The chief executive officers of two firms, one based in St. Louis, have been awarded business development scholarships from Ameren Corporation to attend the Minority Business Executive Program at the Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
The recipients were selected based on their strategic relationship with Ameren and the supplier’s success in providing service to a range of companies in Ameren’s 64,000-square-mile service territory.
Deborah Sawyer, CEO of EDI, a professional engineering firm headquartered in Chicago, is one of the scholarship recipients. EDI performs a variety of environmental, engineering, industrial hygiene and survey services and performs multiple services for Ameren’s environmental services department. The company is a Minority and Woman Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE).
“I will be able to move EDI to the next level with the knowledge gained from the prestigious Tuck program,” said Sawyer. “This opportunity is invaluable not only to me, but my leadership team and staff as well.”
Vicki LaRose, CEO of Civil Design, a St. Louis-based construction management, environmental, site development, surveying and transportation company. Civil Design performs engineering services for Ameren. The company is a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).
“Dartmouth is a wonderful opportunity for me to help civil design reach its full potential,” said LaRose. “I am grateful to work with Ameren, a company that is always looking for ways to help us succeed.”
Ameren began offering scholarships to local suppliers in 2007. Sawyer and LaRose are the 12th and 13th recipients of scholarships from Ameren. Approximately 350 diverse suppliers perform work directly for Ameren.
“We believe investing in our diverse suppliers creates powerful long-term partnerships necessary for our success and the economic success of our region,” said Dennis Weisenborn, vice president of Safety and Supply Services for Ameren. “Civil Design and EDI are valued partners of Ameren as we power the quality of life for millions of customers.”
