Chief Executive Officer

Paula Fleming is Chief Executive Officer of Great Circle, providing leadership and strategic planning across the entire organization. Appointed to her current role in January 2020, she has been with Great Circle for 14 years, previously as chief operating officer, chief program officer and its Central region vice president. She has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit behavioral health field, including service to Presbyterian Children’s Services and William Woods University. She has a bachelor’s of science degree in psychology from Truman State University and master’s and doctorate degrees in educational and counseling psychology from University of Missouri-Columbia.

Chief Clinical Officer

Joining Great Circle in September 2020, Michael Meehan, PhD, serves as Great Circle’s Chief Clinical Officer. He oversees the agency’s continuum of programs and services, ensuring integration and alignment with Great Circle’s strategic goals and to provide the highest quality care possible in a trauma-informed way. Meehan has almost 30 years of experience working with children and families in clinical and community settings. He most recently served as executive director at Good Shepherd Children & Family Services, and also served in leadership roles at Epworth Children & Family Services, Hopewell Center and Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital. A licensed psychologist, he is an adjunct instructor of psychology at Maryville University, immediate past chair of Children's Services Coalition of St. Louis, and former board member of Missouri Coalition of Children's Agencies. Meehan also has been an active member of a variety child and advocacy focused community organizations, both secular and Catholic. His doctorate in clinical psychology is from Loyola University Chicago.

Chief Operating Officer

Appointed to his current position in January 2020, John Money serves as Chief Operating Officer, providing leadership over the organization’s multi-state operations. He joined Great Circle (then Boys & Girls Town of Missouri) in 1994 as the director of human resources and since then served as vice president of administration and chief of staff. He also helped guide the organization through several mergers with other Missouri-based behavioral health-focused nonprofits and the 2009 renaming to Great Circle. Money holds a bachelor’s in human resource management and psychology, and a master’s in business management from Webster University.

Chief Financial Officer

Nunn joined Great Circle in 2008 as vice president of finance/chief finance officer. Nunn oversees all financial matters, ensures compliance and internal controls, develops budgets and forecasts, manages the annual audit and oversees banking relationships. Prior to joining Great Circle, Nunn served as a corporate controller in private industry for more than 20 years. He is a graduate of Truman University in Kirksville, Missouri, with a bachelor of science in accounting. Nunn is a certified public accountant and member of the AICPA and MSCPA.

Chief Advancement Officer

Platte joined Great Circle in 2002 as vice president of advancement. She oversees fundraising, donor relations and volunteer programs in all regions. Platte previously served as director of advancement for the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Platte also served as director of development for Echo Emergency Children’s Home, Childhaven, and as director of annual Giving for Fontbonne University. Platte was an adjunct faculty member at Washington University and the master’s program in Non Profit Management. She is a former board member for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, serving as chair of the mentoring committee. Platte earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Chief Marketing Officer

Joining Great Circle in December 2014 in her current position, Sherfy oversees all marketing, internal and external communications, referral services and call center functions for the agency. Her leadership experience includes nonprofit executive management, public relations and development, reputation management, community outreach and volunteerism, and all facets of communications. Prior to Great Circle, Sherfy was at then-St. Anthony's Medical Center (now Mercy South), where she led the communications function and served as a member of the senior leadership team providing executive oversight of operations. Sherfy also served with international communications firm FleishmanHillard and was founding executive director of Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. She has bachelor of science degrees in journalism and political science from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

Chief Quality Officer

In her role, St. Cyr oversees Great Circle’s agency-wide, cross-functional integrated performance and quality improvement program to maximize organizational efficiency and effectiveness in line with the agency’s strategic and annual planning and trauma-informed care approach. She also leads the agency’s Robust Process Improvement program, and oversees the electronic health record system and accreditations. Having joined Great Circle in 2013, St. Cyr’s career has focused on developing broad experience evaluating programs, project and survey design, data analyses, along with expertise in project management and quantitative data management. She is a certified Change Leader and Green Belt, and has a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in criminology and criminal justice from University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Clay Thornhill joined Great Circle in October 2016 as Vice President / Chief Human Resources Officer, and oversees the organizational development, change management, talent acquisition, learning culture, performance management, associate relations, engagement, compensation, and benefits efforts. He previously served in corporate and field-based HR leadership roles for HD Smith, in Springfield, IL, and Walmart Stores, Inc., as well as operations management roles for the Fiat Chrysler Alliance. His focus is on building a collaborative, high-performing culture, as well as translating organizational strategies and goals into HR capabilities needed to achieve results. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration/marketing from McKendree University, and an MBA from Fontbonne University.