History
Build Missouri Health (BMH) was launched in 2019 as a subsidiary nonprofit of the Missouri Foundation for Health. As the charitable partner of the Foundation, BMH is uniquely positioned to ensure that the Midwest, in general, and Missouri, in particular, is represented in important collaborations and conversations taking part across the nation and around the globe about the importance of addressing health inequities and improving health outcomes for all. Towards that end, BMH is working to create and participate in discussions and activities addressing the quality of life in Missouri to ensure that health and its social determinants are part of every effort undertaken in the state.
In 2020, BMH’s first year, we were nimble and responsive during a global pandemic by mobilizing in partnership with the St. Louis Community Foundation to support the COVID-19 Regional Response Team (RRT). A fluid and community-centered group, the RRT needed the proper structures and supports to be effective, yet it did not have the time to build infrastructure. BMH provided administrative processes to manage the flow of funds, ensure legal compliance, and mobilize several cross-sector partners to form a cohesive response to the public health threat.
BMH currently provides fiscal sponsorship for the Green City Coalition, a collaboration of the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis Development Corporation, the MO Department of Conservation, and the Metropolitan Sewer District to convert vacant and abandoned properties into new community-owned green spaces that promote healthy, biodiverse, and resilient neighborhoods. In 2022, BMH hired its first executive director to lead the organization into its next work phase.
Meet the Staff
Jasmine N. Hall Ratliff 
Jasmine N. Hall Ratliff is the Executive Director of Build Missouri Health. As the organization’s first ED, she is tasked with building its strategic plan, activating its priority areas, and building partnerships across the state. Before joining BMH, Jasmine worked in several capacities at Keecha Harris and Associates, a Black-woman-owned national consulting firm, and as a program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where she worked primarily on healthy food access and policy. Early in her career, she worked at the Missouri Foundation for Health, directing the women’s and children’s oral health grant programs.
Mrs. Hall Ratliff earned a Master of Health Administration from the Saint Louis University School of Public Health and a BA from the University of Virginia (Go Hoos!). She has presented at numerous national conferences on food policy and philanthropy, has been published in blogs and peer-reviewed journals, and has completed various national fellowships. Mrs. Hall Ratliff resides in St. Louis, MO with her husband, teenage child, and 4-legged children, Casey the tortoise and JT the cat.
Dr. Andwele Jolly, Chair
Derek Weber
Darrel Pfeifauf, Treasurer
Dr. Dwayne Proctor, Ex-officio
Miranda Lewis, Secretary
Ray Finney
Dina van der Zalm