2025 Men of the Year: Stephen Hall

Stephen Hall is the resident storyteller of Springfield Public Schools, otherwise known as chief communications officer. Whether he is overseeing content creation, leading customer service efforts or completing a rebranding of the district, Hall centers the stories of SPS to build community in education.

“Throughout my career, I have aligned with causes that are important to me personally and professionally,” he says. “I am a product of public education, the parent of SPS students, part of an extended family of educators and a proud advocate for quality education accessible to all. I am honored to have a role within SPS that allows me to highlight the stories of others.”

There are nearly 4,000 educators and support staff and about 25,000 students at SPS. Hall leads a team coordinating community relations, communications, marketing and digital services, strategic engagements, customer service and video production in addition to other administrative tasks. They have received four Golden Achievement Awards from the National School Public Relations Association for strategic communications, marketing, branding and customer service.

“I have an amazing team and I focus on building positive relationships with each individual,” Hall says.

Hall graduated from University of Missouri with a bachelor’s in journalism and spent 14 years working for the American Red Cross and American Heart Association Inc. before joining SPS in 2017. Hall played an integral role in developing the district’s five-year strategic plan in 2022 and led rebranding efforts to align with the goals.

“The result of three months of research led to the district’s first new brand refresh in nearly 30 years, one that seeks to reinforce SPS as Missouri’s district of choice,” Hall says. “The visual representation of an open door is a bold symbol of our strategic work to open doors to the future for every student.”

He also developed volunteerism and community partnership within the communications department and implemented the Let’s Talk customer service platform to streamline communications. In 2024, he joined Superintendent Grenita Lathan in a presentation on creating a culture of collaboration at the School Superintendents Association national conference and on the SPS strategic plan at the Missouri School Boards’ Association conference.

Hall’s civic service includes being on two boards with United Way of the Ozarks and being involved with Community Partnership of the Ozarks Inc.’s annual It’s a Wonderful Night holiday fundraiser. In 2011, he was part of the One Air Alliance’s work to create Springfield’s Smokefree Air Act.

Family: I’ve been married to Allison for 24 years, who works for Olson Family Dental. We have two sons: Jacob, 20, who is studying journalism at the University of Missouri; and Jonathan, 17, a junior at Kickapoo High School.

Advice to other men: When we are brave enough to be vulnerable, we create a safe space for ourselves and others to pursue our full potential. This can only happen when we understand that mistakes are inevitable. By failing, we learn and we improve. Vulnerability strengthens relationships and builds and improves the culture at home, at work and in our community.