Forty-eight standout Mississippians have been selected for the 2020 Class of MEC’s Leadership Mississippi. Leadership Mississippi is an annual program of the Mississippi Economic Council conducted by the M.B. Swayze Foundation. Participants, selected by a committee of MEC’s Leadership Mississippi Alumni, work together in a training program that combines individual study, group sessions and project experience in using leadership skills. Leadership Mississippi is endowed through a generous contribution by the late J.C. and Annie Redd. J.C. Redd was Chairman of the Mississippi Economic Council in 1973-74 when the program began.
Leadership Mississippi is the second-oldest statewide leadership program in the nation. Since its inception in 1974, Leadership Mississippi has graduated more than 1,300 alumni active in Mississippi business and politics. Mississippi's top business executives, community leaders, and elected officials have participated in Leadership Mississippi as a way to expand their networks and possibilities for future success.
Those selected into the program include:
- Penney Ainsworth - President & CEO, Boys & Girls Club of Central MS
- Julia Bradley - Audit Manager, Harper, Rains, Knight & Company
- Dr. Suzana Brown - Executive VP of Institutional Advancement, MS Gulf Coast Community College
- Justin Bruce - Senior Program Manager, Tyler Technologies, Inc.
- Dr. Creston Burse - Executive IT Director, MINACT, Inc.
- Kimberly Campbell, Esq. - State Director, AARP of MS
- Douglas Cunningham - Director- Program Planning/Production Control, Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Mathew Davidson - VP of Rates & Regulatory, Atmos Energy
- Kelvin Davis - Director of Student Business Services, Delta State University
- Marvin Dickey, Jr. - Special Projects Manager, Southern MS Planning & Development District
- Jeremy Erwin, MD - Chief Medical Director, Magnolia Health, Inc.
- Sharendra Evans - Director, The Workplace
- Aaron Foster - General Manager- Assembly Manufacturing, Toyota Motor North America
- Elissa Fulton - Communications Specialist, Electric Cooperatives of MS
- Hadley Eisenberger, Esq. - Inspector General/ Deputy Executive Director, MS Dept. of Human Services
- Dr. Pamela Gary - CEO, Central Mississippi, Inc.
- Shane Germany - Architect, Landry Lewis Germany Architects, PA
- Matthew Grice - Finance Director & Assistant Treasurer, Mississippi Power
- Veronica Haas - Human Resources Lead, Baxter Healthcare Corporation
- Ritchie Hampton - Senior Vice President, BancorpSouth
- Joshua Hancock - Analyst, Entergy Mississippi, Inc.
- Leonette Henderson - Director of Development Partnerships, Higher Purpose Co.
- Donald Hinton, Jr. - Vice President/General Counsel, Cooperative Energy
- Aleesha Hudson - Region Analyst IV, Enbridge
- Michelle Kerr - Human Resources Manager, Caterpillar, Inc.
- Geoffrey Knesal - Sr. Project Manager, Roy Anderson Corp.
- Nicole Martz - Special Events and Promotions Manager, IP Casino Resort & Spa
- James Mayo - Executive VP & Chief Lending Officer, Community Bank
- Sarah Swanner-Medlock - Operations Manager, MS Band of Choctaw Indians
- Richie Moore - General Manager, Public Service Commission of Yazoo City
- Michael Mosher - Associate Director- Office of Technology Commercialization, The University of Mississippi
- Ceejaye Peters - Corporate Counsel, Yates Construction
- Kristi Plotner - Executive Director, MS Physician Health Program
- Andrew M. Ratcliffe, III - Facility Supervisor, 1108th TASMG
- Lakeisha White-Richardson, MD - Physician, Delta Regional Medical Center
- Annie Sanders - Founder/Director, Safe Haven Center for Domestic Violence
- Ann Sansing - Community Health Coordinator, Mississippi State University
- Dr. Tamala Boyd-Shaw - Founder/Executive Director, MS Delta Academies
- Dr. Mitchell Shears - Associate VP for Student Success/Executive Director of Title III, Jackson State University
- Kristen Smith - Communications/ Public Relations, Glass, Inc.
- Brad Stevens - President- Amory, Community Bank
- Laura Tinsley - Director of Preconstruction Services, Century Construction Group
- Dr. Scott Tollison - Provost/ VP for Academic Affairs, Mississippi University for Women
- Thomas Walker, Jr. - Partner, Jones Walker, LLP
- Ryan Warner - Senior Facility Engineer, Aerojet Rocketdyne
- Luke West - CEO, Relias Healthcare
- LaShetta Wilder - Bureau Director II of Re-entry and Pre-Release Services, MS Dept. of Corrections
- Bryce Yelverton - Consultant, Yelverton Consulting