Marcus Ward is Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Alcorn State University and Executive Director of the ASU Foundation, Inc. where he successfully leads university advancement efforts including fundraising, alumni relations and government affairs on behalf of America’s oldest historically black land-grant university. Since 2010, he and his small team have collaborated to raise over …
Josie Shumake returned to Columbus, MS, in 2009 after retiring from the U.S. diplomatic service where she served for 25 years promoting U.S. foreign policy. Since coming home, she has volunteered at the national, state and community levels. She has been a member of the National Advisory Board of the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) …
Aisha Nyandoro is the Chief Executive Officer of Springboard To Opportunities. Springboard provides strategic, direct support to residents of federally subsidized affordable housing. The organization’s service delivery model uses a “radically resident-driven” approach designed to improve quality of life and end the generational poverty trajectory. Nyandoro has more than two decades of experience developing, implementing, and …
Charles Lindsay, CPA is a Shareholder at the Ridgeland-based accounting firm of Matthews, Cutrer & Lindsay, where he directs the Nonprofit practice area which serves more Nonprofits than any other Mississippi firm. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi and has now provided tax and audit services …
Dr. Ann Marie Kinnell is the Co-director of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development (2018-) and the director of the Nonprofit Studies program (2007-) at The University of Southern Mississippi. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Indiana University-Bloomington (1997). Her first foray into the nonprofit world was her dissertation which focused on …
Sanford Johnson is an education consultant in the Mississippi Delta. He is a native Mississippian who’s spent the past 16 years working in education. His career began as a 2003 Teach for America Delta corps member, where he taught high school Social Studies in Mississippi and Arkansas. He later co-founded Mississippi First, where he served …
Sheila Grogan, CPA, serves as President of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. In addition, she serves as Vice President, Community and Public Relations, at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and has responsibility for corporate contributions and sponsorships, the Team Blue employee volunteerism program, and the Get Ready to Run …
Lloyd Gray is Executive Director of The Phil Hardin Foundation, a statewide education philanthropy based in Meridian. Before joining the Hardin Foundation in 2015, he spent four decades as a reporter, editor and columnist for newspapers in Greenville, Biloxi and Meridian and was Executive Editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily in Tupelo for 23 years. …
Dr. Michael Cormack is the Chief of Staff for Jackson Public Schools. In this role, he develops and executes the district’s new strategic plan Excellence of All. He also manages the work of several key departments including Public Engagement, State and Federal Programs, Data and Accountability, and Human Resources. Prior to his work in JPS, …
Mike Clayborne has served as President of the CREATE Foundation since November 1996. Mike is a native of Northeast Mississippi having been born and raised in Amory, Mississippi. He first came to CREATE as a consultant in 1994 when he helped start the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi. His career in community development started as Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce in his hometown. He was Executive Director of the Starkville Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Organization. He later led the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce in Anniston, Alabama before coming to CREATE.
After receiving a B.S. Degree from Mississippi State University, Mike then graduated from the Institute for Organization Management at the University of Georgia, and the National Planned Giving Institute at the College of William & Mary.
During his twenty four years as President of CREATE, over $196 Million in contributions have been made to the organization. This represents 94% of the total contributions in the organization’s 48 year history. Total assets have increased from $13.9 million to over $146 million during this same period.