St. Louisan Bob Steffen has invented a smartphone-enabled car seat system that can help prevent tragic accidents involving young children. Driver’s Little Helper monitors temperature, movement and arrival to alert caregivers when a child escapes the car seat, car temps are too extreme or a child is left in the car inadvertently.
Local student activist Simone Bernstein got some much-deserved national recognition recently as a Roslyn S. Jaffe Award winner. Bernstein, a medical student at George Washington University, started VolunTEEN in 2009 with her brother Jake Bernstein when the two were students at Clayton High School. VolunTEEN is an online platform that connects young people with service projects. Only three nonprofits were recognized with awards, emceed by journalist Soledad O’Brien. VolunTEEN received $25,000.
Congratulations to Madelyn Alexander, community director of the local American Heart Association chapter, who was named a Missouri Visionary Leader. The National Council of Negro Women’s Gateway Metropolitan Section recognized her for her work in raising awareness about the importance of heart health for women and African Americans.
Only 10 outstanding leaders are chosen each year as US Eisenhower Fellows, and COCA executive director Kelly Pollock is one of them! And it only gets better: a second St. Louisan is on the list, Vanessa Cooksey, senior VP and head of community affairs for Wells Fargo Advisors, St. Louis. As 2016 fellows, they will meet with experts in their respective fields around the world to exchange ideas and gather information to help them better serve their community. Eisenhower Fellowships is a private nonprofit that has fostered international understanding and leadership since 1953.
Pictured: Bob Steffen, inventor of Driver’s Little Helper
