Leadership Hoover welcomes fifth class with breakfast

The Leadership Hoover organization today welcomed its fifth class during a breakfast at the Hoover Randle Home and Gardens.

The new class includes 34 people from a variety of fields and industries, including education, government, law, health care, technology, financial services, engineering, real estate, media and utilities.

The goal of Leadership Hoover is to gather together a group of leaders and emerging leaders who are interested in expanding their leadership skills, deepening their sense of civic responsibility, becoming more involved in helping the community and learning about Hoover’s issues and needs.

The group typically meets once a month to explore different facets of life in Hoover.

Today was a welcome breakfast that included members of previous Leadership Hoover classes.

The next step is a team-building retreat at the McDowell Conference and Retreat Center in Winston County in September, where class members will be divided into groups based on personality assessments and go through team-building exercises that include a low ropes course, said Lori Leonard, executive director for Leadership Hoover.

In October, the class will focus on public safety, hearing from leaders in Hoover’s police, fire and emergency communications departments and touring facilities such as a Hoover fire station, the Hoover Jail, the Police Department’s new Frank and Pam Barefield Training Center and the National Computer Forensics Institute.

In November, the focus will be on education, and in December, the group will examine economic development, including a presentation from Hoover’s economic developer, Greg Knighton.

In January, the class will have a government day, hearing from city, county and state government officials, including legislators and city department heads. Then in February, the focus will turn to Hoover’s diversity with a “one community day.”

The class in March will examine small businesses and entrepreneurs and in April will analyze various things that add to Hoover’s quality of life, such as park facilities and the Hoover Public Library.

The nine-month effort concludes in May with a graduation ceremony and presentation of projects the various groups have undertaken. Each group by December must identify and have approved a project they want to tackle to help improve life in the city, Leonard said.

The fourth Leadership Hoover class took on projects dealing with human trafficking, skills gaps among young people, food insecurity, retail challenges and business support. Read more about those projects here.

Robin Gerstenberg, a Realtor with Keller Williams, is among the new class members and said she wanted to be a part of Leadership Hoover because she lives in Hoover, has five children going through Hoover City Schools and wants to see the city grow and progress in a positive manner. Also, she just enjoys meeting new people and going through new experiences, she said.

Nina Williams, a senior project manager with Jacobs Engineering, said she grew up in Hoover, moved away and came back, and has been involved with her church, but not involved with the community as a whole as much as she wanted to be.

Her children are getting older now, and she has more time to get involved and give back to the community, and that’s important to her employer as well, she said.

The 34 members of the fifth class of Leadership Hoover are:

• Joseph Booker, owner, Joseph Insurance Advisors
• Cody Burns, senior account executive, WBRC
• Stephen Burns, fuel services principal, Southern Co.
• Katrina Cade, owner, PrideStaff
• Pooja Chawla, attorney
• Anita Clemon, assistant vice president for institutional equity, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Erin Colbaugh, events manager, city of Hoover
• Terri Coleman, counselor, Trace Crossings Elementary School
• Colin Conner, urban forester, city of Hoover
• Randall Cottrell, CEO, Bluejireh
• David Custred, vice president for operations, McLeod Software
• April DeLuca, partner, Magic City Law
• Joe Dunsmore, vice president and deputy chief information officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
• Mitzi Eaker, president/owner, Mitzi Jane Media
• Derrick Ellis, independent contractor, Dream Trips
• Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, physician
• Robin Gerstenberg, Realtor, Keller Williams Realty
• Heather Harvill, associate counsel, Preferred Growth Properties
• Porsha Hicks, engineering business partner manager and senior vice president,  BBVA (PNC)
• Jeffrey Hodges, senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion and talent programs manager, Regions Bank
• Laura Jackman, member, Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt
• Kimberly Jackson, government and community relations manager, Alabama Power Co.
• Eric King, agent/owner, State Farm Eric O. King Agency
• Shaquana Lamar, principal engineer, Southern Company Services
• Jason Lybrand, partner, Sovereign CPA Group
• Kimberly Ray, building services manager, SouthWest Water Co.
• Kendall Roberson, corporate counsel, Avanti Polar Lipids
• Marcella Roberts, principal/owner/developer, M. Roberts & Associates
• Russell Shamburger, senior vice president, Cadence Bank
• Takeria Stephens, senior vice president and fair lending and redlining compliance manager, Regions Bank
• Dr. Chijoke Ulasi, dental director, Whatley Health Services
• Mary Veal, human resources director, Hoover City Schools
• Christy Williams, vice president of sales, ITAC
• Nina Williams, senior project manager, Jacobs Engineering

To learn more about Leadership Hoover, go to leadershiphooveral.org.