Kindell Anderson was named Montgomery County administrator in November 2024 and has been in municipal leadership for more than 15 years, including serving as the deputy administrator for the county. The LaGrange, Georgia, native is a graduate of Alabama A&M University. Anderson is a member of the 100 Black Men of Montgomery, Leadership Montgomery’s Legacy Class and has held leadership roles within Emerge Montgomery and the Landmarks Foundation for Old Alabama Town.
LaBarron Boone has been an attorney with the Beasley Allen Law Firm since 1995 and was the first Black partner at a major law firm in Montgomery. Boone serves on the boards of Cleveland Avenue YMCA, Resurrection Catholic Church, Child Protection, Medical Outreach Ministries and the Central Alabama Community Foundation. He works with the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Foundation and is a member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100. The Mobile native attended Auburn University and the University of Alabama.
Derrick Cunningham is sheriff of Montgomery County. A Troy University graduate, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix. He is also a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and the National Sheriffs Institute, with additional credentials from the American Crime Prevention Institute. He served for 24 years in the Alabama National Guard. Cunningham serves on the United Way community council board and is active in the Alabama Sheriffs Association, the National Sheriffs Association, Boy Scouts of America Tukabatchee Council, Exchange Club of Montgomery, Kiwanis Club of Montgomery, Leadership Montgomery and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Liz Dowe Filmore is chief of staff to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. Filmore earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public administration at Troy University. Filmore has worked as an adviser to the governor since Ivey ran for reelection as lieutenant governor in 2013.
Caryn Hughes is the market president for ServisFirst Bank in Montgomery and has been in banking for more than 35 years. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama and is a Certified Public Accountant. Hughes serves on various charitable boards and committees, including chairman of the board for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.
James Locke is a professor at Auburn University at Montgomery, where he founded the college’s Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory to focus on the impact of AI on organizational leadership, applications and ethics. He also initiated the AI and machine learning curriculum for both undergraduates and graduate students and led the development of the nation’s first Masters of AI degree program in a non-engineering field. Locke co-authored a textbook on AI for non-engineering students, “Introduction to AI and Machine Learning,” which will be available in 2025. A Montgomery native, Locke was educated at Auburn University and Harvard Business School.
Lora McClendon is governmental and public affairs representative at PowerSouth Energy Cooperative. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and her master’s degree from Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business. After college, she worked as a congressional staffer for South Carolina and Alabama congressional delegations in Washington D.C. She also previously served as chief of staff for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. She serves on boards for River Region Trails, the Alabama FFA Foundation and Goodwill Industries of Central Alabama and is an advisory board member of the Alabama Trails Commission.
Ellen McNair is secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. Before taking that role in January 2024, she served as the chief economic development officer for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce where she helped bring 600 national and international projects with a combined capital investment exceeding $8 billion and almost 30,000 new jobs to the community. McNair attended Auburn University and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.
Carmen Moore-Zeigler represents District 2 on the Montgomery County Commission. The Montgomery native attended Troy University Montgomery. In 2006, she and her father launched the Moore-Zeigler Group, a business consulting company that specializes in advising and assisting small minority business owners. She regularly supports the Montgomery Public Schools and funds several projects.
Steven L. Reed is mayor of Montgomery, the city’s first Black mayor. Earlier, Reed served as probate judge. Reed is a Morehouse College graduate with an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Honors include the Dr. Martin Luther King Leadership Award for Governmental Service and selection as a New Deal Leader and for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Reed is active in the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He serves on the boards of the River Region United Way, the Montgomery Area YMCA, Trustmark Bank and Valiant Cross Academy.
Sheron Rose is executive vice president of external affairs at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce. She has served on the chamber’s senior leadership team since 2015. Prior to joining the chamber, Rose held human resources and governmental affairs roles at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. She also has extensive experience working in governmental and legislative affairs for associations and elected leadership at state and federal levels. Rose is a graduate of Tuskegee Institute with a master’s degree from Troy University.
Doug Singleton is chair of the Montgomery County Commission. He has also served as chairman of the Central Alabama Aging Consortium and the Montgomery American Youth Baseball and Softball Committee and served on the Committee of 100 board of control and economic development. He founded Montgomery Miracle League and serves on the board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Garrett Coliseum Cooperative.
Gordon Stone is mayor of the Town of Pike Road. When he first became mayor in 2004, the town had 350 residents and covered a two-mile area. Today, it has grown to 8,000 residents and covers a 16-mile area. Stone is an Auburn University graduate with an MBA from Auburn University at Montgomery. He is executive director of the Higher Education Partnership, an advocacy group dedicated to strengthening the standing of four-year public universities in Alabama and the role higher education plays in the state’s economic well-being. He is also executive vice president of the National Young Farmer Educational Association.
Col. Shamekia Toliver is the commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, where she leads operating, infrastructure and services support for 42,000 active duty, reserve, civilian and contract personnel, students and families. Toliver has served in the Air Force since 1994. Her awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, Air and Space Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Air and Space Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Army Achievement Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal with one service star.
Jamie Wilson was named interim superintendent for Montgomery Public Schools in November 2024. Prior to that she held various leadership roles, including chief of staff for the district, director of human resources for Reynoldsburg City Schools and middle school principal. Wilson earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and her master’s degree from Governors State University in Chicago, and she completed the Superintendent Licensure Program at Ohio State University.
This article appears in the January 2025 issue of Business Alabama.