By Eric Dundon
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra announced the election of two new members to its Board of Trustees for a first three-year term: Nick Ragone, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Ascension, and Rachel Seward, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility for MiTek. Ragone and Seward were elected at the Board of Trustees’ meeting on April 12, 2022.
“The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is on a great trajectory, and I’m delighted to see Nick Ragone and Rachel Seward join the Board of Trustees,” said Steve Finerty, Chair of the SLSO Board of Trustees. “They both bring extensive strategic communications and brand strategy experience to our Board, while also sharing the institution’s passion for creating community connections and increasing access to music.”
Ragone and Seward join the 43-member Board of Trustees which is led by President Steve Finerty; Vice Chairs Nancy Galvin, Noémi Neidorff, Kathleen T. Osborn, and David Steward; Secretary Emily Rauh Pulitzer; Assistant Secretary Dr. Donald Suggs; Treasurer John Tvrdik; and General Counsel Lawrence P. Katzenstein.
Nick Ragone serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Ascension. In this role, he oversees the creation and execution of brand strategy and experience, marketing and advertising, public relations and internal communications for Ascension and its subsidiaries. Beginning in 2016, Ragone has led the national rebranding of Ascension’s health system, the largest such undertaking ever in the provider space. Nick is also the founder of the Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson, the annual PGA Tour Champions event held at Norwood Hills Golf Club in September. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Eagleton Institute of Political Science (undergraduate program), and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
Rachel Seward joined MiTek in 2018 as Vice President of Enterprise Communications and Philanthropy and has served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) since April 2021. MiTek delivers software, services, engineered products, and automated solutions to improve efficiencies in the building process. In her role, Seward is charged with creating and executing a global communications and corporate social responsibility strategy, including corporate citizenship and sustainability. Previously, she served as Deputy Superintendent of Institutional Advancement for the St. Louis Public School District. She has a degree in political science from Boston University.
Eric Dundon is the SLSO’s Public Relations Manager.