Category: Past Speakers

John F. Kilpatrick, Founder & Executive Director, Veterans Recovery Resources
LTC John Kilpatrick is the Founder and Executive Director of Veterans Recovery Resources, a “by Veteran, for Veteran” non-profit serving Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors in southwest Alabama. He was appointed to serve on the Alabama Task Force on Veterans and Opioids in August 2018. John has over 33 years’ reserve military service including 12 years as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and over 21 years as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. He is a combat Veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Kosovo, and Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and served an 18-month tour at the Pentagon in the Office of the Surgeon General. John earned a B.A. from Spring Hill College in 1994 and his master’s in social work at the University of Alabama, School of Social Work in May 2018. He lives in Mobile with his wife Laurie and their three children, Owen, Henry and Kate.

William Bryant, Jr.
Scout Executive/CEO
Mobile Area Council, Boy Scouts of America
William Bryant, Jr. is the Scout Executive/CEO Mobile Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. He is the immediate past Revenue and Membership Growth Coach for the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America. William is a Subject Matter Expert in Fund Development. William has served as a District Executive, Senior District Executive, District Director, Field Director, ScoutReach Director, Summer Camp Director, Woodbadge Staff Advisor, Finance Director and Senior Development Director. In his over 15 years of experience, William has raised funds through annual giving, in-kind donations, special events and endowment.
William is the immediate past President of the Atlanta Nonprofit Professionals, past President of the Atlanta Urban League Young Professionals and past Co-Chair of Programs for the Association of Fundraising Professionals- Atlanta Chapter. William served as the Chair of National Philanthropy Day Luncheon in 2018 for the AFP Chapter in Dallas, TX and National Co-Chair, 2018 African American Development Officers Network National Conference.
William is a graduate of LEAD Atlanta, a leadership program of selected executives from across the state of Georgia. William is very engaged with the National Urban League, and is a very active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
William has received the Atlanta Urban League’s Rising Star Award, Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc. Man of the Year Award, Distinguished Alumnus Award of Grambling State University and is the recipient of the coveted National President’s Award through the Boy Scouts. William is an alumnus of Grambling State University and holds an MBA in Nonprofit Administration from Oglethorpe University.
In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, playing the saxophone, playing basketball and reading.

Will Collins, a resident of Enterprise Al., is regional VP of development for Liberty Learning Foundation. He’s leading the charge to form Community Alliances that sustain the organization’s mission of teaching civics, character, careers and financial literacy in K-12 schools. Before joining the foundation, Mr. Collins was working in Charlotte NC for Aramark as a Business Development Manager. His passion for education and desire to impact the youth in Alabama brought him to Liberty Learning Foundation which has been implementing the Super Citizen Program in area schools for the past years. Will is going to be relocating to the Mobile area in the next few months.
www

Public Safety Director James Barber served with the United States Marine Corps prior to beginning his career with the Mobile Police Department where he served for over 28 years before being named the Executive Director of Public Safety on April 01, 2017, by Mayor Sandy Stimpson. He graduated at the top of his academy class with the highest academic average, highest firearms average, and the fastest agility time.
During his career with the Mobile Police Department he was assigned to various specialized units including Narcotics and Vice, Intelligence, Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement, and Internal Affairs. His awards include Officer of the Year, four Excellent Police Duty Medals, and the rarely given Distinguished Service Medal. As an executive officer, he commanded every bureau in the police department before being appointed as the Chief of Police in November 2013. As the Police Chief, he implemented an Intelligence-led policing model that targeted criminals, not communities. This led to three of the four lowest total crime rates for the City of Mobile in nearly four decades. He was appointed as the Executive Director of Public Safety in April 2017.
He attended the University of South Alabama where he received his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice in 1996 and Troy State University where he received his graduate degree in Public Administration in 1997. He graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2004 and the prestigious FBI National Executive Institute in 2014. Director Barber’s motto is “Failure is not an option.”