Teresa Atkins is director of career and technical education for the Greene County Board of Education, and has owned Broad Horizons Travel LLC since 2011. She also has worked in child nutrition, career preparedness and related fields in Georgia. She holds an educational specialist degree from Columbus State University in Georgia, a master’s in education from Iowa State University and a bachelor’s from Alabama A&M University. She is a Eutaw Area Chamber of Commerce board member.
Diane Brooker is community relations manager for Alabama Power in Marengo and Sumter counties and parts of Perry County. She is vice chairman of the Marengo County Economic Development Authority, vice chairman of Main Street Demopolis and immediate past chair of the Demopolis Industrial Development Authority. She is also active with the Demopolis Schools Foundation board and the Demopolis Rotary Club and helps with local events in Demopolis. She is a University of Alabama graduate.
Doug Brewer is president and CEO of the Tombigbee Healthcare Authority and Whitfield Regional Hospital in Demopolis, part of the UAB Health System. Earlier he served in leadership roles at Citizens Baptist Medical Center in Talladega, Brookwood Baptist Medical Center and Tenet Healthcare’s Atlanta Medical Center. He is a University of Central Oklahoma graduate with an MBA from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Brewer has also served on the Brain Injury Association of America board and was board chairman for the past two years. He serves on the board of Talladega College, the local Industrial Development board and the Demopolis City Schools Foundation board.
Marcy Burroughs is superintendent of the Sumter County School System. A graduate of Stillman College, she holds master’s degrees from the University of Alabama and the University of West Alabama and a D.Ed, from Samford University. Before becoming superintendent, she worked with the Alabama State Department of Education and as an administrator with schools in Bessemer, Tuscaloosa County and Dallas County, and she taught middle and high school mathematics in Tuscaloosa County schools and adjunct professor of mathematics at Shelton State and Lawson State community colleges.
Marcia Bygrave is the founder of CareConnect Training Solutions LLC, a company focused on the development and training of caregivers. She earned her licensed practical nurse degree from Shelton State Community College and a bachelor’s from Faulkner University, a master’s from Houston Baptist University and a doctorate in public health from Walden University. She serves on the boards of the Greene County Industrial Development Authority and the West Alabama Multicultural Alliance.
Rhae Darsey is executive director of Main Street Demopolis, which she helped organize in 2022. Darsey is a graduate of Auburn University with a law degree from Mississippi College School of Law. Before returning to Demopolis, she served as a municipal court judge for the city of Meridian, Mississippi; a prosecutor for Youth Court of Lauderdale County, Mississippi; head of her own law firm in Meridian and associate/limited partner for Lawyers PLLC in Meridian. She has helped create the Demopolis Farmers Market, which she manages, and works with community events including Christmas on the River.
Amy Jones is dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) director at the University of West Alabama. A graduate of the University of New Orleans, she holds a master’s from the University of Louisville and a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. She holds her LPGA Teaching Certification, is a member of the board for the United Way of West Alabama and serves in the music ministry for First Baptist Church in Demopolis.
Corey Jones is superintendent of the Greene County School District. Beginning his career as a secondary math and science teacher, he moved into administrative roles with the Perry County Board of Education before taking the post in Greene County. Jones has undergraduate and master’s degrees from Troy University and a doctorate in education from Alabama State University with certification in education leadership.
Carrie Logan is the president of the Eutaw Area Chamber of Commerce. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Troy University. She is a member of the Greene County Long Term Recovery Committee, the Greene County Historical Society and the Greene County Historical Board.
Rob Pearson is a partner with Mason and Gardner CPAs LLC. His specialties include profitability analysis, cash flow projections, forensic investigations, and business and government advisory services. He is a graduate of Samford University. Pearson is chairman of the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences Foundation and serves on the SmartBank advisory board, plus he is the radio voice of Demopolis High School football and the Blue Heat Nation Podcast.
Marcia Pugh is CEO and administrator of the Greene County Health System, which includes Greene County Hospital, its residential care center, Greene County Physician’s clinic and other specialty services. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Tuskegee University, her master’s from the University of Phoenix and her doctorate in nursing practice from the University of Alabama. She has more than 40 years of experience in health care, serving in positions from charge nurse and head nurse to chief nursing officer.
Don Wallace, a CPA from Moundville, is the newest Hale County commissioner. Earlier, he served two terms as a Tuscaloosa County commissioner.
La’Shun Wallace, a graduate of Sumter County High School, served in the U.S. Air Force as an avionics specialist, serving in Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Afghan War and Operation Enduring. He now owns a non-profit called IV Vets (4Vets) that specializes in underserved and rural areas that need economic and educational development, helping with housing needs and youth programs. He also owns Sumter County Skilled Trades, certifying students in commercial construction.
J.J. Wedgworth is vice president of institutional advancement at the University of West Alabama and is the founding head of school and CEO of University Charter School, a public PK-12 charter school in Livingston. An Auburn University graduate, she holds master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Alabama. She has been honored by United Way of West Alabama with its Young Leaders of Alabama and as a member of Leadership Alabama’s Emerging Leader group. She was recently inducted into the University of West Alabama’s Society of the Golden Key, the highest award given to its alumni, faculty and staff.
Tony Willis is superintendent of the Demopolis City Schools System. The Education Recovery Scorecard has highlighted the district for achieving the highest minority math growth in the nation and ranking among the top 10 in all populations for the past three years. A University of North Alabama graduate, Willis has a master’s from the University of Alabama and a doctorate from Marshall University. His 28 years in education include work in residential treatment facilities, teaching science in various school districts, coaching and a variety of administrative roles.
This article appears in the June 2024 issue of Business Alabama.
