The Culverhouse African American Alumni Network (CAAAN) Conference will be held on February 23, 2024, on The University of Alabama campus. CAAAN is designed to provide a platform for engagement and connection between African American Culverhouse alumni and current Culverhouse students and to recognize early Culverhouse graduates and outstanding achievements among African American alumni.
The Alumni Recognition Luncheon will be held in conjunction with the CAAAN Student Development Conference on Friday, February 23rd at 11:00 a.m. on The University of Alabama campus. The luncheon will highlight and celebrate the professional and societal contributions of exemplary alumni of the Culverhouse College of Business.
Proceeds from the event support the Culture and Success Support Fund. This event is targeted outreach that supports recruiting and academic success. It is open to everyone. The content is beneficial for all students and professionals.
Nanette (Nan) Baldwin, IOM, APR, is the vice president of Chamber Operations at the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA). The mission of the BBA is to help businesses start, stay and succeed in Birmingham. In her role, Nan leads the Birmingham Chamber, which promotes the interests of the Birmingham business community by providing networking, education awareness, advocacy, and community engagement opportunities for businesses in the Birmingham area. She is committed to carrying out the organization’s mission by ensuring the strategic direction, vision, and management of initiatives that advance the economic well-being of small businesses, women and minority-owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-up companies.
In addition, Nan is an adjunct professor at Samford University, in the College of Professional Studies, where she teaches a course on Nonprofit Leadership.
Nan earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Public and Private Management from Birmingham-Southern College. Her professional credentials include:
Nan serves on several local non-profit organization boards. In 2022, Nan was reappointed by Governor Kay Ivey to serve on the Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. She is a founding board member of the Alabama Brownfields Association, and she currently serves on the Alabama Partners for Clean Air Coalition. Previous board memberships include the Birmingham Urban League and One Roof, where she was the Chairman of the Board for both organizations from 2015-2017.
Nan is a member of the Tri-County, AL Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Omicron Omega Chapter. She is a lifelong resident of Birmingham and a graduate of A. H. Parker High School in the Birmingham City Schools System. She is married to James Baldwin, and they have a set of adult twins, and one granddaughter.
Lieutenant General (LTG) Gwen Bingham is a US Army retired 3-star General and a native of Troy, Alabama. She graduated from Army ROTC as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Alabama in August 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and Business Administration. She was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps. Lieutenant General Bingham has a Master’s degree in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master’s degree in National Security Strategy and Resources from the National Defense University.
LTG (R) Bingham deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan in April 2010 in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. She has been a trailblazer, serving as the first woman to hold numerous positions as a General Officer. They include: The Army’s 51st Quartermaster General and Commandant of the US Army Quartermaster School; Commanding General, White Sands Missile Range; and Commanding General, Tank-automotive and Armaments Life Cycle Management Command. She culminated over 38 years of service in her final assignment as the HQDA Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, The Pentagon.
LTG (R) Bingham’s professional affiliations include: Council on Foreign Relations, member; National Association of Corporate Directors; Blue Star Families Board of Directors (Vice-Chair); Owens and Minor, Incorporated Board of Directors (and Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee); Military Child Education Coalition, Life Member; Association of the United States Army, Life Member; ROCKS, Incorporated, Life Member; and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Life Member.
LTG (R) Bingham was selected to the Army Women’s Foundation 2022 Hall of Fame; the 2022 Quartermaster Corps Hall of Fame; named a 2021 “CNN Champion for Change” and is the recipient of the 2019 White House Correspondents “Be Fearless” Award; the 2019 Joint Women’s Leadership in Excellence Meritorious Service Award; the 2018 Ellis Island Medal of Honor; the 2018 Women in Defense Service to the Flag award and the 2014 Rock of the Year award. She and her husband, Dr. Patrick J. Bingham, have two adult children and reside in Leander, Texas.
Wiley Mullins is the founder and president of Uncle Wiley’s Specialty Foods, Inc., a Fairfield, Connecticut-based firm that produces and markets Wiley’s “Healthy Southern Classics” seasonings and spices. A passion for southern cooking and a starting base of his grandmother’s recipes, combined with ten years of marketing expertise in the consumer-packaged food industry, enabled Wiley to launch this business in 1992. His goal was to introduce a healthy approach to preparing common foods.
In 31 active years, he has expanded his product line and distribution network so that today Uncle Wiley’s products are now sold in supermarkets across the country. For his business success, Wiley has received recognition from a number of organizations, including a past recipient of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council’s Small Businessperson of the Year Award. He has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual 51 American Small Business Success Stories and received Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Distinguished Alumni Business Leadership Award. Smart Money Magazine, a Dow Jones publication, also featured Wiley in a past issue. He was the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America’s Good Scout Award and The Bank of America Community Heroes Award. Wiley was also presented with the Trailblazer Award at the 15th Annual Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Economic Summit in New York City.
Wiley’s first book, Salad Makes The Meal (Rodale Press), was published in 2008.
In 2022, Wiley introduced a line of dinnerware sold exclusively online. In a very short year, the line has been recognized nationally on radio and TV lifestyle programs. The line is named Table Telling™ and can be found at www.tabletelling.com.
A Connecticut resident for 39 years, Wiley is a graduate of The University of Alabama and received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. After graduate school, he joined Procter & Gamble, Inc. Throughout his marketing career, he has managed national brands including Vick’s VapoRub, Mott’s Apple Sauce, and Vick’s NyQuil.
Active involvements include the following: The Connecticut Yankee Council – Boy Scouts of America (Vice President – Scoutreach); The Bridgeport Public Education Fund (Chairman Emeritus); The New Canaan Society (National Vice Chairman); Recovery Network (Board Member); and Easter Seals of Connecticut (Chairman).
Culverhouse African American Alumni Recognition Luncheon is an annual gathering to highlight and celebrate the professional and societal contributions of exemplary alumni of the Culverhouse College of Business and is held in conjunction with the Culverhouse African American Alumni Network Conference.
Conference Schedule
Confirmed panelists. Session order is tentative.
Alston Hall, Rm 30
12:15 – 12:45
2024 Alumni Honorees
Nan Baldwin, Vice President, Chamber Operations, Birmingham Business Alliance
Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, 3-Star General, U.S. Army, Retired
Wiley Mullins, President and Owner, Wiley’s, Inc.
Moderator: Dr. Alice Holloway, Entrepreneur and Clinical Instructor, Culverhouse Management Department
1:00 – 1:50
What I Would Tell My College Self
Calvin Dunning II, SVP, Director of Community Development, FirstBank
Arielle Hurst, Senior Consultant, IBM
Brittney Galloway Malone, International Marketing and Communications Representative, Lockheed Martin
Moderator: Nick Givens, VP of Cybersecurity Engineering/Architecture/Product, Walmart
2:00 – 2:50
Navigating Career Choices
Cara Weaver Fields, VP & General Manager, Southeast States at AT&T
Daryl Grant, Principal, Financial Services, KPMG Advisory Services
Kimberly L. Jackson, Government and Community Relations Manager, Alabama Power Company
Moderator: Leigh Davis, Culverhouse Women’s Initiative Advisory Board Member, SVP Marketing & Economic Development, Alabama Power Company
3:00 – 3:50
Preparing Yourself to Manage People
Andre Anderson, First VP and Chief Operating Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Samuel Moses, VP of Corporate Systems at The Home Depot
TK Smith, Head of Business Execution, Citi HR, Global Diversity & Talent Management
Moderator: Tracy Croom, Director of Financial Management, Federal Reserve Bank
4:00 – 4:50
Insights from Owners/Entrepreneurs
James Kemp Jr, Vice President of KMS Family of Companies
Rashada LeRoy, President and CEO at LRY Media Group
Thomas Walker, Enterprise-Level Account Manager, DoorDash
Moderator: Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne, Executive Director of the Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute
5:00 – 6:00
Networking Session: Appetizers and Other Refreshments Provided
Alston Parlor, 4th Fl, Alston Hall
1:15
Honorees Speak at First Conference Session
André T. Anderson is first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a position he assumed in July 2018. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the Atlanta Fed and is the vice chair of the Sixth District’s Executive Leadership Committee. He is also a member of the Discount Committee that reviews district discount window lending and is backup to the president of the Atlanta Fed in the execution of his monetary policy responsibilities.
Mr. Anderson began his career at the Birmingham Branch of the Atlanta Fed in 1984 as a management intern in the data processing department. In January 2002, he transferred to the Atlanta office and became vice president over community affairs in the supervision and regulation division. In January 2010, he was promoted to Senior Vice President over the corporate engagement division.
Over his career, Mr. Anderson has served in numerous leadership roles both in the Sixth District and at the System level. In 2014 he completed an 11-month assignment with the Board of Governors where he served as deputy director of the Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems (RBOPS) division. He is a member of the Conference of First Vice Presidents, Chair of the Committee on Plan Administration, and is involved in various projects and initiatives to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Reserve’s System-wide operations.
Mr. Anderson currently serves on the board of directors of the Atlanta Police Foundation, Atlanta Beltline Partnership, and the Midtown Alliance.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, he holds a bachelor’s degree in corporate finance from the University of Alabama. He also completed the executive development program at Cornell University.
Since 2016, Ms. Croom has served as the Director of Procurement for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Her team is responsible for securing contractual purchases for the Federal Reserve’s 6th District encompassing six offices located in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Louisiana. Prior to returning to the Federal Reserve System, she retired with nearly 30 years of service from the City of Tuscaloosa after serving as the City Clerk. She was responsible for the functions of the Office of the Mayor, Offices of the City Council, Office of the City Clerk and Tuscaloosa 311. As City Clerk, Ms. Croom also served as the lead department head in the absence of Mayor Walt Maddox. She began her career with the Federal Reserve System prior to working for the City of Tuscaloosa. She is also the proud CEO and founder of Grab Our Wealth, LLC.
Celebrating many firsts in her career, Ms. Croom was promoted the first minority female department head for the City of Tuscaloosa. Prior to serving as City Clerk, Ms. Croom was the City’s Associate Finance Director for over 21 years making her the first female minority administrator for the City. Graduating in 1983 as a married mother with two very small children and the only minority female at the University of Alabama with a BS degree in Finance with a Law Concentration, she began her professional career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Birmingham Branch as the first minority woman in management. She holds the distinctions of Certified Public Manager, Certified Government Finance Office and Certified Government Accounting Technician.
She has served on numerous local, state and national boards throughout her career. Under her leadership as president of the Alabama Government Finance Officers Association, the Certified Governmental Accounting Technician of Alabama (CGAT) program was developed and to date over 250 technicians from local and county governments, as well as, school systems throughout Alabama have earned the CGAT designation. Her most recent non-profit affiliations include serving as the Finance Director for the College Hill Missionary Baptist Church, a member of the Board of Directors and Finance Committee for the Healing Community Center in Atlanta, GA and assisting with Pathway Ministries and Abrahams House, Inc. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
To name a few of her accomplishments, Ms. Croom was selected as the University of Alabama Vivian Malone Alumnus of the Year (2022), Raphael Bostic Constellation Award Winner (2020), a member of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces Initiative Task Force (2015), installed as a Stephen Minister (2015), recipient of the Trail Blazer Award by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama’s Women In Business Council (2011). She is the proud mother of some amazing children: Tamara, Kevin, Teresa and Kennis, and eight beautiful grandchildren Talia, Erwin Jr., Ethan, Chloe, Rockwell, Tinsley, Averi and Kylin.
Leigh Davis is senior vice president of Marketing and Economic Development at Alabama Power Company, an electric utility that serves more than 1.5 million customers.
Davis leads Alabama Power’s economic development efforts across the state supporting new and expanding industry and helping communities of all sizes enhance their prospects for economic growth. In addition, she oversees customer strategies and solutions in the areas of clean energy, connectivity, electric transportation, innovation, and energy efficiency for Alabama Power’s commercial and industrial customers.
With more than 25 years in the energy industry, Davis draws from broad and diverse leadership roles across Southern Company including Alabama Power, Southern Nuclear and Southern Company Services.
Prior to her current responsibilities, Davis was Vice President for Customer Services responsible for integrating critical aspects of the customer experience, including the use of innovative technologies and research, to support Alabama Power’s residential and commercial customers.
Earlier in her career, Davis served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Southern Company Operations. In that position, she was responsible for legal strategy, energy policy and compliance supporting Southern Company’s generation, transmission, engineering & construction services, system planning, environmental R&D and its competitive generation business units (Southern Power and Southern Wholesale Energy). As General Counsel for Southern Nuclear, Davis led corporate communications, legal strategy, compliance, and employee concerns departments.
Davis has also served as president of the Alabama Power Foundation and executive director of the Alabama Business Charitable Trust, vice president and regional technology officer, and vice president of corporate real estate for Alabama Power. As part of Plant Miller’s site leadership team, she managed the compliance, budgets, security, training, water chemistry and technology functions at one of the largest power plants in the United States.
Her prior external affairs experience includes leadership roles in Governmental Relations and Environmental Affairs in Birmingham, Atlanta and Washington DC. She also served as Counsel in Southern Company’s DC office, focused on industrywide litigation and energy policy.
Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Alabama, a juris doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law and an MBA from Samford University. In addition, she completed an executive education program in corporate finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. As part of an international global partnership with Harvard Business School and INSEAD, she also completed a yearlong fellowship in the International Women’s Forum (IWF) executive leadership program.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Davis has been active civically throughout her career and serves on various philanthropic and corporate boards. She is a graduate of MOMENTUM, Leadership UAB, Leadership Birmingham and currently participating in Leadership Alabama’s XXXIII Class.
Calvin Dunning was born in Montgomery, Alabama to Calvin and Denise Dunning.
Calvin is a proud graduate of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide) where he earned a degree in International Finance with a concentration in Spanish and minor in Economics.
Calvin moved to Nashville in 2013 and is currently Senior Vice President: Director of Community Development for FirstBank. He previously worked exclusively in Capital Markets as Pricing Manager before pivoting to compliance and then community development in 2022. Community Development allows Calvin to be a bridge from the bank to the community he cares the most about by helping provide credit opportunities to millions of Nashville families through outreach and analytical research. Changing lives is now both his professional and personal purpose.
Calvin was selected by The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as one of Nashville’s Top 30 Professionals Under 30 in 2018. He also was selected to the 2019 class of Nashville Emerging Leaders, the 73rd class of The Young Leaders Council, Nashville Black Top 40 under 40, The University of Alabama Black Alumni Association 60 for 60, and the 5th Class of Leadership TN NEXT. Calvin now serves on the board for Siloam Health Next Gen Board, Make-a Wish Middle TN Young Leaders Board, The Midwestern Board for Operation Hope and the advisory board for The Housing Fund.
Cara is the Vice President and General Manager of the Southeast States, AT&T’s largest market in the nation, responsible for sales and distribution in Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee. She is focused on driving share growth and delivering best-in-class customer experience to over 10M subscribers. Southeast States contributes over $6B in wireless and fiber revenue to the company each year.
Before her current role, Cara was Vice President & General Manager of the Gulf States market, supporting retail and distribution across Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Northwest Florida, delivering the fastest-growing market share in the company. She is a 20+ year sales and operations veteran with an intimate understanding of sales, operations, distribution, and how to successfully lead large, diverse teams of professionals.
Cara previously led a team of over 10,000 contact center professionals delivering best-in-class customer service and managed the account relationships with AT&T’s largest Authorized Retailers. She led AT&T’s National Retail organization and was responsible for sales, distribution, and dealer relationship management for Cricket Wireless in the North Texas market. Cara has also supported the CEO of AT&T Communications and President of AT&T Retail Sales & Service as Chief of Staff.
As an active supporter of AT&T’s corporate giving efforts and community service, Cara is passionate about fostering women in her industry. She has served as a mentor in women’s leadership programs inside and outside AT&T, and is a dedicated member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Cara is an affiliate of the United Way Women of Tocqueville Society and a board member of IGNITE National, a non-partisan 501c3, which encourages young women to engage in the political process actively. She also serves on the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business Board of Visitors.
Cara is a native of Birmingham, AL, and a graduate of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!). She is a huge collegiate and professional sports fan. She enjoys being a mom to her son, Amaris, who attends the University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband, Greg, reside in Atlanta, GA.
Nick currently leads our global cybersecurity architecture and engineering organization. He leads multiple teams responsible for providing technologies and services that protect our global enterprise and customers. He has been with Walmart for twenty-one years, leading different technology teams and initiatives across the company.
He has spent over 19 years in security in both technical and leadership roles working in multiple functional areas including application development, systems engineering, and forensics,. He has also held leadership roles outside of security including work in our international technology division where he was the Director of Intl Technology/Compliance and led key compliance initiatives within multiple international markets (China, India, and Brazil). He has also held leadership roles in software quality engineering as Director of Quality Engineering where he led multiple teams responsible for software assurance and quality across critical areas of POS and BigData. He also was the Sr Director of Business Analysis Shared Services where led the BA practice and journey to agile across our retail technology organization.
Nick lives in Marietta GA with his wife and five year old son Jayden. He enjoys playing with his son and his newfound passion of Karate and loves spending time with family watching movies and enjoying gaming and tech wherever possible!
Daryl is a Principal in KPMG’s Financial Services Advisory practice with 25 years of management consulting experience. He brings a track record of delivering lending transformation results by cultivating trust-based client relationships and developing high-caliber teams. He serves in various executive leadership roles supporting both banking clients and non-bank lenders. Daryl also brings KPMG’s unique perspective around the transformational value of artificial intelligence and other digital capabilities to drive profitable growth for financial institutions.
Daryl is native of Birmingham where he graduated from Vestavia Hills High School. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from The University of Alabama majoring in Marketing and Computer Science. He also earned an MBA from The Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Prior to joining KPMG in 2016, Daryl was a Managing Director in Accenture’s Credit Services practice where he served as account lead for the firm’s BBVA Compass relationship amongst other roles.
Daryl is active within his community serving in various capacities including The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute board of directors, the Alabama Capital Network advisory board, the Leadership Birmingham alumni council, and the United Way of Central Alabama board of directors.
Daryl is married to the Honorable Shera C. Grant. They have a fourteen-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son. They are members of Trinity Baptist Church where Daryl serves as a Deacon. Daryl is also a member of the Alpha Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Award Winning Strategist. Collaborator. Ecosystem Builder. Researcher. Serial Entrepreneur. Strategist. Teaching and Technologist. Problem Solver.
Those dimensions describe Dr. Alice Gordon Holloway, Instructor of Management at The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business in the Department of Management and Executive Problem Solver, and CEO at Skye Connect Incorporated who firmly believes in the adage of what gets measured gets done.
Results Oriented and Hands On. Her research streams include studying micro and macro entrepreneurship, minority entrepreneurship, organizational threats, competitive advantage, corporate social responsibility, business ethics, board governance and emerging technologies in artificial intelligence.
She has authored and presented academic conference papers at the Midwest Academy of Management (MAOM) and the United States Association for Small Business Entrepreneurship (USASBE). Prior to her academic career, Alice launched five entrepreneurial enterprises representing the business communications, supply chain diversity and health and safety industries.
Her public sector work included working at Alabama Power and Southern Nuclear national electric and nuclear power corporate utility in the areas of utility management, community relations, and leadership.
As a business strategist, her private sector work has included working with regional and national clients to include Southern Research, Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, City of Mobile, Illinois Department of Transportation and American Association of Blacks in Energy.
Alice is a past Merit Award winner from the International Association of Business Communicators and listed as Top Supplier Diversity Ambassador nationally by MBN USA Magazine. Dr. Holloway completing her Ph.D. in Business Administration in Management from the University of South Alabama, her Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Bachelors’ Degree from the University of South Alabama.
Arielle Hurst is a Strategy Consultant who drives data analysis to emphasize productivity within IBM. With a demonstrated history of implementing emerging technologies and business recommendations, Arielle delivers value by integrating transformation strategy, data insights, and customer relationship management. Arielle remains dedicated to her community, leveraging her skills to provide resources and support through organizations such as Black Girls Code, Manderson Corporate Partnerships, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Arielle holds a B.S. in Commerce and Business Administration, an MBA, and a M.S. in Enterprise Integration from The University of Alabama.
Kimberly L. Jackson was named Government and Community Relations Manager in the Birmingham Division of Alabama Power Company in November of 2019. In this role, she is responsible for leading a team in building and expanding relationships with key government, civic and community development stakeholders in support of strengthening communities primarily in Jefferson, Shelby and (a small portion of) St. Clair Counties. Kimberly is charged with partnering with these communities to create innovative strategies for growth.
Kimberly joined Alabama Power in 2008 and has worked in various capacities with increasing responsibility in the Regulatory, Financial Planning and Marketing & Business Development departments. Most recently, prior to her current role, Kimberly served as Assistant Corporate Secretary, a role to which she was elected in 2015.
Prior to joining Alabama Power, Kimberly’s previous professional experience included positions as auditor for Ernst & Young, LLP and accountant for Infinity Insurance Companies.
Kimberly graduated from the University of Alabama with a B.S. in Finance, and a minor in Economics. She also attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she obtained her CPA Equivalency.
Kimberly is the 2023-2024 Chair of the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham. She is an Executive Committee member of the Boards of Directors of Holy Family Cristo Rey, Railroad Park Foundation and REV Birmingham. Kimberly is currently Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the MS Society – Alabama/Mississippi/Louisiana Chapter, having previously chaired the Society’s 2021 Leadership Class Advisory Council. She also serves on the Boards of Directors for several Chambers of Commerce in the Jefferson and Shelby County areas. Kimberly is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham; the Birmingham Change Fund; the United Way of Central Alabama’s (UWCA) 100th Anniversary Planning Committee, Women United Advisory Council, J. Mason Davis Leadership Society and Tocqueville Society. She previously served on the Boards of Directors for the United Way of Central Alabama’s Young Leadership Society and the Rotaract Club of Birmingham. Kimberly is a graduate of the 2022 Class of Leadership Hoover, as well as the 2014 Class of Leadership UAB.
Kimberly and her husband, L. Waymond Jackson, Jr., have an energetic 11-year-old son, Leo, and an even more energetic 3-year-old daughter, Kai.
James Michael Kemp, Jr. is the Vice President of the KMS Family of Companies which includes Kemp Management Solutions (KMS), Frameworq, and Streemline. KMS was named to the INC 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in 2021 and 2022. KMS has grown to annual revenues of $23M with over 25 full-time staff members while working in 21 states. James is 2nd generation in the family-owned business, working with his father Mike and mother Ursula who founded KMS in 2011. KMS’s most notable clients include Truist Bank, Regions Bank, Encompass Health, Medical Properties Trust, and Alabama Power Company.
With nine years’ experience at KMS working in a variety of capacities—including IT support, finance & accounting, marketing, process improvement and client relations—James has played a key role in the company’s growth. James has been able to cultivate his leadership and strategic skillset through helping create and launch KMS’s SaaS platform Frameworq, recently co-founding Streemline, and through managing KMS’s two largest client accounts with Regions Bank and Truist Bank—executing over a combined 300 projects per year. James graduated summa cum laude in finance from the University of Alabama (UA) and earned an MBA from their Manderson Graduate School of Business specializing in strategic management. The Birmingham Business Journal recognized James as a “rising star” in real estate and construction in 2019 and a NextGenBHM award recipient in 2020.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama—where KMS was founded, James works to remain active in the community. James previously served as the Rotaract Club of Birmingham’s vice president of finance and now serves on the Club’s charitable foundation’s board of directors. In 2022, James joined Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham’s board of directors. More recently, James joined the junior board of the Birmingham Zoo and the Preschool Partner’s young partners board. James gives back to his alma mater UA through his involvement in The Blackburn Institute’s advisory board and the business school’s board of visitors. James and his wife Jasmine have been married for six years and now reside in Homewood, Alabama, with their two sons—Jotham Michael (4) and Judah Maverick (2).
“Voted one of the top people to watch in 2022 by the Birmingham Business Journal, Rashada LeRoy is the CEO of LRY Media Group. She is a keynote speaker and serial entrepreneur with a background in experiential marketing and production. Her career expands over several industries including information technology, charitable giving, and media and PR. In 2017, Rashada founded LRY Media Group, a solutions agency specializing in experiential events.
Since its founding, LRY has had the honor of producing several major events for companies and organizations such as Alabama 200, Birmingham Freedom Festival, Morehouse Tuskegee Classic and many more. In 2019 LRY was selected to produce The Opening and Closing Ceremonies for The World Games 2022. Along with producing the biggest moments of The World Games, LRY produced and managed The World Games Plaza which included multiple days of activations for thousands of fans that attended The World Games.
Prior to founding LRY, Rashada was a senior advertising specialist at Alabama Power, an electric utility company serving more than 1.4 million customers across the state of Alabama. She served in roles of increasing professional responsibility in the company’s Public Relations department and The Alabama Power Foundation.
Integrally involved in the community, Rashada sits on the board of the Alabama Small Business Development Initiative, Birmingham Corps, and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. She is the former board president of The Alabama Classic Foundation and recently held positions on the Sidewalk Film Festival Board, Birmingham Public Library Junior Board, Railroad Park Junior Board, the Mayor’s YP United and the YWCA Purse and Passion Public Relations Committee.
Rashada received a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from The University of Alabama. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Brittany Malone is a data driven marketer and storyteller with seven years of aviation and automotive communications experience across media relations, international communications, digital marketing, experiential marketing, and strategic communications.
In her current role at Lockheed Martin, Brittany is responsible for strategic marketing and communications supporting the F-35 Lightning II program in the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland Denmark, Poland, Italy, Netherlands and Norway a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. In this role, Brittany serves as a primary spokesperson on all aspects of the F-35 program, Lockheed Martin’s highest profile product.
Brittany began her career with Lockheed Martin in 2016 as Communications Leadership Development Associate. Since then, she has held various positions within the company’s Communications function area. Prior to her current role, Brittany led the F-35 Lightning II Digital Marketing team. In that role she was responsible for content creation, production, and execution of F-35 social and digital content across 10+ international markets.
Outside of her career, Brittany is very involved in the community, in fact she is a member 2024 Leadership Cobb cohort. Additional she serves a volunteer for various organizations, such as Atlanta Youth Tennis and Education Foundation, Girls Inc., Habitat for Humanity and Alabama Alumni Association. She currently serves as an active member of the Rho Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Brittany and her Husband Jason Malone (Attorney) have one dog, Hank Bear Bryant Malone. Together they enjoy tennis, golf, reading (world history), traveling and Alabama athletics.
Sam Moses is Vice President of Corporate Systems at The Home Depot. He has over 20 years of technology experience with several companies including Walmart and NCR. Sam joined The Home Depot in 2020 and his responsibilities include Human Resources and Financial Systems.
Prior to his current role, Sam served as CTO for the Walmart Team at NCR. This role included building integrated sales solutions that translated Walmart’s business objectives into technology that transformed sales floor and Point of Sale (POS) transactions.
Sam’s experience within Walmart Technology included serving as VP of Technology Modernization and VP of Corporate Systems. While serving as Sr Director of Global Technology, he completed an expatriate assignment in Bengaluru, India. As Sr Director, he was responsible for building and leading a software engineering organization that provided services and capabilities to Walmart. Sam’s application development experience at Walmart included responsibilities within Back Office Systems, IT Strategy & Governance, Store Systems Application Development, Merchandizing/Replenishment, QA & Operations Support, and Merchandizing Application Development. Since starting his career as a software developer in 1999, Sam held many leadership positions within Walmart.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree with a major in Management Information Systems from the University of Alabama.
Fun Fact: Sam owned a car dealership named Euphrates Auto. The idea was to give away cars to Non-Profits in Developing countries. They never gave a car away to a non-profit, however, they did sell and trade several cars at cost or below. One car they gave away was to a young mother who was living in her van who didn’t have reliable transportation to work.
Sam also has a daughter that is continuing the tradition to Roll with the Tide.
TK Smith is a Compliance professional with almost 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry; with a specialization in Compliance Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, Program Governance and Management, Portfolio Management, and Business Operations.
Having been with Citigroup for 10 years, TK has held a number of roles at Citi and is currently a Director and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Talent Management discipline, a taxonomy within Citigroup’s Global Human Resources function. GDTM is responsible for setting and driving Citigroup’s agenda on talent planning, succession planning and leadership development while strengthening our diversity, equity and inclusion work across the enterprise with new ideas and approaches to challenge us and help us grow. In TK’s role as CAO, she manages a team who’s responsible for enabling a sustainable operating model and structure in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Talent Management discipline by implementing appropriate business processes, a robust risk & control framework, governance routines to drive the execution of the DEI and Talent Management strategies, and consent order delivery for Talent Transformation . Additionally, TK has oversight of GDTM’s financial management and performance, vendor management, internal and external exam management, issue management, and communications strategy.
TK holds a Master’s in Public Administration with a Public Policy area of focus, a Master’s in Business Administration with a Strategic Management area of focus, and a Bachelor’s in Commerce and Business Administration with a primary concentration in Management Information Systems Computer Science.
TK is committed to giving back to her local community thru mentorship programs and volunteer service throughout the year. In addition to her commitment to her local community, TK is equally committed to the University of Alabama’s community; where she devotes time throughout the year to give back to her beloved alma mater. She is also a member of the Culverhouse College of Business Board of Visitors.
Fun fact – In addition to being a staunch follower of her collegiate sports teams (Roll Tide) and professional sports teams, TK is a self-professed amateur sunset chaser and has captured over 500 sunset photos from four continents.
Thomas is a product of Birmingham, AL. He earned a bachelor’s degree (BS 2011) and Executive MBA from the University of Alabama (TEMBA 2016). Thomas is a seasoned enterprise account manager and automotive retail expert with over a decade of experience managing his family’s multiple independently-owned Goodyear tire and auto service shops across Birmingham to leading sales strategies with The Goodyear and Tire Rubber Company for 200+ retail partners.
Bringing together his experience in automotive, challenges observed in the industry, and an admiration for making the world a more convenient place through technology, Thomas co-founded S(w)ervice – a tech-enabled company that partners with auto repair facilities to provide contactless, vehicle pick up and drop off for maintenance.
Leveraged by his entrepreneurial and resourceful skillset, Thomas joined DoorDash as an enterprise-level account manager leading growth strategies for national restaurant brands worth $600M+ annually.
Thomas serves as past-president of the University of Alabama Executive MBA Alumni Network, a DEI Ambassador at DoorDash, and is an avid coach for entrepreneurship advancement programs and companies.
In his spare time, Thomas enjoys traveling and exploring different cultures with his wife Shenita, while cheering on the Crimson Tide on Saturdays!
Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne’s expertise is in the areas of entrepreneurship, human capital management and strategic leadership in high growth, entrepreneurial and high change organizations. Dr. Welbourne’s research and work have been featured in popular publications such as Inc. Magazine, Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Business Week, New York Times, and Entrepreneur Magazine and published in books and in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Human Resource Planning, Journal of Organization Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, Leader to Leader, Organization Dynamics and Group and Organization Management. Theresa is a prolific writer, well known speaker, and she focuses on turning rigorous research into practical tools that are being used by organizations around the world. She consults with numerous organizations in multiple industries including manufacturing, high technology, telecommunications, financial services, and professional consulting organizations. Theresa was awarded the 2012 Academy of Management Distinguished HR Executive Award (for contributions in research, teaching and practice). She was named a Top Technology Trendsetter in 2014 by Survey Magazine. Theresa runs a large-scale research study on initial public offerings (IPOs), which focuses on the development of new learning to identify the drivers of sustainable and continual firm-level growth. In addition, she holds an appointment as an affiliated research scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations, University of Southern California. She also is the founder, president, and CEO of eePulse, Inc., a human capital technology and consulting firm.
General proceeds go to the Culture and Success Support Fund.
National Black MBA Association Manderson Graduate School of Business
Black Alumni Association
Ed Fields, Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office
Mildred Black, Founder and CEO, People Optimum Consulting, LLC
Ryan Coleman, Senior New Logo Program Manager, Salesforce
Tracy Croom, Director of Financial Management, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Alesia Jones, Former Chief HR Officer, University of Alabama – Birmingham; Principal Consultant and Owner of AMJ HR Solutions, LLC
Kenneth Kelly, Chairman and CEO, First Independence Corporation and First Independence Bank
James Kemp, Co-founder & CEO, Frameworq and Director, Kemp Management Solutions
Larry Lewis, CEO, BizTech and President, PROJECTXYZ
Kelsi Long, Attorney, Balch & Bingham, LLP
Kelly Mehrtens, Executive Director, The Trust (Powered by the NFLPA)
Del Smith, Co-founder and CEO, Acclinate
Isaiah Young, Associate Director of Career Services, Manderson Graduate School of Business at The University of Alabama
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