Aligning Resources for Collective Impact

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Russell Booker
CEO, Spartanburg Academic Movement

Dr. Russell W. Booker, CEO of Spartanburg Academic Movement in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is a dedicated advocate for education and community service, boasting over 30 years of diverse experience in the field. His unwavering commitment revolves around empowering students to lead lives of distinction and service. As the leader of the Spartanburg Academic Movement, Dr. Booker is supporting an ambitious integrated economic mobility plan, Movement 2030, with the goal of providing thousands of children in Spartanburg a clear path to upward mobility.

Retired as the Superintendent of Spartanburg County School District Seven, Dr. Booker has significantly influenced the local education landscape. Beyond his role in Spartanburg, he currently serves as the Chair of the StriveTogether Board of Directors and sits on the board of directors for Purpose Built Communities. Additionally, he holds trustee positions at Wingate University, the Mary Black Foundation, Strategic Spartanburg, and the Spartanburg Regional Hospital Foundation.

Dr. Booker’s contributions have garnered him numerous accolades, including the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Humanitarian Award, recognition as South Carolina Superintendent of the Year, and induction into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Athlete Alumni. In 2020, he received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of his dedicated service to education. Most recently, he was honored with OneSpartanburg Inc.’s 2023 Neville Holcombe Distinguished Citizen Award.

A proud member of the Spartanburg Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Inc., and the South Carolina Liberty Fellowship, Dr. Booker’s roots run deep in his community. He earned his B.S. degree in Education from Wingate University and holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Presently, he serves as a By All Means Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s EdRedesign Lab in the Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Booker and his wife Sheryl reside in Spartanburg, and count their sons to be among their greatest blessings. Grant, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, was commissioned as a US Marine Corps officer in 2023, while Maxwell is a member of the Harvard College Class of ’26. The Booker family is actively involved in the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, where they find solace and inspiration in their faith community.

Collective-Impact Funding

Cecilia Gutierrez
Managing Director, Portfolio Lead

Cecilia Gutierrez partners with the Chief Impact Officer on strategy development and implementation and works closely with staff to establish and manage team operations to help achieve impact.

Previously, Cecilia served as Deputy Director of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBKA), Obama Foundation, where she co-led the development and launch of the MBK Framework to Affect Systems Change. Prior to this, Cecilia spent five years as President and CEO of the Miami Children’s Initiative, a place-based cradle to career strategy in the community of Liberty City in Miami, FL.

Cecilia earned a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Boston College, and she was a National Urban Fellow.

Collective-Impact Funding

Megan Oglesby
Executive Director, Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation

The Congdon Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promotes improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. The Foundation’s work is focused in three primary areas in which they hope to make a deep and lasting impact:

1. Increasing access to and the quality of education
2. Addressing critical community needs
3. Supporting economic development for revitalization and stabilization

The Congdon Foundation was established in 2015 and its board of directors include Earl and Kitty Congdon along with their three adult children: Karen Pigman, Audrey Congdon, and David Congdon.

Megan Oglesby was hired as the Foundation’s first executive director in 2018 where she works collaboratively with the Board to advance the goals of the Foundation. Megan plays a key role in strategic planning and helps shape and refine the Foundation’s works.  The Foundation board empowers Megan to fully immerse herself into the High Point community so that she is able to create and maintain strong relationships with nonprofit organizations and community leaders throughout the region in order to understand and articulate evolving needs in the city and region.

Megan earned her Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communications from Elon University in 2009 and her Masters of Business Administration from High Point University in 2015. Prior to joining the Congdon Foundation, Megan served as the Senior Director of Leadership and Events as well as Member Engagement for Business High Point – Chamber of Commerce. Megan is a High Point native and currently resides in High Point with her husband and three children.

Collective-Impact Funding

Walker Sanders
President, CFGG

Walker is from Charlotte, NC and attended Sewanee: The University of the South where he double majored in Economics and Political Science (although his father always said it was a double major in Bourbon and Water). He started his career in the investment and insurance business in 1989 and earned his Certified Financial Planner certification in 1991. His philanthropic career started in 1993 with his work at Foundation for the Carolinas. He became the first President and CEO of a healthcare conversion foundation in 1996 and was later hired as the President of CFGG in 1999.

Walker enjoys many things about Greensboro: being involved in the arts, visiting local parks, ACC, UNC Greensboro, NCAT, Greensboro and Guilford basketball, and the many fantastic hiking trails. Walker and his wife, Dabney, enjoy traveling, cool and outstanding dining adventures, and entertaining at their home.

Fun Fact: Walker has two dogs: Hudson who is a Bernese Mountain dog and Scout who is a Labrador/Springer mix.

Early Childhood

Heather Adams
Executive Director, Guilford County Partnership for Children

Heather Adams is an experienced early childhood education and non-profit professional who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Guilford County Partnership for Children, the local Smart Start agency providing support to children and their families prior to kindergarten entry. Before joining the team at the Partnership, Heather served as Vice President of Public Will Building at Ready for School, Ready for Life, an early childhood system building initiative charged with creating a connected, innovative system of care for Guilford County’s young children and families. She joined the team at Ready for School, Ready for Life in 2020 after 16 years at the Rockingham County Partnership for Children, where she served as the Executive Director from late 2005 until her departure. Heather’s prior experience includes several years as an early childhood educator, a Montessori classroom teacher and work with the Greensboro Children’s Museum during its design/implementation phase. Heather is a proud alumna of Guilford College.

Early Childhood

Jacqueline McCraken
Chief Impact Officer, Ready for School, Ready for Life

Jacqueline is a dedicated advocate committed to improving the lives of children, their families, and vulnerable adult populations. With a distinguished career marked by leadership and strategic vision, she has consistently demonstrated a knack for driving operational excellence and optimizing processes to propel missions forward, resulting in positive community outcomes.

As the Chief Impact Officer at Ready for School, Ready for Life, Jacqueline harnesses philanthropic resources surpassing $10 million annually. Leveraging her experience, Jacqueline partners with community-based programs to design implementation and scaling strategies, identifies opportunities to integrate continuous quality improvement practices, and spearheads the development of cutting-edge technology to enhance both effectiveness and efficiency. Through her strategic leadership, Jacqueline ensures that every dollar invested translates into tangible and lasting positive impacts within the community.

Previously, Jacqueline served as the Chief Executive Officer for Junior Achievement of the Triad for seven years. Under her leadership, the organization experienced remarkable growth, with student reach and revenue both soaring by over 200%, and net assets increasing by more than 100%. Before her tenure at Junior Achievement, Jacqueline made significant contributions to addressing homelessness at Partners Ending Homelessness. There, she spearheaded initiatives that brought about positive change in homeless service delivery systems, managing a grants portfolio exceeding $5 million from federal, state, and philanthropic sources.

Jacqueline’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In 2017, she was honored as an Outstanding Woman in Business by the Triad Business Journal, and in 2014, she was recognized as one of the 40 Leaders Under 40. Additionally, her leadership at Junior Achievement earned her a finalist position for the prestigious Flemke award, acknowledging offices with exceptional student growth, increased market share, and total revenue growth within Junior Achievement USA. Jacqueline’s commitment to making a difference in the community is reflected in her dynamic leadership and ongoing contributions to transformative initiatives.

Faith-Based

Reginald M. Holiday
Executive Director, City Help of the Triad

Reginald M. Holiday has served over 30 years as a community change agent, facilitator, and nonprofit executive. He inspires people from various sectors to collaborate to accomplish a common objective by leading established organizations and grassroots initiatives in community work. His passion is bringing people and resources together to create community transformation and systemic change from the “block to the board room.”

He is a co-founder, Board President, and Executive Director of City Help of the Triad,  a 501c3 Christian Community Development Corporation that, by standing together and serving as one, connects and mobilizes people and resources to positively impact underrepresented communities, influence success in K-12 education, and contend for the Triad in prayer.

Reggie is a North Carolina A&T State University graduate and is pursuing a Master of Organizational Leadership at Regent University.

He is the best-selling author of the book #LeadWell: A 31-Day Leadership Development Devotional and a collaborating author of the book Brotherhood: 40 Success Stories and Faith Principles for Black Men in Community.

Reggie has been faithfully married to his lovely wife, best friend, and ministry partner, Linda Holiday, for over 34 years; she is the mother of their four children: Dominique (wife Sydney, daughter Nova), Alecia (husband Gary, daughter Brielle, son Asher, daughter Ariel), Justin (wife Sophie, son Maximillian, daughters Ava and Lula) and Wesley Conrad.

Heart Language

Jacinta V. White
Founder, Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing

Jacinta V. White is a symphony. A published poet, facilitator, and coach, she’s the founder of The Word Project, which also publishes the international quarterly, Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing. Jacinta’s latest poetry collection is the acclaimed, Resurrecting the Bones: Born from a Journey through African American Churches & Cemeteries of the Rural South, (Press 53, 2019). Additionally, Jacinta runs Deeper Dive Consulting where she customizes leadership development programs for a number of companies and organizations across the country. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, and has work featured in many publications.

Out-of-School Time

Jakki Cross Davis
Executive Director, D-UP

Jakki Cross Davis is the Executive Director of D-UP Inc. D-UP was a grassroots fitness and education organization founded with her husband Corvin where basketball was the platform however, it has now evolved into numerous programs (currently 16) by meeting the needs of youth and families in the Washington Street Historic District and surrounding communities in High Point, North Carolina. 

It was the displacement of Jakki’s corporate job of 10 years and over two decades serving in various roles related to leadership, organizational, program and community development that made the couple decide to go for Corvin’s dream of building a community center as a haven for youth. D-UP was established in 2007 and incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit in 2010 providing services across the Triad.  In 2011, the organization moved to Washington Street Historic District during the middle of revitalization. The move to Washington Street gave Corvin and Jakki a new zeal with a mission to provide comprehensive wraparound services for children, adults, and families by promoting health, education, and life readiness; seeking to maximize individual life experiences and increase the economic self-sufficiency of families.

Despite the revitalizing efforts on Washington Street—a decrease in drugs, prostitution, and other illegal activity; poverty still existed, creating barriers for families to live healthy lives and children to grow into well-adjusted adults and involved citizens. Corvin and Jakki came to understand by servicing families on Washington Street, that parents, regardless of their race or socioeconomic status; want the best for their children. Their desire is to provide a nurturing and safe environment to impart wisdom and expose children to activities that they may not have the opportunity to do, and to assist parents rearing well diverse, cultural, and positive children empowered to achieve their full potential.  

Jakki’s daily affirmation is “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi.  With Jakki’s leadership and ability to galvanize the community D-UP’s $13.2 million dollar Washington Street Enhancement Project is a catalyst for the economic development and revitalization of historic Washington Street. The Project further supports D-UP expansion goal to serve more youth and families with a message to “Restore the Hope” where they are changing lives, changing generations, and transforming a community.  

In addition to serving as Executive Director of D-UP with its youth and family programs, Jakki is engaged in the community and a part of leadership teams on several community efforts. She is honored to serve as President of the Washington Street Community Association, Board Member of Greater High Point Food Alliance, Resilience High Point, Shift_ed formerly Say Yes Guilford, The Three M’s, High Point School Partnership, Mega Mission Ministries, Boy Scouts Akela District; and Advisory Committee Member of Growing High Point Growdega and past board member of Reading Connections. She also enjoyed serving as a teacher in the Daycare Ministry at her church Abundant Life Church International. Jakki is a proud graduate of North Carolina A&T State University (BS Business Administration) and Strayer University (M. ED Leadership).  

In 2022 Jakki was awarded Women With Vision Community Pioneer Caregiver Award, and she was recently honored as The City of High Point Human Relations Commission 2023 Humanitarian Award.  Of all honors and accolades Jakki is the proudest of being married to Corvin for 33 years and being a mom to their three beautiful daughters Raelin, Corin, and Camille and spending time with along with her extended family and friends.

Post-Secondary Access

Brandi Kennedy
Director of Secondary & Post Secondary Programs, shift_ed

Brandi Kennedy serves as the Director of Secondary & Post Secondary Programs. She aims to create, enhance, and advance opportunities toward more equitable education, workforce experiences, and outcomes. Driven by a desire to help the most overlooked and underserved people access the tools, knowledge, and strategy needed to reach their goals, Brandi is dedicated to building the future. Throughout her career, Brandi has increased access to college, graduate school, and professional careers for first-generation and low-income students and people of color.

Through collaboration with higher education institutions, public school systems, non-profit organizations, foundations, and community partners Brandi has worked to create and implement meaningful programming with data driven results. Brandi is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Studies.

Workforce

Melissa S. Smith
Director of Workforce Development Solutions, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce

Melissa oversees the creation and administration of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s workforce development program, dedicated to advancing the shared interests of the chamber members and the broader business/industry. In this capacity, she collaborates with diverse community and governmental entities, educational institutions, employers, and businesses in various stages such as relocation, expansion, or business retention. Mrs. Smith works holistically within these groups to identify needs and develop comprehensive strategies to address workforce development needs. Additionally, her responsibilities encompass the promotion of programs and resources to foster community education and increase the awareness of training and employment matters, all aimed at enhancing the overall quality of the workforce.

In her prior role, she served as the Business Services Consultant and Apprenticeship Coordinator for the GuilfordWorks Workforce Development Board where she launched the 1st Workforce Board sponsored Apprenticeship Program in the Piedmont Triad Region. Mrs. Smith was also the Project Lead for the Fresh Start Initiative where she orchestrated two Fresh Start initiatives for residents of Guilford County. Fresh Start Reentry and Fresh Start H.I.R.E (Helping Immigrants and Refugees get employed) which were designed to connect our reentry and immigrant populations with training and employment resources. Through her leadership, the Fresh Start: Reentry Initiative was a recipient of the NCWorks Governor’s Award of Distinction for Outstanding Innovative Partnership in 2023.

A product of the Guilford County school system, Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech Communication/Organizational Development from NC A&T State University and a Master of Arts Degree in Strategic Communication from High Point University. Currently, she is pursuing another Master’s Degree in Training and Development from NC State University, Melissa is committed to continuous learning.

Sharing her expertise and best practices is a passion for Melissa, who has presented at various conferences, including ApprenticeshipNC Conference, Southeast Opportunities in Aerospace Regional Summit, Triad Veterans Coalition, NCWorks Commission, NCWorks Partnership Conference, Guilford County Schools CTE and Workforce GPS.

 She is a 2018 graduate of Leadership Greensboro, the City of Greensboro Operational Leadership Program, and a NC Chamber Scholarship Recipient to join the US Chamber TPM Academy. Her affiliations include SETA (Southeastern Employment and Training Association), NCETA (NC Employment and Training Association), NAWDP (National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, Regional Core Team for the Triad Healthcare Alliance, Member of the Business Leaders United for the National Skills Coalition and Site Directors team with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Board Member with the Forge GSO Makerspace and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

On a personal note, Melissa is happily married to her husband Brad and they have 2 handsome boys, William (10) and Langston (4)