Our Team
Elizabeth Sanchez
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Terry Amirpour - Vice President
Luz Rooney is the current Vice President of the United Nations Association of Greater Saint Louis. She has served as Treasurer, Chairperson for the 2017 UN Day Celebrations, Co-Chair for the 2019 St. Louis World Day against Human Trafficking, and Chair for the 2019 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Criminal Justice Reform for the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. She is the North Central Region Representative for the National Council, and she was selected as a Delegate for the 2020 Commission of the Status of Women (CSW64) at the United Nations in New York City.
Fun fact: When I am stressed, I eat chocolate or drink coke. When I am upset, I “hit the wall,” which means I head to the gym and play racquetball.
Stephanie Gavin
Stephanie spent 29 years teaching English and social studies in the Webster Groves School District. She also taught as an adjunct instructor for UMSL for over 25 years. Retired from teaching in 2016, Stephanie now works for Civitas, a non-profit that promotes active citizenship for middle and high school students throughout the St. Louis area. Civitas offers a variety of free events, speakers, and other opportunities for students; however, their main program is Model United Nations. When Stephanie was teaching, her students participated in Model UN every year, so becoming a facilitator/organizer for Civitas has been a fantastic second career. And of course, her involvement with introducing the United Nations to hundreds of students every school year creates an excellent opportunity to talk about the UNA-StL to those students and their teachers.
Stephanie and her husband, Stafford, have two grown daughters who live in Los Angeles, California. It's long-distance, for sure, but fitting since the whole family loves movies. Perhaps it will be her new home, too, when retiring from her second career; there are certainly many UNA branches in California!
Justin Idleburg
Justin Idleburg is a racial equity strategist who works with governmental leaders and contributes guidance in health, education, workforce development, and equitable community development to create an understanding of what a racial equity lens applied looks like on the journey to dismantling disparities. Coaching non-profit agencies to increase their capacity in policy analysis, coalition building, community engagement, strategic partnerships, legislative advocacy, fundraising, and organizational development.
I wanted to join UNASTL to help share the innovative and sustainable solutions that have come from the 17 SDGs. To help localize the SDGs to help the people create equitable change. I like Urban Chestnut Beer, STL Cards (3rd generation fans), World cup, traveling, fish fries.
Vanessa K. Teran, CPA, MAcc - Treasurer
Vanessa, a native Saint Louisan, has been on the Board since 2018. She joined the United Nations Association of St. Louis in order to connect more with her community and find ways to engage with like-minded community members who are passionate about the work of the United Nations. She served as Chair of the 2019 UN Day celebration and co-chair of the 2019 Universal Periodic Review Consultation in Saint Louis and has served as the chapter’s Treasurer since January 2019. She believes all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are essential, but Goal 13 (Climate Action) and Goal 16 (Peace and Justice Strong Institutions) are her personal calling.
A fun fact: Vanessa enjoys Latin dancing, but more than that, she enjoys spending time with her son and do
Rupa Patel, MD, MPH, DTM&H
Dr. Rupa Patel is the director of, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP) program at the Washington University Infectious Diseases Clinic and an adjunct instructor at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York. Her research interests include PrEP implementation at the policy, organizational, and consumer level and focuses on PrEP access to care for young adult MSM.
Dr. Patel also has worked with the health department to create a Missouri PrEP Implementation Toolkit to aid local health organizations to integrate PrEP care services into their routine primary care service delivery.
Adam Michael Levin - Recording Secretary
Adam was born and raised in suburban St. Louis. He obtained a Bachelor's in International Relations from the College of Wooster in northern Ohio. His thesis was on the World Federalist Movement and the crafting of the United Nations Charter in 1945. This thesis interested Bob Cohn, President-Emeritus of the UNA-STL, who invited him to join the Board in 2014. His academic and personal studies focus on colonial and post-colonial Africa and world-systems theory.
Adam is an accomplished trombonist whose musical abilities helped him afford college. He is an alumnus of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Missouri All-State Band, and the Wooster Symphony Orchestra, among many other ensembles.