The Founder's Trap
The Founder's Trap
The Founder's Trap Market Archetype Mechanical Natural
Tier
Developing
Trajectory Thumbprint

The Founder's Trap

What does this mean?

10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.

The Path Forward

The Dispersal

Forces succession planning and structural maturity. It requires raising capacity-building funds to decouple the organization's survival from the founder's personal sacrifice.

The Dispersal
The Dispersal
Institutional Health Scores
5-yr trend: The Founder's Trap ↑
Overall
51
Score
Governance
58
Score
Financial
40
Score
Program
60
Score

Institutional Epochs

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Financial Era
Governance Era
Trajectory Era
Founders Trap

Historical Performance

Year Revenue Top Comp Comp % Rev Score Phase Label Outlook Details
2025 Hidden Hidden — — Unknown —
2023 Hidden Hidden 1.9% 51 Fragile Decline Risk
2022 — — 2.2% 55 Fragile Stable Watch
2021 — — 2.1% 55 Fragile Recovery
2020 — — 2.2% 51 Fragile Decline Risk
2019 — — 1.6% 51 Fragile Decline Risk
2018 — — 1.3% 55 Fragile Recovery
2017 — — 1.3% 51 Fragile Decline Risk
2016 — — 1.1% 55 Fragile Recovery
2015 — — 0.4% 45 Financially Distressed Decline Risk
2014 — — 0.9% 55 Fragile Recovery
2013 — — 1.5% 49 Financially Distressed Decline Risk
2012 — — 1.3% 51 Fragile Stable Watch
2011 — — 1.2% 51 Fragile Stable Watch

Officer compensation history

Tax year 2026

Name Title Phone Email Compensation
STUART CARDEN Artistic Director 3.5% of Rev
JEREMY DEWEY Executive Director 1.9% of Rev
JARED FREEMON Treasurer 1.9% of Rev
IVAN R BATLLE Board Member —
BUNNI COPAKEN Board Member —
DAVID W FRANTZE Board Member —
DOUGLAS N GHERTNER Board Member —
JUDGE JON R GRAY RET Board Member —
LAURA HALL Board Member —
SCOTT HALL Board Member —
HAYLEY E HANSON Board Member —
CHRIS HERNANDEZ Secretary —
ASHLEI HOLZNECHT Board Member —
JOHN H JOHNTZ TOPPER JR Board Member —
MARY COOK JORGENSON Treasurer —
ANDREW KAPLAN Board President —
LAMONICA MADDEN Board Member —
LAUREN E TUCKER MCCUBBIN Board Member —
MELEA MCRAE Board President —
STEWART S MYERS Board Member —
KERRI REISDORFF Board Member —
HILLARY STAMPER Board Member —
BENJAMIN STONE Board Member —
MICHELLE WEBB Board Member —
SHAWNA ROATH Board Member —
RICHARD SINGLETON III Board Member —
JULIE TOWNER Board Member —
DR JENNIFER COLLIER Board Member —
ROBYN MURPHY Board Member —
BECKY BLADES Board Member —
ANDREA BOUGH Board Member —
BRETT GRAY Board Member —
MELANIE MILLER Board Member —
DAVID R MORRIS Board Member —
PATRICIA O'CONNOR Board Member —
SARA E WELCH Board Member —

Tax year 2023

Name Title Phone Email Compensation
MELANIE COLEMAN Treasurer 1.9% of Rev
JUDGE JON R GRAY RET Board Member —
JOHN H JOHNTZ JR TOPPER Board Member —
DANA ABRAHAM Board Member —
DR C MAULI AGRAWAL Board Member —
IVAN R BATLLE Board Member —
BUNNI COPAKEN Board Member —
COURTNEY CRAPPELL Board Member —
ANGELA DAVIED Board Member —
DAVE FRANTZE Board Member —
DOUGLAS N GHERTNER Board Member —
LAURA HALL Board Member —
SCOTT HALL Board Member —
HAYLEY HANSON Board Member —
CHRIS HERNANDEZ Board Member —
ASHLEI HOLZNECHT Board Member —
SHANNON A JOHNSON Board Member —
MARY COOK JORGENSON Board Member —
ANDREW KAPLAN Board President —
DOMINIC WU MD Board Member —
MEGGAN NEWLAND MD Board Member —
LAMONICA MADDEN Board Member —
LAUREN E TUCKER MCCUBBIN Board Member —
MELEA MCRAE Board President —
STEWART S MYERS Board Member —
MATT RALSTON Board Member —
TONY REINHART Board Member —
KERRI REISDORFF Board Member —
HILLARY STAMPER Board Member —
BENJAMIN STONE Board Member —
DIANA TOMAN Board Member —
SUSAN WALDRON Board Member —
MICHELLE WEBB Secretary —
STUART CARDEN Artistic Director —
ANGELA LEE GIERAS EXECUTIVE DI —

Tax year 2021

Name Title Phone Email Compensation
MELANIE COLEMAN Treasurer 1.8% of Rev
MELANIE COLEMAN Treasurer 1.8% of Rev
MEGGAN NEWLAND MD Board Member —
TIMOTHY MARCHESI Board Member —
LAUREN E TUCKER MCCUBBIN Board Member —
MELEA MCRAE Board Member —
STEWART S MYERS Board Member —
JOHN PHILLIPS Board Member —
MATT RALSTON Board Member —
TONY REINHART Board Member —
KERRI REISDORFF Board Member —
BRAD SPRONG Board Member —
SUSAN WALDRON Board Member —
MICHELLE WEBB Secretary —
STUART CARDEN Artistic Director —
ANGELA GIERAS EXECUTIVE DI —
JUDGE JON R GRAY RET Board Member —
JOHN H JOHNTZ JR TOPPER Board Member —
DANA ABRAHAM Board Member —
DR C MAULI AGRAWAL Board Member —
DEBBY BALLARD Secretary —
IVAN R BATLE Board Member —
SARAH HENSHAW BAUM Board Member —
BUNNI COPAKEN Board Member —
H JEFFREY DOBBS Board Member —
DAVE FRANTZE Board Member —
DOUGLAS N GHERTNER Board Member —
LAURA HALL Board Member —
SCOTT HALL CHAIRMAN —
HAYLEY HANSON Board Member —
CHRIST HERNANDEZ Board Member —
ANDREW KAPLAN Treasurer —
SHARON LINDENBAUM Board Member —
MEGGAN NEWLAND MD Board Member —
TIMOTHY MARCHESI Board Member —
LAUREN E TUCKER MCCUBBIN Board Member —
MELEA MCRAE Board Member —
DAVID NELSON Board Member —
DIANE HELFERS PETRELLA Board Member —
JOHN PHILLIPS Board Member —
MATT RALSTON Board Member —
TONY REINHART Board Member —
KERRI REISDORFF Board Member —
BRAD SPRONG Board Member —
DIANA C TOMAN Board Member —
SUSAN WALDRON Board Member —
MICHELLE WEBB Board Member —
SUZANNE E WILLIAMS Board Member —
ANGELA GIERAS EXECUTIVE DI —
JUDGE JON R GRAY RET Board Member —
JOHN H JOHNTZ JR TOPPER Board Member —
DANA ABRAHAM Board Member —
DR C MAULI AGRAWAL Board Member —
IVAN R BATLLE Board Member —
SARAH HENSHAW BAUM Board Member —
BUNNI COPAKEN Board Member —
DAVE FRANTZE Board Member —
DOUGLAS N GHERTNER Board Member —
ANDREW GRANADE Board Member —
LAURA HALL Board Member —
SCOTT HALL CHAIRMAN —
HAYLEY HANSON Board Member —
CHRIS HERNANDEZ Board Member —
ANDREW KAPLAN Treasurer —
SHARON LINDENBAUM Board Member —
Officer contact details, exact compensation figures, and active litigation are available to verified members.
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Score breakdown

Score breakdown

Financial resilience
40 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
58 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
60 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
51 / 100
Developing

The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →

Peer comparison

Compared to 160 other orgs in MO with NTEE prefix A6.

Most-divergent component: program score sits 30 points above the peer median (60 vs. 30).

5-year trend: The Founder's Trap

10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.

What's driving this score

What would change this score

No specific high-impact levers identified — this org's score is balanced across components.

Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.