For Maxine Clark and Bob Fox, success has never been measured only by profits or titles. It’s also measured by what they give back — and in how they use their success in business to increase opportunities for others.
They have touched the lives of scores of people across the St. Louis region through their contributions to numerous educational initiatives and their involvement in issues that intersect with education or expand pathways to success, including public health, immigration, social and racial equity, criminal justice reform and entrepreneurship.
In recognition of their decades of impactful work, the couple will receive the Champions in Education Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 38th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education gala in November.
But how did two individuals who epitomize personal success become so committed to improving the lives of people often overlooked and helping to unlock their potential?
For Clark and Fox, the philosophy was ingrained from childhood.
Clark’s mother, Anne Lerch Kasselman, worked for Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1940s as the First Lady pursued international diplomacy and other human rights work. Later, Kasselman and a few friends started a nonprofit for children with Down syndrome.
“My mother’s philosophy was that although we weren’t rich people, we always had more than someone else,” Clark said. “So, how do you find that ‘someone else’ and help lift them up? That was our family philosophy. That’s just how we lived our lives.”
Fox was influenced by his parents’ humble backgrounds.
“I was raised right here, in Clayton. My mother was from the Ozarks. My father was a Polish immigrant raised in the ghettos of Buffalo, New York. He had a 10th-grade education but became president of the International Retail Shoe Co. Although my father just worked, … my mother was always very charitable.”
Clark originally planned a career in law. She turned to retail to support that career. She worked in various department store divisions, including Famous Barr, Macy’s, Venture and Payless Shoe Source, where she eventually rose to the position of president. Her dream to become a civil rights attorney who “helped children, and families and persons of color,” were deterred, she explained in a 2021 interview with Early Learning Nation. She said she had become fascinated with her rising role in the retail business “because as a woman joining the workforce in the early 1970s, there was nothing for us.”
Clark originally planned to pursue a career in law, with the goal of becoming a civil rights attorney who “helped children, and families and persons of color.” To support that dream, she entered retail, working in various department store divisions, including at Famous Barr, Macy’s, Venture and Payless Shoe Source, where she eventually rose to the position of president.
In a 2021 interview with Early Learning Nation, she explained that her legal ambitions were derailed as she became fascinated with her fast-rising career in retail “because as a woman joining the workforce in the early 1970s, there was nothing for us.”
Fox, who served in the U.S. Air Force, founded NewSpace Inc., a company specializing in home organization, contract furniture and retail fixtures in 1984. In 1997, Clark launched Build-A-Bear from an office in Fox’s building.
Their personal lives eventually converged. In a 2021 interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fox said he was intrigued by “Clark’s fast-moving energy” though she initially dismissed him as “not her type.” They started dating and married in 1984.
By the time she stepped down as CEO of Build-A-Bear in 2013, there were nearly 500 Build-A-Bear stores worldwide. Fox sold NewSpace to his employees and an outside investor in 2017 after 33 years of successful operation.
In 2004, the couple launched the Clark-Fox Family Foundation. The nonprofit is dedicated to the growth and prosperity of the region through research and program development as well as investments in PK-12 and higher education, public health, immigration, social justice and racial equity, community leadership and entrepreneurship.”
Tina L. Klocke, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer with the Clark-Fox Family Foundation described the couple’s invaluable contributions.
“Maxine Clark and Bob Fox are two individuals whose impact on education and community innovation speaks volumes,” Klocke said. “Their work reflects a deep commitment not just to improving educational access, but to nurturing the potential of every learner.”
The foundation created “Blueprint4 Platforms,” web tools that connect families to learning resources for pre-college and college access programs and other academic and apprenticeship programs. Clark and Fox also are among the founding sponsors of Teach For America and KIPP charter schools in St. Louis. Fox founded and chaired Casa de Salud, a nonprofit health and wellness center serving new immigrants.
Charli A. Cooksey, founder and CEO of WEPOWER, credits much of her growth as a leader to their support.
“When Maxine and Bob truly believe in something, they go all in — and they truly believe in our region’s children and those doing work in service of them. They have consistently invested in my ideas of building a better future for our youth,” Cooksey said, adding: “If you look beyond the surface, so much of what is good about education in our region can be attributed to Maxine and Bob’s time and treasure.”
The 2014 fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson affected the couple deeply, prompting them to address criminal justice. In 2016, they launched the Mass Incarceration Community Education Initiative, which has engaged more than 7,000 regional and statewide leaders to advance criminal justice reform.
Retired St. Louis Commissioner of Corrections Doug Burris credits Clark and Fox with “expanding and strengthening educational opportunities” that have helped the region prosper. “They are passionate about education being the great equalizer in society and should be made available to all people,” Burris said.
Clark recalled how conversations with young people during her visits to protest sites in Ferguson influenced her to support summer camps and programs that inspire disadvantaged youth and guide them toward careers.
“I wanted that for all children because so many have basic skills but don’t know how to channel their energy,” she said. “Imagine if they were directed to a program that was music or dance. … They would have a positive use of their talents.”
Building on this work, Clark in 2021 launched Delmar DivINe, a social enterprise zone for social service agencies. Its 35 tenants include nonprofit, capacity-building, social innovation institutions. These organizations serve children and families in the St. Louis region across health, education, food service and finance sectors.
The couple was clear on what those with more and those with less should understand about each other.
“The less fortunate need to know there are people who care about them, and they need to reach out and share their stories,” Clark said. “We need to know … that they can add to our society and our communities. With the right inspiration and respect and humanity, we can change the world. America would be much greater if all people were considered capable.”
Asked if current challenges discourage them, Clark responded, “No, it makes me work harder because I can control what I do, not others. It inspired me to do more work with Delmar DivINe … to have more impact in the community.”
Fox added: “You can’t get discouraged when things aren’t working perfectly. If we were shy people, we wouldn’t be doing this. But we were raised in homes where doing nothing just wasn’t acceptable.”
What do they want their legacies to be?
“It would be that (we helped) make St. Louis a better place for the future, … inclusive of all people,” Fox said. “I want to have contributed to that.”
“For me,” Clark added, “I wanted to make a difference. Even though I’m a 4-foot-9 person, you can think big and dream big and accomplish big goals. If you think about the greater good, not just the little good you can do. … It’ll never be perfect, but it certainly can be better. And that’s what I work toward every single day.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
The St. Louis American Foundation’s 38th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education will take place on Saturday, November 1st at America’s Center in downtown. For tickets or more information, visit www.stlamerican.com.