Foundation Staff Attend Trade Mission to London
Josina Greene, Director of Giving Strategies, and Andrea Jackson-Jennings, Managing Director of the Regional Response Team, participated in the Trade Mission to London in June 2023.
The event was organized by World Trade Center St. Louis, Explore St. Louis, St. Louis Partnership and Greater St. Louis, Inc., who spent months planning the trade delegation to London to spread the word of the many opportunities for UK businesses to grow in our dynamic St. Louis metropolitan region.
Greene and Jackson-Jennings were thrilled to participate and keep the continuity of relationship building that ignited during last year’s inaugural Lufthansa flight to Stuttgart, Germany. They also promoted the St. Louis Community Foundation as a vehicle for potential public-private partnerships.
“These delegation trips are an incredible relationship-building opportunity between St. Louis business—for-profit, nonprofit, government and civic sectors, and more—as we go abroad seeking opportunities,” said Greene. “We all participate with a different lens. During the trip, it was vitally important for us to be intentional in showing up as a partner, resource, and participant as we explore opportunities for St. Louis in the philanthropic sector during these global connections. With 64 UK companies in Missouri and 30 Missouri companies in the UK, our countries are interwoven from an economic standpoint. It makes sense to extend that relationship to philanthropy.”
The trip itinerary included a tour of Parliament, events with the UK Consulate, lunch hosted by the Embassy of the United States of America, and two St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs London Series baseball games.
The delegation was made up of individuals who represented St. Louis’ diverse business and nonprofit landscape. Employees from Saint Louis University, St. Louis CITY Soccer Club, Bank of America St. Louis, Nine PBS, and many others were in attendance.
Jackson-Jennings attended the trip with the goal of learning more about foreign crisis response policy. “As the Regional Response Team works to build a centralized system of crisis response in our region, it’s important to understand how other communities have been successful,” said Jackson-Jennings.
Greene and Jackson-Jennings look forward to the opportunity to expand upon the relationships built during the Trade Mission to London.
