John S. Sledge is senior architectural historian for the Mobile Historic Development Commission and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. He holds a bachelor’s in history and Spanish from Auburn University and a master’s in historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. Sledge is the author of three books on Mobile’s historic architecture, as well as a collection of literary criticism, Southern Bound: A Gulf Coast Journalist on Books, Writers, and Literary Pilgrimages of the Heart, published by the University of South Carolina Press. He and his wife, Lynn, live in Fairhope, Alabama, half a mile from Mobile Bay.
Nov. 12, 2015–DG Michael Chambers / Rotary Dist. 6880
Michael Chambers currently serves as District Governor. He has previously served as president of the Rotary Club of Mobile, Assistant Governor and District Chair of Global Grants. He has been awarded the Certificate of Meritorious Service by the Rotary Foundation, the Service Above Self Award by Rotary International and is a Paul Harris Fellow and Major Donor.
In 2000 he co-founded and served as CEO of InnoRx, an ocular drug delivery company that he sold in 2005 to SurModics (NASDAQ:SRDX). He previously served as chairman of the board of ProUroCare, a public company based in Minneapolis. In 2010 he founded Swift Biotech, a company developing screens for ovarian cancer.
In 2012 he founded the Gulf Coast Angel Network and co-founded in 2014 the entrepreneurship program known as 1702. He served in 2014 as the Chairman of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and was named that year as Alabama’s Start-Up Executive of the Year by Alabama LaunchPad. He serves on various corporate boards, as well as the EDPA and BioAlabama.
He received a B.A. and law degree from the University of Alabama, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for studies in France and a Swiss Confederation Scholarship that led to a Ph.D. at the University of Geneva. He has been recognized as one of the Best Attorneys in the United States in Commercial Law, Arbitration and Mediation and as a Top Lawyer in health care.
He is married to Circuit Judge Rosemary Chambers. They have two daughters, Carmen and Camille, who both attended Yale University and are now in law school at Georgetown.
He was recently named to a newly created position at the University of South Alabama: Assistant Vice President for Research Innovation.
Nov. 5, 2015–Keri Coumanis / "Revolving Funds & Neighborhood Renewal"
Keri Renee Coumanis is currently employed as an Assistant City Attorney with the City of Mobile, Alabama. Keri began her career in historic preservation and obtained a Master’s Degree in preservation from the Tulane School of Architecture. Upon graduation in 2001, she worked for two preservation-oriented non-profits in New Orleans (Preservation Resource Center and Felicity Street Redevelopment), and, subsequently, for the Alabama Historical Commission, the State of Alabama historic preservation office. Recognizing the strong correlation between successful historic preservation efforts, land use regulations and public policy, Keri began law school at the University of Alabama. Upon graduation in 2008, she began her career with the City of Mobile. There, she advises on legal matters related to urban planning, historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization. Keri drafts ordinance changes or statutory amendments necessary to implement policies that alleviate blight and encourage neighborhood revitalization.
Additionally, Keri undertakes all legal work necessary to attain marketable and clear title for properties held in the City’s land bank, as well as manages the selection, acquisition and disposition of the properties. Keri has also served as a staff attorney for the Mobile Historic Development Commission, Mobile Tree Commission, Downtown Development District, Architectural Review Board and HUD entitlement programs. Keri is a member of the Mayor’s Innovation Team, a Bloomberg Philanthropy Project, and the Mayor’s Deepwater Horizon settlement advisory team.
Oct. 29, 2015–William Hanes / Parks Commission
William Hanes and Kellie Hope – and the entire Downtown Parks Conservancy team – are passionate about serving their community, which includes a vibrant downtown parks system. Mobile is full of beautiful, well designed parks that simply need attention and buy-in from the community at large. The Downtown Parks Conservancy works with stakeholders to ensure that our parks are places create and foster community amongst guests and residents alike.”
Oct. 22, 2015–Ashley Dukes / Midtown Development
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The Midtown Mobile Movement, Mobile, AL
Founding Member, July 2015–Present
Our mission is to create a more livable, walkable Midtown Mobile. We are dedicated to improving pedestrian friendly infrastructure, commercial amenities, and visual appeal.
Mobile Streets Alive, Mobile, AL
Coordinator, Aug 2014–Present
In 2014, successfully planned and executed Mobile’s first Open Streets event within eight weeks with over 1,000 participants in attendance by closing a portion of Downtown’s streets to automobile traffic and providing activities from yoga to kid’s bike races, live music, and local vendors for citizens to enjoy.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Ashley Dukes LLC, Mobile, AL
Owner, July 2012–Present
Provides small businesses with accounting services including financial statement compilations, payroll processing, bookkeeping, and payroll and sales tax returns.
Warner J. Gale, CPA, Mobile, AL
Manager, Sept 2009–June 2012
Deloitte & Touche LLP, Jacksonville, FL
Senior Audit Associate, Sept 2007–Sept 2009
EDUCATION
Master of Accountancy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, Jan 2007
Bachelor of Accountancy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, Aug 2001–Jan 2006
PERSONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, Finance and Budget Committee, 2015
Raise the Roof, Planning Committee, 2012
Young Leaders of United Way, Board Member and Volunteer Committee Chair, 2011
Oct. 15, 2015–Danny White / Team Focus
Danny White is a native of Alabama. He was raised in Millry, Alabama.
He got his Degree from the University of South Alabama 2001. He began working with youths right out of college. He was an At-risk educator/coordinator for a local Non-Profit program in town for 10 years before joining the Team Focus family. In 2004 he joined Team Focus as their Education Director, and in 2011 he became the Regional Director for the Mobile chapter of Team Focus. Mr. White has been married to Mrs. Jennifer White for 14 years and they have three beautiful children together: Dallas White, Andrew White, and Virginia Grace White.
Oct. 8, 2015–Dr. Chris Puto / Spring Hill College
Dr. Christopher Puto ’64 was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2003. He is a well-known leader in business education and has held management positions in the private sector. He most recently was the Dean and Opus Distinguished Chair of the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas. Prior to that, he served as Dean of the Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Puto’s academic specialties are marketing strategy, consumer and managerial decision-making and advertising. He was the first person to receive a Ph.D. in business administration from Duke University. Puto has an M.B.A. from the University of Miami (Fla.) and a B.S. in economics from Spring Hill College. He has won several research and teaching awards, including the Sheth Foundation/Journal of Consumer Research Award for significant long-term contributions to consumer research, and the Anderson Consulting Professor of the Year at the University of Arizona.
Oct. 1, 2015–ROTARY ANNUAL GALA (NO regular meeting)
Sept. 24, 2015–Ben Raines / Executive Director Weeks Bay Fndn., Inc.
Ben Raines is the executive director of the Weeks Bay Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to protecting coastal land in Alabama. In his first two years with the Foundation, the organization has protected more than two million dollars worth of wetlands, pitcher plant bogs and maritime forests. He served for 14 years as the environment editor for the Mobile Press-Register, where his environmental reporting garnered more than two dozen state and national journalism awards. Prior to joining the Press-Register, Raines worked at newspapers in Oregon and for NBC Nightly News in Washington D.C. Born in Birmingham, he attended Duke University and New York University, where he earned a film degree. His underwater film work has appeared in documentaries on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Television and the HD Network. His film, America’s Amazon, about the Mobile River Basin and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, was nominated for an Emmy.
Breaking the Public Trust: A reporter’s perspective on the BP oil spill and the federal government, 5 years later.
Sept. 17, 2015–Amy Rice
AMY M. RICE
Amy moved to Mobile Alabama a little over a year ago after living in Hawaii for 25 years. She graduated from the University of Maine and is a licensed civil engineer and also holds an associates degree in architectural engineering. The majority of her career has been spent working on large scale real estate projects throughout the Hawaiian islands. She has been involved in a variety of projects including affordable housing, luxury residential neighborhoods, high rise condos, private beach clubs, large lot subdivisions, waste water treatment plants, archaeological digs, and even golf course construction. The last 5 years in Hawaii Amy was employed by the US District Courts overseeing a $120 million dollar renovation of the Hawaii Federal Courthouse, while it was in use and occupied.
Amy transferred with the Courts to the Southern Alabama District to oversee the construction of the new courthouse as well as the renovation of the James Campbell courthouse in downtown Mobile. She lives in Baldwin County and has become a member of the Fairhope Yacht Club.