BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT

Tara Green

Senior Real Estate Agent

Regional Professional of the Year (2022)

Ameren Services

Tara Green grew up in Staunton, Illinois and began her real estate career when she graduated from Staunton High School. She continued her real estate career by earning a bachelor's degree of Business Management and her Managing Broker Real Estate License for Illinois.

In 2022, she celebrated her 23rd year in the real estate, construction, and right of way industries. At Ameren, she is the Real Estate Program Lead for multiple multi-million dollar complex and strategic program initiatives. One of the initiatives includes fiber installations and critical network expansion for the electric transmission right of way industry. Tara's years of experience in the industry paired with a drive to serve others thru quality relationships is the basis of her continued success in the real estate industry.

Personally, her passion for service includes Zion Lutheran Church in Bethalto, Illinois, cycling for various causes, and volunteering for animal rescue and training in the local area. Her favorite hobbies include cycling, horseback riding, and boating with her husband on Holiday Shores Lake.

PRESIDENT ELECT

Kimberly Gross is a Project Manager with Ameren Transmission. Her experience includes electric transmission throughout North America as well as gas transmission in Illinois. Prior to Ameren, Kimberly worked for LS Power where she developed, among other things, FERC 1000 projects and participated in competitive bid transmission proposals. She has 26 years of transmission experience as well as SR/WA, R/W-NAC, PMP, MBA and MA degrees and certifications.

Kimberly Gross, PMP, MBA, MA

Project Manager, Ameren Transmission

Ameren Services

KGross5@ameren.com

VICE PRESIDENT

Alex Brown is a Project Manager with Contract Land Staff. He has four years’ experience in the right-of-way industry, working on electric and gas transmission projects. Alex has been apart of the IRWA Chapter 37 since 2018 and has his RWA designation. Alex graduated from the University of Missouri Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in the Spring of 2018 and has his Missouri Real Estate License.

Alex Brown

Real Estate Specialist

Contract Land Staff, LLC

alex.brown@contractlandstaff.com

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR

Hello! I am Chris Scharth and I have been a member of IRWA Chapter 37 since 2013 and served as President of Chapter 37 in 2021. I have had the pleasure of meeting many great people along the way and experiencing the continuous growth of our Chapter. I currently work for Volkert serving as GIS Manager out of our Collinsville, IL and St. Louis, MO offices. I have been with Volkert since January 2008 working mostly with our Engineering and ROW/Real Estate departments. Although our GIS team specializes in a wide array of projects, the majority of the projects we support consist of ROW/Real Estate. We provide Web Based GIS, Mobile GIS and Asset Management support for all of these projects. In my free time, I enjoy almost anything outdoors, sporting events, attending my kid’s events and spending time with family.

Chris Scharth

GIS Supervisor

Volkert, Inc.

chris.scharth@volkert.com

SECRETARY

LaToya "Toy" Franklin was hired in 2007 at Ameren as a Customer Service Advisor. Toy joined the Ameren Real Estate department in 2017 and currently is a Senior Real Estate Representative. Her current positon supports the electric transmission team with NERC, Intelligrid and Transmission Line Maintenance projects. Toy's daily tasks include easement research and acquisition, preparing legal instruments including leases, licenses and permitting, coordinating pre-construction activities and settling construction damages. Toy holds a Masters of Arts-Procurement and Acquisitions Management and MBA degrees from Webster University. Most recently, Toy accepted a position as an Assistant Buyer at Ameren.

Toy's is well known for her positive attitude, people skills. As Chapter Secretary, she is here to be supportive to Chapter 37 and develop additional real estate skills.

In her free time, Toy enjoys traveling (post COVID), helping raise my nephew; Brayden and interior décor.

LaToya "TOY" Franklin, MBA, MA

Inventory Specialist / Assistant Buyer

Purchasing Department

LFranklin@ameren.com

TREASURER

Scott is currently serving as a Utilities Director for Contract Land Staff in the Midwest Region. Scott joined IRWA Chapter 37 in 2019, and was elected Treasurer in 2022. Scott’s responsibilities at CLS include providing project-level oversight, monitoring processes, protocols, staffing, project budgeting and project execution. Scott is a proven Project Manager for CLS and has worked on numerous linear projects for electric transmission, gas transmission, telecommunications, and water utility projects throughout Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Kentucky. Scott is a Missouri licensed Real Estate Salesperson, and he completed his MBA in 2020.

Scott Gross, MBA

Director - Utilities

Contract Land Staff, LLC

Scott.Gross@contractlandstaff.com