Vickie Powell is Senior Vice President of Foundations at the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC). With more than 25 years of experience in proposal development, grant writing, program management, and implementation, Vickie has built a successful career that also includes expertise in human resources, business development, and corporate affairs. In her current role, Vickie oversees several […]
For 20 years, Meggan Gray was an award-winning fixture in the television news industry in south Mississippi, spending the majority of that time waking up morning viewers on the anchor desk at WLOX in Biloxi and more recently at WXXV in Gulfport. Currently, Meggan is serving as the Director of Advancement for St. Patrick Catholic
Arthur Young, better known as “Sandy”, has served as chairperson of the Charles L. Young, Sr. Foundation since 2010. This family foundation is based in Meridian, Mississippi and has focused its philanthropic activities in the Lauderdale County area since 2002. Sandy worked for E.F. Young, Jr. Manufacturing Company for over two decades before retiring in
Michael Dixon received his undergraduate degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University and his Masters of Divinity at Mercer University. In 2007, Michael founded Ekklesia Hattiesburg, a non-denominational church committed to serving those in need in Hattiesburg. Michael is the former director of Extra Table and currently serves as the executive director for the Pinebelt Foundation,
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
Mary Ann Plasencia is the executive director of Northeast MS Habitat for Humanity in Tupelo. She’s been with Habitat since March of 2021. She previously worked for United Way of Northeast Mississippi as Director of Community Impact and for Tupelo Public Schools as Director of Communications. She and her husband, Bruce, moved from New Orleans
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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
Dr. Portia Ballard Espy is President and CEO of the Mississippi Urban League, Incorporated, an organization with a mission to help African Americans and others in Mississippi’s historically underserved communities to gain their highest true social parity, economic self-reliance, power, and civil rights. The MS Urban League achieves its mission via programs that focus on health, justice, jobs, education, and housing.
Dr. Espy has vast executive-level experience in manufacturing, energy, aerospace, and nonprofit sectors. She has worked as an executive in human resources management, grants management, and external affairs for several companies, including Pellerin Milnor Corporation, subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell Offshore, Inc.; Shell Chemical Company; and Shell Corporation), Entergy (Entergy Corporation and Entergy Mississippi, Inc.), and Raytheon Aerospace.
She later entered the nonprofit sector to serve as Associate Director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Mid-South Delta Initiative, Chief Administrative Officer at the Children’s Defense Fund – Southern Regional Office, and both Director of Community Building and Executive director of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation (now known as the Alluvial Collective). Dr. Espy was instrumental in the Winter Institute’s transition from its original home at the University of Mississippi and led the effort to establish the organization as an independent 501c3 located in Jackson, Mississippi.
Dr. Espy is a native of Franklinton, Louisiana, and a graduate of Franklinton High School. She obtained a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University and a certificate in nonprofit management from Harvard Kennedy School in May of 2021. Dr. Espy also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and an M.B.A. from Loyola University of New Orleans.
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.
Jane Clover Alexander has an immense love for her community, a strong belief in the power of giving and an enduring interest in what makes people tick. She was tapped as president and CEO of the Community Foundation in August 2012. Since she began her tenure, the foundation has grown to $60 million in assets,
