors, with a maximum of 28.
East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) is St. Louis Area Regional Response System’s (STARRS) governing body. The STARRS board can consist of up to 28-members largely comprised of city and county elected officials nominated and selected annually to provide direction to STARRS staff on program implementation, budgets, contracts and general policies and procedures for managing the agency. The committee has up to seven nonvoting seats for state legislators representing the St. Louis Region.
The STARRS Board of Directors consists of 28 locally elected leaders from the eight member counties. The member counties are Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Louis City and St. Louis in Missouri and Madison, Monroe and St. Clair in Illinois.
There are three categories of voting Directors:
Category “A” Directors – Directors Appointed by Chief Elected Officials (8 total) – One person appointed by each of the following officials:
- Mayor, City of St. Louis, Missouri
- Presiding Commissioner, Franklin County, Missouri
- County Executive, Jefferson County, Missouri
- County Board Chairman, Madison County, Illinois
- County Board Chairman, Monroe County, Illinois
- County Executive, St. Charles County, Missouri
- County Board Chairman, St. Clair County, Illinois
- County Executive, St. Louis County, Missouri
Category “B” Directors – Directors Appointed by County-Level Emergency Management Agencies (8 total)
- Emergency Management Agency, City of St. Louis, Missouri
- Emergency Management Agency, Franklin County, Missouri
- Emergency Management Agency, Jefferson County, Missouri
- Emergency Management Agency, Madison County, Illinois
- Emergency Management Agency, Monroe County, Illinois
- Emergency Management Agency, St. Charles County, Missouri
- Emergency Management Agency, St. Clair County, Illinois
- Office of Emergency Management, St. Louis County, Missouri Police Department
Category “C” Directors – Director Nominated by STARRS Sub-Committees (9 total)
- Emergency Medical Services
- HazMat
- Hospital Preparedness
- Interoperable Communications Core Group
- Law Enforcement
- Public Health
- St. Louis Area Regional Coalition of COADs
- Training & Exercise
- Urban Search & Rescue
Fusion Center Director – St. Louis Fusion Center Representative (1 total)
- The incumbent Director of the St. Louis Fusion Center will serve as long as they hold the title of “Fusion Center Director.”
Special Subcommittee – Nominated from Each Special STARRS Subcommittee (2 total)
- Healthcare Coalition (ESF-8 Coordination)
- Mass Fatality
STARRS bylaws dictate a maximum of 15 non-voting Directors who attend Board meetings to provide the Board counsel as needed. The types of non-voting Directors are as follows:
Ex Officio (1 total)
- The incumbent Executive Director of EWG will serve as an ex officio member of the Board as long as they hold the title of “Executive Director of EWG.”
Category “C” Directors – Director Nominated by STARRS Subcommittees (9 total)
- One person nominated from each of the STARRS subcommittees (excluding Training and Exercise Subcommittee)
Category “A” and “B” Directors will serve until replaced by the person who is the incumbent in that elected office. Category “C” Directors, both voting and non-voting, will serve a term of one year. More detailed information regarding appointments/ nominations, resignations/removals, terms, and eligibility can be found in the STARRS bylaws.
In accordance with the STARRS By-Laws, the following members were elected as officers of the STARRS Board of Directors, effective March 2024:
Sarah Russell, President
Michele Ryan, Vice President
Abe Cook, Treasure
Kevin Scheibe, Secretary
The STARRS Board of Directors usually meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. at various locations. Click on the “2025 Meeting Dates” button above to see when the meetings are scheduled.