Seeds of Change: Success, Leadership, and Finding Purpose

Join Penny Pennington, Managing Partner of Edward Jones and Danforth Center Board Chair, as she shares her leadership journey and lessons she’s learned about building trust, leading with empathy, and finding purpose by falling in love with a problem. The evening will include a discussion with Danforth Center President and CEO Jim Carrington, a panel of participants (details below) who are each tackling a big problem, and throughout, Penny’s singular vision for finding—and unleashing—your personal “seed of change.”

5:30 PM Networking reception
6–7 PM Presentation

This virtual event is free to the public, in-person or livestream, but registration is required.

Penny Pennington

Pennington is managing partner of leading financial services company Edward Jones. She is the first woman and sixth person at the firm’s helm in its 102-year history. A native of Nashville, Pennington began her career with Edward Jones as a financial advisor in 2000 after a 14-year career in banking and was named a principal in 2006. She held various leadership roles in the firm's St. Louis home office before being named managing partner in 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is No. 69 on Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" list and under her leadership, Fortune named Edward Jones one of the "World's Most Admired" companies in 2024.

Panelist Christine Corday

Christine Corday is a multidisciplinary artist known for working at the intersection of sculpture, science, and sensory perception. Her solo exhibition Protoist Series: Selected Forms was presented at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and her works have been exhibited and collected around the world, including at the High Line New York. Her work Sans titre was included in ITER, the “building of a sun on Earth”—the nuclear fusion demonstration in Saint-Paul-Les-Durance, France. She has also launched the "Foundation Civilization," a project focused on climate, agriculture, and material innovations to drive societal advancement through art-led public work.

Panelist Meredith Malone, PhD

Meredith Malone is a curator for the Kemper Art Museum, Washington University. Specializing in postwar and global contemporary art, Malone has curated numerous exhibitions, including "Adam Pendleton: To Divide By” (2023); "Nicole Miller: A Sound, a Signal, the Circus" (2022); and “To See Without Being Seen: Contemporary Art and Drone Warfare” (2016). Forthcoming projects include the group exhibition “Seeds: Containers of a World to Come,” which opens at the Kemper in February 2025. The exhibition includes work by 10 artists whose research-based practices are defined by sustained inquiry into plant–human–land relations. She received an MA and PhD in art history from the University of Pennsylvania.

Panelist Allison Miller, PhD

Allison Miller, PhD, is a Danforth Center principal investigator, a professor of biology at Saint Louis University, a research associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the director of the National Science Foundation-Funded New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute. The Miller laboratory explores how long-lived plants respond to dynamic environments, with the goal of developing perennial crops that support ecologically sustainable agricultural systems. She was recently a featured speaker on “Reimagining Agriculture” at TEDxStLouis – the Brave and the Brilliant. She holds an MS in plant biology from Colorado State University and a PhD in evolution, ecology, and population biology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Past Seeds of Change Speakers

2021 Susan Hockfield, PhD, president emerita of MIT, author of The Age of Living Machines.
2019 Bob Chapman, chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller and founder of Truly Human Leadership
2018 Ruth K. Oniang’o, PhD, winner of Africa Food Prize and founder, Rural Outreach Program
2017 Jeff Raikes, co-founder, Raikes Foundation, former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2016 David Karandish, founder and CEO, Jane.ai; former CEO, Answers.com
2015 Peter A. Seligmann, CEO, Conservation International
2014 Amory B. Lovins, co-founder and chief scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute
2013 Mark Lynas, environmentalist and author of The God Species
2012 Jim McKelvey, co-founder, Square, Inc. and the nonprofit LaunchCode
2011 Richard Longworth, journalist and author of Caught in the Middle
2010 Hugh Grant, chairman and CEO, Monsanto

Meet the leaders of today.

Check out photos from past Seeds of Change events.

Want to Sponsor?

Seeds of Change attracts more than 300 highly educated citizens and business people from all over St. Louis. Would your company be interested in sponsoring this event? Call 314.587.1234 or email development@danforthcenter.org to discuss.

What to Expect

About Seeds of Change
Hosted by the Danforth Leadership Council, the annual Seeds of Change program is a networking and education event featuring a visiting high-level thought leader. Typical programs energize the audience with inspirational stories, uniting people to work in collaboration toward common goals that connect with the Danforth Center's values and mission.

About Danforth Leadership Council
The DLC is a group of prominent St. Louisans interested in the role of plant science in the economic future of the region.

Attendee Notice of Release
By entering the Danforth Center for this event, you acknowledge that you are providing your consent to be photographed, filmed, and otherwise have your likeness or voice recorded for use by the Danforth Center in any and all media materials, including websites and in other marketing or educational materials, in perpetuity.

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