STA da la bienvenida a los nuevos miembros del Consejo

July 16, 2026

St. Teresa’s Academy is honored to welcome the following leaders from the Kansas City community to the STA Board of Directors. Their appointments are effective July 1.

Luis Couchonnal, M.D., FACC

Luis Couchonnal, M.D., FACC, is a board-certified cardiac electrophysiologist and director of Cardiac Electrophysiology for Healient Physician Group and St. Joseph Medical Center, where he also serves as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and a member of the hospital’s Board of Directors.

An accomplished physician and healthcare leader, Dr. Couchonnal was named St. Joseph Medical Center’s 2023 Physician of the Year in recognition of his clinical excellence and leadership. Before joining St. Joseph Medical Center, he served as director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at CHI Health and as an assistant professor at Creighton University School of Medicine.

Dr. Couchonnal earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center and completed fellowships in cardiology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Iowa and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Couchonnal is the husband of Kathleen Couchonnal, former Director of STA Recruitment and Enrollment and an alumna from the STA Class of 1992, and is father of Caroline Couchonnal, an alumna from the STA Class of 2025.

Shani Tate Ross (‘91)

Shani Tate Ross, an alumna from the St. Teresa’s Academy Class of 1991, is a commercial strategy and revenue growth executive with more than two decades of experience leading strategic partnerships, integrated marketing, communications, and business development initiatives across the sports, entertainment and corporate sectors. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing for T-Mobile Center, where she oversaw all commercial functions, integrated marketing and strategic communications for the award-winning venue for nearly two decades. Today, she advises municipalities, venture-backed firms, higher education institutions and consumer brands on growth strategy, partnership development, stakeholder engagement and organizational effectiveness.

A recognized leader in the sports and entertainment industry, Tate Ross was named to Billboard‘s 2022 Women in Music Top Executives list, recognized by the National Diversity & Leadership Conference as one of the Top 50 Leaders in Entertainment, and recognized as a 2026 Women of Influence honoree. Before joining T-Mobile Center, she held strategic communications roles with the Kansas City Royals and was selected for Major League Baseball’s Executive Development Program.

Beyond her professional career, Tate Ross is an active civic leader, serving with organizations that support women, children, and youth throughout the Kansas City community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree from the University of Missouri–Kansas City.