2023 40 Under 40 Spotlight: Melanie Stinnett, 2022

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Then: Owner, TheraCare Outpatient Services LLC
Now: Representative, District 133, Missouri House of Representatives, and vice president of therapy services, The Arc of the Ozarks

Some might say Melanie Stinnett, 39, is living an entrepreneur’s dream. She started TheraCare Outpatient Services, built it to a $1 million organization in eight years, then sold it.

But it wasn’t that scripted.

“I didn’t plan for TheraCare to grow like it did. I didn’t plan for the buyout,” she says, noting she was just meeting a community need. “I’ve approached life with open hands.”

Now, a Missouri House of Representatives seat is in her hands. The mid-2022 sale of TheraCare to fellow nonprofit The Arc of the Ozarks followed Sinnett’s announcement to run for House District 133, which she won in November 2022.

Similar to the way Stinnett jumped in to meet a need for children’s outpatient therapy services with TheraCare, the freshman representative already has sponsored five bills in her first session.

Best advice to young professionals?
You may manage policies and processes within a business or organization, but you lead people. Keeping those separate helps me focus on nurturing and helping people grow.