Veteran
communications professional Keith Antone Willis Sr. joined the
Who’s Who Publishing team to tell the story about the St.
Louis African-American leadership. With his current focus and
background in youth development, Willis has the heart to show
the next generation of leaders what they can accomplish using
the Who’s Who In Black St. Louis™
publications.
Currently, Willis serves Mentor St. Louis as executive director.
Mentor St. Louis is the largest volunteer organization working
in the St. Louis Public School District to provide literacy-based
mentoring sessions. The nonprofit organization currently offers
mentoring at eight elementary schools to 700 students in the most
challenged neighborhoods of St. Louis. More than 600 trained volunteers
devote their time and energy to enhancing the lives of students
academically and personally.
Previously, Willis blended his roles as principal and division
manager for a charter high school in East St. Louis with that
of associate publisher for Who’s Who In Black
St. Louis™ to show students the diverse role
models right in their own community. He also served for 12 years
as executive director of St. Paul Saturdays, a manhood leadership
and development organization. Additionally, he and wife Ericca
are partners in EKAW, Incorporated, an educational consulting
and motivational speaking firm, which they began in 1992.
A family man with three daughters and two sons, Willis is dedicated
to the St. Louis community. He has served on the boards of numerous
community organizations, including the Community Women Against
Hardship advisory board, The Salvation Army Hope Center, the Life
Crises Services board of directors, the Governor’s 21st
Century Youth and Development Task Force and the Governor’s
Task Force on African American Males. He was also a member of
100 Black Men, the Frank J. Brown Lodge #80 and the local NAACP.
Currently, Willis is on the board of NOPCAS (National Organization
of People of Color Against Suicide) and the St. Louis Marriage
Coalition. A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. since
1979, he volunteers for the United Way Charmaine Chapman Leadership
Circle.
Willis is the recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award
by the Lone Star Times, the Sons of Thunder award from the Fifth
Episcopal District AME Church, the Role Model of the Year from
the Stormin Stufflin School, and the Legacy Award from the Bertha
Black Rhoda Section of the National Council of Negro Women. He
has also received the Focus St. Louis What’s Right with
the Region award and the 2001 Mental Health Board Advocacy Award
for his work in the area of suicide prevention.
Willis is an alumnus of Saint Louis University with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in organizational studies and a minor in psychology.
He also attended Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio,
where he majored in communications.
