Congratulations to Kelly McGowan, founder of Transform314, and recipient of our 2025 Rising Star in Community Building Award!
The Rising Star in Community Building Award recognizes a person who:
Demonstrates strong dedication to and passion for community building work.
Exhibits leadership, vision, and a commitment to action and results.
Shows promising potential to catalyze outstanding impact in community building policy, investment, and/or community change.
Works to challenge the status quo in the St. Louis region.
Born and raised in neighborhoods throughout St. Louis, Kelly McGowan saw firsthand how outcomes could shift dramatically just ten minutes apart. These early experiences shaped her understanding of inequity from the inside and sparked her lifelong commitment to advancing the health and well-being of all people - especially communities of color.
Despite her credentials in Public Health and degrees from both Saint Louis University and Washington University, she couldn’t initially find work in St. Louis - so she took her passion to Harlem, where she helped reimagine wellness programs by directly engaging the voices of young people.
Her motto was simple but powerful: “Ask kids.”
Kelly returned home with a new clarity: real change happens when we work with communities—not for or on behalf of them. This city girl began working in three school districts in North County on Missouri’s statewide childhood obesity initiative. Kelly began learning in real time - navigating complex municipal systems, healthy food deserts, community engagement, and the built environment - all while staying grounded in those she served.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelly attended virtual Council and Board of Aldermen meetings, listening, learning, and studying the power of civic processes. Transform 314, a grassroots movement focused on connecting residents to systems that often overlook them, was founded from what she learned during those meetings. The organization provides “Edutaining content” that informs, engages, and empowers readers of all ages.
Through her work with SLATE, Kelly has mentored and mobilized young people—especially young Black men - to not only sit at tables of power, like the Board of Aldermen and the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), but to speak, strategize, and lead. Her efforts are rooted in real solutions, built from the ground up, and driven by a vision of St. Louis that leans into itself instead of tearing itself apart.
Kelly’s passion is clear: she believes in St. Louis vs. Everybody—but more importantly, in St. Louis for St. Louis. Her mission is to empower residents as the true drivers of change, bringing more hope, more votes, and more community-led transformation to the place she calls home.
