Meet Our Team
Bonnie Harper
Executive Director
In 2019 Bonnie Harper became the Executive Director for Open Space STL. Bonnie was born and raised in south St. Louis County. In 2006, she received a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, majoring in Environmental Studies. She studied abroad in New Zealand, fell in love with the country, and decided to earn her Master's in Environmental Legal Studies from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
While abroad, she met and married her husband. She worked and traveled throughout New Zealand for ten years as an environmental planner and policy advisor for regional government agencies. She specialized in working with local communities on watershed planning and biodiversity conservation and restoration plans. In 2015, Bonnie returned to St. Louis and worked for the East-West Gateway Council of Governments as a Sustainability Planner. She now resides in Oakville with her husband and two children.
Charles Whitt
Development and Marketing Director
Charles has been passionate about the environment and is ready to help grow awareness about our programs and projects.
Recently, he has been involved personally as Chairperson for the regional chapter of The Climate Reality Project and serves on the Communications Committee for the Sierra Club.
Katie Franke
Community Conservation Program Manager
As a Master Naturalist, a Water Quality Monitor, a Sierra Club Outings Leader, and a dedicated volunteer for many organizations, you can often find Katie in the outdoors somewhere, probably pulling a tire out of a river.
Katie started her career in education, teaching middle school and high school English, then later Special Education. After Covid hit, and the world looked a little different, Katie decided to change paths, and moved into nonprofit work with Monarch Immigrant Services, working with the St. Louis City Covid Cares program. After that program ended, she decided to follow her passions… which led her to Open Space STL. As an Operation Stream Team volunteer for decades, this was the perfect fit!
Katie lives in St. Louis with her husband, two kids, two dogs, three chickens, and a turtle. She feels very fortunate to be able to dedicate her time to meaningful work, spending time with volunteers, and getting her hands dirty when the opportunities arise!
Stacy Arnold
Stacy Arnold is a Watershed Planning and Land Conservation Consultant with Open Space STL , and she is an active volunteer as well. As a lifelong resident of Missouri, she grew up in the rural southwest area of the state observing and learning from water in the form of an Ozark stream and gained a deep appreciation and love for the natural world. She has devoted almost 20 years to volunteering with the Missouri Stream Team Program and working in the watershed and natural resources management field.
Stacy is accomplished in facilitating strategic planning efforts where numerous stakeholders are involved to cultivate partnerships in communities and watersheds to collaborate and create voluntary opportunities to improve water quality while achieving other goals at the same time. She has a B. A. in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Water Resources Management from the University of Montana.
“Water has been and always will be my greatest teacher.” ~ Stacy
Watershed Planning and Land Conservation Consultant
Nora Stark
Community Stewardship Coordinator
Nora has joined our team as an AmeriCorps member with Stream Teams United serving with Open Space STL as a Community Stewardship Coordinator.
She recently graduated from Saint Louis University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a concentration in geoscience, so she has spent the past four years getting my hands dirty studying soil, water, and minerals. During her time at SLU, she served as President of the Wilderness Adventure Club, leading outdoor adventures all across the country!
She also had the privilege of participating in educational field trips through SLU's Earth and Atmospheric Science Department, traveling to places like Hawaii and Washington. Despite these incredible experiences, she always wanted to return to her roots in St. Louis, a city she loves deeply.
Laura Weber
Conservation Project Manager - Land Protection
Laura is a South Side native and a lover of the gorgeous Midwest who is delighted to serve the mission of Open Space STL! Her interdisciplinary Ph.D. from Marquette University and her journey spanning three decades as an administrator and professor in Jesuit higher education formed the basis of her love of all things Nature and care for our Common Home.
Her research, teaching, and consulting coalesces in the nexus of environmental ethics and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for navigating significant change.
In 2022, following the pandemic and a devastating derecho that decimated over 90,000 sq. miles of the Cedar Rapids corridor, she founded Environmental Soulutions to serve communities recovering from environmental trauma through biomimicry and NbS.
At Open Space STL, Laura brings her passion for environmental advocacy to her role in managing conservation easements. In her spare time as a certified Nature therapist, she enjoys offering Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing), Nature-immersive programming and eco-retreats for those whose soul requires rewilding for relaxation, healing, and refreshment.
Mia Waldo
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Mia Waldo is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Open Space STL. With a background in environmental science and public relations, she brings a people-first approach to storytelling, using creative and thoughtful communication to connect the community with local conservation efforts.
Passionate about protecting public lands, Mia is inspired by the power of collective action and is excited to help advance Open Space STL’s mission to preserve natural spaces for generations to come.