J.W. Carpenter began his tenure as the inaugural president of Prosper Birmingham in February 2021. Previously, he led the Birmingham Education Foundation for eight years and prior to that was the inaugural executive director of Teach For America-Alabama, the same organization where he began his career as a classroom teacher in Helena, Arkansas. J.W. also practiced law for nearly four years in Birmingham. Carpenter earned a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. He serves on the Boards of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, the Jefferson County Greenways Commission, and the Homewood City Schools Foundation. He is the proud father of Jack (12), Margaret (10, and Marshmallow Biscuits (2, a bunny).

Merrilee Challiss (b 1971, Cleveland, Ohio) is a multi-media artist who lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama. Challiss received a BA in Studio Arts (UAB 1994), an MFA Sculpture (Penn Academy of Fine Arts 2000), and a M Ed in Visual Arts (UAB 2022). Challiss was Co-owner of BottleTree Café, a music venue, café, bar, and event center in Birmingham, Alabama from 2006-2015 and from 2023 - 2025 was the ED of Studio By The Tracks, a non-profit art studio that provides materials, studio space, and facilitated studio time to adult and youth artists on the autism spectrum.

Jessica Chriesman is an award-winning filmmaker and educator. She is the Director of Education and Outreach at Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema. She teaches in the Communications Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has led storytelling and filmmaking classes and workshops across the United States and internationally. Her work has screened in film festivals around the world.

Cori Fain-Forrest is the Founder & CEO of Moxi, a tech-powered childcare platform redefining how today’s families access flexible, high-quality care. A former daycare teacher turned startup operator and now award-winning founder, Cori blends deep personal experience with operational expertise to build solutions that meet the real needs of modern parents. Under her leadership, Moxi launched its flagship childcare centers, surpassed 2,000 on-demand bookings within months, released its mobile app, and continues to scale through new centers and steady membership growth. In 2025, Cori was honored as Soul of the South’s Innovator of the Year for her work reshaping the future of care. Cori lives in Alabama with her family.

Kevin Ferguson is the co-founder of Starlight Haven, an outdoor hospitality firm dedicated to making the outdoors more accessible.

Ronnie Gatrey is the founder of RLG Productions, a media production company that specializes in strategic video marketing and production services for small businesses and nonprofits.

Brittney Gray is the founder of KnowBra, which uses advanced AI to ensure the best mastectomy bra fitting for breast cancer survivors, providing comfort, confidence, and personalized care.

Xuan Huang is an academic turned startup founder. She cofounded Milkman, an AI-native grocery curation platform for retailers and CPGs.

Gaines is the President of The World Baseball League. He has worked at The White House, Treasury Department, Teach For America, KIPP Charter Schools, EY Parthenon, and A/B Consulting. His journey has taken him from school districts across to country to developing the Hospitality Strategy for the 2024, 2026, and 2028 Olympics. He is a lover of people, a believer in the future, and a student of all things interesting. He holds an MBA and M.Ed from The University of Virginia and a BA in Political Science from Samford University.

Trent Kocurek lives in Hoover, Alabama with his wife, Terri, and their three children Sawyer, Oliver, and Isla. He is the founder and CEO of Equip, an AI-native platform built to empower individuals with support needs and the people who support them. Throughout his career, Trent has built companies committed to creating positive change in the world.

Jess is the founder and CEO of Idyllo, building AI-first software for SMBs in the home services and construction trades, and co-founder of Abundant America, a nonprofit supporting state and local elected officials pioneering new models of outcomes-focused policy-making and civic engagement. Spanning a background in tech, small business strategy and entrepreneurship, Jess is a regular advisor to large tech companies, startups and trades businesses navigating the AI transition. She is a 2x founder, previously scaling a multi-national advisory business and has worked in over 20 countries. She is a Techstars alum, distance athlete, and lives with her husband and bird dog in downtown Birmingham.

Dave Masom is the CEO of Conserv and previously served as its Chief Product Officer, overseeing product, design, and engineering. Dave began his career at Deloitte UK, in management consulting. At CAN Invest, advised social enterprises and developed the impact measurement framework for the UK Social Stock Exchange. After moving to the US in 2014, he was an early employee at Pack Health, founding the product and engineering teams and contributing to its 2022 acquisition by Quest Diagnostics. He also co-founded AppThink, a platform for startup accelerators, and has a degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Bristol.

Hannah is a creative problem-solver currently serving as the Managing Director at MAKEbhm, a makerspace and creative coworking hub in Birmingham, Alabama. Hannah was brought up in her mom’s costume shop and her dad’s garage. Tinkering, creating, and redesigning anything that had a faulty function. At MAKEbhm, Hannah wears many hats—overseeing operations, strategy, facilities, membership, and education while managing everything from kiln repairs to studio buildouts. Her work has evolved alongside the space, and she is deeply invested in the artists, makers, and small business owners she works with everyday.

Ruth Ann Moss is the founding Executive Director of Small Magic, the nation’s largest city-level implementation of early literacy edtech. She brings nearly a decade of experience as a teacher, coach, and nonprofit leader focused on education and opportunity. Outside of work, she serves on the board of Prosper, advises at Moxi, and bakes lots of cookies with her daughter.

Tyden Rickard is an Alabama-born entrepreneur and creative-economy builder. He founded T. Rickard Productions at 14 and has since led projects reaching more than 60 million viewers worldwide. Tyden now leads the Film Exchange and AlabamaCreates, initiatives focused on growing Alabama’s talent pipeline and expanding opportunities for young filmmakers, designers, and digital creators across the state.

Austin lives in the future and builds organizations and communities that take us there.

Will Blackburn is co-founder of DevClarity, an AI-based software management platform for developers. 

Delphine Carter is the founder and CEO of Boulo Solutions, a diverse recruiting platform for working parents.

Jarrod Glasgow is co-founder of crewOS, a platform that streamlines field service company operations and helps grow their business.

Alie B. Gorrie is a performer, activist and arts advocate working to ensure performance arts experiences are accessible to those with disabilities. 

Kara Halfaker is the founder and executive director of No Fear Finances Empowerment Center, an accounting/bookkeeping solution for historically underserved small business owners.

Garrett Harper is the executive director of Urban Ministry, a faith-based housing nonprofit in Birmingham’s historic West End neighborhood.

Shekinah Joy Lee is a therapist and founder of Purposed Joy LLC, a wellness start up committed to making mental healthcare accessible and empowering individuals on their unique journeys to holistic health.

Gina McClanahan is the founder of Black Dove Communications, utilizing AI to help individuals better understand their own communication style and the style of those they are interacting with to optimize conversations and outcomes. 

Will McGarity is the founder and principal of Stick Architecture, a firm utilizing wood technologies as a more environmentally friendly building material. 

Rachel Morgan is a film programmer, screenwriter and professor of film at Lawson State Community College.

Elliott Porter is CEO and co-founder at Linq, a digital business card business for modern networking. 

James Sutton is director of operations at Foot Soldiers Park in Selma, Alabama.

Samantha Williams is the executive director of Birmingham Promise, a nonprofit organization that provides college scholarships for Birmingham high school graduates. 

Erika is founder and CEO of Accelerate Wind, where she helps buildings achieve net zero targets with affordable wind technology for commercial buildings. Erika is a systems thinker, problem solver, and community builder who loves solving problems which require input from many disciplines.

Courtney is an educator and founder of Urban Community Montessori School. She is a visionary leader that is rebuilding communities through equitable and accessible Montessori educational opportunities for all.

Alex is the founder and CEO of Opportunity Alabama, an economic development organization transforming Alabama’s communities through public and private investment in physical spaces and places. Alex previously worked as an attorney specializing in tax credit and economic-development related work and Teach for America Corp Member in one of the most rural and impoverished counties in Alabama.

Ace is the owner of Alchemy footwear and apparel, a lifestyle boutique in 5 Points South. Alchemy is about breaking down barriers and creating connection through fashion. Ace also leads Alchemy Run Crew, an inclusive, community-minded running club.

Emily is an economic developer that believes purposeful teams build better communities. As a strategist and executive, she works with teams to spot and seize opportunities that makes regions more competitive for investment and good jobs

Jahman is an award-winning playwright, poet, filmmaker, and co-founder and executive director of The Flourish Alabama an arts nonprofit dedicated to helping artists Bloom. The core of Jahman's work centers around "the Flourish", a theory stating "Black people are infinitely possible beings.”

Tamika is the founder and Executive Director of Community Care Development Network (CCDN). After growing up in poverty in many of the communities CCDN serves, Tamika has dedicated her work to provide family and life services, mentoring, educational services, community outreach, and youth advocacy.

Emile is the founder and CEO of Ride Resorts, which is developing sustainable, socially-impactful bike parks with a vision of becoming the "Top Golf of mountain biking."

Amelia serves as an Urban Studio Designer at David Baker Architects. After living in New York and Boston for a decade, she moved back to the South to explore how opportunity and connection are tied to place.

Priska is a journalist, writer, and Training Manager at Report for America. She was previously managing editor of the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration among public media stations in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. She previously worked as a reporter and producer at Reveal, KPCC in Los Angeles and NPR. She is passionate about supporting diverse talent in the news industry.

Troy is a social entrepreneur and change disruptor. He is the founder of the Modern House Coffee Shop, a nonprofit that brings coffee and community together to empower financially vulnerable individuals so they can become independent, sustainably employed, contributors to society.