LET US Academy announces spring slate 'Life Series' speakers
January 25, 2019
Contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
The Leadership and Excellence by 精东AV Students 鈥� or LET US 鈥� Academy, continues its motivational 鈥淟ife Series鈥� speakers program this spring with a lineup of alumni speakers who will help students envision professional success. The speaker series is open to students of all majors and classifications.
鈥淏ringing alumni back to campus to share their experiences helps students visualize what they are capable of becoming,鈥� said Walter P. Cooper Sr., who coordinates the LET US Academy program. 鈥淭he program also helps the university deepen its relationship with alumni by involving them in our student development efforts.鈥�
All presentations are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Henderson Hall Auditorium. This semester鈥檚 speakers include the following:
Wednesday, Jan. 23
Dr. Traron Moore 鈥�00, Human Capital Consultant
鈥淟iving Your Best Life鈥�
Moore considers himself a business leader who happens to work in the human resource department. His professional experience spanning more than 20 years has included serving as director of human resources for Comcast NBC Universal鈥檚 Big South Region, an HR business partner for The Home Depot, and other human resource duties with Concessions International, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Atlanta Community Food Bank and several hotel chains. His leadership has driven innovations in enterprise-wide organizational development interventions, including programs to enhance leadership, build trust and increase engagement.
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Jonathan Porter 鈥�95, Vice President, Birmingham Division, Alabama Power Company
鈥淪tarted from the Bottom 鈥� Now I Am Here鈥� (Goal Setting to Goal Achievement)
Porter, who has spent the majority of his career with Alabama Power, is currently responsible for the company鈥檚 operations, sales, customer service, economic and community development, and external affairs activities for more than 430,000 customers across six north central Alabama counties. He began his APCO career as a student intern and worked in operational areas that later included human resources, customer service, and external affairs 鈥� among others. He has served as a member of 精东AV鈥檚 Board of Trustees since 2013, and is currently chairing The World Games 2021, which will be held in Birmingham.
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Quinetha Frasier 鈥�98, Senior Program Officer, Network for Good
鈥淚t鈥檚 the Way You Say It鈥� (Communicating Effectively with Others)
A self-proclaimed tech evangelist for philanthropy, Frasier currently manages Network for Good鈥檚 technology-enabled capacity-building program, Jumpstart. She describes herself as 鈥渢he perfect storm between tech and philanthropy,鈥� and as an expert funding strategist, keynote speaker and technology advisor, she has spent the past 18 years raising money, supporting grantmakers, and building the capacity of 300-plus nonprofits throughout the country.
Wednesday, Feb. 13
Archie Clay III 鈥�12, Co-founder and CEO, Wearbrims
鈥淢aximizing Your Potential鈥� (Developing the Habits for Excellence)
Clay, a talented human resource professional with more than seven years of experience in the retail and operations industries, has a strong passion for developing talent and helping individuals reach their full potential. During the journey of finding his own passion, he hopes to inspire others and help them reach their own personal goals. That journey has led him to also launch his own luxury fedora hat company, Wearbrims, as its CEO and co-founder.
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Samira Malik Turner 鈥�00, Senior Manager, Mergers and Acquisitions, Deloitte Consulting
鈥淣avigating Failure鈥� (Developing the Habits for Excellence)
Turner鈥檚 career path included roles as a computer analyst, sales engineer, and account manager before her current duties as a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting. She serves as a senior manager (junior partner) in the firm鈥檚 Mergers and Acquisitions Department, where she helps companies work through customer experience and develop sales growth plans as they prepare to acquire, sell or merge with other firms.
Wednesday, Feb. 27
Correy Woods 鈥�99, Principal, ProTech Group
鈥淪teps to Starting and Sustaining Your Own Business鈥� (Building on Strengths and Purpose)
With 20-plus years of public and private sector of engineering and construction experience, Woods established ProTech Group, a multi-disciplinary firm that specializes in water resource projects. Since its inception, the company has secured more than $1 million in contracts with municipalities and county agencies across the U.S. as well as with the Texas Park and Wildlife Department and the U.S. Department of Interior. His goal is to create an incubator for other young entrepreneurs.
Wednesday, Mar. 13
Dr. Beverly Smith 鈥�94, 鈥�96, Owner and Principal Psychotherapist, BSmith Consulting Group, LLC
鈥淐onquering Depression and Anxiety鈥� (Developing the Authentic Self)
Smith has a passion for helping others through the challenges of life. For more than 20 years, she has employed her experience in behavioral healthcare to help individuals in higher education, community counseling, public education, faith-based, and private practice settings. She also speaks nationally on topics related to mental health issues for individuals, families and organizations. Her professional credentials include being a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor and National Clinical Mental Health Professional.
Wednesday, Mar. 20
Natalie Knight 鈥�01, Southeast Government Relations Director, Jacobs Engineering
鈥淔ocusing on My Future through the Chaos" (Managing Priorities and Stress)
At Jacobs Engineering 鈥� a $10 billion a year global engineering, design and program management firm 鈥� Knight leads all external and political outreach, strategy and execution in primary support of the firm鈥檚 state and local government client sector efforts for sales and growth in a nine-state region. She brings to her job experience with Atlanta鈥檚 Office of the Mayor, Department of Finance and Department of Watershed Management as part of the administrations of mayors Shirley Franklin and Kasim Reed. Previously, she was a political consultant and campaign strategist at the local, state and congressional levels.
Wednesday, Mar. 27
Martina Edwards 鈥�01, Chief of Strategic Partnerships, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs
鈥淢oney Talks鈥� (Achieving Excellence with Integrity)
A banking professional, investor, philanthropist and nonprofit leader, Edwards will begin a new role in February with Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, a Georgia-based community development finance institution. She comes to the role from Points of Light, the world鈥檚 largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, founded by former President George H.W. Bush, where she has served as vice president of corporate partnerships, In 2004, she was recognized as the only actively trading African-American female seat-holder 鈥� and Merrill Lynch鈥檚 first 鈥� among the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE) then 1,366 members.
Wednesday, Apr. 3
Terry Lee 鈥�13, Regional Recruiter, Georgia Department of Transportation
鈥淟et Your Conscience be Your Guide鈥� (Achieving Excellence with Integrity)
Lee is a talented and results-driven human resources expert who is actively focused on making effective change to help and guide soon-to-be professionals. In his current position, as well as past duties for the Church of God by Faith Inc., Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida, and others, he helped lead programs, educate others, identify and develop organizational talent, and leverage external and internal communication and business partner relationships.
Based in the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, the LET US Academy assists first year STEM students with developing the 鈥渟oft skills鈥� required of today鈥檚 job market. Cooper noted that it helps students develop the communications and interpersonal skills they must combine with the technical classroom knowledge required of their chosen career fields.
鈥淚ntroducing these skills at an early stage affords our students the opportunity of securing internships so that they can continue to work on these skills. This will make their transition easier when they graduate and go into the real-world,鈥� he emphasized.
Although the Life Series speakers program is open to all students, the LET US Academy is only open to freshman students and provides them with an experiential learning experience that comes in the form of shadowing professionals in a variety of industries. The program assists students with receiving more experience in their chosen career fields through a holistic approach to student development and service partnerships with local schools throughout Macon County.
To learn more about the LET US Academy, visit /programs-courses/colleges-schools/caens/daes/undergraduate-research-and-mentoring/let-us-for-stem.
漏 2019, 精东AV