Meet Our Team

As Managing Director since 2021, Andrea (AJ) Jackson-Jennings, Ed.D, embodies the rare combination of trust and compassion that transformative, influential leadership demands. She believes it’s a privilege to serve people and communities and has devoted her career to enriching the St. Louis region and its residents, creating tangible, positive change.

AJ has secured millions in community funding to address critical issues, including housing for families and displaced individuals, vaccine education, medical care for the homeless, and community rebuilding after a flood and tornado. Her strong leadership and knowledge of the local landscape have brought together civic, corporate, philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders to improve underserved communities by addressing crises and systemic challenges.

A regional expert on the social determinants of health, AJ served for ten years as Director of the St. Louis County Department of Human Services. She managed a $13 million operating budget of eight divisions that provide quality services to enrich the lives of St. Louis County residents. While leading the region through the onset of COVID-19, AJ grew her department’s budget by $39 million and relentlessly pursued collaborative, creative solutions to residents’ emerging needs. She also targeted regional inequities with initiatives including the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, HUD partnerships that supported unhoused neighbors, and Community Development Block Grants. 

AJ holds a Doctor of Educational Practice, a Master of Education, and a Bachelor of General Studies from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She has dedicated her service to various civic and nonprofit boards, including Metro Transit Public Safety (appointed by Governor Mike Parson), Ameren Community Voices, United Way, The Links Incorporated, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter.

A lifelong St. Louis resident, AJ delivered the commencement address to the University of Missouri – St. Louis School of Education graduates, describing it as a full-circle experience. “This great institution, nestled in my childhood neighborhood, taught me that the true power of education lies not in the credentials we earn, but in how we use our knowledge to fulfill our responsibility to others,” said AJ.

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Carrie Crompton, JD, joined the RRT in 2021. She streamlined internal and external communications and ensured hundreds of community partners received critical updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Carrie transitioned to focus on the RRT’s administrative needs.

After working in the legal field for several years, Carrie pivoted to a career in the nonprofit sector. She worked with multiple St. Louis organizations focused on women and children, where she wore many hats spanning operations, finance, human resources, and compliance. Carrie pursues organizational excellence by creating the strong foundation nonprofits need to fulfill their mission.

Carrie believes in the power of volunteering and giving back, values she has modeled through a lifetime of community service. Her history on nonprofit boards includes the Junior League of St. Louis, Conflict Resolution Center of St. Louis, Caring Solutions, and MOMS Club of Saint Louis City. She serves as the board Treasurer of Circus Flora, a St. Louis nonprofit bringing the magic and artistry of the circus to young and old.

Carrie earned a JD from California Western School of Law and a degree in Business Administration from Saint Mary’s College of California. She is the proud mom to three amazing boys, 10, 12, and 15 and one furball, Barley! They love living in South City, walking everywhere, and playing ALL the sports, ALL the time. Carrie also enjoys watching her boys’ games and working out.

As Program Manager, Kaelin Richardson, MSW, has led the RRT’s community initiatives and partnerships since 2024. They, a true collaborative problem-solver, provide facilitative leadership to bi-state community groups, organizations, and collaboratives to co-develop innovative solutions to racial and systemic inequities. They leverage Critical Race Theory, Community-Based System Dynamics, Human-Centered Design, and liberatory pedagogies to ensure these approaches are at the center of their practice.

Kaelin brings more than 15 years of education experience, beginning as an early learning teacher and spanning youth development, career development, and higher education. In recent years, their work has shifted to support community-directed collaboration. As core staff of East Side Aligned and the Greater East St. Louis Early Learning Partnership, Kaelin led efforts to address racial inequities in safety, well-being, and kindergarten readiness through peer-to-peer family supports, grassroots organizing, service coordination, advocacy, and systems building.

A maga cum laude graduate, Kaelin possesses a Bachelor of Arts from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Social Work, with an emphasis in Human Rights and Welfare Policy from Washington University in St. Louis. They also received a College of Education Certificate from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. In their free time, Kaelin supports community education on LGBTQIA+ identities and builds in time for art, gardening, and anything else that lets them express their creativity. 

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As Director of Operations, Alaina Smith operationalizes strategy and makes the gears turn at the RRT. Since 2023, she has fostered alignment within the organization and partners to ensure everyone works towards the same objectives while collaborating with the team to align operational activities with their strategic plan.

Alaina brings vast operational excellence to her role, having scaled the staff, budget, and impact of St. Louis nonprofits for over a decade. As Director of Policy and Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, Alaina tripled the size of her department. Her team influenced policy and elections by mobilizing over 40,000 individuals annually to engage in the legislative process at local, state (MO & IL), and federal levels. She is a community organizer at heart and believes multi-racial, multi-issue organizing is the key to liberation. She is proudest of serving in coalition leadership on the 2018-20 statewide ballot measures that raised Missouri’s minimum wage, expanded Medicaid, and repealed anti-union legislation.

Alaina began her career in direct service roles, which informs her approach to systems change and people-centered operations. She served as a Victim Advocate in the County Domestic Violence Court, taught a men’s Batterer Intervention Program, and connected communities to health insurance during the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Alaina also worked at the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis. She continues strengthening the health care safety net as a board member of Missouri’s federal Title X grantee.

Alaina earned a Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis. When she’s not talking about health policy and economic justice, Alaina would love to show you photos of her two cats, dog and the frogs she spotted on her last (slow) hike.

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