Presenting Sponsor: Manor Roofing and Restoration Services

Livestream Sponsor: Trinity Technical Solutions

Join us for our monthly networking and professional development luncheon! Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. and the formal program will begin at 11:50.

Advance registration is appreciated. Online pre-registration is $20 for members and $25 for guests until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15. After the pre-registration deadline, walk-in attendees can pay at the door for $25.

Unable to join us in person? Virtual attendance is available for this event! As part of an ongoing effort to support our local businesses, all virtual participants who are registered by Tuesday, March 15 will receive a $10 restaurant gift card with their registration.

Our speaker is Desiree Reed-Francois. Desiree Reed-Francois was named the Director of Athletics at the University of Missouri in August 2021, bringing with her more than 25 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics.

Already in her short tenure, Mizzou has made changes to enhance the gameday experience of guests, implemented Black & Gold Fridays across the state and made several prominent organizational hires towards the Department’s pursuit of excellence.

Reed-Francois came to Mizzou after serving four years as the Director of Athletics at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. While with the Rebels, she hired head coaches in men’s and women’s basketball, football, women’s soccer, softball, volleyball and women’s track and field, with three of those coaches earning Conference Coach of the Year honors early in their tenures.

In Las Vegas, Reed-Francois oversaw the completion and opening of a $35 million on-campus football training complex and successfully negotiated a joint-use agreement with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders for UNLV’s use of the new $2-billion Allegiant Stadium. During her time at UNLV, she completed or implemented more than $70 million in facility upgrades. An adept fundraiser, Reed-Francois led a $60 million development drive during her tenure, including an $8 million estate gift, the largest estate gift in the school’s history. Football season ticket sales and premium revenue jumped by 200% and 70% respectively, and Reed-Francois introduced a new apparel agreement with Nike.

Prior to arriving at UNLV, Reed-Francois served as the deputy athletics director at Virginia Tech, overseeing external relations and the day-to-day operations of the department and as a senior associate athletics director at the University of Cincinnati. At the University of Tennessee, she became the first woman to oversee a men’s basketball program in the SEC, which followed stints at California State University-Fresno, Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, the University of California Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco.

Reed-Francois earned a Bachelor’s Degree from UCLA and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona College of Law. She is a member of the State Bar of California and taught law classes at the University of Tennessee and at Santa Clara University. Prior to her work in college athletics, Reed-Francois worked as a legal associate for the Oakland Raiders and the NFL’s Management Council.

Reed-Francois is the first female athletic director in Mizzou’s history, the first female athletic director in a public institution in the SEC and was the first Hispanic female and woman of color athletics director at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level.

She and her husband, Joshua, have a son, Jackson, who will be attending MU in Fall 2022 to study journalism.

We hope to see you there!