#StrongHER campaign

The new StrongHer book , which was published in 2023, is on sale at the downtown Birmingham Public Library’s Friends Bookstore, Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Stories of some of Birmingham’s unsung sheores are now in a book: “StrongHer: Women Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges in Birmingham” by award-winning writer Chanda Temple.

The book, which was released in December 2023, includes stories about more than 150 women who’ve been selected through the years as StrongHer honorees. There are stories from survivors of cancer, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. There are also stories from entrepreneurs, teachers, performers, and more. But the one thread that ties them all together is how they handled adversity; helped someone else to see a better day; or pitched in to make a difference in Birmingham.

Mayor Randall L. Woodfin initiated the StrongHer campaign in 2019 as a way to celebrate the extraordinary women who work tirelessly behind the scenes, sometimes concealed from the spotlight, but vital to the the victories happening every day in the Magic City.

“We live in a city where women are making moves that spark change,’’ Mayor Woodfin said. “The women highlighted in this campaign are just an example of the thousands of other female gamechangers working to make a difference in our city, our country and the world. I salute them all.’’

The book is on sale at the Friends Bookstore in the downtown Birmingham Public Library, Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On the first Saturday of each month, the store is open from 11 a.m.to 3 p.m.

Questions about StrongHer? Please send them to strongher@birminghamal.gov.

StrongHer 2024 Profiles

March 1 – Katasha Thomas-Peterson

Katasha LiveRejoice Peterson’s journey into the world of makeup began in 2014 as a gentle calling that tugged at her heartstrings while she worked full time as a social worker.

When she wasn’t handling social work cases, the Birmingham native was discovering the magic of cosmetics. With each stroke of her brush, she helped others embrace their beauty, sometimes serving as a light in their darkest moments. Makeup was her ministry.

“There have been times where I’ve had clients lay on my (eye)lash bed, and we cry together,” said Thomas-Peterson, 42. “Some come in grieving or talking about their job or family issues. If I don’t have the answers, I tell them where they might be able to find them.”

As news of her skills spread, Thomas-Peterson eventually left social work to become a full-time makeup artist. Through prayer and networking, the Wenonah High School graduate landed on sets such as Tyler Perry’s “The Have the Have Nots” and “The Oval;” Issa Rae’s Netflix movie “Lovebirds;” the film “Respect,” with Jennifer Hudson and Mary J. Blige; the “Young Rock” TV show about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s life; and many other projects.

In 2022, she received a call to be one of the makeup artists for several months on the set of “The Color Purple” movie musical adaptation, which was co-produced by Oprah Winfrey. She was also asked to do the makeup for the dancers for Bootsy Collins in the opening act for the World Games in Birmingham.

In 2023, she was one of several makeup artists selected to work on three movies filmed in the metro Birmingham area: “The Shift” with Kristopher Polaha; “Gunner” with Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth; and “The Rivals of Amziah King” with Matthew McConaughey and Kurt Russell. In December 2023, she did the makeup for former U.S. Secretary of State and Birmingham native Condoleeza Rice, who was in the Magic City to shoot a documentary.

And even though she’s worked on celebrities since 2016, Thomas-Peterson said she hasn’t changed how she runs her business, Kpartistry7, or gives back in Birmingham. She’s volunteered to do prom looks for students from different schools; offered beauty kits for survivors of domestic violence and breast cancer; and provided guidance for young people interested in working in the beauty industry.

“My women are my heart,” she said. “I treat people with love and kindness. I respect their boundaries, and I respect their needs.”

“Every time clients leave my chair, they say, ‘This was definitely a good beauty session. I see why you are so different from others. You make your clients feel welcome, loved, and like family. I’ll be back!’”


March 2 – Debbie Lincoln Davis

Debbie Lincoln Davis has a saying she shares with many of those she mentors: It’s never too late.

When she was 27 years old, she started as a temp at a Birmingham bank. She put in the work and advanced to various positions through the years. Today, at the age of 59, she’s a vice president and operations manager at that same bank.

When she was 46, she decided she wanted a college degree so she could set a good example for her son, who was in high school, and her daughter, who was in middle school, at the time. She didn’t let age or the fact that she worked full time and cared for a family stall her dream. She enrolled at Miles College and graduated magna cum laude by the age of 49. She’s thankful that the bank had a program that paid for college for its employees.

Today, with a lifetime of achievements behind her, Davis continues to evolve.

She recently launched her own business, Passion Proofed Services, a writing, editing and proofreading business and gets invited to deliver motivational speeches. She is currently enrolled in an online program at LSU to get another degree. And by the time she turns 60 in December 2024, she will have published her first book and continue to inspire others to embrace the unknown with courage and conviction.

“It’s never too late to make your dreams a reality because you don’t know who’s watching,” she said. “Whenever I think there’s no one looking, there is always somebody who reaches out to me and says, ‘How do you do it? You inspire me.’”


March 3 – Wenonah Girls’ Flag Football Team

History makers walk the halls of Wenonah High School, where the school’s first girls’ flag football team won the Birmingham City Schools championship in 2022 and 2023, and they went on to win the 5A state championship in December 2023.

The December 2023 state championship game was a hard fought one in Tuscaloosa, but the team pulled through, beating Montgomery Catholic in overtime under the direction of Coach Cedric Lane. The score was 18-12.

“Winning feels like a dream come true. We did so much to get this far,“ said captain and cornerback Ciara Clark. “For the past three years, we did our best.”

Ever since the Alabama High School Athletic Association made the sport available for high schools in Alabama in 2021, the Lady Dragons have poured their hearts into mastering the game, giving hours to play and practice while also maintaining their grades. They pray together before they hit the field.

“We are a family first, then teamwork and then coaching. We have the best coach in the city,” said quarterback and captain Samarian Franklin. “You can do whatever you put your mind to. It’s not just a boys’ sport. It’s a girls’ sport, too. It’s going to be bigger in the future.”

Flag football for boys and girls will be part of the U.S. Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. The sport was also played during the World Games in Birmingham in 2022.

Several of the Wenonah students play multiple sports, and flag football gives them another opportunity to secure college scholarships. One team member received a full-ride flag football scholarship in 2023 and two more team members have full-ride flag football scholarships for 2024.

Coach Lane said USA Today recently told him that co-captain and wide receiver Jakerria Ringstaff has been nominated as USA Today Flag Football Player of the Year. He said she’ll find out later this spring if she won. “Being nominated is big because I had to encourage her to play in 2022,” Coach Lane said. “She’s a basketball player, and she had never played flag football. Once she got out there, she got better and better. She had a really good game in the championship game, scoring two touchdowns.”

Said Ringstaff: “Winning the state championship proves you can do anything you put your mind to do.”

On Jan. 9, 2024, during a Birmingham City Council meeting, Council President Pro Tempore Wardine Alexander and Mayor Randall L. Woodfin congratulated the team. Alexander gave the members Outstanding Citizen medals.

“When I was a student at Wenonah High School in 1972, they enacted Title IX, which brought about ways to eliminate discrimination of athletics based on sex and gender. And so, we’ve come almost 50 years … and we see the accomplishments that these young ladies have made on the field, as well as in the classroom,” Alexander said during the meeting. “As Mayor Woodfin has already stated, these young ladies are champions. And we know the great star on the hill is where champions are made.”


March 4 – Jody Mattson

From the moment Jody Mattson steps into her office, her mission is clear: serve Birmingham with kindness, generosity and a whole lot of heart.

She does that as the director of Philanthropy and Community Engagement with America’s First Federal Credit Union in downtown Birmingham, where she works on a yearly food drive that benefits the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama; participates in an annual toy drive with the city’s Department of Youth Services and other partners; volunteers with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for the holidays; and helps launch a new book drive. During the month of March 2024, people can drop off books at any America’s First Federal Credit Union branch. The books will go to Better Basics to help impact youth literacy and Birmingham City Schools. The credit union will have another book drive in the fall.

Mattson’s passion to help others runs deep outside her job, too. She is a member of the Literacy Council of Central Alabama; a former participant of the Junior League of Birmingham; a board member of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions Young Professionals; secretary of the Public Relations Council of Alabama-Birmingham; and is a part of the LeadEarly Birmingham, a seven-month cohort dedicated to learning and advancing Birmingham’s early education community. And before she started work at America’s First in 2016, she worked as director of Development at United Cerebral Palsy, which is now known as United Ability.

There’s no such thing as downtime for Mattson because she’s always using her skills in marketing and nonprofit event support to lift spirits, inspire change and make Birmingham a little brighter for those in need. She stays on the go because on the go is where the people are. Supporting the children and families in Birmingham is her goal.

“This is something where I get to use my talents and my abilities to really, truly make an impact,’’ she said. “And I get to do what I’m passionate about every day.”


March 5 – Candace Chandler

In 2017, Candace Chandler’s husband suddenly died of a massive heart attack.

Losing him was gut-wrenching.

Then, one month later, Chandler miscarried the couple’s first baby.

Another gut-wrenching moment.

Experiencing the back-to-back losses left Chandler lost, confused and severely depressed.

“I said, ‘Lord, I can’t do this anymore.’ I wanted to give up,’’ she said. “I went from being at the mountaintop to the valley.”

But she told God that if He could help her through her pain, she would serve Him until her dying day. She sought grief counseling, took a 60-day leave from her Birmingham teaching job and focused on self-healing.

“I had to surrender to God, and that is why I can walk boldly in my purpose,’’ Chandler, 34, said. “I’m here to let the next person know you can make it past grief, and you don’t have to look like what you are going through.’’

Chandler broke again in 2021 when her best friend, Areyelle Yarbrough, was tragically killed in Birmingham. Chandler turned to God again for direction and found comfort and healing. This time, she shared her faith walk on her social media platforms, encouraging people to take a fresh approach on how to use essential tools to navigate and cope with grief in a healthy manner. She wanted people to see that it is possible to bounce back when things seem impossible.

The Birmingham native said that one woman, a total stranger, saw her story and told Chandler that just by seeing her story, she changed her mind about committing suicide.

“Life is going to life, but God is going to God,” said Chandler, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. “You are not a bad person when you go through your trials and tribulations. It just means you have been chosen. But you have to ask yourself will you let the pain break you or make you.’’

During her healing journey, Chandler went to graduate school and obtained a master’s degree in 2020 and an education specialist degree in 2023, both from the University of West Alabama.

Today, Chandler serves in administration as an Instructional Specialist with the Birmingham City Schools system. In her spare time, she runs Queen O Empowerment LLC, where she is an empowerment coach, a motivational speaker, a mentor, and a fashion ambassador for distinct brands. She said God has also opened her heart to being loved again.

“Even in your brokenness, God will put you back, piece by piece, and you will become His masterpiece,’’ she said. “God has given me beauty for my ashes.’’


March 6 – Caroline Foster

Every day, Caroline Foster slipped on her sneakers, ready for her routine two-mile walk through her neighborhood. As she hit play on her favorite podcast, she couldn’t help but think how cool it would be to have other women with similar interests join her.

“I was like, ‘Wow, this podcast is great. But I really wish I could talk to someone to make this walk go by faster,’” she said.

Eventually, Foster, 33, visited community Facebook groups, asking if anyone was interested in a walking group. What started out with 20 women signing up for Foster’s new Bham Babes Walking Club in spring 2023 grew to 2,000 women in just five months. Today, there are nearly 4,000 members.

The women started with walking on the weekends. Then, some people requested weekday walks. New requests came in for walking dinners and walking brunches, where they eat as a group after a meal. Then people expressed interest in doing hikes at Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain and Oak Mountain. Foster listened and created monthly calendars to accommodate the requests. There were also requests for starting a book club, hosting evening social events and having a clothing swap for members. Those suggestions made it to the group’s monthly calendar of activities, too. Membership is free.

Because people work or live in different parts of Jefferson and Shelby counties, Foster assigned group leaders to lead walks in different areas. On Mondays at 5:30 p.m., for example, the Birmingham walks rotate once a week between Crestwood Park, Railroad Park, City Walk and Highland Park. The walks average about 45 minutes or two miles. There are also walks in Alabaster, Hoover and Pelham. (Check the website for days and times for other areas.)

“Sometimes, I think people really underestimate walking. It’s actually a full-body workout,’’ Jasmine Shaw, 33, said as she walked with the group this week in Crestwood Park. “These hills and things we go up, they may look small, … but you feel the burn.’’

Group leader Haley Martin added that the walking club has introduced her to so many strong and independent women in the Birmingham area and has allowed her to make new friends, which was Foster’s goal.

“I feel really proud that I was able to start this and bring so many people together of all ages. There are women who have been with us since the beginning, and they show up for every single walk and every single event,’’ Foster said. “I feel hopeful because I think this is going to continue to grow and gain traction. I do feel proud that this has become what it is.’’

But the women do more than walk, hike and meet over a meal. They also volunteer and fundraise for different non-profit organizations. They did a fundraiser with Pathways, a Birmingham homeless shelter for women, in 2023; and they plan on doing a fundraiser with the Alzheimer’s Association this year.

Foster also connects with local businesses to find ways for members to explore what the business has to offer. For example, the group has partnered with businesses on kickboxing classes, self-defense classes and yoga. And soon, they will take a walk in Woodlawn and then visit a Woodlawn business for a tour to learn more about its eco-friendly operations. On Saturday, March 16, the group will partner with a business to host a puzzle piece social. On Wednesday, March 20, they will partner with Yelp for a 5:30 p.m. Women’s History Month recognition walk known as “She Steps’’ at Birmingham’s Rotary Trail, 2098 First Ave. South.

“We are all volunteers doing this,’’ said Foster, 33, who is in school to become an esthetician. “I just brought on a community coordinator to work with new and existing businesses and the City of Birmingham to learn about the community and more.’’

For more information on the group, visit www.bhambabeswalkingclub.com.


March 7 – Christina Johnson

Christina Johnson had always felt a whisper of doubt nagging at the edges of her dreams. As a self-taught artist, she couldn’t help but wonder if her work was truly worthy of recognition. Without a college background or formal training, the question of “Am I good enough?” echoed through her mind like a relentless drumbeat.

For years, Johnson allowed her insecurities to hold her back. Despite her passion for painting, she hesitated to fully commit herself to her craft. But in the last few years, something shifted within her. She made a conscious decision to stop letting fear dictate her path.

In 2023, Johnson took a leap of faith and participated in Birmingham Art Walk for the first time. She stepped out of her comfort zone and showcased her art, which resonated with many. Later that year, Johnson was selected as the 2024 Artist in Residence for Railroad Park. It was a testament to her growth and determination as an artist.
Reflecting on her journey, Johnson realized the power of pushing past fear. “I’m personally in a place where I’m going to continue to say, ‘Yes,’ even if it is terrifying because you grow every time,” she said. “You learn something new every time. It’s not as scary as you ever thought it was.”

In celebration of Women’s History Month, several of Johnson’s art pieces will be on display in the first-ever StrongHer exhibit on the second floor of Birmingham City Hall. The exhibit, which features inspirational quotes selected by Johnson to go with each piece, will open on March 8, which is International Women’s Day. It will remain up through mid-April.

The exhibit is called: “Textures of Strength,” giving a nod to how Johnson paints with acrylic, adding texture and layers to different pieces with the help of fabric, paper and even jewelry to highlight her personal journey of growth and discovery.

“A lot of pieces represent me, one way or another. They may not necessarily look like me, but they represent my soul,” said Johnson, 46, who is a married mother of three. “So, my hope is that these pieces … show the strength that we carry as women. I think there is an immense strength when you bring us together.”

With each brushstroke of courage on the canvas, Johnson, who prays over each piece and writes a scripture or saying on the back of each piece, admits that she’s come a long way from the self-doubting artist who questioned her own worth.

“People will miss out on incredible experiences, incredible encounters and incredible gifts because of fear,” she said. “Once you get to the other side, you look back and you literally are questioning yourself, asking, ‘What was I afraid of?’”


March 8 – Milana “LaLa” Price

Milana “LaLa” Price was 4 years old when a medical report shook her family to its core: she had a rare form of lung cancer and half of her right lung and the mass behind it had to be removed.

There were questions of how Milana would be after the surgery. But at just 4 years old, the Birmingham native assured her mother that things would be OK.

And they were.

Doctors caught the cancer in time before radiation was necessary, and Milana pushed to do things on her own after staying at Children’s Hospital for a week.

“She did everything just like a normal kid,” said MIlana’s mother, Imaan Cross. “She just had to have a little help in and out of the bed. It was normal. She colored. She ate. She had normal conversations.”
“I don’t think her scare was like mine. Hers was, ‘Now, I know I’m better.’”

As Milana got older and visited the Titusville Library, her positive outlook caught the eye of Titusville Library Branch Manager Reba Williams. Williams invited Milana to speak at the library’s breast cancer awareness event in October 2023 to discuss her journey of resilience. Milana, who is now 9 years old, was the youngest speaker that day.

“When different voices are represented, from children to adults, and they address the struggles of life involving cancer and other issues, it brings major impact,” Williams said. “Her comments made such an impact on the
audience, there was not a dry eye in the building.”

Victories continued for Milana, who wants to be an artist and a pilot. In December 2023, she rung the traditional bell at Children’s Hospital to celebrate being a cancer survivor. And during the month of March 2024, one of her pencil drawings will be featured in the StrongHer art exhibit on the second floor at Birmingham City Hall.

“She is my idol, and she doesn’t even know it,” Milana’s mother said. “Growing up, I wasn’t even as strong as she is.”

“She’s an encourager in her own little way.”


March 9 – Genita Matthews

Huffman Middle School Principal Genita Matthews is committed to empowering her female students through an annual event she hosts – The Female Summit. This summit brings together a diverse group of speakers from the community, each sharing their unique stories of overcoming challenges. From doctors to entrepreneurs, these women showcase the power of resilience and determination, inspiring students to believe in their own potential.

For Matthews, the summit is about more than just inspiring speeches. It’s also about fostering hope and possibility in her students. She believes that with dedication and perseverance, they can achieve anything they set their minds to.

The impact of the summit extends beyond the students themselves. Parents are invited to attend sessions as well, and their emotional reactions speak volumes about the event’s significance. “We had parents to break down. They said that this not only helps the child, but this helps them, too,” Matthews said.

The speakers also walk away with something – an interest in returning as a mentor. Matthews said she’s had several speakers come back to mentor the students, forming lasting connections that continue long after the summit ends.

Prior to working at Huffman Middle, Matthews implemented empowerment initiatives for female students at other Birmingham schools where she worked. Some of Matthews’ proudest moments were those spent witnessing the transformation in her students: their newfound confidence their belief in themselves, and their determination to chase their dreams. She offered similar summits for the male students, too.

Matthews, 48, sees the summits as a testament to the power of education, positivity, and the unwavering belief that every child has the potential to change the world.

“I see people connecting. The girls becoming happy and excited,” said Matthews, who has been with Birmingham City Schools for 25 years. “The students say they wish they could do it every day.”

If anyone is interested in serving as a student mentor, they can contact Matthews at gnolen@bhm.k12.al.us.


March 10 – Mia Watkins and Glenny Brock

Mia Watkins entered a Birmingham grocery store, focused on the simple task of buying a can of chili beans to make her mother’s chili recipe. As she walked the aisle, she thought of when her mother made the hearty dish and how the two would sit down and have a bowl. Those were good times.

Then, suddenly, Watkins bumped into her friend, Glenny Brock.

As they chatted, Watkins couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Mother’s Day weekend was coming, and the absence of her mother loomed large in her mind. Watkins was 29 years old when she lost her mother in 2015 to complications from multiple sclerosis.

Tears welled in Watkins’ eyes that spring day in 2017 as she spoke of missing her mother, her voice filling with emotion. Brock, ever compassionate, comforted her friend, and cried, too, because Brock’s mother died in a car accident when Brock was eight years old. Brock was familiar with the grief Mother’s Day brings when your mom is no longer alive.

Both remembered the pain they felt every year in seeing Mother’s Day commercials, walking by stacks of Mother’s Day cards at stores, and being bombarded by online Mother’s Day promos. It was tough. Really tough.

Amidst the sniffles, tears and even some laughs, Brock had an idea – they should host an event on Mother’s Day weekend for other people like them and call it Dead Mother’s Day Brunch. It would be a chance to come together, not to dwell on the sadness of their loss, but to celebrate the love they have for their mothers.

With a shared sense of purpose, Watkins and Brock set out to make their idea a reality in 2018. Brock contacted Rojo restaurant in Birmingham, and the restaurant owners agreed to provide its back room for the event. As word spread, some people criticized the event’s title, saying the title was too crass. But those who voiced opposition still had living mothers. The organizers did not change the name. Their purpose was too important to change.

“My dad always said my mother would be proud of me just because of the bold language, the wit and the grief,” said Brock, who helped lead the restoration project of the Lyric Theatre in 2016. “I want anyone who wants to come, to come because it is a great gift. We do it on Saturday because we are not trying to ruin Mother’s Day for everybody else.”

On Mother’s Day weekend 2018, the back room at Rojo buzzed with activity as people gathered, united by the common bond of loss. There were no eulogies or formalities, just hugs, smiles, and shared stories of love. A jazz band played.

“People who have lost their moms, they totally get it,” Brock said. “That first year, people kept coming up to Mia and me, saying, ‘I’m just so relived.’ Listen, saving the Lyric was great. But I think doing the Dead Mother’s Day Brunch is the best thing I’ve done in my life.”

In that moment, surrounded by friends old and new, Watkins knew that she wasn’t alone in her grief. And as she shared a hug with Brock, she felt grateful for the connection they shared and the healing power of their Dead Mother’s Day brunch.

“When you lose your mother, you lose your first tether to the world. And you feel like you are just floating with no way to come down,” said Watkins, a Birmingham communications professional. “That brunch has helped immensely because it can be hard to be around the house and not do anything.”

This year will mark the fifth anniversary of the brunch. (They didn’t have it in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.) It will be held at Rojo on May 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees, if they want, may bring a copy of a photo of their mother, which Brock will lovingly post at Mom’s Basement, a popular neighborhood bar in Birmingham, as a tribute to the women who shaped them. They are also looking at how they can share grief resources with others and spread the concept beyond Birmingham.

“I’m really so grateful for Mia,” Brock said. “Neither one of us would have done it without the other.”
For more info on the Dead Mother’s Day Brunch, visit https://fb.me/e/50U2cir5b


March 11 – Ebony Hill

Ebony Hill’s Google calendar sort of looks like a box of crayons.

She has color-coded schedules for her two sons, Skyler and Ethan, ages 6 and 13; her husband, David; the couple’s business, Gifted Hands Embroidery, LLC; herself as she works as a social worker to help house homeless military veterans in Birmingham; church; and more. She also runs the social media accounts, scheduling and website for Ethan’s Heart-Bags4Blessings, her son’s non-profit organization, which has received national recognition and awards through the years for how he helps the homeless in Birmingham.

“From the time we hit the floor at 5 in the morning until the time we turn the lights off at 10 at night, we are going with somebody or doing something,’’ said Hill, 39, of the Spring Lake neighborhood in Birmingham.
She’s now working on a new color code in her calendar, which is a personal promise to make 2024 her “Go Get It Year.”

“Everything that I’ve backburnered or that I was afraid of, I’m going to get it in 2024,” she said.
For years, Hill has written her goals, prayers and thoughts in journals. This year, she pursued her dream to design her own journal line, “Write the Vision.” She also plans to write a couple of books, including a coloring book; and illustrate a book that Ethan is planning.

She said she set the goal to go for more this year because she’s always encouraged her sons to give 100 percent in what they do. Apparently, her sons are listening and watching.

“Ethan did an interview about a month or two ago, and I just happened to be there when he said, ‘I’m trying to match my mom’s energy. I want to give and do as much as she does,’” Hill recalled.

Hearing those comments hit Hill like a ton of bricks.

“If I’m pushing him to go after his dreams and do all this stuff, then I’m going to do the same thing. I’m taking an exam on (March 12) that I have been afraid to take for over 10 years,” she said. “And so, my family has been pushing me to study, pushing me to go do my homework. So, now, I’m going to take that exam.”

No matter how things go on March 12, Hill said that just her showing up is big because she is conquering fear.

“Fear will block you from doing anything. It’s all mental,” she said. “So just taking charge of that is empowering for myself. It’s me getting out of my own way.”

“At this point, I’m showing (my sons) the initiative to at least try. You only lose the battles you refuse to fight.”

For more information on the journal, it can be found in Hill’s Gifted Hands Embroidery Etsy store. For more information about Ethan’s Heart, visit www.ethansheartbham.org.


March 12 – Shella Sylla

Shella Sylla moved to Birmingham in 2013 with two plans: to be closer to her sister and to launch a company that teaches women how to use golf to get ahead in business.

Settling in with family went well. But trying to get people to understand the concept of SisterGolf, her new professional and business development company, was a struggle for the former bank executive from Miami, who learned to play golf to improve her sales on a work team made up of all men.

When she attended events and meetings to spread the word about SisterGolf in Birmingham, people were confused about her business. Was she a golf instructor? Was she a nonprofit? Was she solely focused on teaching Black women how to play golf?

She didn’t let the questions deter her. Since she was new in town, she worked to build her foundation. She also improved the messaging of her website content, which underwent four redesigns.

She had to remain strong when she set up her vendor table at events because some women turned away at the mere mention of golf. “I’m not being facetious. They would turn around and sprint away like there’s the plague,” Sylla said. “I had a few people come over and say, ‘I could never do that,’ or ‘That’s just not for me.’”

There was so much fear and intimidation around golf and women that it shocked Sylla.

But she knew this was something people needed in the Birmingham area. In late 2013-early 2014, she posted on social media that she was hosting an informational meeting on how women can play golf in business. To her surprise, a lot of women attended. That meeting is what gave her the impetus to continue.

There was interest. She just needed to get the word out more.

Sylla forged a relationship with Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham and started doing post-work events and Saturday morning sessions that attracted more women. She then offered a four-week golf education workshop at Innovation Depot, covering golf etiquette, scoring, what to wear, golf terminology, golf rules, how to set a tee time, etc. Several women who had been going to the golf course with their spouses for years told Sylla that her course taught them more than their husbands knew.

“That made me feel like I was definitely bringing value,” Sylla said, adding she is now working on offering a digital online class later this month. In April 2024, she will return with her group golf lessons. On March 20, she will host a monthly webinar for SisterGolf members. She also works with companies and organizations in providing workshops, which are open to women of all races.

“Every time I felt like giving up, I got a call the next day from someone or ran into someone who said, ‘Shella, thank you so much. I used this and it helped me in this fashion.’ Or ‘I just played in my first tournament by myself, and I connected with a CEO…'” she said.

Most of her workshops are held at Highland Park Golf Course. Practice sessions are held at area golf courses with public access. And because golf can be an expensive sport, Sylla offers resources on where women can find deals on golf clothes and discounts on equipment.

“I still feel like I’m on a journey and there is more to go,” she said.

For more information, visit sistergolf.com.


March 13 – Mykia “Kia” Ruffin

Three weeks after Mykia “Kia” Ruffin had her baby daughter in 2013, her mother died. Ruffin didn’t know how she could go on.

But one day, Ruffin heard a message from nationally known preacher, author and filmmaker T.D. Jakes, who said, “There is purpose in your pain,” and Ruffin decided to shift her focus.

“Instead of being a grinch around the holidays and pulling away from my family, I decided to honor her,” Ruffin said of her mother, Denise L. Hall.

Her mother was a giver, helping anyone in need. So, every year on her mother’s birthday in July, Ruffin blesses other people with household products or meals. Ruffin, who is a personal chef in Birmingham and owner of Kia’s Kitchen, has been doing the donated birthday meals since 2017. Some of the dishes she creates are ones her mother taught her.

“When God tells me to do something, I have to be obedient,” Ruffin said.

During the pandemic, Ruffin was up in the wee hours of the morning, looking for Lysol and other hard-to-find essential products to make care packages for others. Another year, Ruffin invited people on her Facebook business page to pay it forward and give names of people needing a free lunch.

Ruffin’s mother would have been 60 in 2023, so Ruffin gave away 60 plated meals to honor her. Nominations were submitted, and names were randomly selected. Also in 2023, Ruffin gave away nine private dining experiences. Those winners were also randomly selected.

Ruffin later learned that one of the dining experience entries not selected belonged to a woman needing a kidney transplant. The woman’s story touched Ruffin’s heart, and Ruffin created a special giveaway just for her: people could buy a raffle ticket for the kidney patient’s dining experience and the proceeds would help bring the woman’s kidney donor to Birmingham.

“For me, I don’t want people to see me. I’m just a willing vessel,” said Ruffin, who received the most votes in 2022 as “Birmingham’s Top Female Chef in the City” from Young Entrepioneers. “God uses me. I want people to see Him when they see me.”

Ruffin is not yet sure what she will do this year to honor her mother, but whatever God places on her heart, she knows it will be good. “Sometimes, people cannot afford to do the simple things, so, why not be a blessing,” she said.


March 14 – Jennifer Hatchett

For the last 11 years, Jennifer Hatchett has served as executive director of YouthServe, Inc., which connects youth from the various communities across the metro region to work together on service projects and hone their leadership skills.

One program that recently wrapped is the organization’s Youth Philanthropy Council, which is for grades 10-12. Close to 50 students from dozens of schools, different backgrounds, races, religions – some first-generation immigrants – spent a year digging into the challenges facing them while growing up in Alabama. They then organized a competitive grant program to support local nonprofits working toward a better future for them.
They selected organizations working for education equity, inclusive spaces for youth, and community revitalization, and recognized the groups during the program’s grant award ceremony.

Two presenting seniors who stood out to Hatchett during the ceremony, talked about how important YouthServe programs have been to them and how staff has always been there for them, encouraging and empowering them to speak up.

“They, like so many before them, mentioned how this process helped them to come out of their shells and become leaders when they didn’t realize they could be leaders. That is the heart of YouthServe,” Hatchett said. “I hope they will always know they are loved and supported by me and by the staff, but the real heroes of YouthServe are the youth themselves.”

Over the years, several former YouthServe students have carried that confidence with them to go on to become leaders in public policy, law, advocacy, business, health, education and tech.

“I always tell my friends if they see a YouthServe alum, just hire them. They will be the innovators, the team players and the visionaries,” she said.

By the end of this program year, YouthServe will have reached nearly 2,000 youth from more than 80 schools across metro Birmingham and the state. There are no fees, school nominations, competitive interviews, recommendations or GPA requirements for students to participate in YouthServe. All that is required is a student’s commitment of time and presence.

“Through this role, I share my love of Birmingham with the incredibly diverse, amazing and inspiring youth from throughout the metro area,” said Hatchett.

Hatchett’s passion for Birmingham, which was planted when she was new to the city and enrolled as a freshman at Birmingham-Southern College, extends far beyond her work at YouthServe. It’s woven into every aspect of her life.

“From promoting diversity efforts with the Birmingham Museum of Art and supporting arts and cultural festivals as a volunteer and patron, to buying a home and laying roots down in this city I love, it has been wonderful to watch it change and grow along with my family,” said Hatchett, of Birmingham’s Crestwood South neighborhood.
Now, Hatchett has started a new adventure with BlindSpot Consulting, where she helps other nonprofits and their leaders succeed. It’s just another way for her to contribute to the city she loves.

For more information on YouthServe, visit youthservebham.org.


March 15 – Kim Richardson

For 16 years, Kim Richardson ran a Birmingham-based grants consulting business that secured more than $125 million in grants awarded and managed for clients from all over the country. But in 2023, she decided to press pause on her business to focus on her passions and teach yoga full time.

“Kim, what are you doing?” was a question she heard a lot after she decided to step away from her business. But she recognized that she was tired, burned out and had grown weary of the massive applications and multiple grant application deadlines. She needed time to focus on herself and what nourished her while contemplating the evolution of her grants business.

“There is a never an ideal time to take a break. Too often, it’s an illness that will shut you down. I wanted to take time off with intention,” Richardson, 51, said of the sabbatical. “This was an opportunity to say, ‘I want to pivot. I’m recognizing, in myself, the signs and symptoms of fatigue.’ It’s really difficult to write a federal grant application if you can’t focus.”

As she practiced yoga to relieve stress, Richardson was also noticing that she wasn’t seeing other African Americans taking yoga or teaching yoga in the local studios she visited. She wanted to change that. Since yoga is a good way to relieve stress, combat depression and manage anxiety, Richardson wanted to help spread the experience and benefits of yoga within her community.

“I wanted to get the word out about the benefits of yoga. If you can breathe, you can do yoga,” said Richardson, a resident of the Roebuck Springs neighborhood.

Richardson has been practicing yoga for nearly 10 years, and in 2018, she became a 200-hour registered yoga teacher to help increase representation in the yoga community. Today, she is a certified yoga therapist. She is trained to teach a variety of styles, including aquatic yoga, chair yoga, prenatal yoga, oncology yoga, children’s yoga and more through her new company, Yes You Yoga Wellness. She uses her grant writing skills to secure funding so she can offer certain classes for no cost or low cost. A grant even helped her provide mats for participants when she teaches yoga at the Donald Hawkins Rec Center on Wednesday nights at 6:30. (The free, beginner classes will return on April 10. )

Even before she started teaching yoga full time, Richardson was working to bring yoga to as many groups as she could. She taught evening classes for over a year at the downtown Birmingham public library, starting in 2018. She partnered with the Prison Yoga Project to pilot a yoga program for inmates at the Donaldson Correctional Facility in 2019. She worked a group of yoga teachers to spearhead a pilot yoga and mindfulness class for fifth graders at three Birmingham City Schools in 2022. Periodically, she introduces yoga to Birmingham police officers at the precincts.

As a facilitator for UAB’s Arts in Medicine Program, she leads yoga sessions at Children’s Hospital every week, offering yoga to in-patient and out-patient children and teenagers with complex behavioral health needs. She also offers a weekly Yoga for Cancer class and leads virtual and in-person classes for veterans through the Birmingham VA. Richardson is also part of a research team at UAB, where they are looking to see if yogic breathing will improve the quality of life for individuals living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

“Yoga is about much more than being able to do poses,” Richardson said. “It relieves suffering. It can invite ease and relaxation into your everyday life.”

A recent national award is proof of the impact Richardson is making in the community. In June 2023, Richardson was nationally recognized by the International Association of Yoga Therapists as one of only four national finalists for their Seva Award, which recognizes yoga therapists for their service to underserved communities.

For more information on Richardson, visit www.yesyouyoga.org or check her IG page at @yesyouyoga_wellness.


March 16 – Angela Hunter

It’s Friday night in the Hunter household, and Angela Hunter is busy getting things ready for her 9-year-old daughter, Ana Grace, to compete in a beauty pageant today at 2 p.m. It’s Ana Grace’s second competition in two years.

Dress? Check. Nails? Done. Hair? Perfect. Everything is in place, and the family is hoping for another win. But even if there is not a win for Ana Grace, just getting to this point has been a victory for Angela. In September 2014, Angela was 36 and digesting the news of having Stage III breast cancer. As Angela underwent chemotherapy treatments, she wondered about the future.

“Will I be here for my babies’ proms?” “Will I be here for the very important moments?”

The questions hung heavy in the air like fog on a misty morning. But Angela didn’t let the thoughts stop her from seeing the other side. She wrote down goals for her two children and husband, and she was determined to experience those milestones. Her mission was clear: “Fight for my babies.”

Today, Angela is cancer-free, and she’s not only continuing to fight to live for her babies, but she is also fighting to help other women impacted by breast cancer. Through her My Beauty For Ashes non-profit organization, she raises money to help women pay for things when a cancer diagnosis cuts deep into their budget.

Angela, now 45, knows what it’s like to work to make ends meet when there are mounting doctor bills and not enough money to cover it all. Some organizations offer grants to help cancer patients, but not everyone is selected. Angela experienced that, and the rejection hurt. She wants to ease some of that pain in the pockets.

Through her “What’s Next” grants, she’s helped 20 women with breast cancer in the last four years, providing funding to help with things such as rent, utilities and beauty enhancements. And with 2024 marking 10 years that she’s been cancer-free, Angela, who had a bilateral mastectomy, wants to raise $10,000 and provide a $1,000 grant for each the 10 women selected this year so they can get the things they need. Applications will open in August 2024, and the grants will be open to women who’ve had cancer within the last seven years. The winners will be announced at her “White Out Breast Cancer” event in August.

Beauty for Ashes keeps Angela busy, but not too busy to take time for husband, William Hunter Jr., and her children. Her son, Jaxon, was 3 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Ana Grace was 3 months old. Now, that Ana Grace is 9 years old and Jaxson is 12 years old, the milestones continue to mount for Angela.

“If you just keep going, there is beauty on the other side,” she said. “I know that sounds cliché. But had I not kept going, I would not have been able to experience the beauty of going on my son’s fifth grade trip to D.C. and getting my baby ready for the pageant.”

For more information about her organization, visit www.mybeautyforashes.org.


March 17 – Aisha Taylor

Aisha Taylor is one brave woman.

She’s brave because she started a business.

She’s brave because she opened that business during the pandemic.

And she’s brave because that business targets men.

“People tell me all the time that I’m brave. “But those who know me, know me, know that I don’t operate in the spirit of fear,” she said. “I’m big on prayer and faith. So, for me, the faith of a mustard seed keeps me going.”

Her vision for opening Bridge + Root upscale men’s clothing store had been brewing within her for nearly 10 years. And when she finally had the opportunity to secure the perfect space in downtown Birmingham in the summer of 2020, she didn’t hesitate. Months later in 2021, she opened her doors to high praise. Men loved her unique blazers, fedoras, beard products and cologne, and they delved into the assortment of ties, joggers, pocket squares, graphic T-shirts, cufflinks and more.

It was like their own kind of haberdashery heaven, right here in the Magic City.

But there were also men who challenged Taylor, asking her, among other things, how long she’d been in the business and if she knew how to tie a tie.

Taylor, who’s been in the fashion business for more than 25 years, has a personal styling background and has a degree in business administration from the University of Alabama, didn’t let their doubt deter her.

“I don’t get moved by those types of things. I know what I know,” said Taylor, 48, a married mother with two children.

Her know-how has turned heads for those in fashion and finance. Last September, the Alabama Retail Association named Taylor Alabama’s 2023 Gee Retailer of the Year.

“That award confirms and solidifies that hard work does pay off,” Taylor said. “There are a lot of ups and downs when you run a business, and just to be recognized in such a manner is just amazing.”

People are at the core of what Taylor does at Bridge + Root. In 2023, she did a tie drive for nearly 150 students with Birmingham City Schools and taught them how to tie ties. She plans to do it again this year. In February 2024, she raised funds to take students from Woodlawn High School, her alma mater, to Atlanta, have lunch and tour the World of Coca-Cola Museum. To qualify, students had to write an essay.

Some of the students had never been outside of Birmingham, and Taylor saw the trip as a way for them to express themselves through writing and experience something new. Taylor impacts young people in other areas of Birmingham by offering internships through the Birmingham Promise. She also provides a space in her store, known as the Local’s Corner, for area creatives to sell their wares. The first person featured in the Local’s Corner, did so well that he has now advanced to having his own storefront.

To broaden her community outreach even more, Taylor plans to host monthly, virtual men’s mental health conversations known as “The Lounge.” She, a licensed physiatrist and men will address often overlooked topics facing men. It will start this summer.

“To me, fashion is more than what we wear,” Taylor said. “It’s what you put out into the world.”

For more information on the store, visit www.bridgeandroot.com. The store faces First Avenue North, between 22nd and 23rd streets North. It is across the street from the Wine Loft and Adios.


March 18 – Deborah Rice

By day, Deborah Rice crunches numbers as an accountant for Alabama Power Co. But in her spare time, she turns into a walking billboard to fight a chronic disease she’s had since 1999.

Rice, 55, has sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that can affect almost any organ. Something as simple as catching a cold can put her on her back for a week. There are also muscle aches and fatigue. Whenever she has a flare-up, she fights to recover so she can keep educating people about the disease because some people don’t even know they have it. It’s more common in women.

“I try my best to just push, push, push because I don’t want this thing to get the best of me,” Rice said. “And I feel if I don’t push, it’s doing just that.”

Rice volunteers as a community outreach leader with the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research and UAB. As a volunteer, she lets people know about resources that can help them better understand the disease, which affects patients in different ways. Oftentimes, she spreads the word while wearing a purple T-shirt that says: “Ask Me About Sarcoidosis.”

“Sarcoidosis is a complicated disease, and the difficulties in properly diagnosing sarcoidosis only heighten the need for more public awareness,” she said. “We have to educate ourselves when it comes to our health. With sarcoidosis, things may look good on paper, but it’s not good. It is then that the doctors truly rely on us, the patient.”

Over the years, she’s asked states to issue proclamations to declare April as Sarcoidosis Awareness Month. Alabama did it in 2016. The City of Birmingham followed. In 2017, Rice secured proclamations from 17 other states. But what she noticed was that even though the proclamations were issued, people still were not talking about it enough.

“I wish to get the community more involved when it comes to sarcoidosis. The time for sarcoidosis is now,” she said. “I know there are a lot of sarcoidosis patients throughout Birmingham, Jefferson County and the surrounding areas. I just want to give them hope and courage.”

In fall 2023, Walgreens partnered with the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research to increase awareness about the disease and stress how important it is for patients to get preventative shots for the flu, Covid and pneumonia. In Birmingham, Rice visited three Walgreens to promote the shots and answer customers’ questions.

On her outings, Rice reminds patients that they are their No. 1 advocate when it comes to their health, and that they should thoroughly review and understand their medical records. She also encourages movement. Despite dealing with joint and muscle discomfort, Rice remains an avid walker.

“I tell myself all the time, if you stop moving, it’s going to get bad. Continue to move. Continue to push,” she said. “That allows me to not just go through sarcoidosis but to rise above it.”

For more information on the disease, visit www.stopsarcoidosis.org.


March 19 – The Ladies Greek Orthodox Philoptochos Society

In 1972, a group of determined women from Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in downtown Birmingham set out on a culinary crusade, aiming to share their rich cultural heritage through food. What began as a humble endeavor has flourished into an epic tradition, captivating taste buds and hearts beyond the state lines of Alabama.

Welcome to the Greek Food Festival, now in its 51st year! (They took a pause in 2020 because of the pandemic.) This isn’t just any food festival. It’s a testament to the spirit of Greek women and their families. Organized by the Ladies Greek Orthodox Philoptochos Society, these passionate women cook up a storm, using recipes passed down from their grandmothers and great-grandmothers who traveled to Birmingham from Greece so many years ago. The plates they sell every year, help raise money for local and national charities.

“The festival has definitely grown into one of the premier cultural events in the Southeast,” said volunteer Elaine Lyda, who helps promote the event. “We have visitors who come all three days through the drive-thru. I know that for a fact because I have waited on them.”

Generations of women, inspired by their matriarchs, whip up traditional dishes that sing with flavors passed down through the ages. Lyda’s late mother, Boula Constantine, was one of the volunteers who helped start the festival. Lyda would sit in the kitchen and watch her mother pour her heart into meals so money could be raised to help others. The recipes used by Lyda’s mother and other women are still used to this day.

“We haven’t changed any of the recipes over the years. It’s a tribute to them, and that’s why people keep coming back,” Lyda said.

Besides food, the festival features a blend of culture and camaraderie. Picture this: children twirling on stage, their feet tapping to the rhythm of Greek music, while volunteers hustle, ensuring every gyro is wrapped with love. People also take tours of the downtown Birmingham church. From age 5 to 18, Lyda danced on stage during the festival. Her children did the same. Once children reach the age of 18, they move on to other volunteer positions. Lyda’s whole family gets involved every year. Men volunteer, too.

“My husband converted to be Greek, and he’s part of the drive-thru,” Lyda laughed. “It’s a true labor of love.”

Volunteers plan for months to ensure that the festival runs smoothly and offers savory fare. From the melt-in-your-mouth Greek lasagna (pastichio) to the heavenly butter twist cookies (koulourakia), every bite is a journey to the sun-drenched shores of Greece.

Elene Giattina, daughter of pastichio maestro Becky Kampakis, and Sonthe Burge, mastermind behind the koulourakia, carry on their mothers’ legacies with pride by leading the committees responsible for making two of the most popular dishes at the festival. There’s also souvlakia pastichio, Greek chicken, spanokopeta, veggie plates, Greek salad, baklava and more.

“I have always said: ‘Come experience a taste of Greece without the airfare,’” Lyda said.

This year, the festival will be held on Oct. 3-5. For more information, visit www.bhamgreekfestival.com.

**(Pictured in the photo, from left, are Elene Giattina, Elaine Lyda and Sonthe Burge.)


March 20 – Taneka Gillard

In 2009, Taneka Gillard’s daughter, Reign, was born with a rare congenital neurological disorder.

As Gillard lovingly cared for her daughter, who is also non-verbal, a paraplegic and vision impaired, she found it hard to find resources to improve her care. She also became frustrated about laws and the lack of funding that impacted the care she sought.

Every day, Gillard advocated for her daughter. And every day, she wondered if other parents with children with disabilities were facing similar struggles. She wanted to do something to make those families and herself feel better, so she started knitting. Her passion turned into something she didn’t expect: Big bright colorful hairbows with a major message.

Gillard, 50, used the hairbows to shine a light on the various disabilities affecting children, to celebrate diversity and to raise awareness. “Each bow has a different color to represent a disability,” she said. “We hear about autism. We hear about Down syndrome. But what about Reign’s condition, Dandy-Walker syndrome, and others like it? There needs to be more information.”

The hairbows have now become a symbol people can wear to show their support. Adults wear the hairbows, too, finding creative ways to sport them as anklets, wristlets, chokers, and broaches. Even those battling diseases like cancer have reached out for bows for their children.

“I donate to a lot of organizations because I want my babies to feel pretty and cute,” said Gillard, who named the hairbows Reignbows in 2012.

But Gillard saw more gaps that needed filling. So, in 2023, she founded the iReign Special Needs Support Group Alabama on Facebook, a place where she shares resources and support for parents.

“The ‘i’ is lowercase and it means that no matter what, we are going to reign over our circumstances,” she said. “Our children have a lot of doctors’ appointments and surgeries. So, a disability can weigh on the child as well as on the parent or caregiver. You have to miss a lot of workdays.”

She posts three times a week on the page: “Educational Monday” for learning about disabilities; “Resource Wednesday” for practical information like finding wheelchair-accessible vehicles; and “Fantastic Friday” for celebrating wins.

The impact extends beyond the virtual world. She visits expos and schools in Birmingham, connecting with parents and listening to their concerns, like what can the mother of two children with special needs do when she can’t enroll both of them at the same daycare center and what can caregivers do beyond retirement when it comes to caring for their children.

Gillard, who is a nurse, reminds people that if they know someone caring for a child with a disability, it doesn’t hurt to call or check on the parent and tell them they are doing a good job.

“Say or write something like: ‘God bless you,’ or ‘I am praying for your strength,’” she said. “There was a time where I was like, ‘I don’t get invited for the holidays or anywhere because people just assumed that I can’t make it, or they don’t have the accommodations.’ Call and check on that family and make sure they are OK.”

For more information about Reignbows, visit www.shopreignbowsonline.com.


March 21 – Ann Niles

Volunteer Ann Niles is one of the first smiling faces people see when they enter the rotunda of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

She greets visitors and tells them there is an eight-minute film about the city’s civil rights history they can watch before they take a self-guided tour of the institute.

“I tell them that the film really gets them ready for what they are about to experience,” she says.

And that experience involves passing by exhibits that show segregation in the South, African Americans’ fight for equality, and what happened during the 1963 civil rights movement in Birmingham.

Niles, 77, can offer first-hand accounts about Birmingham’s movement because she lived it. At the age of 16, she joined other children to march and protest segregation. She was arrested and jailed for five days and nights at the Jefferson County Jail.

One night, she and other girls were moved into a small space. It was hot. A lawman poured water onto the floor. One girl fainted, face down. All the girls screamed. Then, the lawmen let them out and returned them to their cell.

“That stays with me. I will never forget it,” says Niles, who was a junior at Parker High School at the time. “It was the most frightening thing that ever happened to me.”

Niles looks at her involvement in the movement as a privilege, one that she was honored to be able to participate. She shares her memories in her 2020 book, “My Story: A Child of the Civil Rights Movement,” which she says she wrote for her grandchildren after they asked her about her role in Birmingham’s history.

“I didn’t write it to make money. I wrote it so they will never forget where we come from and what happened,” says Niles, who is married and has four sons and 11 grandchildren. She worked at Alabama Power for nearly 36 years before retiring.

This June will mark Niles’ 27th year as a BCRI volunteer. She volunteers every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. When asked why she’s volunteered for so long, she says there is something that keeps pulling her back to BCRI.

“I just like to tell the story and make sure if anybody wants to ask a question about what really happened, I say, ‘This is authentic,’ Niles says “When you look at me, I’m telling you that I lived it, and whatever is in (BCRI) is for real. It’s the real deal.”

For more information about BCRI, visit www.bcri.org.


March 22 – Alice Westery

As founder and executive director of Youth Towers in Birmingham, Alice Westery works with homeless youth by helping them find affordable housing or avoid losing the housing they already have.

She also provides resources and agencies that can address their various needs such as securing clothing, life and employment skills, credit counseling, tutoring, a job, etc. Some clients have experienced sexual abuse, violence, a lack of family support, etc. Some are runaways. Most have been in the foster care system.

They know Westery cares about them, which is why they often contact her.

“What drives me is if a baby tells me, ‘If I don’t have anywhere to lay my head tonight, then I gotta do what I gotta do.’ So that means that they have to do whatever it is, whether it’s human trafficking, sex trafficking, breaking the law or stealing … in order to be able to survive. I cannot sit by and let that happen,” she said.

“Even if I cannot house a young person during the day, I can just give her some hope,” she said. “This is what I tell her: ‘Come back tomorrow. But while you are out there, if you don’t show back up, someone cares about you, and they will come looking for you.’”

Westery started Youth Towers in 2007 after having worked for years as a licensed social worker. She noticed that when young people aged out of the foster care system, they may not have a place to go.

Upon leaving foster care, some young people called Westery, asking her for phone numbers to homeless shelters.

She works with ages 18 to 26. Most young people call her Mama Westery. But the “real cool kids,” as she calls them, refer to her as “The Plug.”

“‘The Plug’ means if there is a connection to something, you are ‘The One’” she said.”They had to tell me what that meant. They said, ‘You are the source. You are the one we can go to and make sure we get connected to get the help that we need.’”

Outside of Youth Towers, Westery volunteers with several groups, including the Community Affairs Committee; serving as vice president of the Jefferson County Family Resource Center; and serving as vice president of the Pratt City Business Association.

She is a Birmingham native and lives in the Huntington Hills neighborhood.

“I want to live where the need is,” she said. “I love Birmingham, and I love my neighborhood. I appreciate that we start at home to make home better.”

For more information, visit www.youthtowers.org.


March 23 – Cathy Sloss and Leigh Sloss-Corra

In Birmingham, where the aroma of Southern cooking fills the air and culinary creativity knows no bounds, two sisters found themselves inspired by a shared passion for food and community. Cathy Sloss and Leigh Sloss-Corra, driven by their love for the city’s growing food scene, had long thought about how nice it would be to have a multi-day food festival in the Magic City.

But it wasn’t until they attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ 43rd annual conference in Birmingham in 2021, that the seed of their idea really took root. Surrounded by fellow food enthusiasts and industry professionals, Cathy and Leigh were struck by the energy and excitement at the event. As they listened to speakers and tasted the food, they had their a-ha moment.

They decided it was time to finally have a multi-day food festival that celebrates everything that makes Birmingham’s food scene special.

And just like that, the Birmingham Food Plus Culture Fest was born in September 2023, attracting hundreds over four days at venues in Birmingham. National media and others unable to attend last year, told the sisters they would be present in 2024.

Cathy said they worked with different food players in Birmingham to help make the event happen. “We have one of the coolest food systems in the United States, and people not from Birmingham, tell us that all the time,” said Cathy said. “A food system is about eating locally. Buying locally. And growing locally.”

“We have this huge range of different cultures that have all come together to create these wonderful cuisines that people travel to Birmingham to eat.”

Cathy is the founder of the Market at Pepper Place, and Leigh is the executive director of the Market at Pepper Place. Leigh credits her big sister in being the driving force for the conference, which was ranked by USA Today as the No. 3 Best New Food Festival in America in 2023.

“Even if you think an idea of hers is crazy, you better pay attention because if the time is not right for it now, it will be five years from now,” Leigh said.

People from 18 states visited the festival. Seventy-two chefs participated, including 30 from as far away as Houston and New York. Eleven performances from award-winning local and regional acts were featured. A majority of the organizers were women.

“The thing that made it work was the concept for it to represent all the aspects of our culture,” Leigh said. “It was not meant to be an elitist foodie thing. It was not meant to be just a white tablecloth dinner experience. It was meant to include people from every background, from every culinary tradition and to represent the diversity of the food culture In Birmingham, which makes us so strong and unique.”

This year’s festival is slated for Sept. 19-22, with additional days planned to jumpstart the event. For more information on the festival, visit bhamfoodplus.com.


March 24 – Valencia Wells

Several times a year, optometrist Valencia Wells breaks away from her eye care office on Morris Avenue to volunteer at health fairs and visit schools in Birmingham to educate people about the importance of maintaining good eye health.

The most common question she gets is: When am I supposed to get an eye exam?

“Some people don’t realize how often they should go see an eye doctor. Diabetics should get one every year,” said Dr. Wells, 42. “I even get questions about grandkids and when they should go. Children should go once a year. We try to screen children within the first year of life, before school and Pre-K. Children can have learning deficiencies if they can’t see.”

Wells’ attention to detail at a health fair helped alert one man of a major health issue. The man complained of a lazy eye or nerve palsy, something new for him. She measured his eye pressure, which was a little high. She suggested the man go see his doctor. He did. Results came back and showed he had an 80 percent blockage in his aorta.

In her office, she’s found issues in patients with diabetes and other eye issues because people have not seen an actual eye doctor.

“We not only want to be a practice, but we also want to be a presence and a resource for our community,” said Dr. Wells, who has been in practice for 15 years.

Dr. Wells graduated from optometry school at UAB, where she is now president of the UAB Optometry Alumni Association. Earlier this month, she met the goal of raising $25,000 to establish an endowed scholarship in honor of the group’s first African-American president, Dr. Cheryl Cheatham Wilson. Next year, Dr. Wells anticipates meeting the funding requirements to establish a $25,000 scholarship in her own name. Both scholarships will go to African-American optometry students at UAB.

“I feel like our people are 400 years behind, economically. So, we need all the help we can get and all the resources. And if there is anything we can do to make a process easier and provide for our youth financially, we should do so,” she said.

In 2023, UAB named her as the UAB Young Alumni Rising Star, which was awarded to a young UAB graduate who has shown outstanding achievement in their career, demonstrated notable service to the community, shown a commitment to UAB and is in good standing with the UAB National Alumni Society.

Dr. Wells said she knew she wanted to be an eye doctor by eighth grade, which is when she had to write a research paper on what she wanted to be when she grew up. “And I tell everybody that the Lord is always working everything out since that day,” said Dr. Wells, who married her college sweetheart, Willie, after meeting him at the University of Alabama. She also pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. while at UA.

For more information on Dr. Wells, visit www.morrisavenueeyecare.com.


March 25 – Sandra “Sandi” Lee

In 2018, Sandra “Sandi” Lee retired from the Birmingham Public Library after having served 25 years.

But retirement didn’t quite stick for Lee, and she found herself back at the library in a different way.

She started volunteering in the Friends Bookstore at the downtown location in fall 2019. Then, in January 2020, she joined the library’s Friends Foundation, which helps to secure financial support for the library’s programs, services and partnerships. She was elected vice president. In 2021, she was elected as president of the Friends Foundation.

In addition to still volunteering at least one day a week in the bookstore, Lee organizes and hosts the library’s spring and fall book sales and supports BPL’s grant applications, special events and projects. Her former co-workers contend she is a true champion for BPL and lives out the mission of the Friends Foundation to support the library’s programs, services and partnerships, through fundraising, advocacy and outreach.

When asked how her library career path started, Lee said it started her freshman year in college when she took an interest survey. A counselor reviewed the form and told Lee: “You like to do too many things.” But being a librarian meant Lee could do all things, all in one place. And as a result, the library was the perfect match for her.

Lee’s first gig was a storyteller at the Springville Road Library in Huffman. As a storyteller, Lee saw, firsthand, the magic books held in bringing people together in a room. To her, the library was more than just shelves of books; it was a community hub.

“A library, in its best form, is a place where everybody can come and feel welcomed, see themselves be a part of something … and that they are needed,” she said. “And as a librarian, I always had that feeling that I am contributing to the better part of what everybody wants to see in their world.”

For more information about the Friends Foundation, visit friendsofthebpl.org.


March 26 – Jasmine Allen

Though she was a little girl at the time, Jasmine Allen still knew the impact her parents made by bringing the likes of Destiny’s Child, the Isley Brothers, Mary J. Blige, Brandy, and more to the Birmingham Heritage Festival between 1991 and 2003. Her father also worked on national tours for artists such as Luther Vandross and Prince.

“As a child, I thought my parents were larger than life,” said Allen, now 43. “I always thought that what they did was too big for me.”

So, instead of booking big musical acts like her parents did, Allen went in the opposite direction and did small events and home services in people’s residences. She called her company Girl Friday Concierge. But it didn’t take long before someone asked her to do an event in a hospital’s mammogram department and then at an event space. The requests kept coming, and Allen had to pivot.

In 2016, she launched Destination Birmingham to handle the demand.

“A good friend of the family, Andre Pettis, said, ‘Jasmine, I have your next event.’ I do not know how you will do it, but Birmingham needs it,’” Allen recalled. “I just took the idea, researched it, I found the contact in Canada and reached out to them.”

“I told the person, ‘I’m in Birmingham. How do we make this happen?’ And the person said they wanted to spread South with their event.”

Allen submitted a bid and a proposal. She went through an interview. A month later, she secured the contract to put on Diner en Blanc in Birmingham, where attendees dress in all white and await details on where they will go to enjoy a posh picnic underneath the stars in a secret location. Diner en Blanc is a concept that started in Paris in 1988, and it has expanded around the globe.

When Allen promoted Diner En Blanc Birmingham, people devoured the idea and the tickets her first year in 2019. She said the event attracts about 2,000 people a year, and she’s planning on doing again this year to mark the fifth year. (They did not do it in 2020 because of the pandemic.)

“I think that so many times, people still look at Birmingham as just that small little city. They have no idea of our culture and arts scene that we possess here,” said Allen. “At the end of the day, tourism brings money to the city, and we want to be an advocate for that.”

And like her parents, Allen is getting into even more musical act promotions, doing it with her company comprised of all women.

She produced Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson’s Mardi Gras celebration with Big Freedia at Boutwell Auditorium in February. She’s bringing DJ Kid Capri to the Rose All Day Wine and Music Festival on May 11 at Lit on 8th. She is looking at launching the Heritage Gospel Fest near the end of year in Birmingham. And on April 21, she is promoting “The Masterclass, featuring Rick Ross and the Symphonic Orchestra” at Boutwell Auditorium.

“It was never that I didn’t want to do what my parents did,” she said. “I didn’t know that it was a gift that God had given me until I was older in life.”

For more information about the Rick Ross concert, visit here


March 27 – Sgt. Becky White

Birmingham Police Sgt. Becky White, a trailblazer and guardian of the community, has been serving with honor and distinction for 28 years. Her journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, dedication and the pursuit of excellence in the Magic City.

Sgt. White began her career with BPD in 1996. She later broke new ground when she became the first Black female mounted patrol officer in BPD, which was an early indicator of her pioneering spirit. Her climb through the ranks was marked by a series of groundbreaking achievements. She became the first Black female sergeant to be sniper trained within BPD’s Tactical/SWAT division. She has also served as an effective hostage negotiator; a wreck reconstructionist; an airport security specialist; a bike patrol officer; an Investigative Bureau supervisor; a Task Force leader; and a West Precinct sergeant. Her academic accomplishments, including a bachelor’s degree and an associate’s degree in criminal justice as well as an associate’s degree in computer science, underscore her commitment to continuous learning and professional growth.

Sgt. White’s role in BPD’s Special Operations Bureau Special Events Unit is an important assignment. With meticulous planning and a deep understanding of logistics, she ensures that major events unfold seamlessly, reflecting her dedication to serving her city with precision and care. She is a member of the ICS Command Team in Birmingham, which pulls together parties from various public safety organizations for major events. She is the team’s deputy operations sections chief. As a member of that team, she played a crucial role in planning security for the World Games 2022. She is also involved in security for this summer’s Transplant Games and a pivotal organizer for the Police and Fire Games 2025, which will both be held in Birmingham. She is the unseen hand that guides tens of thousands of people through the city’s most significant gatherings, working tirelessly from dawn until long after dusk.

Her ability to connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds is nothing short of remarkable. Sgt. White embodies the principle that policing is not just about maintaining order, but also about building trust and fostering relationships within the community. With her approachable demeanor and empathetic heart, she stands as a bridge between the police force and the residents they serve.

In the face of adversity, Sgt. White exhibits nerves of steel — a composure that has been honed over countless life-or-death situations. Her focus is unwavering, her courage unshakable. This resolve has earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious BPD’s Lifesaver Award for her heroic intervention that saved a man threatening to jump from a bridge.

Sgt. White’s impact extends far beyond the line of duty. As a devoted family woman, she sets an example of balance and dedication that resonates with her son, who works with another local law enforcement agency. She also has a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. Sgt. White’s involvement in the community, particularly in mentoring women and participating in outreach ministry, shows her commitment to uplifting others.

Her advice to women contemplating a career in law enforcement is a soul-stirring message: seek knowledge, embrace training and never settle for less than your full potential. Sgt. White encourages women to remain true to themselves, to serve with compassion and humility, and to stand firm in the knowledge that they, too, can make a difference.

She is definitely forging a path for future generations of women warriors in blue.


March 28 – Gwendolyn Cook-Bibb

Illegal dumping had become such a problem in Gwendolyn Cook-Bibb’s East Brownville neighborhood that as soon as City of Birmingham crews picked up abandoned couches, old refrigerators and stoves on a stretch of road, someone illegally dumped more.

Fed up with the violators dumping on a major thoroughfare, Cook-Bibb started an anti-dumping campaign in 2023. She organized neighborhood cleanups and ordered metal signs to discourage the illegal dumping of major appliances. It worked.

“The anti-dumping campaign is good, and I would recommend it to other neighborhoods and other communities,” said Cook-Bibb, who is president of the East Brownville neighborhood. “It’s not hard to start. I created our first signs, and ordered them from a place on the internet. And then, somebody told me about Temu, and I ordered some from them.”

“I have some signs in my trunk right now. I keep them, so if I ride the neighborhood and I see a spot that needs a little attention, I’ll put it out. But if I can’t, I’ll get somebody to put it up.”

What Cook-Bibb thinks changed the behavior was changing the approach. “We had signs that said, ‘Smile, you are on camera,'” she said. “They look very professional.”

“We need to really treasure where we live and do our best to help, if we have the help and the strength to make our surroundings beautiful,” said Cook-Bibb, who is also president of the Brownville community, which consists of three neighborhoods. “And dumping is certainly not beautiful.”

Cook-Bibb’s ideas get results and get noticed. In 2022, she received a community service award for being a neighborhood officer and for organizing neighborhood cleanups during Covid. In 2024, she received a “Shero Award’’ for organizing neighborhood meeting conference calls during Covid. Both were given by the Community First organization.

When Cook-Bibb is not fighting to improve her neighborhood, she’s fighting pounds at the gym. She goes three times a week, and she’s found it helps her stay on course to do all the things she needs to do.

“‘My friends tell me, ‘Aww, girl. You’ve just got energy.’ I say, no you just have to keep to going. If you stop, your energy stops,” she said. “This was my year. I turned 75 on Jan. 25, and I’m so blessed that God has allowed me to be here.”

 

On Aug. 30, 2023, we paused to recognize the StrongHer honorees selected between 2019 and 2023. The event was held at Boutwell Auditorium. That evening, we celebrated the remarkable unsung “sheroes’’ and their powerful stories. Doors opened at 5:30 p.m., and the recognition program started at 6 p.m. Dancing, networking, a woman-themed art gallery by North Birmingham artist Willie Williams, vendors and more were featured.

This gathering was more than an event. It was a movement that embraced the women who have become the very soul of Birmingham, thanks to their hard work behind the scenes. That evening, we thanked these women for stories that reminded us of the power within each of us.

White attire was encouraged for the honorees, and it was wonderful to see so many honorees show up in white.  Joined by their friends and loved ones, the honorees definitely painted the night with style, grace and appreciation. Lady Woo served as the emcee.

This Wind Down Wednesday event also helped kick off Boutwell Auditorium’s 100-year anniversary celebration for 2024.  Boutwell Auditorium is located at 1930 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.

A StrongHer poem honoring the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement by Alabama’s poet laureate Ashley Jones.

 

The 2023 theme for StrongHer, was “Born to Make a Difference: Then and Now.” It is a celebration of women’s journeys from childhood to adulthood and the inspiring lessons learned along the way. 

Nominations are now closed for the 2023 series, which appeared in March 2023. The deadline to submit nominees for the 2024 StrongHer class was Oct. 31, 2023.  

On March 4, 2023, Mayor Randall L. Woodfin sat down with City of Birmingham Senior Project Manager Chanda Temple, who writes the StrongHer profiles, to discuss the campaign on his weekly radio show, Magic City Spotlight. Two, 2023 StrongHer honorees, Woodlawn resident Jacqueline McKinney and Birmingham opera singer and teacher Allison Sanders, joined them.

The March 4, 2023 radio show can be heard on the city’s YouTube channel below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wB_k8_RdA0

On March 18, 2023, Mayor Woodfin returned to the airwaves to have two more StrongHer honorees on the Magic City Spotlight radio show. They were YMCA executive Terri A. Harvill and Ensley businesswoman Andrea Parker.

The March 18, 2023 radio show can be heard on the city’s YouTube channel below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R5Q50IeEWA:

Birmingham celebrates Women’s History Month with #StrongHer campaign

We kicked off the announcement of the StrongHer Class of 2023 with Meesha Emmett on Dec. 14, 2022 to give readers a taste of what was to come. The  2023 theme was “Born to Make a Difference.” Honorees were asked to submit their childhood or baby photo so we could display what was “then” and what is “now.”

StrongHer 2023 Profiles

December 14 – Meesha Emmett

One of the most painful moments in Meesha Emmett’s life has led to her life’s work to combat suicide.

In May 2013, Meesha was 29 years old when she lost her best friend to suicide. She had known Alex since they were little girls.

“Devastating doesn’t even begin to cover how distraught I was,” Meesha, now 38, recalled. “And then came the questions: ‘What if? How could I have helped her? How could I have stopped this from happening?'”

For Meesha, the healing process was very slow after Alex’s death. She was paralyzed by grief and became what she describes as a shell of herself.

But one day, Meesha had a moment of clarity and decided that she needed to do something to make a difference so that no one else would have to experience the same devastation, grief and sadness she had.

She met with the Alabama area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) at the time and made plans to chair the inaugural Shoals Out of the Darkness Community Walk in memory of Alex in fall 2013.

“The walk created a safe environment for survivors of suicide loss to find community with others,” she said. “Participating in that first walk was a very cathartic experience. That was a turning point for me, and the rest is history.”

The walk, which is a fundraiser for AFSP, had such a big response that Meesha has chaired the event every year until 2022. She continued volunteering with AFSP as a field advocate and then joined the AFSP Alabama chapter board of directors in 2018. In 2020, she was elected board chair. Recently, she was hired as the Alabama area director – a true full circle moment. In her new role, she will support AFSP’s prevention efforts across the state. (The Alabama chapter of AFSP is based in Birmingham, and the national organization is based in New York.)

The mission of AFSP is to save lives and provide hope for those affected by suicide.

Meesha said that working with the organization has blessed her to be part of some very important conversations around suicide prevention and mental health in the state. “AFSP Alabama is proud to work alongside other organizations in our state to create a culture that’s smart about mental health. We’ve made tremendous strides but we still have work to do,” she said.

AFSP has a goal to reduce suicide by 25 percent by 2025.

“This work is my passion and I am committed to doing everything that I can to prevent others from losing loved ones to suicide,” she said.

For more information on the organization, visit www.afsp.org/Alabama. The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is 988.


March 1 – Daphney Portis

On a clear, crisp October night in downtown Birmingham, the lights underneath the interstate bathed City Walk in a warm yellow hue.

People huddled and chatted, waiting to support a candlelight vigil for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.

There were a handful of speakers. Daphney Portis was one of them.

She stepped on stage, took a deep breath and said, “My name is Daphney Portis, and I’m a survivor.”

It was the first time Portis, 28, had publicly shared that she had been a victim of sexual assault, a crime that happened at the hands of someone she knew in college. She never called police. Instead, she suffered in silence.

“I was wearing a mask saying, ‘I’m OK, and it didn’t affect me,'” said Portis, who works for a Birmingham-based nonprofit that focuses on social justice and female victims of domestic violence. “But it did.”

The assault happened in 2016. She sought counseling in 2019. She told her family in 2022.

Releasing the secret made Portis feel like she had gotten her voice back not only to empower herself but also others. On the night of the vigil in 2022, she read a poem she had written in dedication to domestic violence survivors.

Part of her poem reads, “Yes – I wear an R on my chest because resilience is my superpower.”

Portis knows there’s power in words and writing, which is why she uses her talent for writing poetry to teach survivors how to put their pain to paper. In her spare time, she wants to create a project where she can talk more about being a survivor and help women recognize the early signs of abuse.

“It’s wild how quiet people are about domestic violence and sexual assault,” she said. “But it is time to speak up in order to disrupt this cycle of violence and change the narrative.”

*If you or someone you know has been affected by intimate partner violence or gender-based violence, contact the YWCA Central Alabama’s Crisis Line at 205-322-4878 or the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence Statewide Hotline at 1-800-650-6522.


March 2 – Leslie Claybrook

As the general manager of the Birmingham Squadron, the NBA G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans, Leslie Claybrook gets to combine two of her passions – basketball and the City of Birmingham.

“I have the opportunity to impact the Birmingham community by expanding the court to the city,” Claybrook said. “We do this by getting the players out into the community to share their story, participate in community service, conduct youth clinics, and visit schools and hospitals to give back in a meaningful way to the people of Birmingham.”

Their community outreach has included work with Children’s Hospital, the Birmingham VA Clinic, Grace Klein Community, Firehouse Ministries and more.

The team also has theme nights for their games at Legacy Arena, highlighting different organizations, groups, events and even superheroes. “One of the things when I interviewed for the position was I wanted us to be more than 24 basketball games at Legacy Arena. I wanted us to be engaged in the community and give back in a meaningful way, not only in the arena but also in the community,” she said. “I was fortunate enough that our head coach had the same philosophy. And so it became easy for us to identify places of interest for him and … for our players.”

The theme nights are not unusual to professional sports. In Birmingham, the efforts have allowed the team to engage fans through its video boards, giveaways and more.

On March 9, the team will host a Women’s Empowerment Night to celebrate and recognize achievements of women in the community.

“This is something that is near and dear to my heart, given the professional women’s organizations that I am part of. And it’s something that other organizations are doing and have success in,” she said.

Claybrook grew up in Luverne, AL., where her love for basketball started by playing on a patch of dirt underneath a rim that was 12 feet high, attached to a utility pole and partially blocked by a pecan tree. Never did she imagine that one day she would be over operations for a team like the Birmingham Squadron, handling tickets, sponsorships, marketing, promotions and working with the Legacy Arena for set up for game days.

Prior to working for the Birmingham Squadron, Claybrook’s career included work with college athletics, the SEC and running her own consulting firm. Today, she’s honored and humbled if other women look up to her and see themselves in her.

“I have a 13-year-old daughter that I’m trying to raise to be a strong woman, to make good decisions and provide an opportunity for her to be successful in whatever she does,” she said. “And the biggest thing is being confident, being engaged and seating yourself at the table so you have a spot to provide your opinion and then when you are called on to do so.”


March 3 – Jacqueline McKinney

For weeks, Jacqueline McKinney complained to an organization about her Woodlawn apartment complex’s dumpster being too small to hold all of the tenants’ garbage.

When the dumpster is full, the excess trash falls onto the ground and just sits there. And even when the dumpster is emptied by a private company, the trash still sits on the ground. The trash is supposed to be collected three times a week, but it just gets collected about once a week.

Tired of seeing no progress, McKinney took matters into her own hands and started picking up the excess trash and putting it into her own garbage bags. Then, she puts the bags into the dumpster after it is emptied. After picking up around the complex, she picks up litter on First Avenue South.

She does all of this work despite dealing with a rare blood disease that can impact her immune system.

“Some days are bad. I cannot move, but still you have to get up and move,” said McKinney, 69, a retired dressmaker, housekeeper and caterer. “What I tell my mind is: ‘Rest if you must, but just don’t quit. You’ve lost the game if you quit.'”

She made T-shirts to launch a clean-up initiative that she hopes will inspire others. The front of the shirt says, “Making A Difference.” The back says, “Cleaning our city. Our community. And our neighborhood. One street at a time.”

She said she’s doing all of this because she loves Birmingham, and she knows its neighborhoods can look just as good as those in other cities.

“It doesn’t matter where you stay. It’s a matter of getting out there and fixing up what you’ve got,” she said. “Your neighborhood should always be kept up and nice.”


March 4 – Allison Sanders

As long as Allison Sanders can remember, all she has ever wanted to do is sing.

She started singing in her mother’s church in Ensley. And then, at the age of 6, she took the stage at the Alabama Theatre in a production of “The Sound of Music.”

She was known as the little girl with the big voice.

At the age of 15, a voice coach in Memphis encouraged her to try something a little different: opera.

“I remember looking at her and saying, ‘Huh?’ Because at 15, I said I wanted to be Beyoncé or Whitney Houston. But honestly, opera fit me like a glove,” said Sanders, a teacher at a private elementary school in Birmingham.

After being exposed to opera, she sang a French opera solo from “Samson and Delilah,” and started winning competitions. She attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, which trains exceptionally gifted young performers. While there, she earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in music.

People have told Sanders, a soprano who can sing in three octaves, that she sounds like the late Grammy winner and opera singer Jessye Norman. Norman performed in countless operas and during the second inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1997.

Sanders, 35, has performed with various groups, including the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the New York City Opera, Opera Memphis, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. She’s also toured in Japan and Germany with the Glory Gospel Singers. And like Norman, Sanders performed for President Clinton during a 2003 awards ceremony in Memphis.

In 2015, Sanders returned to Birmingham to be closer to her mother, and it was as if Sanders had never left. She’s appeared in several productions here, including being a soloist during the closing ceremony of the World Games in Birmingham in 2022. In January 2023, she performed in three sold out shows of Opera Birmingham’s production of dwb (driving while black) at Birmingham’s Red Mountain Theatre.

She said that being back in Birmingham has made her into a better artist.

“I love Birmingham, and I’m so grateful the way the city has embraced me and shaped me in the last eight years that I have been here,” said Sanders.


March 5 – Taliesha Cash

Every day, Taliesha Cash wakes to fight another day for not only herself and her family but for fellow female cancer patients and survivors.

She’s been diagnosed with breast cancer three times since 2016. The third diagnosis came in 2020 when she learned she had metastatic breast cancer. Doctors told her she had eight months to live.

But Cash told doctors she refused to accept that diagnosis.

“I realized then that I had too much more of life to live. I could sit down, give in and take what they stated, or I could choose to live,” she said. “Since then, I have been inspiring other women to live.”

Cash, 48, encourages women through Sisters CANcervive, a non-profit support group for female cancer survivors and patients. The group, which was founded in 2018 and consists of patients and survivors of breast, ovarian, uterine, cervical and endometrial cancers, provides meals, gas and co-payments for chemotherapy treatments to women fighting cancer in Birmingham and surrounding areas.

Cash started with four members. Today, there are more than 170 members. They have a private Facebook group that provides a 24-hour chat room to allow members to talk about anything.

“You can’t talk to your husband about the challenges you have with the female cancers like you can a ‘sister.’ We are there,” she said. “Sometimes, you just want to cry, but you can’t because you have to be strong for family. But you take that off when you come into the room.”

Cash tells members to be encouraged and that miracles can still happen.

“I have five kids, and I have to show them that giving up is not an option,” said Cash. “Every day, you get up and you keep going. I choose to live on purpose for my kids and for others.”

She added: “Live your life every day like it’s your last. What you can’t change, you keep moving. If you keep moving, change will come. That has been my motivation every day.”

For more information, visit www.sisterscancervive.org.


March 6 – Debby Cullum

In 2019, Debby Cullum moved from Mobile to Birmingham after her husband landed a job in the Magic City. She sadly left behind being a part of the Rising Tide Society, a network for small business owners and creatives to gather in the spirit of community over competition.

With more than 200 chapters across America and beyond, Cullum hoped Birmingham had a Rising Tide Society chapter. It did.

Shortly after moving, Cullum, a wedding and portrait photographer, attended her first meeting. With all of the transitions that took place during covid, the former leaders stepped down. In 2021, Cullum volunteered to keep the Birmingham group going.

“I knew how important having this community of support was for me as a small business owner, and I did not want that to go away for us here in Birmingham,” Cullum said. “I wanted to see our group grow and become stronger, together.”

The group meets once a month at different locations in Birmingham to discuss small business issues, learn emerging social media trends, share ideas, set goals and hear speakers. Topics have been educational and transformational.

“As business owners, a lot of times, it’s just one of us in the business. We don’t have a staff to bounce ideas off of, so, it’s cool to have that support group,” said Cullum, 32. “And if you have something big coming up, we can all share it and get the word out.”

On April 23, members will host the Rising Tide Birmingham Community Market from 1 to 4 p.m. at Cahaba Brewing Co., 4500 Fifth Ave. South. Members include artists, authors, photographers, calligraphers and other entrepreneurs such as a gym owner who is hosting a women’s-only self-defense series in March.

Cullum said she’s met gifted and innovative people she would have never known had it not been for Birmingham’s Rising Tide chapter.

“Birmingham has a lot of great creative and small business owners who are making a big difference,” she said. “It’s been really fun to be a part of that.”


March 7 – Teresa Zuniga Odom

Fiesta Bham started in 2003 as a way to help fund college scholarships for Latino students in Alabama.

Since then, the event has not only raised more than $100,000 in scholarship money, but it has become a premier cultural festival that offers Hispanic art, music, food and dance to thousands each September in Birmingham. One of the many people working behind the scenes to help make the festival happen is Teresa Zuniga Odom.

Odom started with Fiesta as a founding board member. At the end of 2022, she rolled off the board for an even bigger volunteer role: to chair the new Fiesta Bham Advisory Council. She said the council will focus on raising scholarship money throughout the year.

“For me, the biggest and best part of (Fiesta) was watching students receive their scholarship money,” Odom said. “It’s such a wonderful feeling that we can do a little bit to help them with their education. I just get very emotional about it.”

Another group Odom volunteers with is the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA) in Birmingham. Every year, she serves as a tamale captain for the annual HICA Tamale Sale, which happens after Thanksgiving and has existed for 20 years. Proceeds help support HICA programs.

She takes orders and assists with deliveries.

“Anybody can be a tamale captain. This is one of those things I don’t think I will ever stop doing,” she said. “It’s kind of like Fiesta.”

Odom, 64, shares her love for Fiesta, the tamale sale, her Mexican-American background and Hispanic lifestyle on her blog, www.southernsenora.com.

“There is a definite need in the community for people to have access to these types of cultural opportunities and have some place where they can express themselves,” said Odom. “I’m just glad I can provide them.”

In 2023, Fiesta Bham will be in Linn Park on Sept. 30 from 12 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit fiestabham.com.


March 8 – Christina Ray Norman

Over the years, Christina Ray Norman has helped raise awareness about Down syndrome through fundraisers.

This year, the 15-year-old is putting a unique spin on her efforts. She is collecting socks in honor of World Down Syndrome Day, which is March 21, 2023. She will donate the socks to Community Kitchens in Woodlawn and other homeless shelters in Birmingham.

Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. The significance of Christina donating on March 21 is that the date represents an extra chromosome on the 21st chromosome. Three strands of Chromosome 21 just happen to look like socks, which is why people have been using a sock campaign of wearing colorful or mismatched socks to get people talking about Down syndrome.

“I’m a big advocate for Down syndrome and for my brother, Landon, who has Down syndrome,” said Christina, a 10th grader at Alabama School of Fine Arts. “I just thought having unique, different socks and giving them to homeless shelters will help.”

Christina is also using her sock project to correct misconceptions and highlight the importance of inclusion concerning Down syndrome.

“I think people assume that all people with Down syndrome are low functioning and don’t have high functioning abilities,” she said. “My little brother has high functioning abilities. He’s able to walk and talk and do anything he puts his mind to.”

“He wants to own his own restaurant. And he is also a person who likes to speak in public,” she said. “He’s not shy. And he loves to play sports.”

Since the age of 9, Christina has been volunteering with Community Kitchens, which made them an ideal recipient for her sock collection. “I’ve just always been taught, my whole life, to be kind to others and give back,” she said.

She’s also a Girl Scout and a ballerina. In April, she will dance in “Ballet in the Park” at Railroad Park. In May, she will dance in “Sleeping Beauty” at the Lyric Theater. Both events are through Magic City Performing Arts.

For her public engagements, Landon is there, cheering her on and inspiring her.

“He is a bright person, and he has a good future ahead of him,” Christina said. “He has so many ambitions, and I think that people should take that into account instead of saying, ‘Oh he cannot do this or that because he has Down syndrome.'”


March 9 – Shatoria Peavy

Every second and third Tuesday at the West End Library, Shatoria Peavy welcomes single mothers and their children for an evening of enrichment and encouragement.

The children are in one room, and the mothers are in another. The mothers share what’s on their minds but also receive motivational and educational messages on everything from finances to childcare. On a recent evening, Peavy, a single mother of three, discussed self-confidence and the power of forgiving one’s self.

“If you make a mistake, it’s OK. You are not perfect,” Peavy recalled telling the women. “As long as we are living, we have the chance to correct mistakes.”

The meetings are part of Mommy’s Lounge Inspires, Inc., a non-profit organization Peavy founded in 2018 to give single mothers a space to release and re-energize.

“When you think about a lounge, you can go there and let your hair down,” said Peavy, 35. “I’m hoping my story and other single mothers’ stories will inspire single mothers to know their worth and know they can do anything.”

On every fourth Tuesday from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m., Peavy hosts a Resource Day for single mothers at the library. Mothers pre-register for the event, and they pick up personal hygiene items, baby items, diapers, wipes and clothing for women and children.

When covid hit between 2020 and 2021 and the library was closed, Peavy and her board members drove to the homes of single mothers, delivering the resources they needed. Peavy hosts a single mothers’ conference in November. And her organization provides holiday assistance and puts on a toy drive for single mothers.

Once homeless and a divorcee from an unhealthy marriage, Peavy recognized the power of positivity and speaking things into existence. She kept moving forward to make change.

“I really thank God for everything I’ve gone through because it made me who I am today,” said Peavy, who is also an author. “I am real. I’m not fake about anything. In your lowest moment, that is when God will show yourself strong to you.”

For more information about Mommy Lounge Inspires, Inc., visit www.mommyloungeinspires.com. The West End Library is located at 1348 Tuscaloosa Ave.


March 10 – Lonnie Pressley

For 30 years, Lonnie Pressley worked for the Jefferson County Department of Health, sharing information about lead testing, tobacco prevention and vaccine-preventable diseases. She even inspected tattoo parlors, boarding homes and restaurants.

Her push to protect left an impact. Well after she retired from the county health department in 2021, people continued to contact her for advice.

“Someone texted me yesterday, saying this person has a mold and mildew problem. What can they do?” said Pressley, 56.

The Birmingham native doesn’t mind the calls because coming to the aid of others is something she loves to do. For 20 years, she volunteered with a Birmingham cancer center, promoting the importance of early cancer detection. Between 2020 and 2021, she investigated covid cases and infectious outbreaks at nursing homes and correctional facilities for the Alabama Department of Public Health. And in 2022, she started working at O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center as a clinical research data coordinator II to work with blood cancer patients undergoing clinical trials.

“The best part of my job is knowing that I’m a part of helping someone to overcome a diagnosis of cancer,” she said.

Outside of work, Pressley has served as a PTA president, Girl Scout leader and president of the Alabama Environmental Health Association. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., has worked with the homeless and volunteers at her church, Faith Chapel Christian Center. She is co-chair of the City of Birmingham’s Women’s Initiative, which supports various programs, including domestic violence initiatives and distributes sanitary products to students and women unable to afford them.

She has received awards for her community work, including being named Environmentalist of the Year from the State of Alabama Environmental Health Association. She has also earned a Childcare Resources Child Advocate Award for her lead paint prevention work with families.

When Pressley was in her 40s, she went back to school to earn a master’s degree in public health from UAB and a master’s degree in environmental management from Samford University because she wanted better for herself.

“People may ask me, ‘Why do it? Why go back to college?’ And I tell them that you are never too old to want better in life,” said Pressley, a Smithfield Estates single mother of two college graduates.

She hopes that her life’s journey will inspire others.


March 11 – Shanika Gibson

In 2022, Shanika Gibson was invited to be part of a new initiative to mentor rising high school female students in Birmingham.

But once Gibson got a look at the mentor list comprised of doctors, lawyers and philanthropic leaders, she thought organizers had contacted the wrong Shanika Gibson.

The person who nominated her reassured her that she belonged in the room, telling Gibson she has to recognize her own talents.

And when it comes to helping others, Gibson’s talents definitely qualify her.

Since the pandemic, Gibson has been calling five senior citizens every week to check on them as part of the United Way Crisis Center Senior Talkline in Birmingham. She also volunteers with the Junior League of Birmingham and Junior Achievement.

And then there are times that she does her own outreach.

Last year, a woman posted in a Birmingham mothers’ Facebook group that she was in dire need of breast milk for her child with medical issues. The couple lived in a very remote area a few counties away from Gibson. The couple did not have transportation. Gibson, 43, coordinated with the mothers in the group for her to collect the breast milk so she and her husband could deliver it to the mother. Gibson arranged for her husband to make a second delivery trip.

Gibson did not know the woman but knew she couldn’t ignore her plea.

“It was a God thing, and it was truly just worth the risk,” said Gibson, a mother of three. “I feel that in that moment, I was called to make a difference. The husband was crying and said, ‘You don’t know how much this means.'”

So far as that self-imposed doubt Gibson had last year when she was asked to join the mentor group, that feeling is long gone. She never wants her fear to be a boundary to helping people.

“If we are not believing in ourselves, how can we inspire others?” she said. “I say go for it. Why not?”


March 12 – Kelly Harden Greene

Love comes in many forms. For Kelly Harden Greene, that form is delivering food to the hungry in Birmingham.

She does it through Food for Our Journey, a non-profit, faith-based organization she founded in 2018 to get nutritious meals to people, mainly homeless community members unable to make it to fixed meal distribution locations. Greene collects unused, prepared meals from restaurants, hotels, churches and other locations. Then, she and volunteers drive a food van to drop off the meals.

A majority of the food she collects goes out the same day to people in need. Any frozen food or food that must be cooked is donated to area shelters.

Her organization serves about 400 meals a day to about 225 to 250 people.

But her group’s services go beyond food. They also work with agencies to assist those they encounter with securing IDs, building a resume, acquiring clothing and educating people on how to pay bills, etc.

“If someone is in need of medication, we can work with the VA, if they are a veteran,” Greene said. “Or we can partner with the different agencies to help them get the documents they need. Our ultimate goal is to walk with them.”

Food for Our Journey also connects those they serve with support systems or counseling to help them heal, move forward and look at securing housing. They work to build up people, break down barriers and grow friendships.

“The fact that people trust us with their most important life dreams and needs, it’s an honor and a responsibility that we do not take lightly,” Greene said.

After having served the homeless through church efforts, Greene said that Food for Our Journey was born from a prayer her husband, Joe Greene, prayed. She said this was God’s call for them to do more.

Their efforts have not only been felt by the people they serve and work with but also the community. In 2022, Food For Our Journey received the Vulcan Spear Community Award.

“This is a team effort. This isn’t something that one person can do,” said Greene, 57, who shares seven children with her husband. “There are so many people who believe in helping one another, and they do it so well, from making meals and hosting water drives to putting up a SignUpGenius. There are so many people who help make Food for Our Journey operate.”

For more information, visit www.foodforourjouney.org.


March 13 – Joyce Christian

When Joyce Christian turns 46 later this month, she’s inviting her Ensley Highlands neighbors to a block party.

The March 25 party won’t be for her turning a year older; it will be to highlight residents and the neighborhood.

“I have so many things to celebrate, and I just want to share the things that are going on in my life,” said Christian. “I’m hoping that this will get everyone out and talking.”

There will be old school games, food trucks, hopscotch, balloons, book giveaways, residents promoting their businesses, music and more.

“On the corner in our neighborhood, we have a DJ living. Two houses down, we have a photographer living. In another house, a man cuts yards,” she said. “So, I’m asking them to come out and talk about what they do.”

“I want people to know there are resources out there to help them. I was just amazed to know how much talent we have in our neighborhood.”

She’s working with Renew Birmingham, a non-profit organization that helps empower neighborhoods, to help present the block party.

Community involvement has always been the norm for Christian. She’s a former neighborhood president of Ensley Highlands, a former PTA president at two Birmingham schools and a former Girl Scouts troop leader. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, she led a neighborhood clean-up project.

Her next major project is the block party as she works to build a stronger neighborhood. “If people care about you, you will want to invest in where you are,” she said.

Christian’s love for building connections can also be seen in her career path. Twenty-two years ago, she started working in housekeeping at Southern Research in Birmingham. While there, she completed her associate’s degree and planned to one day pursue a bachelor’s degree in business. Currently, she’s an archivist at Southern Research, where her positive force for good resonates with everyone she encounters.

“I love to do for people. That’s what makes me happy,” she said.


March 14 – Jamekia Bies

As the executive director of the Help 2 Others (H2O) Foundation, Jamekia Bies is on a mission to help financially struggling senior customers maintain their access to water.

The non-profit organization, which was founded in 2004, does that by helping pay water and wastewater bills or do minor plumbing repairs for senior customers who meet income and situational requirements. In 2022, her office served nearly 550 households.

Bies also works to educate people on how they can help customers in need by letting the public know they can donate an extra $1 on their own bill, for example, simply by marking the H2O Foundation box on their monthly water bill or online. The money goes right back into the community to help residents. They also host an annual golf tournament to raise funding for residents, she said.

“A lot of times people look at H2O (on the bill) and think, ‘Oh, it’s a utility bill. Everybody has a utility bill. They should just be able to pay it,'” said Bies. “But we don’t think about our seniors not being able to pay it when they are on a fixed income.”

“So getting people to open their (minds) that maintaining access to water isn’t just a luxury that everyone should be able to provide for themselves. It’s the luxury that the seniors in our community sometimes have to make a choice between their medicine and their water bill or their food and their water bill.”

Most of the clients are seen at the Salvation Army Birmingham office because H2O partners with them to implement services. But one day, a 92-year-old resident in a wheelchair showed up at the H2O headquarters, seeking assistance on her bill. Immediately, Bies noticed that the wheelchair did not have footrests, forcing the resident to hold up her feet every time her caregiver pushed her in the chair.

Bies took steps to not only see if they could help the resident with her bill, but she also investigated what could be done to find a better wheelchair for her.

Bies said that helping residents is about more than having access to water. It’s also about making sure people have a healthy lifestyle. “The caregiver’s response was, ‘Although you couldn’t get us the wheelchair today, I appreciate the fact that you followed up with a phone call,'” said Bies.

Bies, a mother of one son, carries her interest in providing stability for families beyond her daily job. In her spare time, she serves on boards for the Jefferson County Family Resource Center and the TC Transformation Center. She’s also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

“My goal is to not only focus on the individual, but the whole family concept,” she said.

For more information about H2O, visit www.H2OBham.org or call 205-778-1900. To make an appointment to receive financial support, call 205-244-4390.


March 15 – KaRita Smith Sullen

KaRita Smith Sullen worked in banking after receiving an undergraduate degree in business management from the University of Alabama. She worked as a construction loan associate and had an office that overlooked a lake. But in doing her job, she was unfulfilled.

She felt that she could do more to give back and wanted to make an impact in her community. After learning that the middle school in her community needed math teachers, she decided to become a teacher.

She quit her banking job, signed on with Birmingham City Schools to teach middle school math and pursued her master’s degree in elementary education along with certification to teach middle school mathematics. She’s been a teacher since 2006.

She taught middle school math for 10 years before moving to Oxmoor Valley Elementary to teach fourth and fifth grade math. She later became the technology teacher and education technology coach. She’s been at Oxmoor Valley since 2017, growing students’ interest in seeing themselves working in STEM or technology.

“I want to expose them to different careers, such as computer programming and engineering,” Sullen said. “My students need to know there are many different professions that they can explore.”

Her school partners with Ed Farm, a non-profit organization that promotes innovation in tech education, to host an after school coding club for students. Professionals in the tech field visit the school and give Sullen’s students an even closer view of what’s possible when working in STEM.

“In order for our students to be successful, we all have to come together and pour into them as much as we can,” said Sullen, 44, a 1997 graduate of Wenonah High School. “I want to challenge them to be the best and go beyond what they can dream.”

It seems as though Sullen was born to be a teacher. Her father was a math teacher, who also taught at the same school where Sullen began her teaching career. And even when she was little, she and her three sisters played school on their front porch. She said the best advice that her father gave her was to learn something from every teacher, but to be herself.

“I feel as if becoming an educator was a passion that I just could not escape,” she said. “And even though some days are challenging, I take pride in being able to have a positive impact on our future.”


March 16 – Gena Hyatt

Workshops Empowerment Inc. in Avondale is cooking up creative ways to help train and hire adults with disabilities and those experiencing barriers to employment.

In June 2021, the nonprofit started selling cornbread, pound cake, hummingbird cake and biscuit baking mixes through WE Made, a program of Workshops Empowerment Inc. The WE Made mixes, which are packaged at the Avondale facility, are sold in more than 100 stores in 24 states. They can also be found in several locations across Jefferson County, including four Piggly Wiggly stores.

With 100 percent of the proceeds going back into the community, the mixes are doing just what the organization’s former executive, Susan Crow, wanted, and that was to find something that would help fund the organization’s service-based initiatives.

In 2022, Workshops Empowerment Inc. and its programs served nearly 1,000, said Gena Hyatt, director of development and marketing for Workshops Empowerment.

“It’s a big deal,” Hyatt said. “Thanks to the WE Made mixes, employees will continue to gain hands-on work experience in packaging the mixes and several other products, earn a steady income and receive job readiness training.”

On the back of each bag is the nutritional value for the mix, the organization’s mission statement and a photo of some of those the organization serves. At the top of each bag is the first name of the employee who packaged the mix.

Such special touches only reinforce the product’s tagline: Southern Staples with a Purpose.

“For even people who are not in the South, purposeful products mean something,” Hyatt said. “Everybody wants to have purpose. Everybody wants to celebrate people who have a purpose. And that’s why it has quickly grown.”

They hope to add a new flavor or two in the future.

In 2022, Workshops Empowerment Inc. hosted its first baking contest, and teams had to use one of the mixes in an entry. This year, they will host their second Great Birmingham Bake Off on March 18 at Cahaba Brewing from 2-4 p.m. Judges will select winners, and the public will have a say on a favorite team, too.

The contest is just another opportunity to raise funding and awareness of what Hyatt and her co-workers are doing to help others through Workshops Empowerment Inc., which is 123 years old.

“It gives me chills to be able to do this within our community,” said Hyatt, 45 and a Birmingham native. “I will stand on the rooftops or stand on the hillside to advocate for the people that we serve.”

“I take great pride in being able to do this work within our community.”

For more information on the nonprofit, visit www.weincal.org. To see contest recipes and where to buy the mixes, visit www.shopwemade.org. For information on the bake off, visit www.bakeoff.swell.gives.


March 17 – Andrea Parker

Andrea Parker has big dreams for Ensley.

In 2022, she purchased five acres near 22nd Street and Avenue E in Ensley, which is where she plans to break ground on a multi-use facility by 2024. It will be known as Ensley Social.

“We want to do some condo spaces, some food spaces and some outdoor spaces,” said Parker, 37. “We will have an incubator space where small businesses like myself can grow.”

The incubator space will have market stalls so that entrepreneurs can test their brands or ideas on consumers to decide the next steps in business. There will also be an area for a farmers market.

“We have always owned property and remodeled homes,” said Parker, who is the president and CEO of Parker and Associations Investment Co. “This new project is the first step into commercial property. Our goal is to develop underserved communities, and we are starting with Ensley.”

Parker grew up in Ensley and graduated from West End High School and later Faulkner University. The area that she plans to transform sits on a street where she played as a child.

“I live and breathe Ensley, and that’s why it is important to me to see it come back to life,” she said.

Also within her development is the shop still run by her grandfather, a master electrician. He joins Parker in her passion to see more for Ensley.

“When I think of the person who inspires me the most I always go back to my grandfather. I have witnessed him achieve greatness alongside my grandmother my entire life,” Parker said. “I’m blessed to have him alive and well to witness all the many things I plan to do in Ensley. My grandfather is always proud of me not because of anything I have achieved, but because I’m his granddaughter, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”

For more information about Ensley Social, visit www.ensleysocial.com.


March 18 – Terri Harvill

Terri Harvill cannot wait for the day the Northeast YMCA property in Roebuck will get a facelift. And thanks to her and a team of volunteers and staff working to raise nearly $3.6 million during the pandemic, that day will be here before she knows it.

She said it’s possible that ground will be broken for new infrastructure for the Y property sometime in fall 2023. Once the infrastructure is in place, then will come plans for new homes, a health clinic, a crisis center, a splash pad, a playground, expanded programs for senior citizens and more on eight acres.

In Harvill’s words, the changes will be transformative.

“The YMCA is about to do something that we have never done here in Birmingham: bringing in other partners to address community solutions,” said Harvill, the executive director at the Northeast YMCA and also the chief social impact officer for the YMCA of Greater Birmingham.

The Y will partner with Habitat for Humanity to build 19 or 20 homes on the property. There will be a clinic to address pediatrics and family wellness. A counseling center and a crisis center will offer wraparound services. And the existing Y building, which was constructed in the 1960s, will be improved to benefit all ages.

“The Y has always been a place where you can find resources, but never in this manner,” Harvill, 49, said of the new project.

Suggestions for the new space developed after people shared the gaps that existed in the community. They included homeownership of new development properties, health inequities and health disparities.

“This project is personal for me because this is where I grew up professionally, and this is the community that has rallied around me and has supported me,” Harvill said. “This is absolutely a dream come true for me.”

Harvill has been with the Y for more than 30 years. She started working at the Y in 1991 at the Fourth Avenue Y after graduating from high school. She went on to study at Talladega College, and when she came home during breaks, she worked at the Y. In 1993, she became the assistant day care camp director at the Northeast Y. She graduated from college in 1995, and became the childcare director at the Northeast Y. Harvill has served in different capacities at the Northeast Y and other Y locations throughout her career.

In addition to a career at the Y, Harvill is a published author, a motivational speaker, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and an ordained minister. She said the Y has been a big part of her ministry to the community.

“The Y has always allowed me to show up as me, and I’ve never had to be anybody else. That is what has made the difference,” Harvill said. “I have been able to be Black. I have been able to be a woman. I have been able to be a Christian where I work.”


March 19 – Dr. Kimberly Carr

During a 2022 high school graduation party in Birmingham, almost every young person in the room knew Dr. Kimberly Carr.

They had either been a pediatric dental patient of hers or knew her from church.

Matthew Dale was one of her former patients in the room. And just by watching the interaction Dr. Carr had with her former patients, Dale saw the potential of what he could become one day.

“It gave me inspiration of how I could be more than just a dentist. I could be someone who affects lives outside the office,” said Dale, 21, who wants to study dentistry after graduating from college. “I was a junior in high school, and (Dr. Carr) was the first dentist I ever shadowed. I would like to do for others, what she did for me.”

Dale is not alone. In Dr. Carr’s career, she’s influenced 25 people to go into some form of dentistry. When her patients were young, she taught them how to take care of their teeth in order to keep them for a lifetime.

“I think it says to me that, hopefully, I was doing something right,” she said.

Her patients found comfort with her, citing that whenever they visited her, they found a space where they could explore and ask questions, which encouraged them to strive to have better oral health.

Dr. Carr, a Birmingham native who grew up in Titusville, worked in private practice from 1998 to 2021 in metro Birmingham and Birmingham. She was also a part-time faculty member at UAB. Today, she is a full-time faculty member at UAB, working with residents and dental students.

She is co-director of the UAB Sparks Dental Clinic, which provides dental care for individuals with special health needs and disabilities. Services include routine preventative care, fillings and simple extractions.

Dr. Carr received her undergraduate degree from UAB in 1991 and her D.M.D. from the UAB School of Dentistry in 1994. She received a certification in pediatric dentistry and an M.S. degree in 1997.

“When I work with minority dental students and residents today, I encourage them to understand the possibilities for their own journey,” Dr. Carr said. “My hope is that when students see me, they know what can be accomplished and do even more with their own careers.”


March 20 – Aija Penix

Award-winning producer and director Aija Penix knows Birmingham has talent, and she’s working on projects for the world to know, too.

In 2022, she received a 2022 Sidewalk Film Festival Black Lens grant, which she will put toward a three-day development workshop in Birmingham for Black filmmakers this fall.

It will work like this: writers and local talent will gather in one room to work on Penix’s pilot. Actors will be the voice for the characters. They will work through scenes and ideas to get to a finished product.

Once the project is complete, Penix will pitch it as far as she can go. Her dream networks are Netflix and HBO.

“Birmingham has a ton of screenwriters and playwrights who don’t have opportunities to write on a series or a pilot, so I want to use the talent here,” said, Penix, 34, who lives in Five Points South. “Birmingham is full of talent.”

Producing, acting and directing are not new to Penix.

In 2012, she starred on the ABC show, “Nashville,” as a background singer for actress Connie Britton’s character. Penix was on the show for five years, traveling back and forth to Birmingham.

In 2017, she produced her first film project.

In 2019, she co-founded the Birmingham Black Repertory Theatre Collective. Today, she is the group’s chief artistic partner.

Also in 2019, BBRTC presented the play, “Choir Boy,” which featured Birmingham talent. It swept awards, including winning “Best Musical and Play of the Decade” in 2020 from Broadway Regional Awards.

But Penix and BBRTC are not done. In 2023, BBRTC will develop a play series for online radio. The first production will be “A Raisin in the Sun,” starring Penix as the wife of the main male character. Penix is also developing a new production for young audiences called “Afro Tales,” with Carlton V. Bell II.

“Birmingham has been good to me, and I try to be of service to Birmingham,” said Penix, who is also an artist in residence with Birmingham Children’s Theatre, and has worked with Motown Records/Capital Records, Amazon Prime, Red Mountain Theatre and others as a producer and director.

“I’m inspired by the little people around me in my life: my nephews, my god children and our students,” said Penix. “Watching them explore their talents and put on their own productions, from start to finish, is what keeps me going.”

“I say it all the time: Nashville raised me, but Birmingham made me.”

To apply to be considered for the writers’ room workshop Penix will host in August 2023, send emails to aijapenix@gmail.com. For more information on the BBRTC’s Afro Tales, visit thebbrtc.com/legacyseason.

Photo credit: Grace Smith


March 21 – Lindsay Gray

In 2014, a group of women was planning a baby shower for a single mother when they started discussing what mothers really need. Diapers became a popular topic.

This led to one of the women asking if there was a diaper bank in Birmingham. They did some research and discovered there was not one. In 2015, Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank was born. Lindsay Gray was one of its founding members.

“It’s one of those things parents don’t feel comfortable talking about. They don’t want people to know they don’t have enough diapers for their babies,” Gray said. “They are embarrassed because, often times, they fear being judged.”

But Gray, 38, said there’s nothing to be embarrassed about when needing diapers. They are expensive and a necessity. Her organization works to remove any stigma. They also work to provide period products to those in need.

“With each care package we distribute to support families, we just want them to know their families’ needs matter,” she said.

When Bundles of Hope started, Gray was a labor delivery nurse at a Birmingham hospital. In 2018, she saw a bigger opportunity to serve women in this community setting. She left her nursing job of 10 years to run Bundles of Hope full time. The nonprofit distributes about 20,000 diapers a month from its downtown Birmingham office they call The Changing Station, which is located at 1430 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd. Through its 65 community partners, it distributes another 100,000 diapers a month.

Not only do people pick up diapers from Bundles of Hope, but the organization donates diapers to drives. When the City of Birmingham hosted a drive for Selma storm victims in January 2023, Bundles of Hope donated diapers and hand-written blessings.

“We do hand-written cards every month to over 2,500 households. It’s a different saying to encourage families in their care-giving journey,” Gray said.

There are several ways people can get diapers. They can visit the diaper bank’s Birmingham office for Walk-In Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., check out Bundles of Hope’s community partner distribution sites or get them from the group’s mobile unit that delivers to some families who are unable to make it to pick-up locations.

Recently, Bundles of Hope established a three-month door delivery program with DoorDash for first-time mothers to receive diapers, wipes and period products as well as information on infant safety, early childhood education and postpartum depression screening in three kits. That program is in partnership with the Women Infants and Children (WIC) office and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA), who both help identify clients who could benefit from a home delivery service.

“My nursing background keeps me super focused on the client. The families come first,” Gray said. “You have to think about what their needs are and meet them right where they are.”

For more information on Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank and their partners, visit bundlesdiaperbank.org or follow them on social media @bundlesdiapers.


March 22 – Coco Moore

Shecovia “Coco” Moore was never professionally trained to be a makeup artist, but her friends liked the way she worked.

Early in the morning before she reported to her part-time job at a real estate company, she saw clients in her home. Then, when she got off work, she saw more clients.

The owner of the real estate company saw something in Moore that she didn’t see in herself at the time: She should make her side gig her full-time gig.

After she had worked at the real estate company for 11 months, he helped Moore see her destiny in November 2017.

“He called me in for a (job) review and said I was working harder at his dream than I was at my own,” said Moore, 32. “He said, ‘You don’t need this job.’ And I said, ‘I do.'”

“He really kind of gave me a push. He said he didn’t fire me, but he pushed me to my purpose.”

In February 2018, Moore opened the doors to her business, Coco Moore Makeup. Opening weekend, she made enough money to cover her first month’s rent.

“It was mind-blowing,” said Coco, a 2008 Huffman High School graduate. “How in the world did I go from being unsure to feeling like this is definitely attainable, and I can actually do this?”

Since opening, Moore has become a go-to makeup artist. She’s hosted beauty summer camps for girls at her studio, taught classes to Birmingham teenagers and adults, participated in a community service day at a shelter, created a beginner makeup guide and launched a makeup line.

Her makeup line has grown from lashes and lip colors to a summer 2023 release of new foundations, powders, concealers and even more lip colors.

In 2022, Young Entrepioneers named her the top makeup artist in Birmingham. In 2023, Young Entrepioneers released its list of nominees in various categories, and Moore has been nominated again as Top Makeup Artist in Birmingham. She also has nominations for Entrepioneer of the Year and Top Beauty Expert in Birmingham. (Voting was under way at the time this story was released.)

“I have a saying: ‘Do it scared,'” Moore said. “Everything may not look like what you want it to look like, but you have to do something while you are not in that place to get to the place you want to be.”

“Your faith has to be big, too. You cannot move without it.”

For more information Moore’s company, visit cocomooremakeup.com.


March 23 – Dr. Martha Bouyer

On a recent Saturday afternoon during a life skills training session for children in foster care, a student stood up and prayed.

He blessed the food, and he thanked God for sending somebody who cared.

The prayer moved Dr. Martha Bouyer, executive director of My Father’s House Foundation, which hosted the training and luncheon. “When that little boy prayed,… it just blessed me,” Dr. Bouyer said. “I’m encouraged that what we are doing is a great work.”

My Father’s House Foundation works with older children in foster care who are in group homes for emotional issues or other reasons. Once a child graduates from high school in Alabama and “ages out” of foster care, that child will have to leave their group home. Depending on the circumstances, 21 years old is the maximum age to “age out” of foster care in Alabama. But many of the students that My Father’s House works with, “age out” at 18.

My Father’s House starts training foster care children around age 13 in the group homes to prepare them to maneuver life in the real world after foster care.

On the day the student said the prayer, My Father’s House volunteers were teaching students how to budget, how to understand the cost of living, etc. In April 2023, they will teach students how to catch the bus, read a bus schedule and read a map, so they will know how to get to appointments, go to work, etc.

“Group homes are doing a great job,” Dr. Bouyer said. “But what we do is also critical in helping them to move on. We know that according to state and national guidelines, these are things that every child in (foster) care should know before they graduate.”

The Birmingham-based, non-profit organization was founded in 1997 after Dr. Bouyer and her former pastor, the late Bishop Don E. Bush at the Body of Christ Deliverance Ministry, saw a need for the service. Fellow church members pitched in to help.

Dr. Bouyer said a future goal of the organization is to build a transitional life skills campus for the students they serve, so the students can move into campus housing and then into a campus apartment before eventually moving out on their own.

“The name of the organization reflects what I want all youth to feel when things aren’t going well, and that they can come home and find what they need at The Father’s House,” Dr. Bouyer said.

My Father’s House stresses the importance of securing a high school education and exposes students to what’s possible after graduation, whether that’s college, trade/vocational school or work. They take students on tours to the University of Alabama, which has a program for students in foster care. (If a child in foster care attends a state college or community college in Alabama, the state will provide up to $5,000 a year per student for four years, according to the Alabama DHR website.)

My Father’s House also provides college book scholarships, attends a student’s graduation, and hosts a prom for the juniors and seniors in the group homes they serve. “I often say that My Father’s House is like my rent for being on the planet,” said Dr. Bouyer. “I’m trying to help somebody make a difference, and I think God is pleased when we reach out beyond our comfort zone.”

At this time, My Father’s House has six board members, and they are all female. The girl power is not lost on Dr. Bouyer.

“When we first started, we only served girls. When boys in care heard about the program, they wanted to join,” Dr. Bouyer said. “We serve, on average, 30 to 42 young people each month. All of the women serving on the board or as volunteers see these teens as ours. We are doing all that we can to help them thrive and survive after an extended stay in foster care.”

Other public service efforts that Dr. Bouyer handles include serving as the executive director of the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Community Restoration Fund, which raises money to restore the church that the late Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth led during the civil rights movement. She appeared in a Birmingham-produced documentary about Shuttlesworth in December 2022.

For more information on My Father’s House Foundation, visit myfathershousefoundation.org.


March 24 – Amanda Keller

Amanda Keller lost her father to HIV-related complications during her senior year in high school in 2003. He was 57.

In the last six months of his life, she learned things about him that had never been discussed, including his sexuality.

Keller’s father never spoke openly about his sexual identity, nor did he feel supported in accessing LGBTQ+-affirming resources such as testing or healthcare for HIV. Because of this, his HIV diagnosis went untreated, and his opportunity to live a long, healthy life was cut short.

Keller felt deeply committed to reducing HIV stigma in communities and first connected with Birmingham AIDS Outreach as a volunteer. A few months later on Dec. 1, 2009, which happened to be World AIDS Day, Keller joined the staff of BAO, which works to enhance the quality of life for people living with HIV and AIDS. In 2014, she became the founding director of the Magic City Acceptance Center, which was a new LGBTQ+ youth program of BAO to provide a brave and radically inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community in Alabama.

The organization has served more than 1,830 LGBTQ+ youth since opening nearly nine years ago. MCAC first worked with those 13 to 24 years old. Today, MCAC serves the community as a fully-fledged LGBTQ+ center through multiple programs available to all ages.

“It was really important to me that people have access to a space where they can have conversations without stigma or shame,” said Keller, 38, of Birmingham.

She said that her work at MCAC has allowed her to honor her father’s memory by providing an inclusive space for individuals to receive affirmation and support as well as access to LGBTQ+-inclusive resources and services.

For more information about the Magic City Acceptance Center, visit magiccityacceptancecenter.org.


March 25 – Dee Green

Shortly after Dee Green started a non-profit organization in 2005 to inspire women to take charge of their health, she learned that a family friend had an aggressive form of breast cancer.

The friend had delayed care and treatment due to fear and a desire to wait. A short time later, the woman lost her battle, leaving behind a husband and children.

She was in her 30s.

The woman’s passing was a jolt to Green, who was even more determined in her fight against breast cancer so that the next woman’s story would be different.

“Get your exams. Know your body. Know your numbers,” said Green, a nurse. “We cannot say that enough … so that we can see behavior change for the next person.”

The organization that Green started is V.I.R.T.U.E. Inc., which raises money to provide uninsured women with mammograms and makeover sessions for survivors. In 2019, Green started hosting Run With V.I.R.T.U.E. (RWV), a virtual 5K that recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, increases education, and raises funding for breast cancer treatments and awareness.

Still, Green, who is also the first lady of More Than Conquerors Faith Church in Birmingham and director of the church’s women’s ministries, hopes more can be done.

“If we are able to get a man to the moon, we should be able to find a cure for breast cancer,” she said.

Inspired by President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moon Shots program to accelerate cancer prevention, Green expanded the disbursement of funds from RWV to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in support of patient programs, innovative research and preventative initiatives.

V.I.R.T.U.E. Inc. also has an awareness program known as the “Because Campaign,” which is a 12-pack of cards women can send once a month to another woman as a reminder about self-breast examinations.

“It could say, ‘Hey, because I love you, remember to do your exam this month’ Or, ‘Because you are my sister, remember to do your self-exam this month,’ Or ‘Because I need you, remember to do your self-exam,'” Green said of the cards. “They are friendly reminders to take charge of your health, which is so important.”

The cards can go to any woman, breast cancer survivor or not. The goal, Green said, is to establish a buddy system and raise awareness.

Even though people have gotten away from mailing cards, Green said she’s received positive responses about the personalized cards because they provide that special touch anyone can appreciate.

For more information on V.I.R.T.U.E. Inc. or its breast cancer reminder cards, email info@virtueinc.org. To learn more about the virtual V.I.R.T.U.E. run, visit runwithvirtue.com.


March 26 – Dr. Brandi Rudolph Bolling

Every Friday, Birmingham psychiatrist and pediatrician Dr. Brandi Rudolph Bolling hosts “Focus on It Friday” on her Facebook page, Dr. Brandi B., to educate people about ADHD.

She does the live chat to clear up myths and remove stigmas around a condition that many are unaware impacts people of all ages, is easily treatable and can be overcome so people with it can have success in the classroom and in life.

“I have found that people with ADHD tend to dismiss themselves,” said Dr. Bolling. “Too often, I have seen adults who were getting treatment for the first time in their 50s say, ‘I just always thought I was dumb. I never knew why I couldn’t perform to the level I thought I should be able to.'”

She said the most important step of understanding ADHD begins with education, which is why, for almost three years, she’s devoted her Fridays to spreading the word about ADHD on her Facebook page.

“If you educate people through examples and real-life scenarios about what ADHD is, they will see themselves and their children in those examples, and they will seek help,” said Dr. Bolling, who is also the best-selling author of “SHINE: Understanding ADHD So Your Child Can Be a Star!”

When she’s not discussing mental health via social media, webinars, panel discussions or speaking engagements, she’s helping clients during one-on-one sessions. She’s proud of the wins she’s seen in her patients.

“It reassures me that I am walking in my purpose to restore hope and to see children and adults shine,” said Dr. Bolling, who is licensed in 16 states and deals with a variety of conditions that are related to academics, emotions, behaviors and even sleep. “When people come to see me, it’s no-holds-barred. We get down to the raw. The honest. The real. And I get them results.”

The West End native said she is determined to increase public conversations and understanding about ADHD and treatment, and educate people about the symptoms of inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

“I experience joy every time the tears of a patient or their family member change from sorrow to happiness,” Dr. Bolling said. “ADHD can be a dream killer, and it can rob families of hope. But when we work together to move toward a treatment and it’s successful, we all win in the end.”

In her spare time, Dr. Bolling supports the Titusville Youth Sports Association through the Titusville Thundering Herd football and cheerleading program. This program promotes the development through a structured athletic initiative. She’s also a member of the Magic City (AL) Chapter of The Links and the Birmingham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.


March 27 – Raven Johnson

Raven Johnson is a champion for children and families across Birmingham.

Following graduation from Auburn University in 2015, Johnson returned to Birmingham to teach at Parker High School. She taught there for five years, while also working with student-led activities, serving as an interpreter for Latino students, and volunteering with a mentoring program for female students known as Parker’s Pretty Pearls. In 2019, she was selected as Parker High’s Teacher of the Year.

In August 2020, Johnson answered a new call to help others by signing on with Birmingham Talks to launch Start, a program that supports parents and caregivers in broadening the literacy foundation of children, ages 4 months to 4 years old.

Johnson, 29, shares tips and tools with parents and caregivers on how to increase interactive talk, vocabulary and school readiness with their children. For example, when a parent takes a child grocery shopping, they are encouraged to talk to the child riding in the shopping cart. Parents are also encouraged to read to their child, so the child can hear the words, and to allow the child to read to the parent.

Johnson also incorporates math and shape recognition into the lessons.

The six- to 10-week program, which offers training in English and Spanish in Birmingham, provides free childcare while parents attend classes.

Since fall 2020, Start has served 288 families in the Magic City.

“Babies’ brains grow so fast between the age of 4 months and 4 (years old) that by the time they are 5, 90 percent of their brains are already developed,” Johnson said. “Just knowing that children’s brains grow that fast means that we need to capitalize on learning so that by the time they get to kindergarten, they are excited about literature.”

On average, some children are exposed to 8,000 to 9,000 words a day. The goal of Start is for children to be exposed to 21,000 words a day.

Start is free, and families who participate will receive books and toys that contribute to their child’s interest in reading. Start also works with childcare providers and teachers in Birmingham.

“We hear from the parents who say they now cuddle up with their child and a book. I think about what that means for their children,” Johnson said. “It puts them on track to be a reader, and it just builds a positive relationship with literacy.”

For more information about Birmingham Talks, visit bhmtalks.org.


March 28 – Dr. Sylvia Huang

After Deidra Sanderson underwent treatment for a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer in 2018, she experienced side effects that landed her back in examination rooms for doctors to look at her heart, lungs and more.

Not only were the side effects a lot to mentally deal with, but Sanderson also feared the return of breast cancer. She needed a place to vent.

In 2019, Sanderson found a caring ear in Dr. Sylvia Huang, who was already running UAB’s Supportive Care Psycho-Oncology Program, which offers free counseling services to survivors and families as part of comprehensive cancer care at UAB.

“She really helped me get to a better place, and helped me stay in a good place,” Sanderson said of Dr. Huang. “I think every person diagnosed with cancer needs to have a psychologist or counselor of some sort. It’s life changing.”

Dr. Huang, 49, is director of the Psychosocial Oncology Training program at UAB. She provides counseling to patients and families facing serious and/or terminal illnesses. She serves on the steering team as the director of the Psychology and Counseling Program of UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care. She is also the founding director of the Psycho-Oncology Counseling Residency Program, where she teaches post-master level counseling residents. She also serves as the Psychosocial Care Coordinator on UAB’s Cancer Committee to promote comprehensive cancer care in the Birmingham region.

“I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had to make a difference and contribute to our patients, families and healthcare providers,” Dr. Huang said.

Dr. Huang also founded the Psychosocial Oncology Training Academy (POTA), which provides clinician training resources for community primary care and mental health clinicians to learn about breast cancer treatment and its side effects, depression management and other issues, when dealing with breast cancer patients and survivors. Funded by the Women’s Breast Health Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, POTA is the first community-based psychosocial oncology training initiative. To date, POTA has trained more than 300 providers, and built the first psychosocial oncology referral network to support breast cancer survivors and their loved ones in the greater Birmingham five-county area and beyond.

Improving access and quality of psychosocial cancer care is important to Dr. Huang. In the past, when access to care was limited by the lack of trained providers to respond to cancer patients and families’ emotional care needs, providers were reactive in dealing with a patient in crisis who, for example, might visit a clinic and burst into tears about the medical news they received. The provider would call Dr. Huang for input. Now, having received training in advance, the providers can proactively handle a patient’s crisis.

Sanderson said the way Dr. Huang and others are working to address mental health for cancer patients in Birmingham is priceless. She said she talks to Dr. Huang every other week, and the doctor has a simple way of letting her know things will be OK.

“I still have trouble accepting what I cannot do. (Because of Dr. Huang), the focus is on what I can do,” Sanderson said. “That’s a perfect example of how she reframes things. She is cherished, irreplaceable and invaluable.”

Dr. Huang works all these wonders while also serving as a primary caregiver for her 81-year-old father, a stroke and vascular dementia survivor. He’s been bed-bound for two years but has started to walk with assistance. During the pandemic, Dr. Huang traveled to Taiwan to get him from a nursing home and bring him back to Alabama to honor his wishes of coming home and walking again. “Hands-on caregiving has provided me the unique perspective in the day-to-day challenge survivors and caregivers may encounter,” Dr. Huang said. “And this has inspired me to create a network and support those who serve seriously ill individuals and their families.”

“I couldn’t have done (the work at UAB) without the support of Deidra and many of my survivor partners, colleagues, mentors and mentees I have the privilege to serve and work alongside,” Dr. Huang said.

For more information about POTA and the UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care, visit potaproject.org and uab.edu/medicine/palliativecare.


March 29 – Dena Dickerson

For nearly 10 years, Dena Dickerson has worked with the Offender Alumni Association to assist those formerly incarcerated in gaining the skills for a successful recovery-entry into life and to reduce recidivism. She has worked on these goals while also working through the mental and emotional challenges that come with post-incarceration barriers.

“What we do seven days a week is we attach ourselves to an individual and their process. We work with them up to three years, if not longer, just to interrupt the cycle of recidivism and move their life forward, facing real-time issues and creating solutions,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson’s journey to helping others grew from spending time in prison and dealing with childhood traumas that heavily impacted some of her decisions in her youth and early adult years. Her past also led to alcoholism and, ultimately, time away from her children and family. 2023 marks 11 years of her being out of prison.

“Life isn’t meant to be a glamour shot. It is what it is, and we have to live it,” Dickerson said. “So, for me to move forward is to find that place where need is and (to) help in that need on a daily basis.”

The organization’s mission is to create a network of justice-impacted individuals who inspire each other to reduce crime, develop healthy relationships within their community and provide opportunities for economic, social and civic empowerment. The mission soon will expand to working on a hospital-based violence interruption program that focuses on breaking the cycle of retaliation that fuels many ongoing feuds that lead to the deaths of young people in Birmingham.

At OAA, Dickerson works with various programs, including Heroes in the Hood, a mentoring program for justice-impacted and at-risk youth in Birmingham. The program is designed to stop the school-to-prison pipeline and address childhood traumas that youth are facing today, while also helping them cope and navigate their lives in positive ways.

The initiative is for boys ages 13-18 who’ve been in the criminal justice system, are the children of parents who’ve been in the criminal justice system or are the children of parents still imprisoned.

The students learn social-emotional regulation skills, how to build healthy relationships, how to acquire job skills and how to secure internships.

Later in March 2023, Dickerson said a program will start for females, ages 12-18. It will be called Sheroes in the Hood.

Many look at Dickerson as a messenger of hope in the work she’s doing at OAA, which also works with the broken hearted. Just the other day, she hosted a meeting for mothers who’d lost loved ones to gun violence.

“You can become the captain of your own ship, but there’s a higher power that creates the waves that puts you on your journey,” Dickerson said. “With all the things that have taken place in my life, and the waves that have been created, the great navigator put me on the real course that ultimately led me to what I was destined to do.”

For more information on the Offender Alumni Association, visit offenderalumniassociation.org.


March 29 – Makella Moore Harris

Through her non-profit organization, Fine Arts Find Life, Makella Moore Harris is hosting free teen summits in Birmingham to help increase mental health awareness among the youth.

Her first teen summit was held in November 2022, and it focused on suicide prevention. The second one, which was held earlier this month, addressed stopping the violence. In September, the arts and mental wellness will be at the forefront, and in November, the teen summit will look at bullying, cyberbullying, internet safety, etc.

Having a specific theme each quarter allows Moore Harris, community partners and guest speakers to target the wellness of the whole child and give attendees information they can use on a daily basis.

The effort is working.

One student attending the March summit told a television reporter she was excited about all of the information she had learned about mental health disparities, and she planned to share the information with her friends.

“I was just pleased to know that not only are we impacting the teens who showed up, but this information is going to spread throughout the community as they share with their friends,” said Moore Harris, who started Fine Arts Find Life in 2021.

“Students approached me saying they had fun, and they wanted to know when the next teen summit would be held. We want it to be fun yet informative … we want to give them something that makes them want to return.”

The goal is to educate and empower students, but also to provide helpful information for parents and educators. At one point during this month’s summit, parents and educators went into a separate breakout session to hear from a psychologist, while teens entered another space to do rounds of West African drumming, yoga and improv. Moore Harris said that each activity has proven to support mental wellness, and they are expressive outlets for teens.

Another way Moore Harris is reaching Birmingham youth is through her organization’s free and equitable Arts for Expression classes, which emphasize the power of the arts. Her first cohort started in 2022. She is bringing the second cohort back for 2023, between April 1 and June 24, every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the YMCA Youth Center in downtown Birmingham. Each Saturday session will have a different theme, including drama; arts, crafts and painting; West African drumming; and jazz, hip hop and West African dance. It targets children in grades third through eighth.

Moore Harris does all of this while also working as the band director at Putnam Middle School and pursuing a doctorate in organizational and educational leadership at Samford University. She’s worked for Birmingham City Schools for 18 years, including 10 years at Putnam Middle.

She said that helping young people motivates her. “It feels like … we’re truly impacting children and helping them feel seen, helping them develop a voice and helping establish tools that they will use later in life,” she said.

For more information about the teen summits and Art for Expression, visit fineartsfindlife.com.


March 30 – Quiwintre Frye

A passion for building up Birmingham flows through Quiwintre Frye.

She’s molded and educated the young minds of eighth graders in Birmingham City Schools.

She’s mentored young women through Girls Inc. of Central Alabama.

And she’s prepared students for college by offering ACT prep classes and helping them win tens of thousands of dollars in scholarship money.

Now, Frye is turning her passion toward another mission: To provide a workforce development and personal improvement training program in the healthcare industry for those facing societal barriers to employment.

Securing childcare, possessing confidence or just having essential work skills, for example, may limit a person’s ability to find and keep a job. Frye will work to change that.

She’ll do it through STRIVE, a non-profit organization with a 40-year history in Harlem. STRIVE is opening its first office in Alabama, and Frye will serve as the executive director for the Birmingham office.

STRIVE’s purpose is to ensure that everyone can achieve upward mobility and financial empowerment for themselves and their families.

“Many people are not successful because they have not worked on themselves,” said Frye, 49. “We need to help Birmingham residents to get some wins. We will work to increase their self-confidence and provide tools for them to win for themselves and their families.”

The first cohort, which will start in June 2023, will receive career readiness and career skills training as well as occupational training at Jefferson State Community College. Participants will learn how to become an administrative medical assistant. STRIVE will also work closely with employers to customize training programs to employer needs. This detail will ensure that jobseekers are training for roles that will be immediately accessible to them in the job market.

The 10-week Birmingham program is free. There will be “earn-as-you-learn” incentives, and graduates will receive lifetime support from STRIVE after they leave the program.

Frye feels good about this new initiative coming to the Magic City, pointing out success stories seen elsewhere. A STRIVE New York alumni now serves as a STRIVE board of directors co-chair and owns several million-dollar companies, she said.

“For me, that’s a testament that this program works,” said Frye. “To go from being a participant in a program to being one of Goldman Sachs’ small businesses, it (shows) the impact that STRIVE has on people, and that they can do this.”

Registration is now open for the STRIVE 2023 cohort. For more info, visit strive.org/birmingham.


March 31 – Alicia Johnson Williams

Whenever Negro Southern League Museum Senior Director Alicia Johnson Williams makes presentations about the Negro Leagues, she shares challenges that Black male players faced during segregation. But Williams also makes sure people know about the obstacles Black female players encountered.

It’s a story few know.

“This story is definitely a mission for me because so many people don’t know about the role Black women played in baseball,” Williams said. “Even myself, as a Black woman in the South, I was unaware of this significant history and information (before I became the director.)”

In March 2023, Williams unveiled an exhibit and program called, “Salute to Women in the Negro Leagues,” which included baseball-themed monologues written by Williams and performed by students to celebrate the last three living females in the Negro Leagues.

In August 2023, a new exhibit commemorating 10 women connected to the Negro Leagues will open at the museum. Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson and the Alabama Humanities Foundation provided funding for the exhibit, Williams said. The new female memorabilia was donated by Layton Revel, who also donated artifacts for the men.

And thanks to a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Williams is working on a production called, “Black Diamonds,” which is about Black female baseball players and three Black female team owners. One of those owners is Olivia Harris Taylor, who is from Birmingham and owned the Indianapolis ABCs.

“Being Black and being female in a sport dominated by men, I can only imagine the hurdles they faced,” Williams said. “These women had to be bold and tenacious in order to take on such a tall order in such tumultuous times.”

Williams gives life to the stories about Black women in baseball with the help of students with Make it Happen Theatre Co., which Williams founded in 1999. The students performed the monologues in March during the salute to female players, and they will be part of the female baseball production Williams will create later in 2023.

“I want others to be made aware of these women, especially young girls who love or play sports. I want them to know what can happen if you stay the course,” Williams said.”These women set the stage and standards for young female athletes.”

The way Williams has made change in Birmingham is worthy of recognition. In 2020, she received the Vulcans Community Game Changer Award for her work with her theatre company. And in 2023, she was named as one of the Women Who Shape the State of Alabama.

For more information about the Negro Southern League Museum, visit www.birminghamnslm.org.


StrongHer 2022 Profiles

March 1 – Reba Williams

Reba Williams has two great loves: community engagement and literacy outreach through the Birmingham Public Library. As a 22-year veteran employee with the library system, Reba strongly believes that the best way to close the gaps created by disparity in a community is through the power of a library. She does that every time she opens the doors of the Titusville Library, where she has served as branch manager since August 2021.

Since she’s been the head the at the Titusville Library, she has implemented several new programs to engage, educate and empower the community. One big addition has been Titusville Community Resource Day, which is held every first Thursday and provides food boxes; medical and mental health services; free diapers; the UAB Market Mobile; senior citizens’ consultations, etc. “Most people think we only offer books. But we are so much more. We are reimaging the narrative of Titusville Library,” she said.

She has also implemented: a Girl Scouts troop; a crochet club; a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk and Coat Giveaway to be held this October; book clubs and activity clubs for adults, teens and children; free tax preparation; a neighborhood holiday event for North and South Titusville and Woodlawn neighborhoods; and a holiday gift bag giveaway for Washington Elementary School. She worked with a community partner to establish two billboards to promote Titusville Library.

“To make a change, you have to be willing to step out and do something bold and daring,” said Reba, an avid runner who is pursuing her doctorate in library studies from the University of Alabama. “I’m blessed to be able to do that at Titusville.”


March 2 – Nancey Legg

In 2015, Nancey Legg turned to her kitchen to cook up better alternatives to soda for her children.

What she ended up creating was a bubbly, tangy concoction that would later become a hit with family. She called it better kombucha, and today it is sold in more than 100 locations across Alabama, including Piggly Wiggly, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, gyms, etc.

“This is a real sweet award for lots of years of hard work,” Legg said of the fermented tea that comes in several flavors. Recently, her apple flavor won the 2022 Good Food Award in the beverage category from the Good Food Foundation, which highlights the best of the best across the nation.

Legg was a 52-year-old fitness instructor when she started the company, which is based at Birmingham’s Innovation Depot. She said she didn’t let age keep her from trying new things. She simply started where she was and experimented until she got her product just right.

“Determination is a pretty strong trait that I have,” she said. “I would just encourage people to take a chance.”


March 3 – Kimberly Davis

For years, West End resident Kimberly Davis would overeat, but she didn’t know why.

By the time she was in eighth grade, she wore a size 18. Her mother took her to specialists and nutritionists for solutions, but nothing ever worked. Davis also tried exercise and weight loss programs as an adult. Still, no change. By January 2021, she weighed 350 pounds.

It wasn’t until sessions with a mental health expert in March 2021 that Davis connected the dots – she was an emotional eater, eating the pain she had experienced when she was molested as a child by other young people on a playground. During sessions with the expert, Davis discovered how to deal with her depression and her weight.

Today, she talks freely about her experience and stresses the importance of maintaining one’s mental health as well as physical health. As the owner of Lovely Ladies Catering, she cooks healthy meals for others and is looking to offer cooking classes at a church. She also talks about her weight loss journey on social media. She’s already lost 50 pounds.
“If you fix your mind, your body will follow,” said Davis, 43. “My mission right now is full body wellness: mind, body and spirit. Do I still emotionally eat? Sometimes. But it’s nowhere near where it was.”


March 4 – Cherrye Fincher Parker

Growing up in Birmingham, Cherrye Fincher Parker was surrounded by educators and hardworking people, who showed her the importance of helping young people.

Her grandmother, Dr. Gertrude Sanders; her mother, Lillie M.H. Fincher; and her sister, Cassandra Fincher Fells, all worked as educators for Birmingham City Schools. And this year, Parker marks her 40th year with BCS, where she started out as a first grade teacher at Central Park Elementary and went on to work in other areas before becoming the system’s director of Federal Programs in 2014. “I like making a difference in the lives of children, families and communities,” Parker said.

Parker’s love for education runs as deep as her love for Birmingham. Her great-grandparents moved from Lincoln, AL to Birmingham more than 100 years ago, impressed by the promise and potential of the Magic City.

Their belief in Birmingham has always inspired Parker, who encourages others to never stop dreaming.

“Whatever light that God has blessed me with, I want to share it with somebody else and hope they will pass it forward. My grandmother once said that your life may be the only Bible that someone else reads. So, what that means is I have to walk the walk, talk the talk and not be a judge but be an agent of change.”


March 5 – Sharon McAlpine Hill

Sharon McAlpine Hill said that God gave her a vision 10 years ago to feed “His people,” and immediately she got to work.

First, she looked into doing it at a church, but she did not have much luck with that route. Then, she prayed for direction. A few years later, she found her answer when she opened Sharon’s Event Center on Third Avenue West in Birmingham. On Mondays, she uses the center to feed community members from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. before heading to Kelly Ingram Park from 12:30 to 1 p.m. She calls her effort, which has been in effect for three years, “Mission Monday.”

“When people come in, we show them that someone loves them. We hug them. That means a lot to them,” said Hill, 48, of Bush Hills. “When I feed them, I give them a plate. I care about them. I wish I could do more.”

“It’s just my passion. I can’t see it no other way.”

Hill pays for the food herself, and has not thought about stopping, even when times get a little hard.

“God told me to feed his people, and if you listen to Him, He will give you the provisions,” she said. “Sometimes, I do get weary, but He always sends someone to help, someone to bless me.”


March 6 – Brittney Davis

Whenever Brittney Davis hiked solo, she never saw many African-American women on the trails. To change that, she started the Ladies Who Hike membership club in March 2017 to provide a space for African-American women to feel comfortable while enjoying nature in a group setting. The women hike once a month on trails in Birmingham. They also meet yearly for a prayer hike.

Davis started with 19 members, and now there are 110 members.

“There’s something about being in the mountains and being in nature that make you feel so much closer to God,” she said, adding the group is for women of all races. “It’s a good little work out.”

The group is open to those 21 and up. “These are some pretty tough trails, and those women get out there and tackle it. They handle their business,” said Davis, 34.

Besides hiking, the group connects through retreats, their own kickball team and gatherings as they build lasting friendships outdoors. “This is like a little mini family. People have different trials and things that come up. We are just there to support each other.”

Their next Saturday hike will be March 19, and their next prayer hike will be March 27. For more information, visit www.ladieswhohike.org.


March 7 – Andrea Collins

When Andrea Collins got married for the second time four years ago, it turned out to be the darkest time of her life. Two weeks into the marriage, she began to be abused. She never experienced abuse during the courtship, so what was happening took her by surprise.

The abuse and home life were so bad that she had even Googled how to commit suicide. But one thing that stopped her were thoughts of her daughter, Morgan. She had to be a fighter and survivor for both of them. She researched ways to escape her husband and took classes from the YWCA. After her third attempt to leave, she was finally able to break free after six months of marriage.

Collins credits her daughter for giving her the strength to not give up. In March 2021, Collins started Morgans Closet to remove certain clothing barriers abused women or low-income individuals may face when looking for a job. Morgan’s Closet is located at the back of Nmosa Designs and Fabrics, 5501 First Ave. North, which is not too far from where Collins grew up in Woodlawn.

“I just feel like from my personal (situation), struggling from paycheck to paycheck and just going through that situation … that I’m a tangible example,” she said. “Your current situation is not your forever situation.”

On Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., she will host a workshop on job interview skills, resume writing and what to wear to work and to an interview. At the end of the class, attendees will be able to pick out three outfits for job interviews and work. Anyone actively seeking a job, may apply. Advance registration may be done at www.morganscloset.org. There will be a 60-day and 90-day follow-up with attendees. Collins also plans to host quarterly sessions.

“We don’t want this to be a one-stop shop and they are left high and dry,” Collins said. “Getting the job is just one part. We want to continue to reach out to them.”


March 8 – Maria Villanueva

Ten-year-old Maria Villanueva is building an empire.

It started when this Fountain Heights resident was 6 while attending her first children’s business fair. She saw all the other young entrepreneurs and thought, “Oh my goodness! I can do this!”

She decided to start a business of sugar scrubs since she was already making products at home for her sensitive skin. She returned to the business fair the next year when she was 7 and set up shop. However, sales were not too hot for her: She didn’t have much variety, she was super shy, and her product table simply didn’t pop like some of the other young entrepreneurs. Still, she did not give up.

Maria went home and worked on her logo, created labels and expanded her offerings. When the business fair returned the following year, she was 8 and ready to roll with a more outgoing personality and more products. Her line was so impressive that she won an award for being the best business at the fair.

Today, Maria sells three different kinds of body scrubs and two kinds of soap as part of Maria’s Botanicals. Eventually, she wants to sell body creams and lotions on her website, which she said is under construction. “I wanted to try (the business fair) out for fun. But now it’s something that I do … as a young entrepreneur,” said Maria, whose parents are Christopher Gooden and Dominque Villanueva. For more, visit mariasbotanicals.com.

In her spare time, she likes to play tennis at George Ward Park, create art, help clean up her community and distribute food boxes with her family. She also likes to read. Maria was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in the second grade. However, she’s worked to overcome her learning disability. Currently, she’s reading The Autobiography of Malcom X with her homeschooled classmates.

“If anything, she just overcomes a lot of challenges, and does it with a lot of grace. I’m proud of her,” said Maria’s mother, Dominique Villanueva.


March 9 – Christine Lee

Christine Lee was scrolling on Facebook one day in 2017 when she stopped to read a post by a church member she barely knew. He desperately needed a kidney.

In that very moment, God spoke to Lee and said: “You’re his donor.”

Lee prayed about it and thought it over for two days before deciding to donate her kidney. She had several tests and found out she was a match. In December 2017, she and the man underwent successful procedures. They remain healthy to this day.

Lee looks back on the surgery, thinking how things work out for the best. For you see, Lee, now 39, started binge drinking when she was 18. She didn’t stop abusing alcohol until she was 28. Her early life choices, ended up saving another person, many years later.

“I should have been the one who needed that kidney, but I was able to bless someone else,” Lee said. “This is where you have to say this is undeniably God. I was able to give life.”

Lee, an Army veteran and self-published author, gives life in other ways, too. In 2020, she became a certified personal trainer and started Inside Out, a health and wellness company. Since February 2022, she’s been leading workout classes for women every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Rec Center in North Avondale. She charges a monthly fee for the classes.

“I want to reach that everyday woman … That mom who is wearing many hats, going to work, or maybe pursuing entrepreneurship, but she has no time for self,” she said. “The classes allow women to pour into themselves and get healthy from the inside, out.”

“I’m at MLK because I want to make sure I’m in an area that’s accessible to people. It’s about community,” she said. “It’s about helping others.”

For more information, contact Lee at insideoutwithstine@gmail.com.


March 10 – Andrea Billingsley Whitfield

Once Andrea Billingsley Whitfield retired from teaching seven years ago, there was no slowing down for her.

She has written five books, won Ms. Senior Titusville 2020, is the chaplain of the Birmingham Retired Educators, volunteers with different grade levels at Birmingham City Schools and has implemented book club events to enhance student reading kills.

She golfs, skis, wins poetry slams, praise dances at church, started a neighborhood walking program and is planning to take a wine tour in California with one of her daughters this year. This mother of three and grandmother of two also remains active with the various volunteer opportunities available through Birmingham Retired Chicks and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

People often ask her where she finds the energy to do everything. Whitfield, 67, tells them that she’s been blessed, so she wants to be a blessing to others.

“I always tell people to take your passion and make it happen,” said Whitfield, who taught in Birmingham City Schools for 36 years. “That’s what I do. That’s what I live by.”

Even when she lost her fiancé in 2019 and her sister in 2020 in unexpected deaths, she pushed forward. It was hard, but she pushed on.

“You may have something negative going on in your life, but you have to find a positive outlet. Broken crayons still color,” said Whitfield, of Titusville. “I want to find and do things that inspire and encourage others.”


March 11 – Les Dames d’Escoffier International

The Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a professional organization of women in food-related fields, has awarded more than $85,000 in entrepreneurial grants to women-owned businesses and scholarships to female students since its inception of 2013.

The non-profit group is at it again this year, offering two grants of up to $5,000 each to two woman-owned businesses in Alabama that deal with food, beverage, hospitality, food-related manufacturing or farming. The deadline to apply is March 21. To apply, visit www.ldeibirmingham.org.

“We are all about women helping women,” said Susan Swagler, immediate past president and a founding member of the Birmingham Les Dames chapter. “We are funding the future of food in Alabama, and we are doing it by helping other women in our industries succeed.”

Past grant recipients have included a Birmingham bar owner who used the grant to buy patio furniture so she could serve customers outside during the pandemic; a Birmingham restaurant owner who used funding to pay her staff instead of laying them off during the pandemic; and a Birmingham beverage manufacturer who used the grant to buy an important piece of equipment to grow her business.

The group develops funding for the entrepreneurial grants and college scholarships, including a scholarship in partnership with Fiesta, Inc. for young women in the local Hispanic community, through its annual fundraiser Southern Soiree Champagne & Fried Chicken, which is a drive-through, pick-up gourmet picnic with food prepared by members. This year, it will be held at Pepper Place Market on Oct. 2. The event also helps fund scholarships for two female campers to attend Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s summer camp in downtown Birmingham and send Alabama high school ProStart culinary contest winners to travel to the ProStart national competition every year.

“Whether we are volunteering at the Food Bank or working on the Champagne & Fried Chicken fundraiser, we come together as one,” said Swagler. “When we say we are funding the future of food in Alabama, that’s our aim, and we’re doing it by partnering with other women.”


March 12 – Yvette Chatman

Yvette Chatman loves coffee and books, so it only seemed natural for her to open a bookstore.

She did it in 2007 when she opened a bookstore and coffee shop near Kelly Ingram Park. It closed in 2014.

Her love of the written word and coffee never left her, which is why she opened a new bookstore, Homecoming Coffee and Books, at 3112 Ensley Five Points West in February 2021.

“I was retired and wanted to do what I wanted to do, which was provide a space for Black authors,” she said in explaining why she opened another bookstore. “I have 97 African-American authors in the store. This is a place for the community to come and talk. I also offer African fabrics, jewelry, plants, and pastries such as bean pies and pound cakes from local chefs.”

Upon entering the store, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, brightly colored walls, and sounds of jazz meet people at the door.

“People have thanked me for being a place where they can just sit and breathe,” said Chatman, 65, of Bush Hills. “I think people need to be taken care of.”

Her hours are Tuesday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Chatman is also the founder for the Birmingham chapter of the National Hook-Up of Black Women. The local chapter was founded in 2014 and is designed to empower women and families through health, wellness and literacy services. They also provide information on domestic violence, participate in summer feeding programs, host teen summits, and offer free yoga classes and free sewing classes.


March 13 – Julia Kate Brown

What is it like to live to be 100 years old in Birmingham? Just ask Julia Kate Brown, who reached that milestone on Feb. 16, 2022.

She still lives in the same North Birmingham home, where she used to cook candied yams, homemade yeast rolls and pound cakes to the delight of family and friends.

She was married to Robert Lee Brown and had seven children, 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.She was the eighth child of nine siblings and attended Lewis Elementary School and Parker High School. To this day, she still keeps in touch with a dear childhood friend from elementary school and high school.

Prior to the pandemic, Mrs. Brown attended Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where she and fellow members of the “Golden Girls Group” would meet after mass in the church hall to have breakfast and talk. The room was always full of smiles.

She never lets age stop her from enjoying life. She visits a senior citizens center in Hooper City for arts and crafts. She even competed in a dance competition there and won first place.

She has a long work history in the Magic City, having held jobs at Girls Inc. and the FireHouse Shelter. At Legion Field, she served as a parking attendant and watched excited fans roll in for University of Alabama games and Magic City Classic games. “The stadium was loaded with people,” she said. “I enjoyed working there.”

She also worked at a daycare center, where she was a favorite with children. “They would always climb on my lap and call me, ‘Mama,’” she said. “We read stories. I worked there for about 10 years and loved it.”

And never one to miss a good time, she celebrated turning 100 with an all-day birthday party. “My party was fine, but I overdid it,” she recently said. “That’s why I’m in the bed now. I had too much birthday fun.”


March 14 – Sandra Calloway-Fields

Sandra Calloway-Fields was 38 years old when she first learned she had ovarian cancer. Nearly a month after ovarian cancer surgery, she found a lump in her breast. Doctors told her it was Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

She underwent 36 double doses of radiation on her right breast, had a lumpectomy and had reconstruction on the right breast. She also had reconstruction on her left breast.

But she wasn’t done with surgeries. There would be more to come.

The radiation affected her hips, and she had to to have both hips replaced – one in 2019 and the other in 2020. She didn’t let her situation deter her. In fact, it inspired her.

“When I got home after all of my surgeries, I would stand in the bathroom, look at my scars and say, ‘God, I’m thankful I’m still standing,’” said Calloway-Fields, now 48. “I lost my hair three times, and I’d try on wigs and say, ‘You are so pretty.’”

It’s that kind of attitude that Calloway-Fields tries to instill in everyone she encounters through her volunteer work as the president of the Cancer Awareness Network. As an advocate for cancer patients, she and her organization work to eliminate the fear men and women may have about a cancer diagnosis.

The strength Calloway-Fields had standing in that bathroom, led her to write the play, “Colors of Cancer,” which features cancer survivors, women and men, sharing their stories. Two caregivers will also give testimonies. This is the seventh year the play has been held in Birmingham. This year, the Cancer Awareness Network will present the play on April 10 at the Harbert Center at 4 p.m. Doors open at 3 p.m. (Visit their Facebook page for more info on the play and visit www.cancerawarenessnetwork.com former info on the organization.)

“A lot of times, I have found that most families don’t know what (cancer patients) go through,” said Fields, a married mother of two daughters and five grandchildren. “Some stories, you laugh and some stories, you cry.”

No matter if the audience laughs or cries, they will be helping send students to college. Calloway-Fields said the play is a college scholarship fundraiser for students battling cancer and students with parents who have or have had cancer. Calloway-Fields will also use the play as an opportunity to educate people on the different types of cancer and warning signs.

“Cancer is not a death sentence,” said Calloway-Fields, who has also written about her experience in the 2017 book “Healing by Faith.” “Let’s check it out and go to the doctor.” #StrongHer #WomensHistoryMonth


March 15 – The Women of Firehouse Shelter

The Firehouse Shelter does more than provide a cot and a hot meal for homeless men in Birmingham.

They also have a feeding program that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, with lunch being open to any community member who has experienced food insecurity. They provide GED classes. They partner with UAB to address substance abuse. They serve people who are newly diagnosed or have fallen out of care while living with HIV. They distribute 1,000 pieces of clothing a month. They offer laundry services for those facing street homelessness. And they provide a day center with showers, a hygiene closet and mail service.

They also provide housing services across the city, including 50 people in transitional housing beds, 72 in permanent housing and 24 with documented severe mental illness.

Out of a staff of 38 people working at the Firehouse Shelter, 22 are female. Helping to lead the charge of making a difference there are Executive Director Anne Rygiel and Assistant Executive Director Valencia Green, both social workers who have worked in various positions at the shelter for years.

“Our job is open up our doors when every other door is closed,” said Rygiel, 40. “We try to be a safe haven for those experiencing homelessness.”

Said Green, 52: “Our homeless guys are people and they come from various walks of life. Anyone can find themselves in one situation that totally devastates their lives and takes them out of their norm. Folks just need to have empathy and compassion … and not blame people for their circumstances.”

The shelter started in 1983, and on its first night, it served 10 men. After that, their client base grew. Prior to the pandemic, they served about 5,000 a year. In 2021, they served just under 3,000.

“I think that it’s really important that we didn’t shut down during the pandemic,” said Rygiel. “What we noticed was that we were seeing a lot more women in need, and we decided to offer day shelter services such as showers and a clothing closet.”

For more information, visit www.firehouseshelter.com. They are located at 626 Second Ave. North.


March 16 – Y’onna Hale

In an effort to offer an easier way for students to recycle and curb community littering, Y’onna Hale co-founded a recycling program in 2021 at Carver High School.

“I just feel that we have to take care of the place where we live,” said Y’onna, a senior at Carver. “It’s important to recycle and help the environment in any way that we can.”

Y’onna connected with Carver teacher Rebecca Blumenfeld about recycling. And after discussions, they decided to reignite the school’s old recycling program. It’s now called, R4 (Rams. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.) Y’onna and students were so invested in recycling that they entered the Altec Innovation Challenge last year. They won first place and received a $10,000 grant to advance their school’s efforts to recycle cardboard, plastic and paper. Y’onna and her team also created lessons to help roll out the recycling program, educate students about recycling and establish goals to do art shows with recycled materials.

“We have stations set up around the school so each hall has their own kind of recycling bin. As the students walk by, they drop off water bottles and things like that,” Y’onna said. “It feels good to know that people are helping and contributing.”

Y’onna, who takes AP courses, has a 4.2 GPA and plans to attend ivy league Swathmore College in Pennsylvania this fall, impresses many who know her.

Said Blumenfeld: “I’ve seen her grow tremendously, since she was a freshman, into the person she is now. I wish had the passion and vision she has when I was in high school.”

Y’onna is also involved in several activities, including serving as president of her school’s National Honor Society. In 2021, she was selected as a College Choice Foundation Scholar for her academic achievements, character, rigorous course load and a commitment to service.

“College Choice Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps high-achieving motivated students attend college,” said Josephine Lowery, executive director of College Choice Foundation. “Y’onna is a remarkable young woman. Although quiet, she has an amazing work ethic and she relentlessly pursues her goals. She embodies keen intelligence and exemplary character traits that include strong moral values, solid leadership skills and perseverance.”


March 17 – Mollie Erickson

Mollie Erickson is there to help those who help the hurting.

As the wellness coordinator at One Place Family Justice Center in Avondale, she plans activities that address burnout, stress and more for a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who assist victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from across Jefferson County. She helps team members and their partner agencies develop strategies to deal with the stress they may face on the job or at home. Some of those strategies include yoga, hiking, breathing, meditation and journaling.

“If your employees are out of gas and have no more batteries, how can you expect them to be productive? If you give them small strategies to recharge, that can be the gamechanger,” said Erickson, 45. “Being sensitive to that for your staff can be a great way for them to re-energize.”

Chronic headaches, insomnia, clinched jaws and more can develop for professionals working to ease the pain of others who have experienced trauma. Erickson, who is also a certified yoga instructor, helps professionals learn how to talk about what may impact them at work and get them to a good space.

“We know that stress and crisis will happen,” Erickson said. “As a wellness coordinator, I want to make sure that the (professional) has all the strategies they need because we are all human.”

In 2019, One Place Executive Director Allison Dearing and Erickson brainstormed and came up with the wellness coordinator position after noticing the effects that chronic stress can play on the body. They started with a half day yoga retreat for some staff members. The retreat was so successful that Dearing secured funding for the wellness coordinator position through three grants.

“A position like this does not have to break the bank,” Erickson said. “It can be funded through multiple small grants, then combined, to create such a position. The nature of the job is to mitigate crisis and create a company culture to support employees to be the best they can be on a daily basis,” she said.

For more information about One Place, visit www.oneplacebirmingham.com.


March 18 – Angela Watkins

Angela Watkins is more than a counselor at Birmingham’s Smith Middle School. She’s more like a Ms. Fix-It for the heart, mind and soul.

There was a time when a student was growing out her relaxed hair and going natural. But it had rained on this particular morning, and the student wasn’t happy with how her hair was looking. The student broke down in tears after walking into school.

Watkins managed to piece together what was happening and grabbed a hairbrush and some grease. She pulled the student’s hair up into a bun and brushed down some baby hairs to form a dainty ‘do. The student left for class, happy and satisfied.

Then there was the time when a male student experienced his first heartbreak. The breakup hurt him so much that he turned to Watkins with tears literally running down his chin and dripping onto the table. Watkins talked to him and then called his mother to update her on what had happened. The mother appreciated the update because she thought things were fine in the relationship.

In both instances and many others, Watkins was able to recognize a problem and step in to help console the student and help them realize things will be OK. “I just want them to know where to come to for whatever,” she said. “Good, bad or ugly, I’m here.”

Watkins has been employed with Birmingham City Schools for 24 years. She’s worked as a counselor for nine of those years, including four years at Smith.

Three years ago, she created a “Calm Room” at Smith to allow students and even teachers and parents a place to get away and recollect their thoughts or just exhale. It has puzzles, coloring exercises, affirmations on a board and information in English and Spanish for self-care. “It’s also a quiet place where they can close the door and get 5 or 10 minutes,” she said.

In addition to the “Calm Room,” Watkins and school employees work with students to show they care. They attend their games, talk to them and just connect in various ways. Parents have applauded Watkins for her caring spirit, citing how she’s walked with them on different matters to improve a situation.

Said one parent: “(Watkins) goes above and beyond to ensure all our needs are met for remote learning by acting as a knowledgeable mediator, guiding us along the way as we plan the best educational path for my daughter. She helps us understand all of our options to achieve success within the BCS system. Not only has she been a pillar and guiding light for my child and me, she extends this helpful hand to all the students, parents and staff at L.M. Smith Middle School.”


March 19 – Heidi Elnora

Birmingham wedding gown designer Heidi Elnora has had quite the journey in helping inspire women, no matter if they are getting married or seeking girl-power guidance in running a successful business.

Thousands got to know Elnora when she competed on Bravo’s Project Runway in 2005. Her following grew in 2006 when she opened her wedding gown design company, heidi elnora Atelier. In 2011, Nordstrom placed their first big order with her. In 2015, she returned to the reality show world with her reality show, Bride by Design on TLC. In 2016, she opened her flagship store on Morris Avenue in downtown Birmingham.

By 2018, she had empowered an all-female team to open her Build-A-Bride in-home bridal boutique experience throughout the Southeast. In March 2021, she launched her first Masterclass, “The Business of Bridal Fashion,” which teaches students about working in the bridal and fashion industry. And in October 2021, her 15th anniversary collection debuted at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. In February 2021, Elnora opened Build-A-Bride Huntsville, her third bridal shop location after heidi elnora Atelier and Build-A-Bride Auburn. Through the years, she’s dressed brides from California to Dubai, has been featured in countless fashion magazines and doled out positive messages about entrepreneurship during speeches and interviews.

On April 30, she will host her runway show, “Meet Me at the Altar,” in connection with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s Decorators’ ShowHouse at Hallmark Farms from 6 to 8 p.m. With all of her accomplishments, she is a female founder continuously working to expand opportunities and communities.

“There’s so many things in the last 15 years I’ve been proud of,” Elnora has said. “But mostly, I hope that I was able to be a positive impact to women who came into my shop.”

“I think if I could help somebody’s life and make them feel better about themselves, that’s probably my proudest moment. Being on TV, being in the press – that’s really cool and awesome. But we are put on this Earth to love people and make a difference, and hopefully I’ve done that. If I’ve been able to do that, it would for sure be my proudest moment.”

For more information, visit www.heidielnoraatelier.com.


March 20 – Anita Butler-Dunklin

Every year at Christmas, Anita Butler-Dunklin and her Sassy But Classy Sisturs group select five Birmingham families to receive artificial Christmas trees. They collaborate with other groups to secure tree skirts, gift cards and more.

“It meant a lot to me when I was kid to just run over and plug up the tree and see the lights,” said Butler-Dunklin, who is president of the all-women community service group she started in 2017. “So, I said maybe if families had a tree, they would look forward to that holiday.”

And for the last two years during Christmas, her group has partnered with Black and Gold Shellz to give presents to students living at Children’s Village in Birmingham.

But Dunklin’s giving does not stop there. Her group has also donated socks, coats and blankets to a women’s shelter; fed the homeless at Linn Park; donated school supplies to Birmingham Ciy Schools students; hosted a stop the violence rally; and paid dues for Birmingham high school students with good GPAs during their senior year.

This month, her group dropped off personal hygiene items for a Women’s History Month drive hosted by the Birmingham Police Department and FOP Lodge #1. The donations will be distributed to local shelters and organizations. She also supports her members during times of bereavement with monetary donations, emotional support and feeding bereaved families.

People often notice the difference she’s making with the group, which she named “Sisturs” as a play on words in connection to the national non-profit group, Turtles United Worldwide.

“I just think I’m making a positive impact because just recently, we had a teenager who decided to do their Black History Month project on our group. That in of itself brought me to tears,” said Dunklin, 48, from Huffman. “To see something that you’re passionate about, touch someone’s else’s life, it touched me. It touched my heart.”


March 21 – Meghan McCollum

The strength of a woman is on display in a BIG way along the alley between 55th Street North and 55th Place North in Woodlawn.

There, one will find six murals painted by seven women. Five of the six murals feature women, all completed in October 2021 to honor the legacies of women and showcase the strength and resiliency of the women of Woodlawn. One of the masterminds behind the project is Meghan McCollum, 31, founder of the Magic City Mural Festival in Woodlawn. (She co-organized the festival with neighborhood leader Jason Avery.)

“We wanted to make sure it was reflective of the Woodlawn voice,” McCollum said. Woodlawn United was the presenting sponsor. “I want people to walk down the alley and see a community that came together to make it happen.”

The project attracted not only Birmingham artists to apply, but it also caught the attention of artists from across America. Such interest took McCollum’s breath away.

“It just blew my mind. Birmingham is worthy of world-class art. There is an appetite for it,” McCollum said. “There is space for it. We can make space for women to really share their strength through their artistry.”

The goal is to put up more murals until they fill the alley. So, McCollum said they will soon announce the application process for this year’s festival. Painting will start this fall. For more information on the project, visit www.blankspacebham.com. There is also a plan to partner with the neighborhood to install lighting, seating and landscaping in the area. Once they finish in Woodlawn, they will carry the concept to other locations.

“I have always been lucky to have women in my life who told me I was only as small as my dreams were,” McCollum said. “I wanted to create physical reminders that no one can put us in a box. Our box is only as big as we create.”

McCollum is also owner and founder of Blank Space, a community art advocacy small business. In the past six years, she has physically brought together 30 public art projects in Birmingham and across Alabama through Blank Space. Last year, she and three others painted a mural across from Pepper Place Market at 2929 Third Avenue South to celebrate the 2022 World Games in Birmingham.

“I use art as a catalyst to starting community conversations,” McCollum said. “I’m really an intentional person, and I believe in standing behind my work.”


March 22 – The Women of Subway

At the Subway behind UAB Highlands on 12th Street South, Melody Colvert, Cynthia Colvert and Shanikia Davis are serving up sandwiches with a smile to the delight of customers.

After company mask mandates went into effect in 2020 because of the pandemic, the trio and their co-workers wore face coverings and made sure that customers did, too. They still do. The women made it a priority to provide a safe environment for patrons as they worked to make sure shifts are covered when staffing levels may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Customers appreciated the extra touch, returning time and time again, with one customer nominating the women for StrongHer. News of the nomination left Davis in tears.

“I have never been nominated for anything, but to know that he sees something in us, nominates us and wants us to be recognized, says a lot about us as a person,” said Davis, who is godmother to Cynthia Colvert and friends with Cynthia’s mother, Melody Colvert.

The customer, Dr. Peter Jones, said the women represent the important frontline restaurant and hospitality staff who have made it possible to return to some kind of normal.

“As soon as our kids rush through the door, Ms. Melody, Ms. Cynthia and Ms. Shanikia greet them with a wonderful enthusiasm,” Dr. Jones said. “In addition, among the many patrons they serve on a weekly basis, they know the kids’ order by heart and take a moment to mark our food with our names, and provide forks and our son’s weekly supply of Club crackers.”

“They never fail to ask the kids how school is going, and we all share updates on the happenings of the previous week. At the end of the meal, our kids insist on ‘thanking the chefs,’ and then we” depart and promise to see each other next week, he said.

“We have been continually amazed by the strength and fortitude of these amazing women, and we are forever grateful for the comfort and sense of normalcy they have provided our family each week,” Dr. Jones said.


March 23 – Natasha Rembert

In 2007, Natasha Rembert’s pastor asked if she could create a program to address the growing issue of teenage pregnancy in their North Birmingham community. The program grew from a girls’ talk initiative into a mentoring program that also tackled low self-esteem.

Today, Dream Girls Christian Academy has worked with more than 300 female students, ages 5 to 18. Every student who completes the program is eligible for a $1,000 college scholarship.

Currently, they host etiquette classes, bi-weekly meetings, college prep seminars and public service projects for students. They also host a “Stuff the Purse” event to collect toiletry items for the homeless; work on improving elementary school students’ reading levels; participate in summer reading with the Birmingham Public Library; host an annual father/daughter dance in November; and present a basketball game to honor the fathers of the girls in the spring.

To participate in the program, the girls’ parents or guardians have to be present when the students attend sessions. “In 2007, I didn’t have the parents involved and that’s when I realized they were the missing piece,” said Rembert, 45, of Roebuck.

Another missing piece Rembert is working to fill is to add a mental health expert to her team. Some of the girls in the group have lost parents to homicide, and their grief lingers well after the funeral.

“To sit there and see a young girl say, ‘I want my mom,’ and her mom was killed over three years ago, it’s heartbreaking,” Rembert said. “Academically, I can go in and help her with grades and tutoring. But I cannot fix the broken heart or fill the void of the parent.”

“I said I need to get with some therapists to see if we can provide some additional services. Some of these girls have insurance and some of them don’t,” she said.”I am proud of what the organization has done. It’s so much more that continues to happen that we need to broaden our scope and reach into the community.”


March 24 – Kristin Waters Sullivan

Nobody likes to talk about death. But somehow, Birmingham attorney Kristin Waters Sullivan gets people to open up about the difficult topic and address how they want matters handled after they die.

“People think estate planning is this expensive and daunting process. But I make it accessible to people,” said Sullivan, 40.

Through the Volunteer Lawyers programs with the Alabama State Bar and the Birmingham Bar, she volunteers with senior citizens, first responders, Birmingham AIDS Outreach and Homeless Connect on issues connected to wills, name changes, etc.

“I feel really passionate about using my background as an estate planning attorney to reach communities that may be unreached,” said the Birmingham native.

“One of my core values of my firm and me as a person is legacy, and that goes hand in with what I do as a probate lawyer and estate planning lawyer,” Sullivan said. “I have the opportunity to preserve the legacy of their family and loved ones.”

“We all have a limited time on this earth and to be able to make the most impact possible, I think, is important.”

When she’s not in court or at legal clinics, she’s volunteering with the screening committee with the Sidewalk Film Festival, which she said is a premium cultural event that showcases the art world of Birmingham. For Sullivan, she sees no other way than to volunteer for different organizations. In the past, she served on the board for the Magic City Art Connection.

“I have had a lot of opportunities in life, and it’s my responsibility to use those (opportunities) to help others,” she said. “I’m really passionate about Birmingham. Our city is large enough that we have a whole lot of needs and it’s small enough to see the impact when you help someone else.”


March 25 – Davetta Brown

Have a problem in Ensley? Folks go to Davetta Brown for help.

Recently, a neighbor told Brown about a family who was about to have their power cut off because of a delinquent bill. Brown visited the family to see what she could do. After discussing a payment option with the family, Brown discovered that a little boy in the home was having a birthday on that very day.

Concerned that the child would not have a party, Brown went on Facebook, telling friends she needed their help to give the little boy a party. She raised enough money to buy cupcakes, coloring books, balloons and pizzas. She arrived with the items, and the little boy’s family assisted to make it a memorable day.

“Elderly people and kids, they just go after my heart and it makes me go beyond what needs to be done,” said Brown, 54, of Ensley. “I’ll go without so that other people can have.”

Brown has led voter registration drives, volunteered at her church, tutored children and notifies the city whenever there is an issue in her neighborhood. Because of her community activism, she’s agreed to serve as a block watch captain to be on the lookout for anything that needs attention on her street. She’s also helped families from other neighborhoods.

“Some people call me First Lady of the City; Roadrunner; and Miss Heart of Gold,” she said. “I’m OK with it. It makes me smile.”

As she talked about things she’s done for others, she added a new item to her list: help get a car battery for a wheelchair-bound resident so she can make it to het community college classes, doctor’s appointments and the grocery store.

“I just see a need, and I’m just ferocious about it,” she said. “I was brought up that way.”


March 26 – Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey

As the Alabama state director of the Human Rights Campaign, which is headquartered in Birmingham, Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey works to achieve LBGTQ+ equality from a local and state level. Anderson-Harvey is the first transgender person of color to serve in a leadership role with HRC in the organization’s history. Anderson-Harvey has served as the state director for 2.5 years.

Anderson-Harvey has led the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender legislation in the state house. Anderson-Harvey leveraged HRC and its resources and messaging, while building coalitions with other organizations and also using experts in pediatrics and medicine to speak to committees. Anderson-Harvey worked with allied legislators to assist in debate messaging and spent long hours in Montgomery, speaking for those who often have no voice.

“I am very passionate about being an advocate through visibility to ensure that all are achieving full equality. I do the work to ensure that diversity is represented,” Anderson-Harvey said. “I feel that I am making a tremendous difference being at tables that are not often available for marginalized individuals. I’m making a greater impact on behalf of communities that are often overlooked.”

Anderson-Harvey is serious about achieving health equity for communities in Alabama. That includes serving on the board of AIDS Alabama and co-chairing End HIV Alabama, which is a statewide planned initiative connected to a federal health department program known as Ending the HIV Epidemic in America. Anderson-Harvey added that it’s important to be on the frontlines to help amplify and uplift the voices, the heart, and the soul of those who wants to create what they want to see in the world.

“As an affirming clergy member in the Christian faith, I am very passionate about inclusion for the ‘whosoever,’ with a focus towards equality for all,” Anderson-Harvey said. “There is still work to do, due to the lack of representation at the table of decisions. There are still local and state laws that do not represent diversity to all residents of Alabama, and there is a greater need for acceptance in our culture of Southern hospitality.”


March 27 – DonDee Osburn

DonDee Osburn works as director of operations for Grace Klein Community, a non-profit organization that has been serving the greater Birmingham area by providing food support and services for 12 years.

Grace Klein Community is a partner agency of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and shares food with 121 food distribution partners that offer food support to outlying counties as well as food support to seven drive-thru locations, six days a week for food box distribution.

In 2021, the organization launched the FeedBHM food rescue initiative, including a web-based app (app.FeedBHM.org), to help grow the number of donations places such of grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants, for example, would make available for volunteers to pick up as “rescued food’’ across Birmingham. In 2021, they rescued more than 1 million pounds of food and got them to plates of those in need.

Currently, there are more than 800 volunteers registered in the app to pick up rescued food and take it to the Grace Klein office.

Osburn is leading the charge to eradicate food insecurity and hunger through her leadership with the Grace Klein staff and volunteers. She helps lead and train staff in new processes and oversees organizational structures. She is looking for the most effective ways for a small staff and massive volunteer force to create sustainability by minimizing food waste and sharing excess.

“We encourage people to volunteer because we value people,” Osburn said. “Our mindset is if we all share what we have, we all have what we need.”

The organization is in the midst of its “March for Hunger Campaign,” where they encourage the public to collect canned and boxed non-perishable food and donate them to Grace Klein to help the group stock its pantries.

“Food insecure people are not necessarily those at poverty level or unemployed,” Osburn said. “We have lower middle class or middle class clients who have found it difficult to make ends meet from pay check to pay check and have to make a decision of paying a power bill or to buy groceries. That’s not a fair decision at all.”

For more information, visit www.gracekleincommunity.com.


March 28 – Mable Perry

Even in the face of unimaginable adversity, Mable Perry has never backed down from a challenge. That was especially true when she was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 11 and she underwent a bone marrow transplant.

By the time she was 19, her doctors informed her that her cancer was in remission and she was released from their care. But at the age of 34, cancer returned to her life. This time, it affected her mother, Mable (whom she is named after). Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and Perry immediately became her caretaker. Her mother passed a few months after being diagnosed.

Four months her mother’s death, Perry was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in March 2021. Perry underwent chemotherapy for six months. In December 2021, Perry had a double mastectomy as a result of her own breast cancer diagnosis and her family’s medical history.

Perry, now 35, admitted that at times, she felt overwhelmed because of the timing of her diagnosis and she was still grieving the loss of her mother. However, she persisted.

“When I had leukemia, my mother was there for me,” said Perry, who serves as the community liaison in Birmingham Councilor Hunter Williams’ office. “But she was not there for me this time. I went through grief counseling and that helped a lot because I was so down about the situation and wondered why God allowed this to happen to me a second time.”

So, what did God tell her?

“He wants me to share my story with people because often times, we give up at our breaking points,” said Perry, who is a graduate of Huffman High School and Samford University. “But when we get to the breaking point, there is glory on the other side.”

Today, the Echo Highlands resident continues to volunteer with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. She also writes about her cancer walks on her Mabella personal blog on Facebook. On April 10, she will be one of the cancer survivors to speak during the Cancer Awareness Network’s annual event at the Harbert Center.

Given all that she’s been through, helping shepherd people through difficult times is now what she’s been called to do. She refuses to let her cancer diagnosis define her or have power over her life.

“Different people have reached out to me about going through breast cancer, and I’ve been there to be their cheerleader,” she said.


March 29 – Kathy Boswell

In 100 days, the world will be at Birmingham’s doorstep as the city kicks off the World Games. One person who will in the center of it all will be Kathy Boswell, executive vice president of community and volunteer engagement for the World Games Birmingham.

One of Boswell’s jobs is to help recruit volunteers to work an event that will attract thousands of people to the Magic City, July 7 – 17. The World Games has not been in the United States since 1981.

“The vision of the volunteer program is to prepare people to serve in what’s ahead for Birmingham,” Boswell said, a Birmingham native. “It’s not just to prepare people to serve during these games. It’s to prepare Birmingham to have an asset of people who are equipped and ready to serve during any national event that will choose Birmingham.

“When people volunteer for the World Games, they are raising their hand to say they want to be a voice in making a difference in the Magic City,” she said.

The deadline to register to volunteer is March 31. Volunteer posts include greeters, ticketing, working with merchandise, spectator services, working at sporting venues, etc. Training for volunteers will start in April. For more information about volunteering, visit www.twg2022.com. People must be 18 years old by July 1 to volunteer.

“People are volunteering because they care about our city and state, and they want to share with the world, who we really are,” Boswell said. “”e are a better place. We are a better city. We are a better state. We are not perfect but better does matter.”

The games will take place at 25 venues and involve 34 sports, including flag football, wheelchair rugby, Latin dancing, break dancing, bowling, lacrosse, speed climbing and softball. All sports will be played in Birmingham except that softball will be played in Hoover, and water skiing, the canoe marathon and wakeboarding will be at Oak Mountain Park in Pelham. There will be five days of flag football at Legion Field.

Boswell said she is humbled to have been selected to serve in her role.

“To be building something that has not been done here before, it takes a lot of faith and it takes a lot of trust in the people around you. It also takes believing in things that even you cannot see and that’s where my faith comes in,” she said. “It’s what keeps me moving and encouraging me that this is going to be successful, and I can do it.”


March 30 – Adrianne Marbury

Adrianne Marbury’s track record proves just how much she’s a champion for young people in Birmingham.

In 2016, she co-created MCH H.O.P.E.S., which is a pipeline program for Birmingham City Schools students in the Health Sciences Academy program. The program exposes students to mentors in healthcare careers, college and career prep, resume writing and interview skills. As the program manager for the UAB Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Training Program, Marbury created an internship program that connects high school students with mentors and leadership opportunities to gain knowledge in various health professions.

In 2019, she worked to establish the annual Birmingham Teen Health Week, which has reached more than 800 teens and adults across Jefferson County, including Birmingham City Schools. During the week, she hosts a series of workshops that are led by youth and supported by community stakeholders to address unique health issues facing teens including: health equity, mental health, nutrition, healthy relationships and substance use.

Those who know her say that Marbury has remarkable relationship management and communication skills, evidenced by her ability to develop and maintain community partnerships on behalf of UAB Adolescent Medicine.

“I love the idea of collaborating with individuals and organizations who have a passion in bringing out the best and supporting young people in this city,” said Marbury, 43, who is a graduate of Ramsay High School and UAB. “My mother, Sara Tartt, encouraged me to always remember that I have been blessed with many opportunities to learn and grow, and it is my responsibility to give those same opportunities to the next generation.”

The Birmingham resident is also on the interim leadership team for the Birmingham Coalition for Student Mental Health, a group of parents, educators, mental health professionals and community leaders who want to see mental health support in schools strengthened. For more information on the group, visit www.bhmstudentmentalhealth.com.

Every time she wraps up one project, she’s gearing up to take on a new idea and expand existing initiatives to benefit youth and families in Birmingham.

“I look at community as being bigger than just my block. I look at it being bigger than just my neighborhood or my job,” she said. “I look at the work that I do as being a way to create a holistic environment for all children. It’s a place where they can thrive and express themselves. And, we as adults, give them as much encouragement as we can.”

“(Our young people) are going to do amazing things. I want to see that. I want to be a part of that.”


March 30 – Latrice Little Jackson

Latrice Little Jackson has called Girls Inc. of Central Alabama home for 20 years, serving in various positions at the non-profit organization. In September 2020, she became their chief operating officer.

She has stayed with the organization for so long because she enjoys helping bring change for girls in Birmingham, making sure they thrive while in school and go on to achieve success in college and in their careers.

“Birmingham is just a part of me, and I don’t have a desire to go anywhere else. I want to help build our city by encouraging others to live and invest here,” said Jackson, 46. “I enjoy my job. I secure and manage the agency’s resources and hire and select people who will be the best fit to work with our girls. We have a phenomenal staff.”

Jackson’s office, which is based in Birmingham, serves about 2,200 girls a year in Jefferson, Shelby, Walker, St. Clair and Blount counties.

In the past, Girls Inc. only worked with girls between the ages of 6 and 18 years old. But in January 2022, the national office installed a new program to follow Girls Inc. members through college. It’s called Project Accelerate and it starts targeting female students in 11th grade to help prepare them for high school graduation, pair them with mentors, expose them to internships and more.

“Sometimes when students go through college, they have limited guidance and can occasionally get off track. We want to provide the resources and support these young women need to meet their goals of finishing college and connecting to careers of their choice,” said Jackson, of Roebuck.

Girls Inc. is looking for volunteers for not only Project Accelerate, but also other programs.

For more information on Girls Inc. programs, contact Jessica Rodgers at 205-599-5545. For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact Marlesa Willis at 205-595-4475. Or, visit their website at girlsinccentral-al.org.

“We focus on the whole girl. Not just one particular aspect of a girl,” Jackson said. “As our mission states, we inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold. Making healthy life choices, excelling in school and girls valuing themselves and their independence is what helps them to lead successful lives.”


March 31 – Danielle Hines

When Birmingham attorney Danielle Hines told people she wanted to buy the historic 14,000 square foot Arthur Shores Law Center in downtown Birmingham, there were naysayers. A lot of naysayers.

“I was told I was I was too young. I was black. I was a female. And I was unmarried. And all those things made me a risk,” said Hines. The doubt was so much that she had to stop telling people her dream and just move in silence until she was able to make it a reality.

She closed on the deal in December 2018. With the help of Urban Impact and Operation Hope, she held focus groups with black entrepreneurs to get feedback on what was needed to meet the needs of black entrepreneurs and the community. What developed was an idea of a co-working space with the offerings of workshops, mail services, a podcasting studio and more. She had her grand opening on Juneteenth 2021.

Today, she has more than 100 people and businesses who use her building for in-person and virtual offices. And there is room for more tenants.

“Someone asked me if we are an incubator. I said, ‘No, we are an accelerator,’ meaning you become a part of a community that accelerates you to the next level,” she said. “You are around entrepreneurs who look like you, uplift you and recognize your blindspots. Everyone is there for each other.”

Her business is known as CREED 63, named in honor of the year of the civil rights movement in Birmingham as well as a nod to the word, “creed,” which the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used in his “I Have a Dream” speech. CREED is also Hines’ acronym for Community Resources Entrepreneurship Education Development.

Hines, a Washington, D.C. native who came to Alabama to attend Miles Law School, clerked for the late Jefferson County Circuit Civil Judge Helen Shores Lee from 2009 to 2012. It wasn’t until years later that Hines discovered Judge Lee owned the building, and the two talked about Hines’ ideas. They worked on a plan for Hines to buy the building, but Judge Lee passed months before seeing Hines buy the building. Prior to Judge Lee’s passing, Hines promised Judge Lee three things about the building.

1) In honor of Lee’s father, the late attorney and Birmingham councilman Arthur Shores, Hines would always keep the building name as the Arthur Shores Law Center.
2) Minority lawyers would always have an affordable place to practice law at the center.
3) Hines would use the building to bring vitality and life to the city’s civil rights district.

Hines has more in the pipeline for CREED 63, which already offers free podcasting classes on Tuesday nights. They are planning on opening a second location this year on the west side of Birmingham; starting a CREED magazine and podcast; and bringing an entrepreneurship conference to Birmingham in two years.

“I see the bigger picture. Entrepreneurship is not an individual journey. It’s not something you can do on your own. You can do it on your own, but why should you have to,” said Hines, who is also active in the Alabama Air National Guard. “You need people in your corner, cheering you on. That’s what we do at CREED 63.”

“I don’t have any children yet, but my legacy is woven in the foundations of these small businesses.”

The building is located across from Kelly Ingram Park at 1601 Fifth Ave. North. For more information, visit members.creed63.com.


March 31 – Valerie Johnson and Latasha Humphrey

Every day, the YWCA Central Alabama is on the frontlines helping women and children. Two employees part of the organization’s ardent army of associates are Valerie Johnson and Latasha Humphrey, who received staff awards in 2021 for their advocacy work.

Johnson manages the organization’s volunteer program at the downtown Birmingham location, and Humphrey is the associate director of the Family Resource Center in Woodlawn.

“When you come into the house of the YWCA (as a volunteer), I want you to know who we are, so when you go back to your desk, school or place of business, you know the impact and why you did what you did,” Johnson said. “And (you) may be able to … tell others.”

Johnson reminds volunteers that the wall they painted or the toiletries tucked into individual purses they donated for YWCA clients, for example, carry a lot of meaning. They could be the bright spot someone needed that day.

“We want to do what our mission statement does, and that’s empower,” said Johnson, who served four years as a special projects manager with the YWCA before being promoted to her current position in 2018. “I am just so grateful for the space I’m in.”

Through the Family Resource Center, Humphrey offers GED prep and education, tutoring, parenting support, financial literacy, community outreach and more. “Here at the Family Resource Center, our motto is about making an impact, adding value and doing it with pure intention,” she said. “Collectively, as a team, that’s how we operate.”

Humphrey worked with the YWCA via AmeriCorps from 2011 to 2013. In 2018, she returned to the YWCA, working in different positions until being promoted to her current position in fall 2021. Humphrey’s grandmother, the late Flora Pearl Humphrey, influenced her to give back, which is why the YWCA is such a good fit for her. It’s also why Humphrey started the Flora Pearl Foundation in her spare time. The 10-year-old foundation, which is not connected to the YWCA, is a mentoring and empowerment program for women and girls.

“My grandmother always made people feel welcome. She offered a hand up and not a hand out,” Humphrey said. “That’s my passion – showing love to women and children. It’s what was shown to me when I was growing up.”


StrongHer 2021 Profiles

March 1 – Dr. Lori Croom

When many businesses shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic, Birmingham optometrist Dr. Lori Alyse Croom opened up to new beginnings. She became an author.

Between May 2020 and July 2020, she penned the book, “My God Today,” a 365-day motivational book that blends popular hip-hop lyrics and scripture to deliver Godly lessons. She published the book in September 2020. It had resonated with readers so much that it became a No. 1 new release in the Devotional Category on Amazon. Now, she’s looking at turning it into an audio book.

“I thought this book would be something that just a certain age group would grasp, but I have women who are up to their 80s, reading the book. They have stolen the book from their grandchildren,” said Dr. Croom, 35 and the mother of two daughters.

“They don’t have a clue what the lyrics are about, but they still relate to the messages. They say they feel like they are having a conversation with their homegirl.”

Dr. Croom wrote the book after having to temporarily stop seeing patients at her NowVision Eye Care because of COVID-19 restrictions. She later reopened in June 2020. She said God gave her the idea for the book, and she was determined to write it in two months. She disconnected from social media and wrote a certain number of pages per day.

She’s never had any professional training as a writer, which is further proof of how God works, she said. Now, people are telling her she’s inspired them to get going on their own writing projects, including those that have stalled.


March 2 – Julia Meyers

For nearly 9 years, Julia Meyers has helped lead the fight to end trafficking in Birmingham and Alabama. She’s done it on her own, with the help of several organizations and through Junior League of Birmingham, where she is chairwoman of the group’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee.

She got involved to give a voice to the voiceless after hearing stories from her late brother, a public defender, who talked about how women were forced into prostitution because of human trafficking. She couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. So, she got involved to help fight for victims and build a stronger community. And now that COVID-19 has increased the risks of human trafficking, her efforts are even more important.

“My brother and I would have conversations about the importance of community awareness and understanding the issue,” Meyers said. “He felt that community awareness was important.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit human beings for some type of labor or commercial sex purpose.

The Junior League offers on-demand, free trainings to any organization, company or resident in the Birmingham area. They provide resources on what trafficking is, how people can best combat it, and how to respond when residents suspect it. In 2020, the JLB worked with the Birmingham Airport Authority to get signs up in every bathroom stall to help the public identify human trafficking and how to respond if they see something.

“We are also partnering with End It Alabama to get signage in airports across the state and other transportation hubs,” Meyers said. “January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. We work hard that month and the 11 other months in the year to spread the word,” Meyers said.

To have a JLB member talk to your group in a virtual format, visit www.jlbonline.com to book a session.


March 3 – Della Nicholas

As a child, Della Nicholas dreamed of becoming a model and appearing on the cover of a fashion magazine. But her family couldn’t afford modeling school.

Then, when she went off to junior college, she used money from her part-time job at Pizza Hut to pay for modeling classes. But because of the cost of secondary education and playing basketball, she had to put her dream to the side – again.

Fast forward to 2019 when Essence magazine sponsored a contest for women turning 50 in 2020 to celebrate the publication also turning 50 in 2020. At the urging of a friend, Nicholas entered the contest. And out of nearly 2,000 entries, she was selected as a finalist. She won a trip to New York City, where she and six other finalists did photo shoots for the magazine’s June 2020 edition.

“I just thanked God for the opportunity. Even though it was a childhood dream, I never thought it would happen,” said Nicholas, a human resources specialist and married mother of two working in Birmingham.

“Age is just a number, and it doesn’t hinder you from whatever you want. I have had friends tell me that just for me to step out and submit the pictures, that has inspired them to go for some of the childhood dreams they have had,’’ she said.

“Something is still inside of me. I want to be a model,” said Nicholas, now 51. “I may step out. Who knows.”


March 4 – Ariel Taunton

Ariel Taunton was five years old when she competed in her first track meet. She didn’t do too well.
But a month later, she competed in her second track meet. She came in first in the long jump and second in the 100-meter yard dash.

After that, her track career, well, took off.

Today, the 10-year-old has more than 100 medals. Next week, she will compete in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va.

“When I’m at practice, I work hard so I can become good,” said Ariel, a student at Huffman Academy. “I tell myself, ‘I gotta push through it.’”

Due to COVID-19, her school did not have a track team this year. Currently, she runs with the KO.Flamez, an Elite track team that competes in the AAU and Junior Olympics. One day, she hopes to attend her father’s alma mater, Mississippi State University; be on the college track team; major in science; and go on to compete in the 200 long jump and the 60-meter dash in the Olympics.

“I ran track, and I feel like she worked harder than I did when I was kid,” said her father and trainer, Devin Jackson, who is also an assistant track coach at Wenonah High School. “She’s always been fast.”

“She just shows that girls can be just as good as guys,” said Jackson. “She has out jumped boys, and she’s out jumped girls older than her.”


March 5 – Nancy McDonald

After COVID-19 hit Alabama in 2020, Nancy McDonald’s daughter, Maggie, suggested she try sewing a mask.

And, McDonald did just that.

Then, Maggie said, “Why don’t you try making them for other people?”

And, once again, McDonald did just that. She first made masks for friends, and then she started making them for non-profit organizations, classrooms, teachers, the warming station at Boutwell Auditorium, Children’s Hospital and many more in the Birmingham area. She has also sent masks to hurricane victims in Louisiana, tornado victims in Tennessee, and fire victims in California and Colorado. To date, she’s made and donated nearly 7,000 masks.

“It was a lot of fun. I got up every morning and said, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta sew,’” said Nancy, 69.
Her first masks were made from airplane-themed curtain fabric leftover from her grandchildren’s bedroom.

She said what she and the other StrongHer honorees have done, demonstrates that “people can do things that can make a difference in very, very small ways.”

“Everybody can do something for somebody during this pandemic.”


March 6 – Comedienne Joy King

Back in 2017, Comedienne Joy showcased several Birmingham-area restaurants’ mouth-watering dishes on her TV show. People fell so in love with what they saw that they wanted to eat like Joy.

Since there was not a food bus tour in town, Joy decided to create one to share her food experiences with others. Thus was born the Eat. Drink. Ride. Food Tours.

“Supporting local restaurants is my world. That’s my heart,” Joy said. “I love the fact that when I take people to restaurants, they enjoy the food as much as I do. And when I return on personal visits, I see some patrons right back in the places they visited on the tour.”

The way Joy has creatively promoted Birmingham’s culinary scene before and during a pandemic has impressed many, including those connected to Beyonce. In January 2021, Joy received a $10,000 grant from Beyonce’s foundation, BeyGOOD, and the NAACP.

Applications for the grant opened last summer to support businesses affected by COVID-19. Joy’s bus tours were closed for four months in 2020 because of the pandemic. But, she started rolling again in August, adding temperature checks, sanitizing the bus in between stops, social distancing, requiring everyone to wear a mask and more. She said the funding will help her with bus payments.

Her bus tour means a lot to her, and she said she wants to keep it going for people who love good food from the great restaurants in and around Birmingham. “Getting the grant from Beyonce was like a prayer answered. It helps me keep both of my buses running. And as a thank you to Beyonce, each tour now starts out with songs by her. I like, ‘Run the World (Girls).’”


March 7 – Kristin Farmer

One night in 2015, Kristin Farmer had a simple request – to celebrate life.

But her joy soon turned into frustration because she couldn’t find celebratory items, such as a wine glass with images of women who looked like her.

She researched what it would take to make her vision a reality. However, she was disappointed to discover it would cost $20,000 to add her art to glasses. She put away the idea, which later saw a rebirth in 2017 when she created holiday wrapping paper of images of African-American women with natural hair. She named her company Curly Contessa.

“Curly Contessa is about embracing you,” said Farmer, 32 of Oxmoor Valley. “We are embracing our natural selves, and it’s about celebrating you and all that you are.”

In 2020, Oprah Magazine Creative Director Adam Glassman gave Farmer a shout out on social media as a Black company to follow and support. Also in 2020, she was a participant in Essence magazine’s Virtual Entrepreneur Summit. In February 2021, she won first place in the Black Girl Ventures Birmingham Pitch Competition, earning a $10,000 stipend, coaching with an accountant, and other prizes.

Her line has grown to include glassware, T-shirts, porcelain and china collections, kitchenware and an expanded Christmas line. Next, she plans to expand her kitchen and glassware lines. All of the women are drawn by Farmer.

“I just really want people to keep pushing and know there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is always something to look forward to,” said the Ensley native. “Every little win matters, and they need to be celebrated.”


March 8 – Journee Mines and Poppy Boyd

One day after demonstrators in Linn Park attempted to remove a Confederate monument in May 2020, Bria Mines and English McBride took their daughters, both 3 years old at the time, to the location.

The families did not know each other, but what happened at the base of that monument that day is a beautiful statement of what happens when love lives.

Journee Mines, who is black, and Poppy Boyd, who is white, began playing in the dust and climbing the stairs of the monument.

At a certain point, Journee sat cross-legged and began meditating, a skill her mother had taught her. Poppy joined her, and they sat in silence before embracing and resuming their play.
Their chance meeting and interaction were captured by Birmingham photographer Larry O. Gay. The scene moved several to tears.

“To find joy in something that symbolized so much pain was deeply moving,’’ said Poppy’s mother, English McBride. “We cried watching them play in the dust and destruction. I told my daughter that this statue represented something that was wrong and the mayor was going to take it down.’’ Journee’s mother is Bria Mines.

Mayor Randall L. Woodfin later arranged for the monument to be removed June 1.

Today, March 8 is International Women’s Day, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of all women. This day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. May what Journee and Poppy did in May 2020 serve as a reminder that one is never too young or too small to help forge positive change for everyone.


March 9 – Viktoria Havasi

If you’ve ever wondered where to find cool murals in Birmingham, Dr. Viktoria Havasi can help.

Since Dec. 30, 2018, she’s been taking pictures of area murals and posting them to Instagram under @magiccitymurals. The hobby developed after she looked on Instagram to locate murals painted on the sides of buildings. When she couldn’t find a social media page with the information, she decided to start her own. She offers Google maps for locations of the murals she’s shot. (On Facebook, she’s known as Murals of Birmingham)

So far, she’s photographed about 175 murals featured on the sides of vacant buildings, occupied buildings, restaurants and even inside bathrooms around metro Birmingham. She has not run out of material, as there are some indoor murals she has not yet shot. And then, people continuously inbox her to tell her about their latest find.

“I like to photograph things that don’t move,” said Dr. Havasi, 44, a cystic fibrosis researcher in Birmingham. “Murals were sort of like that.”

Her efforts are helping people discover or rediscover the city.

“I feel a joy going on the mural hunt. I usually do it on the weekend,” she said. “I think it’s still exciting even after (more than) two years.”

She keeps it simple when capturing the images. She uses an iPhone 8.

“I try to get the best angle and to show as much as possible,” said Dr. Havasi, who was born in Hungary. “I don’t really have a secret. I’m just a girl with a camera phone.”


March 10 – Bonderia Lyons and Darlena Williams-Battle

Many Saturdays, you can find Bonderia Lyons and Darlena Williams-Battle working hard to keep Birmingham neighborhoods clean.

They do it through Magic City Blight Busters, a group of volunteers from eight Birmingham neighborhoods who rotate to clean up, cut grass and remove blight in the eight neighborhoods. The group has existed for nearly two years. Battle and Lyons hope the concept will spread to other Birmingham neighborhoods and residents will start their own clean-up networks.

On a recent Saturday, Lyons and Battle joined Magic City Blight Buster volunteers, Fountain Heights residents and others to clean up Fountain Heights. By the end of the day, volunteers had collected hundreds of bags.

“We have lived in Fountain Heights our entire lives, and we care about the community and the people in it,” Battle said. “We have a visual of what it used to be when we were little girls. We know the potential it can have, and we are striving to get it back.”

But clean-up projects are not all this duo does. Lyons is the president of the Fountain Heights Neighborhood Association, and Battle is the vice president. Together, they’ve also worked to bring COVID-19 testing, and mask/food box distributions to Fountain Heights residents. Before the pandemic hit, they partnered with an organization to bring in a grocery store truck to make it easier for residents to buy fresh produce.

They are also expanding their connections with nearby downtown businesses and organizations to make them aware that their addresses fall within the Fountain Heights footprint.

“I’m proud of the work we are doing in the community. I can see a change,” Lyons said. “We are boots on the ground. We are not asking residents to do things that we are not already doing. We just want better for our community and for ourselves.”

For more information on Blight Busters, visit www.blightbusters.co.


March 11 – Tamika Holmes

Tamika Holmes grew up in a dysfunctional household, where drugs and alcohol were prevalent among adults. She dropped out of high school at 15. She got married at 16. She became a mother at 17. And she was later tapped to be a long-term caregiver for her father.

But she did not shrink from her situations. Instead, she grew and used her past to build a future for today’s young people. In June 2014, she founded the Community Care Development Network to serve girls experiencing the same things she faced as a child. She started out mentoring two students. By summer’s end, she had 30 girls in the program, ranging in age from 11 to 18.

The organization has since expanded its services and partnered with various community organizations to include even more mentoring programs for females; offer mentoring opportunities for males and parents; and provide GED counseling, support for the elderly and assistance for people facing issues with rent and utilities bills. Between June and December 2020, her organization served about 3,600 households by offering food boxes, mentoring, clothes and more. In February 2021, the organization closed on a building in Huffman to serve those in need.

“God put it on my heart that all the trials and tribulations I went through in my life were not for me,” said Holmes, 42, of Roebuck. “There were other young ladies who were going through the same thing. And there were other young mothers who had experienced what I had experienced as a young mother. So, I did what I needed to do.”

Today, she has restored relationships with her parents. In June 2021, she’ll celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. This fall, she plans to pursue her doctorate in education. And down the road, she plans on partnering with an Alabama HBCU to offer a trade school.

So how does she do it all? “With a wing and a prayer and the good Lord,” Holmes said. “I wake up in the morning and say, ‘What will the new adventure be today?’ I truly love what I do.”


March 12 – Becky Wright

Becky Wright serves as the director of Meals on Wheels of Central Alabama, which provides more than 28,000 meals each month to homebound seniors. While some agencies and offices had to temporarily halt services in 2020 because of the pandemic, Meals on Wheels kept rolling.

To help protect volunteers, the organization scaled back its five-days-a-week deliveries to once-a-week contactless deliveries. But Wright made sure seniors had enough food until the next weekly visit. To help meet a growing demand for food, Birmingham companies like Shipt delivered fresh milk and eggs. Also, Nourish stepped in provide additional meals for those on a waiting list.

“There’s more to it than just feeding people. We have to be present for them as well,” said Wright, 35, of Crestwood. “We have had so many people call and say they didn’t have any food in the house … but we showed up.”

Wright’s dedication extends beyond her job. Last year, she and her husband, Quinton, who have one son, became foster parents to an infant. She said she sees foster care as a form of advocacy for both children and their parents. “The ultimate goal of foster care is reunification,” she said. “We want to be part of the solution.”

She is also active at Christ City Church in multiple areas of ministries.

To learn more about being a foster parent, visit https://dhr.alabama.gov/foster-care/ or https://lifelinechild.org/foster-parenting-training-classes/. To get involved with Meals on Wheels, visit https://www.mowjeffco.org/volunteer/.


March 13 – Monica Yates Mitchell

Birmingham realtor Monica Yates Mitchell, 54, always considered herself to be pretty healthy. Sure, she was fatigued at the end of 10-hour work days and her bones hurt. But she figured it was connected to the job. She also bruised easily, but she thought it was because of her light skin complexion.

But once she had a heart attack shortly after Thanksgiving in 2020 and testing was done, she later learned those signs were all linked to acute myeloid leukemia, cancer of the blood. She was in shock. She didn’t know anyone with the disease, and she had never heard of it. She would need a bone marrow transplant to survive.

“I cried in the hospital. And in talking to God, I kept saying, ‘Why me?’” she recalled. But then she thought, why not her? She could use her diagnosis to educate people about the disease and encourage people, especially African Americans, to become bone marrow donors. Less than four percent of African Americans are signed up to be donors on the national bone marrow registry, she said. So, in between her seven weeks of chemotherapy at the hospital and right before she underwent an emergency surgery last weekend to remove clots from the side of her head, she’s been promoting the importance of becoming a bone marrow donor.

“People are dying because they cannot get the bone marrow they need,” she said. “It became my mission to start putting the word out.”

Today, March 13, she will head to Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, 1101 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., for a bone marrow drive, where people can sit in their car and do cheek swab testing to see if they can be a match for Mitchell and others. It will be held from 1 to 4 p.m.

“I know (today) I will get my match and maybe that individual who was told they didn’t have a match will get theirs, too,” she said. “I never want anyone to hear the words, ‘We don’t have a bone marrow match for you.’”


March 14 – Michelle Perkins

The pain in Michelle Perkins’ back can be so severe at times, she has to walk with a cane.

But the discomfort doesn’t stop Perkins, who is president of the North Pratt Neighborhood Association, from helping residents whenever they need her.

“If I am sitting at home, it hurts. If I’m out, it will hurt,” said Perkins, 56. “So, I might as well do something helpful instead of sitting at home, feeling bad for myself.”

She’s run errands for elderly residents. She’s helped be a point person for the tornado safe room in her community. And she’s mentored students in need of a listening ear.

“Students will call my grandchildren and ask, ‘Where’s your grandmama? I need to talk to her,'” she said. “For some reason, people come to me. I don’t know why. I just get caught helping.”

She’s also a big supporter of clean-ups connected to Village Creek. Although she can’t physically clean, she registers volunteers and doles out food to participants.

“I got being personable and being patient with people from my mom and grandmother,” she said. “I want to be an example for others.”


March 15 – Jessica Clark

Jessica Clark is all about helping others reach their dreams.

A few years ago, Clark was teaching a medical assistance class at a Birmingham-area community college. One of her students was about 12 weeks away from graduating, but the student had to drop out because she could no longer afford classes.

A month later, Clark saw the student working at a fast food restaurant. Clark encouraged her to return to school. Still, money was an issue for the student, who had to take care of family. At that very moment, Clark decided she never wanted to meet another eager student unable to attend school, so she decided to start her own medical tech school and offer scholarships for those 18 years old and up.

In 2019, Clark started the National Training Institute for HealthCare Technicians in Birmingham, which offers training to become an EKG technician, a phlebotomy technician, a medical assistant, and a patient care technician. It is open Monday through Saturday with morning, evening and online classes.

So far as the student who dropped out, Clark said the student enrolled in her school, graduated and is now gainfully employed.

“God wants us to give back,” said Clark, 39, of Huffman.”He wants us to be the change, and in order to that, you have to be in a position to change someone’s life. You have to be a part of the solution.”


March 16 – Michele Kong

In 2013, Birmingham doctor Michele Kong co-founded KultureCity to help create sensory-friendly environments for children with social communication or sensory challenges.

She and her husband, Dr. Julian Maha, got the idea for the program after their son was diagnosed with autism. Because of their son’s sensory sensitivity, going to restaurants and even games became difficult. Soon, they experienced social isolation from the community. (Common sounds, lights, crowds and even smells can be overwhelming and physically painful to individuals with a sensory sensitivity.)

The couple wanted to find a better way to make environments more accessible and inclusive for their son and others, regardless of their challenges. Soon, they came up with the concept for Kulture City, a non-profit organization, which works to promote awareness as well as acceptance with venues, their staff and the public.

Today, Kulture City has more than 700 partners around the globe, including in Australia and New England, providing resources and tools to help partners understand the effects of autism and other challenges. Kulture City has also partnered with various sporting leagues, including the NFL and NBA. In Alabama, there are 74 partner locations, including the Birmingham Museum of Art, Sloss Furnaces, Vulcan Park and Museum, and the McWane Science Center. A map featuring all partner venues can be found on their website, www.kulturecity.org.

“I think (Kulture City) just shows the beauty of Birmingham, which is the birthplace of the civil rights movement,” Dr. Kong said. “We are on the forefront of thinking of accessibility for so many individuals. It was birthed in Birmingham, and now it’s throughout the U.S It all started in Birmingham from a simple idea.”

Dr. Kong is, who is also a physician in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital and has been on the front lines in treating children with COVID-19, has developed a lecture series and organized workshops that cover issues related to critical assessment of children with sensory challenges in an emergency setting.

“It’s been quite a journey,” Dr. Kong said. “Even though we started, the work is there, and the need is there. And we are super excited to meet it and continue to meet it.”


March 17 – Carmen Mays

When West End native Carmen Mays saw how the pandemic had left so many creatives of color unable to connect with customers in 2020, she worked on a one-day market idea to increase exposure for them.

By partnering with Urban Impact Birmingham, she presented the Black Joy Bazaar last September on Fourth Avenue North, where the public shopped in an outdoor setting while also social distancing. One vendor told Mays it was the most business they had done that year.

Creating solutions for businesses and communities is what Mays, 35, does. In 2017, she founded Elevators, a consulting firm. And since starting the business, she’s hosted workshops to help small businesses grow, helped increased exposure for minority creatives, and demonstrated the importance of increasing diversity at the table.

In January 2021, Google tapped Mays to lead its Grow with Google Digital Coaching program in Birmingham. It’s an outreach program designed to ensure that black and brown entrepreneurs have the digital skills to be as successful as possible. They address everything from bookkeeping to project management. The next session, which will be on different tools managers can use, will be Thursday, March 18 at 5 p.m. To register, visit: g.co/digitalcoachbir.

Asked if Mays has a motto, she responded: “All rooms are my rooms. I work very hard not to limit myself. I usually walk around with the assumption that whatever I want to do, I can do it.”


March 18 – Carolyn Russell-Walker

Ramsay High School Principal Dr. Carolyn Russell-Walker has been working with her staff to establish innovative ways to make school more personable for students during the pandemic.

This year, with the help of counselors, she established Womanhood Wednesday virtual chats to allow students to hear from female speakers and discuss personal and societal issues. (Classes were not held on Wednesdays to allow for the school to be sanitized.) A vice principal leads a similar online chat session for the male students, calling it Manhood Monday and holding it before classes start.

In 2019, Russell-Walker started a Freshman Academy, to allow students to meet with teachers for additional support and address the transition from middle school to high school. Russell-Walker kept the program going during the pandemic, shifting the sessions to online.

And since this year’s freshman class never got a chance to really walk the halls and sit in classrooms when fall classes started in 2020, Russell-Walker hosted a visit at the school in November when students could return for in-person classes.

“They were excited to walk around, feel like actual high school students in a school and not be on Zoom,” Carolyn Walker said.

Russell-Walker didn’t want COVID-19 to stall the way the school highlights student achievements, so the school recognized students on social media and the school’s website. They hosted a virtual Honors and Awards Day presentation and National Honor Society tapping. The school also increased connections with parents by having virtual parent meetings and started a workforce development program for seniors to work in their career field of interest.

“Just watching the engagement of the students, they needed this,” said Russell-Walker, who is also big with working on community service projects and volunteering with her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. “These were platforms to let students know we are here. We’ve got you.”


March 19 – Carver High School girls basketball team

The Carver High School girls basketball team is a good example of what happens when hard work pays off.

In 2019, they made it to the state final 4. In 2020, they made it to the state regional finals. But on March 4, 2021 at Bill Harris Arena, they made school history by not only playing in their first 5A state championship game but also bringing home the school’s first girls’ state basketball championship win. They won 78-69 vs. Huntsville’s Mae Jemison High School.

“We are glad they had the opportunity to experience a state championship,” said Coach Jarvis Wilson. “Their legacy will be cemented here forever.”

There are usually 12 to 15 people on a team. But this team is comprised of seven members: Tamia Muse, Destinee Nelson, Randrea Wright, Ciondra Darden, Cameryn Dorsey, Precious Sturdivant and Kamaya Wilson. Wright was named tournament MVP and became the school’s first female player to sign a Division 1 scholarship in girls’ basketball, Wilson said. She’s going to the University of Central Arkansas on a full scholarship.

Wilson said team members sacrificed a lot and held each other accountable throughout the season. They self-quarantined at home, including during Christmas, to avoid exposure to COVID-19 and to be ready to play in a Dec. 26 game. On March 9, 2021, AL.com ranked the team as No. 4 in its Power 10 state girls’ basketball teams.

“They represent the strength of a woman,” Wilson said. “They are strong, mentally and physically. They were able to take on tasks in front of them and win.”


March 20 – Carrie Leland

Carrie Leland remembers going to Century Plaza as a child, seeing a homeless family and immediately wanting to help them. “I asked my mom to use the money she was going to spend on my school shoes to help the people,” Leland recalled.

The scene was monumental for Leland because she vowed that when she got older, she would do whatever she could to help families in need. Watching her father suffer with a debilitating disease and her mother doing her best to provide for the family made her sensitive to the suffering of others, and it instilled in her to never look down on those who are struggling in life.

Today, Carrie Turner Leland serves as the executive director of Pathways: A Woman’s Way Home in downtown Birmingham. She said leading the agency, which serves over 1,200 homeless women and children a year, is her dream job. “I am doing exactly what I was called to do in this life. It is a great honor to work for this agency,” she said.

Pathways provides emergency shelter, housing and childcare services for homeless women and children. Since her arrival in 2018, Leland has added two new services to Pathways: Stepping Stones, an emergency shelter program; and Pathways Early Learning Center, a free childcare center for homeless families that will open in May 2021. She said the Early Learning Center is going to be a real game changer for families experiencing homelessness.

“Birmingham is a progressive city where forward thinking is encouraged, and that is what I love most about working in Birmingham,” Leland said. “I try to show up every day and make a difference here.”


March 21 – Kelli Solomon

In 2020, Kelli Solomon, who is vice president of Operations and Programs for the Birmingham Urban League, Inc., organized several food drives to help more than 2,000 single mothers and senior citizens affected by the pandemic.

“Some people had a reduction of income. Some people loss income,” said Solomon, 37 and a married mother of two. “What we were trying to do was make sure that children did not go hungry, while we were also being supportive of the families.”

Her office used the food drives as a way to find out what else families needed. Did they need housing? Did they need a job? Did they need help filing unemployment claims? The surveys worked, and Birmingham Urban League helped close the gap of unemployment and underemployment for several Birmingham women.

Another way Solomon’s office assisted families financially hurt by COVID-19 was by providing federal financial assistance on late rent and utilities bills. One woman saw her income dwindle because the industry she worked in had taken a major hit during the pandemic. In November, the woman sought the rental assistance. She later went through a job training program and secured a full-time job in another field in December. That simple lift from Birmingham Urban League, helped put the woman on to the road to success, said Solomon, who is delighted with how she’s helping to bring a new joy to people’s lives.

“It’s not about status. It’s not about skin color. In my opinion, it’s about good Christian, unconditional love,” said Solomon, a Birmingham native. “I am giving back to the same community that raised me, and that’s why I do what I do every day.”


March 22 – Caitlin Moffatt

Caitlin Moffatt has had three miscarriages, and the pain of losing a life remains very real.
“It does take time,” Moffatt said of the grieving process. “It’s not something that will get better right away. You just push through it.”

Her last miscarriage was in January 2021. She was 15 weeks along. The baby was a girl, and losing her impacted her husband, Ben, and her.

“I want people to know they are not alone,” said Moffatt, 31. “I had to be strong myself, but a lot of people helped me, too. I want to be strong for all the other women.”

But although there have been sad times in three of Moffatt’s pregnancies, there has also been joy in another pregnancy. That pregnancy led to the birth of a daughter, who’ll celebrate her second birthday at the end of this month. As Moffatt prepares for the birthday, she also continues to prepare to help others in the fight against COVID-19.

She’s a respiratory therapist at St. Vincent’s Hospital, where she’s joined other frontline workers in helping to save lives during the pandemic. She is a leader in her department, where she supports her team and makes sure that patients receive the best treatment possible.

She said she grew up as a shy child, never picturing herself as a making a difference in anyone’s life. But, she’s making a difference in more ways than one in Birmingham.

“I’m glad I am where I am. I have been able to break out of my shell and become who I am today,” she said. “And I hope I can inspire my daughter.”


March 23 – Jamiya Anderson

Jamiya Anderson was 6 years old when she wrote her first poem. It was about falling off a Big Wheel and how that experience can be a lesson in life.

“When you fall, you have to get back up. You can’t just stay down forever,” said Jamiya, now 13 and a seventh grader at Putnam Middle School. “I still have the imprint of the scar from that fall, but I’ve grown from it. I look at it like this: You might get hurt from someone and you may not get over it. But you will eventually get through it.”

Jamiya’s ways of looking at things and putting them down on paper has gained the attention of those at Desert Island Supply Co. in Woodlawn, where they consider her to be a superstar in their poetry workshops. Jamiya’s latest poem, “Saturday Night Stars,” appears on pg. 128 of DISCO’s 2020 anthology, “Forgetting How to Spell Remember,” available at www.discobham.com.
The Gate City resident writes poems whenever anything happens to her. She also sees herself writing poetry years from now, while pursuing her dreams.

So where does she see herself in five years? “Hopefully, I will be on the way to college, fingers crossed. And I can determine which of my passions I will take on,” said Jamiya. “Will I go on to be an neurosurgeon, or will I be an entrepreneur? Either way I go, being an African-American female, I want to inspire others to know that nothing is too hard. Nothing is impossible.”


March 24 – Eileen Meyer

From spring until about August 2020, Dr. Eileen S Meyer helped organize and implement the clinical component of the UAB COVID-19 testing site at Southern Research in Birmingham, where she and so many others saw about 500 cars for two hours every morning. Then, she and a team would pack up their bags and head out to mobile testing sites to test those in underserved areas.

She did this in the rain. In the sun. And in the mud. But no matter the weather conditions, she met the daily needs of the public with a smile.

“When you go into this type of profession, it’s expected that you step up to the plate and help lead the way,” said Dr. Meyer, who has a doctorate in nursing practice and is a nurse practitioner.

Today, she’s back at UAB, where she is assistant director to Advanced Practice, working to elevate the nurse practitioner profession. She has received many local, state and national awards for her efforts. In 2020, she received the Alabama State Nurses’ Association Health Policy Award for working to expand nurse practitioners’ scope of practice. This June, she will receive the Alabama State Advocate Award from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners for working to increase patient access to care throughout Alabama.

She said that being female has never stopped her from doing anything. Dr. Meyer believes in giving back to the community and has established a nursing scholarship in her name at the UAB School of Nursing. Recently, she and her husband, Dr. Bruce Burns, funded a nurse practitioner tribute wall in the new UAB School Nursing building to highlight nurse practitioners and their contribution to their profession.

“I came from a little tiny area in West Virginia, and I think everything is achievable if you keep your eyes set on it,” she said. “No matter what obstacles stand in your way, you will find a way around them to keep moving forwards. You will get what you want.”


March 25 – Jessie Tyus

Smithfield resident Jessie Tyus was 27 years old when she decided to drop her waitressing job for something bigger: college. She enrolled at Miles College and graduated in three years with a degree in education. The oldest of 14 children, she was the first person in her family to go to college. She worked in education for nearly 30 years before retiring.

“It’s never too late to back to school,” said the Parker High graduate. “Whatever you need to do, do it.”

Throughout her life, Mrs. Tyus has been doing what she needs to do to get the job done, whether it was facing racism and threats while working in a predominately white school system, helping her husband while he was a Birmingham neighborhood leader or dealing with a life-threatening disease. Survival was the name of her game. “There’s no use in having a pity party. Nobody cares but you,” she said.

At the age of 85 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery and beat it. “Make sure you get your mammogram because that’s how they found it,” she said. “And trust in the Lord, and do what the doctor says.”

Today, at the age of 88, Mrs. Tyus remains an inspiration for family and friends, who say she gives the best advice. “They say I’m always upbeat and I don’t sound sad,” she said. When asked what’s behind her happy disposition, she said, “Because I’m a child of the good Lord. God is good to me. So far, I’m doing well.”


March 26 – Dr. Briana Patrias Morton

Dr. Briana Patrias Morton studied apparel merchandising in college, thinking she’d become a fashion magazine editor or work in high fashion. But once she graduated, education kept pulling at her. She couldn’t understand the call, until she turned around, faced it and gave in. She went on to become an educator.

She was so good in the classroom, advocating for students and their parents, that she received awards for teaching. In her second year of teaching, she was named Teacher of the Year.
She’s been an educator for 14 years now. Today, she serves as executive director of College Admissions Made Possible in Woodlawn. It’s her second year with the non-profit organization, which helps improve student performance for children in third grade, middle school and high school. She and her team have stopped students from dropping out of school and worked to show them what’s possible beyond high school graduation.

Morton, 40, still loves fashion and offers advice on it, but it’s not her career path. Education is.

“My journey is quite unconventional,” said Morton, who also has a master’s degree and a doctorate. “The children transformed me. I knew I wanted to help kids reach their potential, and I know that is what my calling is. I’m passionate about connecting students to their careers.”


March 27 – Arlillian Kate Bushelon

Arlillian Kate Bushelon manages Bushelon Funeral Home Inc in Birmingham, where she comforts families who’ve lost a loved one for various reasons, including to COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, she has had to physically distance herself to protect employees, family and others to avoid any possible spread of the virus.

Pulling back is hard, especially when you work in a business built around consoling the grief-stricken. But Bushelon, 36, does it while also delivering a message of protection and prevention. In making appearances on social media, the news and panels, she has stressed the importance of wearing a mask, socially distancing and frequently washing hands/sanitizing to remain safe.

Her words resonated with audiences, who thanked her for her honesty.

“I’ve had families come in and say they dropped their loved one off at the hospital and the next time they saw them, it was in a casket. You know, that’s gut wrenching,” the Titusville native said. “If I can make sure that I keep my family safe, I keep my mom safe, and I keep my community safe, I feel I can make a huge step in eradicating the virus.”

Bushelon said she has always been a big advocate of rolling up her sleeves to get things done. In January 2021, she received the COVID-19 vaccine. Some who were once skeptical of the vaccine saw that she was OK after the shot and decided to follow her lead.

“I’m always a big believer that it only takes a spark to get a fire going,” said Bushelon, who has been funeral director for 15 years. “So, if I can be that spark, then, that’s awesome.”


March 28 – Lacey Bacchus

In male-dominated industries, a lot of deals happen on the golf course or in spaces where women are excluded. Dismayed by this disparity, women created the national Commercial Real Estate for Women, or CREW, in 1989 to help women find resources, training and networking opportunities to put them at a greater business advantage.

Birmingham business developer Lacey Bacchus is a member of the Birmingham chapter, where she serves as the community outreach chair. She said that joining the organization has been the best thing she has done, professionally.

“I tell people (this) all of the time because (CREW) has opened my eyes to pay discrepancies in a lot of positions and the dollar amount of deals that are done, males versus females, in the real estate industry and how those opportunities often happen on the golf course,” said Bacchus, of Forest Park. “So, we are trying to create our own version of that.”

As outreach chair, Bacchus, 42, organizes the group’s volunteer efforts. Last winter, the group collected nearly 200 coats and winter items for a downtown Birmingham women’s homeless shelter. They are planning to host a diaper drive in 2021.

While COVID-19 may have limited their in-person appearances, the BirminghamCREW remains committed to doing outreach programs that focus on working to improve the community; connecting with students and universities to discuss different career options in commercial real estate, exposing students internships and CREW scholarships, and showing students how to get engaged after graduation, just to name a few.

Birmingham CREW has also helped grow friendships and put women in better places to serve in leadership positions in the commercial real estate industry. “I feel like it empowers women to learn the (real estate) profession without becoming uncomfortable in learning about the profession,” said Bacchus, who works for Retail Strategies in Birmingham.

Bacchus has served in countless other volunteer roles, including being a reader to second graders in Birmingham through Better Basics Ready2Read program and serving on the board of directors for Girls Inc. of Central Alabama.


March 29 – Marsha Hinkle

This month marks 17 years that Marsha Hinkle has worked with Kid One Transport, a Birmingham-based non-profit organization that provides rides to medical appointments for expectant mothers and families with children 19 years old and younger. They serve more than 40 counties in Alabama, including Jefferson County.

“That’s all I know, is to help someone,” said Hinkle, who is the director of business administration for Kid One. “If I had a job, going in and making widgets and not having interaction with families, not being able to see the results of what I did daily and how it impacted people, I don’t if I would have stayed on the job as long as I have.”

Demand for Kid One increased in 2020 after COVID-19 hit because families that once depended on a relative or someone else to provide transportation to doctor visits, for example, may have had to pull back because of the pandemic. Hinkle said Kid One still operated last year, carrying patients to chemotherapy, dialysis, physical therapy and more.

Hinkle grew up watching her mother, a nurse, and her father, a social worker, help others. Such examples established a public servant heart for her.

“You want to be able to show people who you are in the way that you live,” said Hinkle, 48.


March 30 – Audrey Lampkin

If you want to talk about improving the quality of life for chronically ill children and their families, talk to Audrey Lampkin. Lampkin knows the importance of partnering with families, medical team members, and others to make a difference in the lives of children and families in need.

As the director of Children’s Harbor Family Center at Children’s of Alabama for the past 24 years, she has witnessed the pain, hurt, stress, and worry that surfaces in families when a child has a medical situation. She works to provide families reliable support and resources, while also reassuring them that they are not alone.

Each year, more than 475 families are referred to the center for counseling, educational assistance, career guidance and social support, and thousands of families come to the center to play games, socialize, and sometimes have a warm meal. When Lampkin is not working, she volunteers with children who have developmental challenges.

Lampkin credits her steadfastness and accomplishments to resilient and confident women who reared her. When she was in the fourth grade, her mother once told her, “Learn to be independent. People will not always be there for you when you need them. But, you be there for them.” That lesson has remained with Lampkin, a married mother and grandmother, who is already ready to lend a helping hand.


March 31 – UAB Child Development Center

Every morning, Drs. Allison and Peter Jones, assistant professors at UAB, drop off their two children at the UAB Child Development Center. As the children laugh and giggle before teachers escort them into the center, the couple knows they are leaving them in good hands.

“We’re so lucky that in addition to our friends and families, these kids are being raised by some absolutely amazing women at the CDC,” Dr. Jones said.

The employees at the CDC put the “A” in “amazing” as they work through a pandemic to educate and care for children, from six weeks to about 4 or 5 years old. According to Susie White, lead teacher at the center, the love of the children is what keeps her going. “Every day, we make sure they are safe and their needs are taken care of. These children have a place to come when their moms and dads have to go work,” White said.

In following COVID-19 safety guidelines, employees are constantly sanitizing, social distancing, wearing masks and telling children to wash their hands. The children remain aware of the need to stay safe, even repeating little songs and sayings to stay on task. “We may say something like, ‘Germs are not for sharing,’ and ‘Wash, wash, wash your hands. Wash the germs away,'” said Renita King, another teacher.
“There’s never a dull moment here,” King said. “The kids are very entertaining. You learn something new from them every day.”

Others who work at the center include: Keiyonta Williams, Kayla Snipes, Sherry Hilton, Felicia Shelton, Vikita Waddy, Jessica Bolden, Coriyana Myricks, Emily Johnson, Akeiah Moore, Nia Barclay, Micki Carson, Rylee Burchfield, Joan Nwoke, Kaitlin Barham, Lucie Pradat, Ashleigh Rudolph and Theresa Wright.


March 31 – Shannon Spotswood

For some women, talking about money is hard. One poll showed that 61 percent of women would rather talk about death than money. Ouch!

Shannon Spotswood wants to remove those barriers and is passionate about educating women on how to build and grow wealth, which is why she created StrongHer Money. The online financial literacy platform has made such an impact in the financial industry, that it’s received national recognition. For Spotswood’s StrongHer Money efforts, InvestmentNews named her as a 2020 Women to Watch Honoree.

“At StrongHer Money, we want to make a positive contribution by creating a dedicated community for women to learn about money, investing, savings, spending and how that influences our goals and dreams,” Spotswood said. “Essentially, we want to coach women on how to live financially fearless.”

For 25 years, Spotswood has worked in financial services, holding numerous leadership roles in investment banking, hedge fund management and business development. Currently, Spotswood is the president of RFG Advisory. Under her leadership, RFG Advisory was named Best Places to Work for financial advisors in 2021 and a finalist for the InvestmentNews Innovation Awards 2021. In 2020, Financial Times named RFG Advisory a Top 300 RIA out of 13,000 firms.

Spotswood – who has been a frequent speaker at events on strategic execution, technology, and best practices on leading, recruiting, and mentoring financial advisors – has experience talking about start-ups. She built a luxury children’s clothing brand from the ground floor up. With her partner, the company grew from a trunk-show business based in a garage to a successful brand featured in Vogue, in stores and online.

She currently serves as vice chairman for the Birmingham Education Foundation, and in July, she will take on the role as chairman. She also serves on the advisory board of Alabama Futures Fund, an early-stage VC fund. She lives in Birmingham, where she and her husband have raised their son and two daughters.


April 1 – Corietta Mitchell

Talk about being a trailblazer.

On March 24, 1963 when the City of Birmingham was still under segregation laws, Corietta Mitchell became the first African American to have an art show at the Birmingham Museum of Art. On that Sunday evening, her showcase of seven oil paintings and five prints attracted nearly 600 people.

“This was a huge milestone event,” said Dr. Graham Boettcher, museum director.

Between 1959 and 1963, African Americans were only allowed to visit the museum on one designated day each week because of Jim Crow laws. But on July 23, 1963, a newly-formed Birmingham City Council repealed all segregation ordinances. Afterward, more African American artists showcased their art at the museum.
Mitchell had a long relationship of the arts in Birmingham. She was an arts instructor at Ullman High School, president of the Birmingham Art Club, and she helped organize the Afro-American Invitational as part of the Birmingham Festival of Arts. The Birmingham resident was also a well-known soprano, performing at several social events across the city, according to local newspaper articles.

“In the article I found about her, it said, ‘Ms. Mitchell was the first of her race to have an educational television program on art, which was seen in six states,’” Dr. Boettcher said. “She was a trailblazer not just in her role in Birmingham but also in broadcasting.”

Research has also shown that Mitchell was the piano teacher for Cynthia Wesley, one of the four girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on Sept. 15, 1963.

“I think that we’ve just got to tell her story and get the word out there. She deserves the spotlight to be shown on her,” Dr. Boettcher said. “My ultimate goal is I would love for us to be able to locate examples of her work and to add her work to our permanent collection.”

Anyone with more information on Mitchell, who lived from 1910 to 1982, may contact Dr. Boettcher at gboettcher@artsbma.org.


StrongHer 2020 Profiles

February 28 – Janice Kelsey

On May 2, 1963, she was one of nearly 1,000 students who skipped classes to march and protest segregation in Birmingham. It was a peaceful protest in downtown Birmingham. But she was still jailed for four days. She said the experience, known as the Children’s Crusade, made her even more determined to speak up and speak out about injustice.

“I hope that what I did empowers young people to stand strong for their beliefs and do it in an honorable and peaceful manner,” said Kelsey, who wrote about her foot soldier experience in the 2017 book, “I Woke Up With My Mind on Freedom.’’

Later in March, the grandmother of five will visit Birmingham, England to share her story as part of a major United Kingdom’s exhibition about the role women, men and children played in the civil rights movement.

“What happened to me and hundreds of others in 1963, shows that you don’t have to be in charge of a movement to make a difference in a movement,” said Kelsey, a retired principal Powderly Elementary School now working with an educational program at Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

“Young people need to be informed by seeing and hearing the realities of the past,’’ Kelsey said. “Hopefully, they will be able to relate and learn from the past as a catalyst for change in a peaceful, non-violent manner today.”


March 1 – Ursula Smith

Ursula Smith was 23 years old when she opened her first dance studio. But three years later, the Great Recession of 2007/2008 forced her to close. She was devastated.

“When the economy crashes, the first thing parents do is pull their kids from extra-curricular activities,’’ said Smith, a Birmingham native and mother of two.

She didn’t stop teaching dance. She just did it in rec centers, churches and any place people would allow, no matter how tight the space.

Her dream of being in a building again became a reality on Feb. 1, 2020, when she opened the Ursula Smith Dance Academy inside the A.G. Gaston Building in Birmingham’s civil rights district. Gaston, an African-American multimillionaire and grandson of a slave, used the building to house many of his companies including an insurance company, a business college and a savings and loan.

Whenever she walks through her dance academy doors, she often finds herself thinking about one of Gaston’s famous quotes: “Find a need and fill it.’’

Said Smith: “I have been doing that for the last 20 years: finding a space and finding a platform for children, youth and adults to dream and to create. I definitely feel the weight of what Dr. Gaston accomplished, and I feel the weight is on me to inspire and impact the next generation of artists to find their need through their art and fill it.’’

“My No. 1 mission is to be a beacon of light and change in Birmingham, through the performing arts,’’ said Smith, who offers various forms of dance five days a week. #StrongHER


March 2 – Martha Underwood

Whenever Martha Underwood delivers a speech about going after what she wants in corporate America, it’s not unusual to see women waiting at the end to talk to her.

With comments such as “Don’t be afraid to take a risk’’ and “Know your value,’’ it’s hard not to want to hear more from the Birmingham bank executive.

She has a lot to share.

Several years ago when she was in a different state and with a different company, she and a male counterpart did the same line of work. However, the male co-worker was paid more. She addressed the issue with leadership. Eventually, her pay was increased to that of her male counterpart.

So, why not just stay quiet? Her answer is simple: No one else is going to do it for you.

“If you continue to allow it to go on, then you become resentful. And then, your performance suffers,’’ she said. “I’m addicted to excellence, and I am not going to allow people to undervalue me based on what I can bring to the table. The best person to discredit what I can bring to the table for an organization is me.’’

Her zeal for women’s empowerment, equal pay and advanced opportunities keeps her going and gives her purpose. She also runs her own company, ExecutivEstrogen, where she offers one-on-one and group mentoring sessions designed to provide women entering corporate America the tools they need to succeed.

When she’s not mentoring career women, she can be found helping young girls get and stay interested in STEM.

“I’m here to help women get to the next level,’’ she said. #StrongHER


March 3 – Sarah Robinson

In 2019, Sarah Robinson took a hard look at herself, at Birmingham and asked: “What do I do well, and what can I do well for my city and its youth?”

She’s always been a natural at public speaking, so the answer was easy. She’d find ways to help people show up as great communicators in any setting. Thus, Birmingham Speaks was born. Through that outlet, she offers one-on-one coaching and workshops to help people improve their public speaking skills. It wasn’t that she had encountered bad public speakers in the Magic City, it was just that she didn’t see anything wrong with people having a coach. Because after all, even the greatest CEOs in the world have coaches to help them deliver messages.

But she didn’t stop there. She also started her “Spark” breakfast series, which is a panel discussion held once a month and features some of Birmingham’s best and brightest sharing stories of tests, transformations and triumphs. Her March 5 Spark event will feature an all-female panel set to discuss women in leadership.

“I have a real passion for the women of this city. That’s why I’m doing this women’s panel,” Robinson said, who’s also an author. “It’s important to me because I have lived and traveled all over the world, and I’ve seen what women are capable of. And if there is anything I can do to encourage women to take up that leadership role … I want to do it.’’

“I was never told, ‘You’re a woman. You can’t do that,’ ” Robinson said. “I was always encouraged to put myself out there.” #StrongHER


March 4 – Malika Freeman

As valedictorian at Woodlawn High School, Malika Freeman has already amassed more than $500,000 in scholarship offers. She expects more offers to come before graduation. And as a participant in the school system’s Early College program, she’s already earned 36 college credits from UAB.

She wants to major in mechanical engineering in college, work as an aerospace engineer and return to Birmingham to start a program that exposes young girls, especially African-American girls, to careers in engineering. Until all of that happens, she will continue with her classwork, work a part-time job and focus on hosting an anti-gun violence rally in Birmingham in May. (She’s doing the rally after losing two friends to gun violence in 2019.)

“When you have something in mind and you have to do it, you just do it,’’ Malika said. “I’m an action person. If you really want something bad enough, you do it.’’ #StrongHER


March 5 – Taylor Peake

When Taylor Peake started college at UAB – The University of Alabama at Birmingham, she majored in accounting with plans to go to law school.

But it didn’t take her long to realize that law and accounting weren’t for her. She consulted with her college counselor, who suggested she take a programming class.

Peake fell in love with the course, which connected her with her future. At the age of 19 in 2010, Peake launched MotionMobs, a custom software consulting and development firm.

The Birmingham-based business and many of its executives have earned national and local recognition. Last year, Peake was named UAB Alumnus of the Year for Information Systems. Also, the company was one of the top three finalists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Dream Big Awards in 2019.

She currently sits on boards for the Crisis Center, Alabama Central Six Development Council and BBVA. She is a past board member for REV Birmingham and a current member of Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, Birmingham Venture Club and TechBirmingham. She is also a mentor for the Velocity accelerator program. #StrongHER


March 6 – Evanne Gibson

As president of the Germania Park Neighborhood Association, Evanne Gibson has worked with residents over the years to help improve the area. Her latest efforts have landed the association in the running for a national award.

In 2019, Gibson talked to her church’s youth about cleaning up around the church grounds. The concept grew into something much bigger: youth shadowing city code enforcement officers to learn what they do. The experience was the perfect mix of workforce development, education and community involvement. Now, Neighborhoods USA is looking at the association’s “Youth Code Inspectors” program as a finalist for its “Neighborhood of the Year Award.” Winners will be announced in May.

Gibson, 71, credits committed residents and city partnerships in helping to bring change to her neighborhood. “In everything we do, it’s not just me,” she said. “You have to have citizen involvement and give them ownership to make them feel a part of something.” #StrongHER


March 7 – Sara Franklin

In 2018, Sara Sanderson Franklin was diagnosed with epilepsy, a serious brain disorder that affects 3.4 million people in America. When she told others in 2019, she didn’t experience whispers behind her back. Instead, it was quite the opposite.

“Now that I’ve been open that I have epilepsy, people have opened up to me about their own journey or that someone in their family has it,’’ said Franklin, who recently gave birth to her second son.

She is executive director of Epilepsy Foundation of Alabama, which serves the more than 54,000 people in Alabama with epilepsy. Two months after taking on the position last fall, Franklin helped lead what would become one of the nation’s largest awareness and fundraising walks for epilepsy. It was held in Railroad Park. She and her team are gearing up for another big walk at Railroad Park on Nov. 7, as well as other events.

For Franklin, raising awareness about epilepsy is a true calling that is breaking down barriers and misconceptions.

“There is a stigma connected to epilepsy and there shouldn’t be,’’ she said. “It is not based on age, race or gender.’’ #StrongHER


March 8 – Aquilla and Madison Harris

Last year, Aquilla Burney Harris was crushed when she learned her daughter, Madison, had insecurities about her short hair. And Harris realized she had only made it worse by adding weave to Madison’s hair through the years. Determined to be a living example that a person is not their hair, Harris cut off her own long hair into a pixie cut. It was a lesson in self-love and inner beauty.

“I told her we are not going to do any more weave. We don’t have to have long hair in order to be beautiful,” Harris said “No matter if your hair is long, short, curly or straight, we are beautiful just the way God made us.”

Harris’ husband caught the hair cut and exchange between Harris and Madison on video, which was posted to Facebook in March 2019. The clip went viral, gaining more than 200,000 views. The public’s reaction was so strong that Harris created Maddgirlz2 to advance her message, provide an empowerment group for young girls and donate hair bows to girls. Madison, 11, now accepts her natural hair.

“Maddgirlz2 is to inspire girls to love themselves, to love life and to empower girls and women to change the world,” said Harris, 45. ” We are strong beautiful black women. We are supposed to be different. We are different.”

Harris, who has spoken to groups about her movement, will make an appearance with Integrity Salon Spa at the Natural Hair and Health Expo at the BJCC on March 21. #StrongHER #InternationalWomensDay


March 9 – Dr. Monica Baskin

Dr. Monica Baskin is a fierce advocate in focusing attention and resources on community health issues.

She is a professor of preventive medicine and vice chair for Culture and Diversity at UAB – The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she works with a diverse coalition of organizational leaders to promote programs, practices and policies to ensure that everyone in Birmingham has a fair opportunity to live a long and healthy life. This effort, under the umbrella of the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership, includes her working with leaders from various areas that represent public health, non-profit and faith-based organizations, philanthropy, medicine, education and business.

Her office has led trainings with Birmingham-based organizations on equity, diversity and inclusion and provided support for improvements in areas such as low-cost ride sharing and biking programs. This work is helping to show the world that Birmingham strives to be a healthy place for people to live, work and play.

“I am hopeful that my visibility as an African-American woman leader in this community shows other women and young girls that we belong in spaces of leadership,’’ Dr. Baskin said. #StrongHER


March 10 – Leticia Watkins

As the director of Children & Youth at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, Leticia Watkins creates year-round youth programs to help students reach their fullest potential. One program of note is Collision. Started in 2018, it gives teenagers a unique space to become leaders in the church and do public service. Within 12 months, the church saw a 188 percent increase in teen participation.

Watkins is also on the Titusville Youth Sports Association Board; is founder of L4L Mentoring, a self-empowerment program for preteen girls; and serves as the advisor of SOLUTIONS, a teen-led program that teaches emotional management and conflict resolution to elementary school students.

Mentoring, she said, isn’t a task for her. It’s life.

“My journey is saturated in faith, determination and love,’’ said Watkins, 35. “I want others to be encouraged to take steps of uncertainty. I want our youth to be eager learners and problem solvers, always thinking of improving the lives of others.’’ #StrongHER


March 11 – Meredith Calhoun

Meredith Calhoun spent 14 years working as a leader in the commercial real estate community to help transform and grow Birmingham’s city center.

But in 2018, she left it all behind for an even bigger calling – to start Practice Works, a shared workspace for wellness professionals. “We are changing the way wellness professionals work and how the wellness seekers have access to them,’’ Calhoun said.

Practice Works, based in Avondale, is not your typical therapy practice, yoga studio or spa. The building is home to more than 30 professional members with wellness offerings such as nutrition, concierge medicine, massage, counseling, coaching and yoga therapy. They also offer a range of classes, including meditation, Tai Chi, Wall and Chair Yoga and Mat Pilates. Their classrooms double as event spaces perfect for any group seeking to integrate a little wellness into their meeting agenda.

“My business partner, Becca Impello, and I started Practice Works because we wanted to solve a problem in Birmingham and change the conversation around access to preventive wellness services,’’ Calhoun said.

When she’s not at work, Calhoun exercises her creative side through board service to non-profits and mentoring young professionals. She serves on the Board of Directors for REV Birmingham, Children’s Aid Society of Alabama and Oasis Counseling for Women and Children. Earlier this year, the Birmingham Business Journal recognized her as one of the Top 40 Under 40 of the Decade. #StrongHER


March 12 – SaNiah Dawson

Ramsay High School senior SaNiah Dawson has a challenge for those with a heart for Birmingham: Step up!

“Birmingham is my home, and I believe in treating this beautiful city in the same manner as my house. From cleaning up Birmingham, to being a supportive peer … I encourage the citizens of Birmingham to become sustainable and serve our community,’’ said SaNiah, 18. “Stop littering and reduce the use of plastic. Also, use your privilege to help the underprivileged.’’

SaNiah has a 4.3 GPA and is salutatorian for her class. Once she gets to college, she wants to start a college career readiness organization to help low-income students and minorities in Birmingham prep for success after high school.

“When I was growing up, college was not emphasized in my household. I didn’t know about financial aid, what to look for in a college and things like that,’’ she said. “I want to help those in similar situations like me. I feel like students will be able to connect to me. Hopefully, they will look up at me and say, ‘If she made it, I know I can.’ ’’ #StrongHER


March 13 – Courtney Nelson

As director of social emotional learning for Birmingham City Schools, Courtney Marie Nelson brings awareness to mental health issues students face. She works to educate the community on erasing the stigma related to mental health and break barriers to services for our children and families.

The passion she has for her job is her super power, says Nelson, 40, the former principal for Avondale Elementary School.

“When I am working with our children and families, I am able to reach them and build trusting relationships because I lead my work with the passion that I bring every day,’’ she says. “I am often told by the children and families I work with that they feel supported and valued because of my passion and ability to advocate on their behalf.’’

“If we ensure students’ social, emotional and personal needs are met through wraparound services in our schools then we will guarantee further success in their future,’’ she says.

In her spare time, Nelson speaks in the community about mental health awareness, services and resources available to families and various other issues related to mental health and other topics. #StrongHER


March 14 – Michelle Chambers

Bellview Heights resident Michelle Moses Chambers felt like she had struck gold when she enrolled her two daughters in NorthStar Soccer Ministries in 2006. At the time, there was not really a soccer club on her side of her town. But the club’s offering of faith, fellowship and field goals made it hard to resist.

Chambers volunteered with the organization, serving as team mom, a team manager, on the board of directors and more. When her daughters got older and eventually moved on, Chambers did not. She stayed with NorthStar, still volunteering to this day.

“I’m a firm believe that every child deserves a champion, who is an advocate. I feel that I fill that role,’’ said Chambers, 42.

NorthStar serves more than 200 students, boys and girls, per season. It has students not only in western Birmingham but all over the metro Birmingham area. In 2019, NorthStar honored Chambers for her years of commitment and dedicated service.

“It’s important for me to make sure that programs are accessible to children who may not be able to afford this opportunity,’’ Chambers said. “Soccer is expensive. But NorthStar isn’t. Children should be able to have that opportunity.’’

“I have a passion for this, which is why I stick around.’’ #StrongHER


March 15 – YWCA Central Alabama

Women are the heartbeat of the community. When you lift women up, you lift entire communities. The YWCA Central Alabama does this by providing programs and services to support women as they rebuild their lives, transition to work and build or maintain their independence.

Thanks to the YWCA’s commitment of change, women and girls learn to advocate for themselves, maybe even discovering their voice for the very first time. Voices of the abused, for example, are championed through the YWCA’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Services. Every day, this team brings its A game to help victims navigate the deadly cycle of domestic violence and provide advocacy and care. Such journeys have given women experiences of growth, strength and courage.

Promoting peace and empowering women are just some of the goals that live within the souls of those serving through the YWCA. They are Birmingham warriors who believe in a world of equity, human decency and opportunity. Their efforts matter as much as the people they serve. #StrongHER


March 16 – Kimberly Speights

In 2016, Kingston native Kimberly Speights created Leadership And Mentoring Program (L.A.M.P.), a mentorship program for girls 12-18 years old. The free, after-school program teachers girls in Gate City, Kingston and parts of North Avondale to know their self-worth, avoid bad relationships and operate in their purpose.

Her work is changing behaviors and possible futures.

“Four girls who started with us are now getting ready to graduate from high school. They were on the verge of being put out of school when we got them in elementary school,’’ said Speights, 47. “But seeing them wanting something out of life instead of them saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ is significant. I’m so proud of them.’’

For women 18 years old and older, Speights created The End in 2017. It helps women identify and break toxic habits and cycles. Attendees in the eight-week curriculum set smart goals, receive mentorship and accountability partners and more.

Speights, a married mother of two and a minister, said she feels like she is changing lives simply by working to change mindsets. “If we change the way people see themselves, that automatically changes everything they see around them, including behaviors and their choices,’’ Speights said. #StrongHER


March 17 – Tracey Young

Tracey Young is vice president of Key Club at Jackson-Olin High School, where she and her fellow club members are working to open the Green and Gold boutique to provide free clothes, shoes, school supplies and hygiene items for students in need. “We feel that is something each school should have,” said the Ensley resident.

Tracey, 17, lives her motto of “Service above self” in that she wants to be a blessing to others and help them with their problems.

With a 3.9 GPA and salutatorian of her 2020 class, she plans to major in criminal justice at Troy University in the fall. She said she wants to graduate so she can help crime victims and rehabilitate the incarcerated. Currently, she’s a participant in the Birmingham Promise Apprenticeship Program, interning at a Birmingham law firm.

“I am striving to be the example that shows that greatness comes from the City of Birmingham by excelling in all aspects of my life,” she said. #StrongHER


March 18 – Felicia Carter Johnson

Felicia Carter Johnson is a Jill of All Trades.

By day, she’s a professional business manager at AT&T. And in her spare time, the sky’s the limit. From mentoring young women and reading to children to volunteering as a clown and working to promote tennis opportunities to underserved communities, she works to inspire people to learn and grow.

Johnson is the past national president for the American Business Women’s Association, which is a professional women’s association with a mission to provide opportunities for women to grow personally and professionally through networking, education and leadership development. She is also vice president of the volunteer arm at AT&T, which is known as the AT&T Pioneers organization. Through the group, they do quite a bit in the community, including donating items to assist Miles College students and packaging food for food banks. As vice president and scholarship chair for the James Lewis Education and Tennis Foundation, Inc., she helps the group partner with local schools to provide tennis instruction, tutoring and summer programs.

When she’s hard at work, she can’t help but think of the words that keep her going: “Let my light so shine that others will see my good works and glorify the Father in heaven.” #StrongHER


March 19 – Birmingham City Schools cafeteria employees

Ever since Birmingham City Schools closed this month to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a group of women have still been reporting to work to make sure students receive well-balanced meals. These school cafeteria employees from various Birmingham schools are making hundreds lunches at Carver High School every day and packing up meals, which are placed on refrigerated trucks and delivered to Birmingham schools and rec centers for pick up.

The women show up smiling.

The women pack lunches smiling.

The women leave smiling.

“We are working to provide students with the meals they need to sustain them while they are away from our schools,’’ said Michelle Sailes, director of the Child Nutrition Program for Birmingham City Schools. “When I put out the call for help, no one hesitated. They are committed. They come in as early as 7 o’clock in the morning.’’

“What pushes us is the love we have for our students. This is all happening because of the care our school district has as well as the care partners like the Summer Food Program, the City of Birmingham and Birmingham Park and Rec have for our students,’’ Sailes said. “Everything that we can do to help students to get through this time, we are here, and we want to be here through the duration.’’

(Meals are served at schools from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. At Birmingham rec centers, lunches are served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For a list of where students may pick up lunches in Birmingham and across Jefferson County, please visit www.birminghamal.gov/coronavirus. To qualify, students must be 18 years old or younger. Students will not have to show a student ID or lunch room code.) #StrongHER


March 20 – Crystal Mullen-Johnson

Crystal Mullen-Johnson’s mother died when she was 14. Then, she buried her mother one day before her 15th birthday.

Although Crystal had family support to get through tough times, she did not have professional counseling to address the deeper pain of losing her mother at such a pivotal time in her life.

It wasn’t until Crystal was enrolled at Alabama A&M University, her mother’s alma mater, that Crystal realized what she needed: stronger mental health options. And with that, Crystal pursued studies to become a mental health care expert. She secured a degree in social work.

For 16 years, Crystal has been helping people cope with stress, depression, anxiety and more. Clients have sought counsel from her on everything from divorce and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to most recently, coping with the threat of COVID-19. Through her company in downtown Birmingham, Strive Counseling Services, she provides therapeutic counseling to address mental health conditions.

“It’s my social responsibility, as a mental health provider, to raise awareness about mental health,’’ said Crystal, 39. “In 2019, I started the Community Mental Health Awareness Initiative, in partnership with the City of Birmingham, to host free, monthly educational learning sessions at the downtown Birmingham library. These meetings, which involve licensed mental health or healthcare professionals, are held for one hour, once a month on a Saturday. Times and dates vary.’’

“This program is game changer for Birmingham in that it educates attendees about mental health, provides free resources and removes the stigma about mental health,’’ she said.

(Because of the coronavirus threat, Community Mental Health Awareness Initiative sessions have been postponed until further notice. To learn more, visit www.strivebhm.com.) #StrongHER


March 21 – Kylin Gibson

Last October while watching TV, a segment on childhood bullying caught Kylin Gibson’s attention.

This shouldn’t be happening, she thought. Then, she wondered: What can I do to stop bullying? She figured a club at her school could help, so she started the Super Girl Power Club.

The club’s goal is to motivate peers to gather, exchange ideas and build self-esteem.

“What I like about the club is it’s helping other people and encouraging others to do great things,’’ said Kylin, a fourth grader at Phillips Academy. “I want everyone to feel happy, not feel left out and feel excited. I just want people to know that everything is going to be OK.’’

The A/B Honor Roll student, cheerleader and National Beta Club member wants to be a fire marshal when she grows up. Once the coronavirus crisis subsides, she wants to celebrate fire fighters and paramedics with a special recognition in a Birmingham park and take doughnuts to the city’s four police precincts.

“I just appreciate them and everything they are doing to help out the community,’’ Kylin said. #StrongHER


March 22 – Myra Williams Armstead

Bump into Myra Williams Armstead and you just may walk away with a pair of shoes or suit from the trunk of her car.

In 2015, she started blessing strangers with items like gently-used suits, dresses, accessories after meeting them by chance and talking to them. Her generosity to women, given as part of her non-profit Trunk Ministry, have helped them score much-needed clothes for job interviews, work or just everyday living.

“I’m led to whomever I need to bless at the time,’’ said Armstead, 42, who has also donated women’s clothing to the YWCA. “I feel like my mission and my purpose are to be a person of impact. A person who makes a difference.’’

Another way she wants to bring change to women’s lives is by sharing her trials and tribulations. Last September, she published the book, “Divine Purpose.” Part of it covers losing her father to gun violence when she was 16 and how that prompted her to pursue law school. She graduated from Miles School of Law in 2018.

Now, she uses messages from her book in public speaking appearances to uplift and encourage women. “The book just tells people that if God did it for me, He can do it for you. You just have to remain faithful and trust Him,’’ she said. #StrongHER


March 23 – Megan Hand

Megan Hand’s first profession was as an architect, which she loved. But unfortunately, she had to give it up because of the recession. While searching for an architectural job, she started businesses, many of which failed. Yet, she kept working to find something to sustain her creatively and financially.

Finally, she landed on photography, which was a true love that loved her back again and again. It allowed her to travel the globe, photograph people at their happiest and serve as a volunteer with The Tiny Footprints Project, which provides free newborn and family photography to NICU families. Earlier this month, Click Pro Photographers named Hand to its international list of “100 Female Photographers to Watch in 2020.” It was a recognition, Hand said, that made her feel seen. “It gave me the confirmation I needed that I was on the right path toward my goals,” she said.

Outside of photography, Hand founded the Birmingham chapter of the Silent Book Club in January 2017. The group, which started in California in 2012 and now has several chapters across America, meets to socialize and discuss books before attendees break to read any book they choose in collective silence.

“I hope that when other women hear my story, they remember that they have it in them to live the life they want, doing the things they want,” said Hand, 36. “Failure is normal. What matters more is what you do with those failures. Do you grow or wilt away? When you manage to finally overcome your own fears and hang-ups, the world can be yours.” #StrongHER


March 24 – Katelyn McCray

When Katelyn McCray was little, she was bullied because of her size and shape. And even though her father often told her she was beautiful, and she could do anything, it was hard for her to believe. That is, until he suggested she take up karate at the age of 9.

“I learned that my size doesn’t mean I can’t do the same thing a girl who is smaller than me can do. I can probably do the same or even better,’’ said 17-year-old Katelyn, who now has a black belt in karate. This summer, the West End resident will test for her second-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do karate.

“When I was younger, being bullied made me feel like I was less than everyone, like I wasn’t worthy enough,’’ said the Wenonah High School senior. “But since starting karate, I’ve learned my value and worth and know that I can do anything that I put my heart to and my time.’’

Thanks to her instructor at North Star Martial Arts, Katelyn took a mission trip to Guatemala in 2019. She plans to return for another mission trip this year before leaving for Johnson and Wales University in Denver, Colo. to study culinary arts. And while she’s away at college, she won’t forget about the metro Birmingham area. She wants to join her martial arts school in offering online karate classes to teach self-defense moves to all ages.

“I want us to help all communities and not just my community,’’ she said. #StrongHER


March 25 – Kristie Clayton

In 2017, Kristie Clayton attended a training session with about 50 integrators (chief operations officers) from different companies. What she noticed was only a few women were in the room.

During a networking break, Kristie connected with some of the women and discovered they all had the same thought – their approaches, perspectives and points of view were just slightly different. It wasn’t that the men or women were right or wrong. The women just had a different approach to solutions.

Although Kristie is not intimidated by men, a few women said they didn’t speak up when they saw things differently because they didn’t want to ruffle any feathers. Since they were outnumbered, it was harder for their voices to be heard. So, Kristie thought something for women like them should be created to discuss and solve issues. And so was born the Female Integrator Mastermind, an international peer group for female leaders who run their companies on EOS, a specific operating system for entrepreneurs. Kristie is looking to hold FIM’s 2021 or 2022 summit in Birmingham to allow women to learn from each other and hear from leadership experts.

“I encourage the women in my office to be heard and to speak up when they have an idea or a solution,’’ said Kristie, 40, the integrator and chief compliance officer at BCR Wealth Strategies. “We’re strong women who have different experiences, and we can help each other by supporting each other and being part of each other’s growth and development. Sometimes, that means being the example, so they see someone doing it first-hand.’’ #StrongHER


March 26 – Claudia Hardy

For more than 20 years, Claudia Hardy has worked to encourage those in urban and rural areas of Alabama to get screened for lung, breast, prostate, cervical and colon cancer.

But she doesn’t do it alone. She recruits various community health advisors to help spread a wealth of knowledge on what’s available in the fight to reduce cancer disparities and increase cancer screenings. They are warriors working to save lives, erase fears and debunk myths about medicine and cancer. Her next move is to address chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

“This allows me to pave the way for the underserved, those without a voice,” said Hardy, 50, program director for the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement for the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. “I’m a champion for those who don’t have a voice.”

Hardy has received international recognition for her work, even traveling to Zambia, Africa, to show individuals how the community health advisors model that she uses, works to deliver health messages and community-based research interventions.

“I’ve been called ‘The Cancer Lady’ for what I do,” Hardy said. “It’s an honor, but it carries a tremendous … responsibility to measure up. I’m always on. I don’t miss an opportunity to educate and to offer some advice for how people can get connected in a system.” #StrongHER


March 27 – Dr. Ankrehah “Kre” Trimble Johnson

Dr. Ankrehah “Kre’’ Trimble Johnson, president and sole owner of Brownstone Healthcare & Aesthetics, gives back in so many ways.

First, she is the founder of the nonprofit Three Twenty Girls Inc., which awards the Courtlin Arrington Scholarship every year to a Birmingham City Schools female graduating senior interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. The scholarship is named after Arrington, a Huffman High School senior with dreams of becoming a nurse, who was killed in a March 2018 shooting.

Second, Johnson hosts the annual Wifeology conference in Birmingham, encouraging wives to stop putting themselves in last place and to practice more self care.

Third, she runs a direct primary care medical practice and an HIV prevention clinic, where she doles out solid medical advice, caring hugs, an unforgettable smile and thoughtful prayers.

And with everything this wife and mother is doing, Dr. Johnson keeps going and giving because serving others is a major priority.

“Excellence is my standard, not my goal,” Doctor Kre said. “This keeps me working hard and setting the bar high for myself.” #StrongHER


March 28 – Libby Lassiter

Whether she’s working to create places people love or to raise the profile of the community, Libby Lassiter is an inspiration for women in Birmingham and beyond.

She is part of a group of Christian business leaders who’ve partnered with Common Thread, a Birmingham non-profit group, to raise funding to renovate a six-acre property in Titusville. Their goal is to create a community center and increase local entrepreneurship and economic development opportunities for the area.

The center will become home to a job/trade skills training group and other initiatives/partners. Organizers are aiming for an opening date of fall 2020. Lassiter also serves as a mentor for up-and-coming business leaders of Common Thread.

“I have been so inspired by the Common Thread community of believers, the successful launches, and their impact and holistic approach that I want to be involved in the areas where I can help make an impact,” said Lassiter, who’s president of Bayer Properties LLC.

Prior to volunteering with Common Thread, Lassiter helped launch the ChristFit program in Woodlawn. ChristFit was a faith-based ministry dedicated to training and mentoring student athletes mostly from Woodlawn High School.

Lassiter is also a member of REV Birmingham’s board; is involved in the sustainability group “Faith Meets Business: Climate Solutions for the Common Good,” which hosted its first community event on the climate crisis earlier this year; and was selected by the Birmingham Business Journal as a “Woman to Watch in 2019.” #StrongHER


March 29 – Peggie Faulks Myles and Frances Faulks

Peggie Faulks Myles and Frances Faulks followed in their mother’s footsteps in career and public service.

The sisters, both in their 70s and residents of Birmingham’s Belview Heights neighborhood, are retired school teachers. And both volunteer for about 20 clubs and organizations, including the Imperial Club Debutantes; the education sorority, Phi Delta Kappa Inc.; their neighborhood association; their church; and Girl Scouts of the USA.

As Girl Scout leaders, they co-lead the troop at Birmingham’s Brown Elementary. Peggie Myles also heads the troop at Oxmoor Valley Elementary, and Frances Faulks heads the troop at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.

“Girl Scouts gave us a sense of belonging, confidence, character and courage,’’ said Peggie Myles. “And we try to share what we learned with the girls we encounter.”

Girl Scouts has recognized them for their outstanding work. But possibly the bigger reward they get is just hearing how the children they have taught or mentored for more than 50 years say that they would not be where they are today had it not been for the two sisters. Students have gone on to become lawyers, nurses, doctors, elected officials and even Miss Alabama State University, just to name a few.

There are even more young people they want to reach and teach.

“We are not going to stop until the Lord says so,” Peggie Myles said. “We feel strongly that we need to help the children and their parents.” #StrongHER


March 30 – Jenny Waltman

For 11 years, Grace Klein Community, a Christian-based nonprofit, has fed thousands of food-insecure families. At the onset of COVID-19, Grace Klein Community partnered with other churches, business leaders and nonprofits to form the Joint Supply Coalition to coordinate food distribution for Birmingham and outlying communities.

Grace Klein Community operates through massive volunteer engagement. One of those volunteers is Jenny Waltman, director of the board for Grace Klein Community.

“The only appropriate response (to COVID-19) is to increase our efforts to adequately care for our city through this crisis. We understand the need and many of our volunteers have years of experience in home delivery service,” Waltman said.

Before COVID-19, Grace Klein Community provided food to approximately 500 families per month through home delivery, and another 8,000 people picked up food at its center. Now, the group is serving thousands more because of COVID-19.

“Last Friday, we fed 3,124 individuals, a very large amount in one day,” Waltman said. “Recipients include those who have lost jobs because of COVID-19, seniors, parents who require additional food support now that children are home from school, etc.”

Waltman said they are charting new territory in not only serving those in poverty, but also serving the general population. From the time food is donated, packaged and delivered, volunteers take extra safety precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Soon, they plan to have food delivered to distribution centers in Five Points West, Titusville and Fairfield from hubs located at Royal Divinity Ministries in the Wylam/Ensley and the GKC office in Hoover. Distribution centers will provide food to drive-thru sites, which will distribute the food in a drive-thru system. “Home deliveries will be coordinated for those at high risk,” Waltman said.

Want to help? Visit volunteer.gkcbhm.com. Want to donate? Visit gracekleincommunity.com/donate. #StrongHER


March 31 – Jan Bell

For several years, Jan Bell has bicycled across Alabama and the country to raise funding and awareness about child sex trafficking.

The cause has meant so much to her that she bicycled 2,200 miles from Mobile to Canada in 2017 to raise funds to support the Child Trafficking Solutions Project in metro Birmingham. It took her about five weeks on the solo trip.

Through that trip and other efforts over the past three years, she has raised about $25,000. Because of her efforts, nearly 5,000 law enforcement/first responders, health and mental health providers, child welfare and juvenile justice staff in the metro area have been trained in recognizing, rethinking and responding to child trafficking through the Child Trafficking Solutions Project, Children’s Policy Cooperative of Jefferson County.

With the coronavirus taking a toll on the economy now, traffickers are even more likely to target and recruit young females via social media sites. To help fight this, Bell encourages people to learn more about child sex trafficking and ways to prevent it.

“I am passionate about this work because the children and youth who are victims of trafficking, tend to be the most vulnerable,” said Bell, 63, the executive director of the Children’s Policy Council affiliated with Jefferson County Family Court. “They are, thus, the most urgently in need of advocates fighting for them, not just against the traffickers but for the services, stability and survivor care they need to overcome their trauma and to thrive.” #StrongHER


March 31 – Pamela Butler

Pamela Butler is a walking example of what hope looks like.

She was addicted to drugs for 10 years until 1993 when she found treatment that worked for her. And since then, she’s been drug and alcohol free. For seven years, she has worked as the coordinator of recovery resources for the Alabama Department of Mental Health. Prior to that, she worked in substance use disorder for more than 20 years.

“I’m a survivor, and I want my story to help other people caught up in addiction to know that they can go from darkness to light,” said Butler, who also created peer support certification training in Alabama for those in recovery helping others struggling with addiction. “They can have a successful life.”

The Roebuck resident said she wants people to understand that drug and alcohol addiction can happen to anybody. But when it does happen, the person who is addicted does not have to stay in active addiction. She was in and out of treatment centers 15 times before she finally made the decision for a better life. Butler shares her journey and more with those she counsels and mentors.

“Addiction robs you of anything of hope. You are just a shell of a person existing,” said Butler, 55. “When I was blessed with recovery, I just dedicated my life to helping other people. My life has been raising (my two children); going back to school to get my degree in social work; working two, full-time jobs early on; and trying to be a good mother and daughter, which I think I am.”

“I’ve got to maintain recovery because it is a gift from God. I don’t want to waste it.”

If you know of someone in need of help, please call the Substance Use Disorder Helpline at 1-844-307-1760 or visit rosshelpline4u.org. #StrongHER


April 1 – Chanda Temple

As we round out our celebration of Birmingham women, we couldn’t let the opportunity pass without celebrating the architect behind this great project.

There’s no stronger champion for Birmingham women than our own Chanda Temple.

For the past two years, Chanda has lead the City of Birmingham’s StrongHER effort, highlighting unsung women heroes who have made uplifting others their life’s work. As the Public Information Officer for the City of Birmingham, Mayor’s Office, Chanda serves as the city’s chief connector – ensuring that lines of communication are strong between government and the residents it serves.

Chanda is a veteran reporter turned media relations maven. She has worked as a seasoned writer across various Birmingham publications; managed public relations, blogging and social media for Birmingham City Schools; and worked at BBVA Compass as an employee communications consultant. She’s the coauthor of the award-winning cookbook “Birmingham’s Best Bites,” which features recipes from renowned Birmingham eateries, as well as “Magic City Cravings,” a second cookbook with Food Network Star Martie Duncan.

Chanda’s true passion lies in storytelling, especially stories that shine the spotlight on women who are pushing Birmingham forward.

“There are lots of words to describe Chanda – words like ‘dedicated’ and ‘compassionate’ come to mind,” said Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “But for me, I like to use the word ‘shero,’ a true advocate for women in our city with a fierce drive to celebrate their stories. We’re happy to honor a woman who has spent a lifetime honoring others.” #StrongHER


StrongHer 2019 Profiles

March 1 – Deirdre Gaddis

Ten years ago, Deirdre Gaddis’ hair started thinning so she cut it short. As the thinning increased because of a condition that’s the female version of male pattern baldness, she added weave here or a wig there to cover up what she felt was missing. One day in 2013 at 1 a.m., she got out of bed, took a hard look in the mirror and shaved her head. And she’s been rocking her bald head ever since. She goes to work bald. She performs as a singer bald. She inspires others to be bald.

Gaddis works as an administrative clerk by day. But in her spare time, she sings. On March 23 and 24, she will be one of the background singers for Grammy-nominated singer Miki Howard at Boutwell Auditorium. “I’m not a cancer survivor, but I’ve been able to encourage other women who face that fight and are struggling with their impending baldness,’’ she said. “I can show them that being bald isn’t a drawback. In fact, baldness forces others to focus on your true inner beauty instead of the hairdo you’re wearing at the moment.’’


March 2 – Amanda Storey

In 2008, Amanda Storey was laid off from a publication. But that closed door didn’t deter her. She knocked on the door of Jones Valley Teaching Farm for a new opportunity and offered her marketing services in exchange for a box of veggies each week. Jones Valley accepted. A decade later, she’s now leading the organization, using the power of healthy food to impact the lives of young people in Birmingham. Amanda helps build teaching farms on school campuses as well as steer a hands-on food education program, Good School Food, in Birmingham City Schools. Her perseverance is proof that behind ever closed door is an even bigger opportunity.

 

 

 


March 3 – Ashley Jones

Published poet Ashley Jones knows the power of words. Jones has co-produced 100 Thousand Poets for Change in Birmingham since 2015, raising funds for local organizations. She’s also founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival, which seeks to celebrate the community via poetry and community-centered events. In April, the event will bring renowned poet and activist Sonia Sanchez back to her hometown. “We are edging toward a cultural moment where women are valued as the powerful and prominent changemakers they are. We are more than just shadows of men,” Jones said.

 


March 4 – Benga Harrison

Benga H. Harrison’s mission is to teach Birmingham the power of volunteerism. The Avondale resident serves as director of Hands on Birmingham, the volunteer arm for United Way of Central Alabama. She and her team make it easy for people to find causes online, sign up  and volunteer for a day or a lifetime. “Communities are only as good as their weakest link,” she said, “therefore, when government, corporations, the faith community, nonprofits and individuals work together to make positive social change, the community as a whole improves and I find it very rewarding to be a small part of the process.” #StrongHER

 

 

 

 


March 5 – La’Zariya South

You’re never too young to bring change. Take Hemphill Elementary School fifth grader La’Zariya South of the Mason City community. When she was in the fourth grade, she asked her principal if she could make the school announcements instead of the adults. She figured her peers would listen a little more to people their own age. They did, and today more students have applied to be part of her broadcasting crew. (She even organized the auditions and secured upgrades for the school’s equipment so she could incorporate tech tricks into the broadcasts.)

But La’Zariya, 11, didn’t stop with the announcements. She also started the school’s SGA, which has held canned food and clothing drives and raised money for the Sickle Cell Foundation and the local Alzheimer’s Walk. “Most of the time, people doubt (women) and say we can’t do things. But I think that we can do anything that we put our mind to …,’’ said  La’Zariya. “When you go the extra mile, you can do anything.’’ #StrongHER


March 6 – Sherri Ross

Birmingham’s Cheerleader Sherri Ross lives up to her nickname. The Crestwood North native volunteers in numerous women’s, children’s, animal, homeless organizations, as well as art and music festivals. She is the force behind Birmingham Dance Walks, a free fitness event; Free Hugs Birmingham, which encourages people to embrace their neighbors, and Encouragement Encounters – mini-pep rallies for residents in need of a little love. Sherri’s mission is to keep our city laughing and loving together. If you are down, Sherri always gives you something to smile about. #StrongHER

 


March 7 – Amber Hooks

Staying up to date on everything happening in the city can be a daunting challenge. Thankfully, Amber Hooks is here to help. Hooks is co-owner of Happenin’s in the ‘Ham: A Better View of Birmingham, a newsletter and Instagram account that informs people of affordable and interesting things occurring in the city. One quick glance at her social media posts, and you’d swear there are 20 of her. She’s everywhere.

Her mission is to help residents get out and enjoy all Birmingham has to offer. “I may not be a scientist or a politician or a CEO, but I believe change starts from within each heart,” she said. “I use our social media as a platform to spread love and ignite hope. I want women to know that we have no limitations.” #StrongHER

 

 

 

 


March 8 – Bertha Hidalgo

Bertha Hidalgo may be mostly known for her wildly popular fashion blog/Instagram channel Chic In Academia, but her beauty is much more than skin deep. As a genetic epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Hidalgo is dedicated to studying the relationships between environment, genetics, and cardiometabolic diseases, including type-2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. She also serves as chair of the Minority Affairs Committee for the American College of Epidemiology. Her passion is improving the health of underserved populations, helping to break down complex, scientific findings into easier-to-digest language and sharing those findings in an effort to help keep Birmingham’s residents healthy and happy.

“The city of Birmingham is experiencing a shift in energy and one that many women have contributed to in many ways,” she said. “I moved to Alabama from California in the latter part of 2007, and have witnessed the evolution of the city of Birmingham; many of those efforts led by women. Celebrating those contributions is not only important but inspirational for those wanting to make Birmingham, and Alabama in general, a place where everyone can thrive.” #StrongHER

 


March 9 – Georgia Blair

On May 6, 1963, Georgia Blair and classmates marched from the now-closed Rosedale High School in Homewood to Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to protest segregation. After meeting at the church, the teenagers filed out of the building to march down the block. Soon, they were arrested for parading without a permit.

Blair spent 10 days in jail. The charges were dropped that August in juvenile court. To this day, she carries a copy of her court summons in her purse. It’s a reminder of her place in history. For this Jones Valley resident, who received a death threat in 1965 for simply trying to register African Americans to vote, running from a problem is not an option. Facing it head on is.

“I would march again because I feel like I’m entitled to all of the freedoms and liberties that anyone in this country has,” she said. “I was always taught that nobody is better than me because of their complexion. My rights don’t depend on how you feel about me.” #StrongHER

 


March 10 – Raquel Ervin

For the last five years, Chef Raquel Ervin has been filling bellies at various Birmingham venues through her Panoptic Catering business. Fans return again and again for her traditional Southern cuisine. A major standout is her five-cheese mac n’ cheese, which won first place at the 2018 Magic City Mac + Cheese Festival. “The judges were looking at me saying there was no way this 33-year-old young girl came up with this,” said Ervin.”They said it was an authentic Southern recipe.”

The dish is a blend of what she learned from her grandmother, a Birmingham native who lived to be 101; her mother; and herself. After that contest, so many asked her about the mac n’ cheese that she selected three Birmingham families to receive free orders last Thanksgiving.

On Sunday, March 10, even more people will learn about her culinary skills and maybe even that mac n’ cheese when she, her sister and niece compete against another team on Food Network’s new show, “Family Food Showdown,” for $10,000. The episode will air at 7 p.m. CST.

Serving up good food and good Birmingham vibes comes easily for her. “I believe it is important to celebrate not just women but people in our city who are striving to see our city grow and thrive through their contributions,” said Ervin, a board member of the Birmingham chapter of the American Culinary Federation. “I want to be part of the movement that empowers women so that they do not feel inferior, overlooked or satisfied simply working in the background.” #StrongHER

 


March 11 – Chocolate Milk Mommies

Birmingham’s own Chocolate Milk Mommies are dedicated to strengthening the bonds between mothers and children. The parenting support group has been diligently working to remove stigmas and clarify misconceptions about breast-feeding, especially in the black community. The group has held two community baby showers, a Mother’s Day brunch, a Halloween “BOObie” party, visited new moms in the hospital to provide lactation support, organized play dates and spent countless hours responding to local moms about breastfeeding difficulties through social media, email and personal interaction.

“We are all mothers who have experienced the lack of information and resources when it comes to breastfeeding, so serving women and their support systems will forever be held near and dear to our hearts,” said Jennifer Miller, president and co-founder of the group. #StrongHER

 


March 12 – Amrita Lakhanpal

Amrita Lakhanpal, 18, hasn’t even graduated from high school yet and she’s already raised $46,000 to buy Chromebooks and start coding clubs for three schools within Birmingham City Schools.

It all started when Amrita was a 15-year-old volunteer, teaching after-school and summer computer classes to first and second grade students at EPIC. Since some of the school’s outdated computers caused issues and frustrations as she taught, Amrita took matters into her own hands and started the Screens for Schools Laptop Initiative to buy new ones. She wrote a proposal and asked local businesses for their support. Amrita raised $18,000 in six weeks to buy 60 Chromebooks and two charging carts. She also started a coding club at the school.

Success at EPIC encouraged her to do the same at Central Park Elementary. She raised $13,000 and is now working on finding volunteers to run a coding club there. And in February 2019, she presented a $15,000 check to Martha Gaskins Elementary officials to buy 60 Chromebooks and two charging carts. She plans on starting a coding club, there, too. She also wants to host week-long coding camps at all three schools.

“I hope that through my work, the younger generation will see that I’m not too much older than them, and was only 15 when I started this initiative,” said Amrita, a senior at The Altamont School. “So, even at a young age, if you are passionate about something, you, too, can make a difference.” #StrongHER

 


March 13 – Jamie Bonfiglio

Jamie Bonfiglio graduated from UAB in 2003 with a biology degree and plans to be a forensics scientist. But the heaviness of an internship in the field – gory images and sad circumstances attached to each case – became too much of a load to carry home every night. She needed a change.

“I walked into a local supply store and asked what was good for beginners. They said acrylics,” said Bonfiglio, 38. Without ever taking a lesson, her talents exploded onto the canvas. She kept buying paint and kept practicing. In 2013, she made painting her full-time profession.

Today, she is painting her way through the Magic City, one brush stroke at a time. In 2017, she was one of the artists featured at Arts, Beats and Lyrics in Birmingham. In 2018, she painted a mural for a downtown engineering firm of the Birmingham buildings and structures they helped create. Also in 2018, she collaborated with another artist to create a community mural now hanging in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Next up: teaching art classes and painting more murals.

“When women are heard and seen, magic happens,” she said. “Innovative ideas start to swirl. And young girls get to see more possibilities for themselves.” #StrongHER

 


March 14 – Jacquie Fazekas

Last fall, Jacquie Fazekas moved from Philadelphia to Birmingham with plans to start an executive health coaching business. But God had something else in mind.

One day while researching local health food stores to share with potential Birmingham clients, she found Health Foods West in Five Points West. While visiting, she learned the 30-year-old store was about to close. The store’s history and meaning to the community struck a chord with Fazekas. She knew she had to do something.

She met with the deceased store owner’s grandson about the store’s future. She described the meeting as “magical,” seeing the building as more than a business or a store. It was like home. She dropped her coaching business idea and stepped in to run the store. She repainted the store in bright greens and blues, redid the awning, added new signage, redid the roof and created a new website and logo. She met people across the city willing to help. She opened the new store, Bama Health Foods, in February 2019 with new supplements, packaged herbs, pre-packaged foods, snacks, vitamins and bottled water. There’s also an updated activity space for meetings and classes on nutrition. Eventually, she wants to sell fresh produce.

Her name tag says, “Aunt Jacquie” because she feels everyone is family.

“You’ve got to trust God’s timing,” said Fazekas, 51. “It’s not what we want, it’s what He wants for us. And if you truly live in that space, you will not be frustrated. You live adventurously like, ‘What’s the next thing He has for me to grow?’ I just followed where God was pulling me, and I’m really amazed at the journey He has me on.” #StrongHER

 


March 15 – Kamil Goodman

Kamil Goodman, 17, always has time for more.

She’s SGA president at Parker High School, where she’s captain of the girls’ soccer team, on the girls’ varsity basketball team, on the dance team, in the Beta Club Honor Society and in the Theater and Fine Arts Guild.

This weekend, she’ll be in D.C. as a delegate for the National Black Women’s Roundtable with Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson and Congresswoman Terri Sewell. Kamil, of West End, was also a delegate in 2018. And for a week this summer, she’ll be at Harvard University for a leadership program.

Last year, she was a finalist in the NextGen Pitch Competition, where she introduced Emerge Inc., a forum for city youth leaders to share their ideas with elected Birmingham officials. She does all of this while maintaining a 3.4 GPA.

“Women of all ages have always been at the forefront of change, whether that change has been in civil rights, social justice, education or business. I’m working be part of that change,” said Kamil, a junior. “Because of HER, Birmingham is RicHER, TougHER, GrandHER and GreatHER.” #StrongHER

 


March 16 – Amber Kinney

Amber Kinney, a proud member of the National Association of Women in Construction, knows the importance of mentorship – especially in a sector that has minimal female representation. “There are less than 9% of women currently working in the construction industry,” she said. “We feel it’s critical to bring to light the fact that construction is viable and fruitful career choice for women.”

Kinney has worked in the construction industry for more than a decade and she wants to inspire more young people to enter the field. One of the greatest joys of her field is the opportunity to engage with students of all ages. She’s hosted Block Kids Building Competitions at Cornerstone Elementary, a national competition that introduces children to the construction industry; worked with high-school students as part of the Academy of Craft Training, which educates young people about careers in construction; and has sponsored networking events for the UAB Society of Women Engineers. Kinney hopes her passion for leadership development will encourage more women to enter the construction field. She believes empowering women to be successful in a predominately male-dominated industry is important to ensuring equality for generations to come. #StrongHER

 


March 17 – Judith Anthony

On June 25, 2008, Judith Anthony was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Having had five breast cancer scares over the years, she immediately decided to undergo a bilateral mastectomy. Receiving this kind of news has the potential to cause anyone to lose hope, forget their passions, and feel isolated.

Anthony decided to retire after she received her diagnosis. As a retirement present, her brother gifted her a snow globe engraved with the words “retire from work and not from life.” These words became Anthony’s mantra and she’s been living her best life ever since.

Anthony is not just a breast cancer survivor, but an advocate and confidante for other women of color battling the disease. Through organizations like Sister Survivors and Brenda’s Brown Bosom Buddies, she strives to provide support, services, education, and financial assistance to breast cancer survivors and their families in the black community. “When I receive the call from these ladies seeking financial help, a great number of them really need emotional support and a relationship is formed when I confide that I am their sister in pink,” she said. Anthony knows that education, support and empathy are the tools to save lives in Birmingham. #StrongHER

 


March 18 – Valerie Collins Thomas

Valerie Collins Thomas admits she was reluctant when she relocated to Birmingham in 2010. Stories about the city’s segregationist past were all that she knew. But it didn’t take long for her to fall in love with her new home, quickly becoming one of the city’s biggest ambassadors.

In 2014, she launched The VAL Group to provide recruiting and relocation support to UAB and Children’s Hospital to make sure the good news of Birmingham is experienced by fellows during those first and second visits as they consider making Birmingham home. What’s her way of welcoming newcomers to the city? With gifts connected to the Magic City and diverse tours, of course.

“Every place I live, I always want to contribute to the well being of the city, my friends and neighbors,” she said. “Being a small part of helping the hospital recruit the physicians that they want, so that my friends and neighbors have the best health care possible, is my way of being a part of the fabric of Birmingham.” #StrongHER

 


March 19 – Karin Korb

Karin Korb was a 17-year-old gymnast when she broke her back in a vaulting accident, leaving her paralyzed.

Ten years later, she was introduced to the world of tennis. And just a few short years afterward, she would call herself a champion. Korb is a two-time Paralympian and a 10-time member of the USA World Team. She was the first person with a disability to receive a Division 1 athletic scholarship to Georgia State University to play intercollegiate wheelchair tennis. She would go on to assist other universities in creating their own wheelchair tennis programs.

Korb was named the USA’s Junior Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup Coach and led the top American juniors into international competition, where they are currently ranked No. 1 in the world. Her career in both advocacy and policy has spanned over three decades, including working with Lakeshore Foundation’s Lima Fox Trot Military program for injured military; chair of the Alabama Obesity Task Force; as well as the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program’s PADD (Protection and Advocacy of Persons with Developmental Disabilities). Her mission is to advocate for inclusion of people with disabilities at every level of sport and life. Korb is driven to best represent the vision of inclusivity and most importantly, global respect.

“Access is love. When I can go anywhere that I choose to go, just like anyone who doesn’t have a disability, that is a very loving experience to me,” she said. “When you don’t have access, that is almost a form of violence against people who can’t access the space because builders and programmers simply forgot to include us from the inception and that is unacceptable.” #StrongHER

 


March 20 – Kim Lee

When Kim Lee founded Forge, she knew local business owners and entrepreneurs not only needed an affordable location to work, but opportunities to engage and network with likeminded individuals and organizations.

Forge, the innovative coworking space in the recently renovated Pizitz Food Hall in downtown Birmingham, combines everything Kim and her team love: building community, serving and growing the city, and providing an ecosystem for small businesses. Lee also knows that for a business to operate at its full potential, women need to be seen as equals in the workplace.

“Women need opportunities to develop their leadership skills while feeling supported in celebrated in every sector,” she said. Kim has provided an outlet for small business owning women and men to support one another and celebrate each other’s successes. #StrongHER

 

 

 


March 21 – Girl Scout Troop #576

Girl Scout Troop #576 is selling Girl Scout cookies to build a community garden at St. John AME Church in downtown Birmingham. This is the first time for a them to do a garden, which will help supplement the church’s snack program that feeds the homeless and others in need. When troop leader Tammy Davis proposed the idea, the girls jumped at the chance to give back. They plan to build the garden this spring.

This is not the first time the girls, who attend schools in Birmingham and surrounding areas, have offered a helping hand.

In November 2018, they hosted a canned food drive, collecting more than 300 cans. In February 2019, they visited a Birmingham nursing home to throw a Valentine’s Day party for residents. Last weekend, they participated in the Annual Valley Creek Clean-Up, collecting more than 25 bags of trash. This April, they will travel to Huntsville for a state Girl Scout workshop on cyber security. And in July, they will use a portion of their cookie sales to visit the birthplace of Girls Scouts in Savannah, Ga. There are nine girls in the troop, ranging in age from 5 to 11.

“When we collected cans, some girls even used their own allowance to buy cans because they knew the canned foods would be donated to the Daniel Payne Center, which has a food bank that distributes food to several areas in Alabama. They really do have a big heart,” said Lonita Walker-Mede, a mother of two girls in the troop and a troop volunteer. “I am proud of them and proud that they understand you have to make a sacrifice in order to uplift your community.”

 


March 22 – Anna Threadcraft

As a registered dietitian and the UAB Employee Wellness director for Alabama’s largest employer, Anna Threadcraft is charged with educating and empowering employees to take realistic and sustainable steps toward healthy living. But make no mistake, healthy does not mean skinny. Rather, it’s a lifestyle that encompasses mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. Threadcraft lives this every day in Birmingham.

When she’s not promoting colorectal cancer prevention, heart disease awareness or healthy eating, she’s offering encouragement to others to get out and enjoy the outdoors like she does so many times at Railroad Park, Ruffner Mountain, Rotary Trail and Vulcan Trail. She says that being outdoors provides mental and emotional benefits that empower people to manage anxiety, to sleep better and to have a fresh perspective on the daily stressors that can often feel overwhelming.

In addition to standing strong for healthy living, she stands strong for her faith. She’s a founding member of the Birmingham chapter of Women Business Leaders, a faith-based, non-profit organization that strives to develop young women in the Birmingham workforce through community, mentoring and discipleship. Her messages through meetings, speaking engagements and social media posts leave people motivated to move in new ways.

“Women have long been overlooked for their invaluable contribution to the health, culture and beauty of our city,’’ said Threadcraft, 36. “When we collectively raise one another up, we leave a legacy for those who are behind us that speaks of the unity of affirmation.’’ #StrongHER

 


March 23 – Jean Hernandez

Serving as the Latinx Outreach Coordinator for AIDS Alabama has allowed Jean Hernandez to bring together her passions of empowering women of color and providing support to vulnerable populations across our state. Jean lives her life as a fierce advocate and liaison for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community in Birmingham. Through her work she connects Latinx individuals living with HIV/AIDS with translation services, transportation and housing assistance, and help navigating the legal immigration system. Jean likes to approach her work through shared heritage and culture. “You can bring people together through language, food, and traditions while celebrating what makes us unique,” she says. “When you have a sense of belonging you are home and you are not alone anymore.”

She credits the strong Latinas in her life for molding her into the passionate activist she is today. Her abuela (grandmother), mama (mother), and hija (daughter) help her each day to find the strength to fight against injustice and to end HIV/AIDS in the Latinx community and Birmingham as a whole. For Jean, serving and celebrating others isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. #StrongHER

 


March 24 – Jane Reed Ross

If you’ve ever ridden your bike along the Rotary Trail or taken a stroll in Railroad Park and admired the aesthetically curated natural design, you can thank Jane Reed Ross.

Whether Jane is designing outdoor spaces in Queensland, Australia, or right here in the Magic City, people have always been at the center of Jane’s natural creations. As a landscape architecture for 35 years, Jane has sought to build community and improve the quality of life of all people through innovative design and thoughtful planning. A park or trail is not just an outdoor space for Jane, but a catalyst for civic engagement, environmental responsibility, and economic development in the surrounding area.

Many of her projects are changing the way people live, play, work, and travel in Birmingham and the surrounding areas. The Red Rock Trail Master Plan, Rotary Trail, Pinson Park, Lincoln Park, Jones Valley Complete Streets, Enon Ridge Trail, Railroad Park and the Birmingham Children’s Zoo are just a few of the many civic spaces that Jane has helped design. Jane’s work also transcends municipal borders and promotes regional connectivity. The Freshwater Land Trust on the Red Rock Trail System is knitting together a network of pedestrian and cycling trails across Jefferson County.

Jane is at the forefront of women who are changing the game in urban renewal and design. To her, recognizing women for their accomplishments is key in order to see more women excel in their fields. “Raising the bar for women raises the bar for all,” she said.

 


March 25 – Angelia Strode

Angelia Strode has dedicated her life to the service of others. In fact, she first began volunteering for the American Red Cross at age 14.

So when she was suffered – and survived – three heart attacks prior to her 50th birthday, she knew how important it was to spread awareness of healthy living. As a volunteer with the American Heart Association, Breast Cancer Awareness, Alys Stephens Center, Shepard Center, Omicron Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., United Way of Central Alabama, and Children’s Hospital, Strode is passionate about working in the community to share her story about triumphing over heart disease.

Volunteering has become Strode’s passion. She is a tireless voice for wellness, working closely with residents of Southside, East Lake, Avondale, Pratt City, Ensley, Titusville and West End. “It was instilled in me at an early age to give back to your community not only your money but your time,” she said, adding “it is very therapeutic for me because I gain so much when I volunteer.”

“We truly live by the quote by Shirley Chisholm, ‘Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.’” #StrongHER

 


March 26 – Keiah L. Shauku

Keiah L. Shauku has two great loves – community building and educational outreach. She strongly believes that the best way to close the gaps created by disparity in our community is through the power of education.

Shauku teaches programming, robotics, and engineering, by working with and developing programs for organizations like TechBirmingham, Alabama Humanities Foundation, West End Library, Vulcan Park and Museum and several area schools. Shauku says that teaching STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – opens doors beyond the technical aspects of the field. “It is in understanding their world that people can begin to appreciate the limitations that constrain them, and how to overcome them,” she said. It’s through those programs that Shauku helps foster community building – bringing resources to underserved areas to address inequalities that hamper growth and understanding.

“To celebrate women is to celebrate life,” Shauku said. “We celebrate women because without them, neither Birmingham, nor any other place can flourish.” #StrongHER

 


March 27 — Joellyn Beckham

Joellyn Beckham has spent a lot of her life debunking stereotypes of what it means to be Southern. The majority of her career was devoted to advertising and marketing services for clients on the West Coast and in New York. During this time she found herself trying to prove that she was just as capable as other freelancers from more “prestigious” Zip codes across the county. Working with clients who only knew Birmingham by its contentious past lit a fire in her to prove that there’s so much more to this city, state, and region. She has made it her mission to make Birmingham, and Alabama, a place that is accepting of all, regardless of race, age, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

This longtime resident of the Forest Park neighborhood has become unapologetically proud to be her own unique version of a Southern woman. She now works with clients closer to home, like the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church during their campaign to make the denomination more inclusive. She has also developed and grown her brand, the Bright Blue Dot, in her spare time. She seeks to connect progressive individuals across the South who might not fit into the stereotypical Southern box. “When people tell me that they moved to Birmingham from out of state and were full of trepidation about coming until someone pointed out the Dot and told them what it means — that’s when I know it really is more than a bumper sticker” she said. Joellyn loves celebrating other strong women across the community who are paving the way for progress in Birmingham.


March 28 – Vernessa Barnes

When Vernessa Barnes’ daughter, Javonti Barnes, died unexpectedly in 2018, Ms. Barnes stepped in to raise her grandson, Deon Arnold, now 13. Barnes also stepped to fulfill a bucket list of four or five promises made between mother and son. On the list was finding a way to help Mayor Randall Woodfin reduce the violence and crime in Birmingham, something Ms. Barnes’ daughter and Deon discussed often.

In January 2019, Deon formed an organization, The Solution, with some of his friends and a youth minister at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. Barnes has been by Deon’s side the whole time, driving him where he needs to go to help him carry out his vision of addressing conflict resolution for youth. “He says I’m the secretary. I’m the typist. I’m the one capturing everything happening,’’ said Barnes of East Lake. “He will run things by me to see if they make sense and to see if they align with the city’s plan against crime.’’ (On Friday, March 29, Deon will stand in as the “youth mayor’’ at the city’s police academy graduation and deliver the greeting. The program will feature Birmingham youth taking on the roles of the adults.)

Barnes, 64, retired on Dec. 31, 2018 as a congregational care minister at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church so she could spend more time with Deon. This summer, they plan to go to the Bahamas, which was also on Deon’s bucket list with his mother. Knowing he wants to be an actor and later an attorney, she’s enrolled him in acting classes and makes sure he receives tutoring for school.

“When the scripture says, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go,’ I want to make sure Deon’s heart’s desires are addressed and that he can truly answer the calling that God has on his life,’’ said Barnes, 64. “Our children can be like arrows in a warrior’s hand. We can choose to shape them and sharpen them so that they can be shot toward fulfilling their goals.’’


March 29 – Charletta Sheehy

When reality knocks, you answer. Such was the case for Charletta Sheehy in 2013 when she could no longer ignore what had been plaguing her – diabetes.

Her blood sugar levels were above normal, and her doctor told her if she didn’t help lower it, the fallout would not be good. Sheehy faced the possibility of stroke, heart attack, blindness or even losing a limb. Never one to run from a challenge, Sheehy faced diabetes. She got active – a lot.

She started daily walks in her College Hills neighborhood. She did water aerobics at the YMCA.
And she watched what she ate. Eventually, she walked an hour a day and became such a fitness fixture in the community, that if neighbors didn’t see her walking, they inquired if she was OK.

Sheehy still does all of this while also traveling to take care of her 87-year-old mother and sharing information about healthcare, health issues, housing, assisted living and nursing homes with senior citizens.

Recently, she won a heart health challenge presented to members of her Magic City Alabama Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She beat out nearly 30 other women. Her fitness routine and caring spirit have inspired others to get better with their health and approach to life.

“I’ve had people to be shocked that I’m 68. To me, I know that I’m that age. It doesn’t stop me from doing what I want to do,’’ she said. “I still wear high-heeled shoes. Every Sunday. If I have to dress, I’m going to have on my high-heeled shoes.’’


March 30 – Cheryl McWhorter

 

Cheryl McWhorter’s gift of song has helped her become a survivor. The gospel artist recorded a song in October 2017 that originally served as her personal testimony as a domestic abuse survivor but later became a fundraiser for abuse victims.

Cheryl quickly realized that her message of empowerment could go even further. She created the #NoMore Domestic Violence Support Group on social media and then in October released the #NoMore Calendar of Domestic Violence Survivors, featuring 12 Birmingham-area women who haven’t just survived abuse, they’re thriving – tirelessly working to uplift other women. #NoMore now stands as a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support victims, promotes domestic violence awareness and prevention and serves as a willing ear and loving arms for women looking to rebuild their lives.

“#NoMore steps in when a victim decides to step out on faith, step away from their abuser, and step into a safer future,” Cheryl said.


March 31 – Walladean Streeter

Walladean Streeter ’s love for her Bush Hills neighborhood can be seen in how much she gives back to it. She’s lived in the same house for 47 years. She started the neighborhood’s block watch 46 years ago. And for the last five years, she’s served as president of of the Bush Hills Neighborhood Association.

Since she’s been in office, the association has hosted an Easter Egg hunt for students at Bush Hills Academy; created a green space for a park on Graymont Avenue; established a neighborhood garden; distributed 150 pairs of shoes at Bush Hills Academy; established a litter patrol for the entire neighborhood; donated items to patients at an area nursing home; and continued to grow the block watch programs.But she doesn’t do any of this by herself. It’s truly a community effort.

“Neighbors have been involved in this 100 percent. Because of their participation, they make it all possible,’’ Streeter said.

Streeter’s love to help others also extends to her church, Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Ensley, where she has taught vacation Bible school, worked with the youth department, served on the usher board, served as a deaconess and made the costumes for the Easter and Christmas plays. Her giving heart is also evident at home. Every December, she and her family make care package bags for the homeless and distribute them on Christmas Eve.

“I love my neighborhood, and I stay involved because I feel that I can help move it forward, bring about change and make things a lot better,’’ she said.