Our Board of Directors

Officers:

  • DMC Board Chair; Consultant & Founder of CAB Consulting, LLC

    From 1997 until she retired in 2022, Carrie served as the Communications Director for the Alabama League of Municipalities where she oversaw the communications, marketing and strategic planning efforts for ALM and its affiliated organizations and worked closely with ALM’s community partners. As a consultant, she continues to engage with people and organizations to connect resources, craft narratives, educate audiences, and offer guidance in branding, strategic planning, and leadership development.

  • DMC Executive Committee Chair & Development Committee Co-Chair; Former First Lady of Alabama

    CEO and Co-Founder of Resource Fiber/Alabama, a company dedicated to the growing and manufacturing of bamboo and its myriad products in the Black Belt Region of Alabama.

    Mrs. Folsom has been recognized for her advocacy and support for improving the lives of Alabama’s children through better services and improved educational opportunities. As Alabama’s First Lady, she convened the state’s first Summit for Children, which was dedicated to finding ways to improve the future for Alabama’s children. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama’s School of Human Environmental Sciences. She and her husband are the proud parents of two children.

  • DMC Board Treasurer; Lawyer, Shields & Gunter

    Sandy Gunter is Treasurer of the Mathews Center. He is a partner in the law firm of Shields & Gunter, Attorneys.

    Previously, Gunter was a partner in the law firm of Stephens, Shields & Gunter, Attorneys. From 1981 to 1987, he was a partner in the law firm of Stephens & Gunter, Attorneys. Gunter served as Assistant to the President of the University of Alabama (1977-1980) and was an administrative assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1975-1977). He is the former President of the Family Counseling Service Board of Directors and the Alabama Boychoir, Inc.

  • Associate Dean of the Center for Student Success at Troy University

    Dr. Jonathan Cellon is the Associate Dean of Student Success and Director of First Year Studies in the John W. Schmidt Center for Student Success at Troy University where he oversees a variety of programs centered on academic support, advising, and civic engagement. He has worked at Troy University since 2009 and founded the university’s Office of Civic Engagement, which aims to empower students to become community problem solvers through engaged citizenship.

  • DMC Development Co-Chair; Executive Director, SAFE Sylacauga

    Margaret Morton is the Executive Director of the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement (SAFE) Family Services Center, where she has served since 1998. Under her leadership, SAFE has provided comprehensive services to strengthen and support families across Talladega County and the region. She serves on the Board of Directors of the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. In 2016, the Mathews Center presented Margaret with the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Award recognizing her for inspiring others toward civic and community engagement and excellence.

  • DMC Board Secretary; Founder of Elba's Restoration 154

    Justin Maddox, from Elba, Alabama graduated from Harding University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. He is as software developer for the National Security Group, based in his hometown. In 2011, he and some close friends established the nonprofit, Restoration 154, with the goal of building up projects that would have a positive impact on their community while encouraging civic engagement. The group has undertaken activities spanning the arts, outdoor recreation, historic preservation, and food security, and are proud to partner with Auburn University's Living Democracy program each year, as it aims to teach students the influence they can have as active participants in their communities.

Emeriti Members:

  • DMC Chair Emerita; Professor, New College, University of Alabama

    Natalie Adams is the former Director of New College at The University of Alabama. She served as the Assistant Dean of UA’s Graduate School for seven years. Natalie earned a PhD at Louisiana State University in 1994. Prior to her tenure at the University of Alabama, Natalie was a professor at Georgia Southern University and Oklahoma State University, and a middle school teacher in South Louisiana. Natalie is the co-author of three books, including Geographies of Girlhood and Learning to Teach.

  • DMC Co-Founder and Chair Emeritus

  • DMC Co-Founder and Chair Emeritus

    Dr. Ray Minor has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Issues Forums Institute. Minor was appointed Vice President of Advancement for United Methodist Homes of New Jersey, which provides quality and caring services to senior men and women in 10 Christian communities across the state of New Jersey.

    Minor served as President of the Alabama Center for Civic Life, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Wiley College, Executive Director of National and Community Service for the State of Alabama, Alabama area Development Director of The College Fund/UNCF, and as Development Director at Miles College.

  • DMC Chair Emeritus; Lawyer, Murphy & Murphy

    Stan Murphy is Chair Emeritus of the Mathews Center Board of Directors. He is a partner at the law firm of Murphy & Murphy, LLC. Murphy also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama Law School, as well as a researcher for both the University of Alabama’s Office of Academic Affairs and the Kettering Foundation.

    Murphy was Senior Counsel in the Office of Counsel for the University of Alabama System, Senior Counsel for International and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Alabama, and was the Academic Coordinator for the University of Alabama Cooper Cuba Initiative. He was also a special assistant to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1975-1977).

  • DMC Co-Founder and Chair Emerita

    Dr. Cathy Randall is Chair of the Board of Pettus Randall Holdings, LLC. She also serves as Chair of the Alabama Academy of Honor.

    Randall served as Chair of the Board of Randall Publishing Company and the Director of the University Honors Programs at the University of Alabama. She also served as the National President of Mortar Board, Inc., President of the Board of Directors of the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame, and Director of Alabama’s Girls State. Randall has been a member of the Board of Directors of Mercedes-Benz USI, the American Village, the Alabama Law Foundation, the Alabama Archives and History Foundation, and the Tuscaloosa City Schools Education Foundation.

Members:

  • Community & Civic Engagement Consultant

    Cristin F. Brawner is a community and civic engagement consultant based in Nashville, TN. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit management, Cristin’s expertise is in facilitating partnerships and programming that increase community collaboration and problem solving. Cristin is the former Executive Director of the David Mathews Center for Civic Life in Alabama where she oversaw the organization’s programming, cultivated state and local partnerships, moderated hundreds of deliberative community forums, and managed a dynamic staff team.

    Cristin is a graduate of the University of Montevallo. She has served on state and national boards, is a member of Class II of Leadership Alabama’s Alabama Leadership Initiative (ALI), was an Associate with the Kettering Foundation, and currently serves as the Project Coordinator for the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative. Cristin can be reached at cristinfbrawner@gmail.com.

  • Assistant VP, Auburn University Outreach and Public Service

    Dr. Hollie Cost previously served as Mayor of the City of Montevallo and Professor of Special Education at the University of Montevallo. She held the position of service learning coordinator at the University of Montevallo from 2009-2015. Mayor Cost has been instrumental in facilitating civic education initiatives for Montevallo’s youth through initiatives such as Students’ Institute, Falcon Scholars in Action, Montevallo Connection, gifted student programming, academic camps, after-school tutoring programs, college access initiatives, Montevallo Sister City Commission, community gardens, neighborhood revitalization programs and community arts experiences.

    Cost holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in special education, and a doctorate in special education and rehabilitation from Auburn University.

  • Director of Government Relations at UAB

    David Dada serves as the Director of Government Relations for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). In this role he is responsible for promoting productive relationships with governmental entities, including but not limited to the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office, Birmingham City Council, and Jefferson County Commission. David is a Birmingham native and a two-time UAB graduate, having received both his Bachelor’s (Psychology) and Master’s (Public Administration) degrees from the university. He is also a proud product of the Birmingham City School system, and a 2007 graduate of Ramsay High School. David and his wife Katrina have been married since September 2016, and are the proud parents of two children, their son David III and daughter Davis Anne.

  • Retired Higher Education Administrator, Auburn University

    Ralph Foster is a retired higher education administrator, having served for more than 31 years at Auburn University. Awarded the title of Assistant Vice President Emeritus in 2020 for his career contributions to Auburn’s Division of University Outreach, Foster continues to provide assistance to community engagement projects in the division. A native Alabamian, Foster earned his BS in business administration from Auburn and his MS in human resources from Troy University; he completed additional professional institutes in adult and continuing education at the University of Georgia and in experiential learning at Northeastern University. While at Auburn, Foster oversaw the division’s public service programs and was responsible for University Outreach’s strategic planning and certification initiatives including maintaining Auburn’s Carnegie Community Engagement classification. Foster’s publications include journal articles and book chapters on ethics, education, management, and civic engagement. Among his awards and recognitions over the years includes the title of Fellow in the Society for Advancement of Management, the highest professional honor of that international organization. Foster serves on board and committee positions in several academic and community organizations in the state. He and his wife Lesley reside in Montgomery.

  • Provost and Vice President, Professor of Quantitative Analysis, Samford University

    Dr. Hardin began working at Samford University in July 2015 from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, where he served as the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration dean. Dr. Hardin had previously served as Culverhouse’s senior associate dean, associate dean for research, director of the University of Alabama’s NIH Alabama EPSCoR Agency, and director of Culverhouse’s Institute of Business Intelligence. Dr. Hardin’s service as a Culverhouse professor of quantitative analysis, business and statistics was widely credited for establishing the University of Alabama as an internationally-known resource in the field of data analytics. His Culverhouse career followed his numerous administrative and faculty appointments at the University of Alabama in Birmingham in biostatistics, biomathematics, health informatics, and computer science. Dr. Hardin holds a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics from the University of Alabama, an MA in Mathematics from the University of Alabama, an MS in Research Design and Statistics from Florida State University’s College of Education, BA in Mathematics from the University of West Florida, BA in Philosophy from the University of West Florida and MDiv from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Southern Baptist minister. This avid advocate for the liberal arts is also a leading scholar in analytics and knowledge discovery, big data, data visualization, data warehousing, machine learning, statistical classification models, data management and collection methodologies, research design, information, and biostatistics. He is an instructor and consultant for the SAS Institute in the areas of business analytics and time series analysis. He has served as a Scholar in Residence for Loyola University, a Visiting Professor at Ireland’s Trinity College, and is a member of numerous professional associations, including the Biometric Society and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Dr. Hardin is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA), one of only four in the state of Alabama. ASA Fellows, nominated by member peers for outstanding contributions to statistical science, represent only one-third of one percent of the organization’s worldwide membership. Dr. Hardin has authored or co-authored more than 150 papers in various journals, edited numerous professional journals, authored multiple book chapters, presented more than 250 abstracts at national meetings, and given more than 150 invited lectures or talks. For 25 years he served as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant reviewer and participated as an Investigator or co-investigator on more than 100 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/NIH-funded projects. He has served as a consultant for other national healthcare and financial organizations and was among the inventors receiving a U.S. patent licensed to MedMined, a Birmingham-based firm dedicated to controlling hospital infection rates and improving patient care. Dr. Hardin has served on more than a dozen professional, civic, and philanthropic boards, ranging from the Business Council of Alabama to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He and his wife Anna Kathryn have two married children.

  • Director, Washington County Public Library

    Jessica Massey Ross has served as Director of Washington County Public Library in Chatom, Alabama for 18 years. She received a PhD in Communication and Information Science from the University of Alabama, where she also served as a research assistant for the School of Library and Information Studies. Her primary research focuses on community development and public library partnerships and sustainability in rural communities. Jessica and her husband, Spencer, live in Chatom.

  • Chief Executive Officer, American Village

    Alan B. Miller of Chelsea, Alabama serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Village in Montevallo, Alabama. Miller was a founding partner of Hepburn & Miller, LLC in Shelby County. His prior work included Executive Director of Shelby County COMPACT 2020, and Chief Assistant District Attorney for the Eighteenth Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Columbiana. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law. Mr. Miller is a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, with experience in the Marine Forces Europe (Republic of Georgia), 4th Marine Logistics Group (New Orleans, LA), Force Headquarters Group (New Orleans, LA), and 3rd Battalion 14th Marines (Chattanooga, TN). He attended Air War College in Montgomery, AL.

  • District Developer, North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church

    Reverend Marian Royston is a native of Roanoke, Alabama. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Auburn University. As a George J. Mitchell Scholar, she obtained a Master of Science in Leadership for Sustainable Rural Development from the Queen’s University of Belfast. Presently, she is pursuing a Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. She currently serves as a full-time local pastor serving St. Paul and Center Grove UMCs in Huntsville, Alabama. Before her current appointment, she was the pastor of Mount Olive and Rocky Mount UMCs in Randolph County, Alabama. Marian is invested in the next generation of leaders. She created the Randolph County Youth Development Initiative and served as its program director. This summer she will serve as the QuadW site director for Huntsville. Her career prior to ministry was teaching Secondary Social Studies for Roanoke City Schools.

  • President, Joffre T. Whisenton and Associates

    Dr. Joffre T. Whisenton is currently serving as President of Joffre T. Whisenton and Associates, Inc.

    Whisenton was President of the Southern University System and Associate Executive Director with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Whisenton also held a joint appointment as professor and Chairman of the Division of Education and Psychology at Stillman College, and as a program associate in the Office for Student Development at the University of Alabama. He served as Special Assistant for Educational Policy to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1975-1977).

  • Founder & President, Byard Associates, LLC

    Jim Byard, Jr. served as mayor of the City of Prattville from 1999 to 2011. He served as Director of ADECA (Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs) from 2011 to 2017. He formed Byard Associates, LLC in 2017, a consulting firm specializing in business development, community and economic development as well as strategy. He works with cities, counties and companies across Alabama.

    He is a past president of the Alabama League of Municipalities and has served on the Boards of the National League of Cities, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA).

    Further, he serves as Chair of the Board of Main Street Alabama and serves on the Board of Directors of DesignAlabama, YourTown Alabama, Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE), the Autauga Education Foundation, and the Prattville YMCA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with double minors in business and sociology from Troy State University Montgomery, now Troy University. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama and the Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy.

    He and his wife Beverly live in the Daniel Pratt Historic District in Prattville. They have three children, Marylise, a recent graduate of Birmingham-Southern and sons James III, a freshman at Auburn University, and Richard, at Prattville High School. They are active members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Prattville.

    Contact:

    jim@byardassociates.com

    334.414.2560

    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimbyardjr

Our Staff

Lauren Lockhart Education Coordinator

Chauntina Whittle McKenzie Civic Fellow