Small Business Acceleration  Center: Learn About CARA

Vice President of Field Operations at Spire

Leonard Casey Jr. is a Kansas City, Missouri native and a graduate of Avila University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. He later obtained an MBA from The University of Arizona Global Campus. Passionate about giving back to his community, Leonard serves as the Chair of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night campaign, a board member of Birmingham’s Habitat for Humanity, and a board member of Jones Valley Farm. He is also a former member of the Alumni Board for Avila University, a role that allowed him to contribute to the institution that shaped his personal and professional foundation.
As Vice President of Field Operations at Spire, Leonard is committed to upholding the company’s mission: “Answer every challenge, advance every community, and enrich every life through the strength of our energy.” Throughout his tenure, he has held various leadership positions, including serving on the Community Outreach Committee, acting as a Project Lead, and managing several teams. His leadership has played a vital role in providing safe and reliable energy, helping families warm their water, heat their homes, and prepare meals.
Above all, Leonard considers his greatest achievement to be marrying his wonderful wife and raising two amazing children.

Co-Founder and CEO

Vice President of Community Development Coordinator, Pinnacle Financial Partners

Monica is currently the Community Development Coordinator and Vice President for Pinnacle Financial Partners. She started her career with SouthTrust Bank in 2001. She stepped away from banking briefly to learn more about the design and fashion industry working for Saks Department Store Group. Seeking to return to the banking industry, she joined AmSouth Bank; which later became Regions Bank, where she supported C-suite executives throughout various divisions of the organization. Upon IBERIABANK’s entry into the Birmingham Market in 2010, Drake joined the team as Executive Administrative Assistant to support the Alabama Regional President and serve as Board Secretary to the local advisory board. After working closely with community partners, planning many branch grand openings, and many successful client events, Monica was promoted to Public Relations Coordinator at IBERIABANK; which recently merged with First Horizon.

Monica and her husband (John) have two boys and reside in Hueytown. She has actively served the community through roles with United Way, Children’s of Alabama, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Junior Achievement, Maranathan Academy, and her church. She also the immediate past Treasurer for her HOA.

Founder and Executive Director of Network Navigator

Naila Jackson is the Founder and Executive Director of Network Navigator, a Birmingham-based ecosystem initiative designed to connect entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders to the resources and relationships they need to grow. Through her leadership, the platform has evolved into a statewide model for collaboration bridging the gaps between capital access, technical assistance, and small business support across Alabama’s entrepreneurial landscape.
A proud graduate of Alabama State University, Naila’s career began in workforce development, where she specialized in connecting individuals to employment pathways and on-the-job training opportunities. Her passion for economic mobility led her to create tools and programs that help business owners scale sustainably, more notably Network Navigator CORE, a nine-month capacity-building accelerator, and Capital Connect, an AI-powered platform designed to create equal opportunity for borrowers and lenders by streamlining access to capital
and technical assistance.
Naila’s work has positioned her as a trusted ecosystem builder and collaborator, partnering with organizations such as Prosper Birmingham, Access Montgomery, and PNC Bank to strengthen Alabama’s small business infrastructure. Her signature initiatives like Network Navigator Day and the Legacy Business Awards & Small Business Awards to celebrate entrepreneurship while fostering inclusive growth and community impact.
In addition to her local impact, Naila has been featured as a panelist on national stages and was named a finalist in the 2025 Prosperity Now RISE Challenge, where she showcased Capital Connect as a groundbreaking solution for small business lending equity. Recognized by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the city’s Emerging Leaders, she continues to champion innovation, equity, and opportunity across sectors. Her guiding philosophy is simple yet profound: “Purpose-led. People-focused. Platform-powered.”

Chief Operating Officer, Sabre Finance

Samuel Kellett, better known as Sam, is the Chief Operating Officer with Sabre Finance, a non-profit lender and technical assistance provider, based in Birmingham that services the entire state of Alabama and the Columbus, GA metropolitan area. Sabre Finance, founded in 2014 by Dr. Ray Morris, is a CDFI and SBA lender serving entrepreneurs through expert technical assistance and prudent access to capital. Sabre Finance is a mission driven organization serving the underserved small business community, growing alongside them from start-up to expansion. Sam has worked directly with small business owners to meet their individualized needs since 2019. His experience in business development and passion for learning leads Sam’s drive to ensure a smooth experience in helping entrepreneurs navigate new paths by listening to client needs and matching proven methods with innovative decision-making. As a student-athlete, Kellett received both his Bachelor of Science in Marketing and his Master of Business Administration from Jacksonville State University. Sam enjoys traveling, staying active, and enjoying new food and coffee across the state with his wife, Anna and family.

President & CEO, North Jefferson Chamber of Commerce

Founder & CEO, Polaris Birmingham

President, Alabama Municipal Solutions Inc.

Emory Mauldin was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from Ramsay High School in1995. He graduated from Hampton University (Go Pirates!) in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Emory came back to home to attend Cumberland School of Law school where he graduated and passed the Bar in 2002.

After being in private practice for over a decade, he became Counsel for Mission Alabama where has been instrumental in multiple initiatives including The Birmingham College and Career Fair which has helped students across Alabama secure over Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) in scholarships since 2012. He is one of three founders of Career Launch Alabama, an innovative partnership that helps high school students develop work force development skills while being compensated at industry leading companies.

He is currently the Managing Attorney for Indigent Defense in the Birmingham Municipal Court, the busiest court in the state of Alabama. He was a founding member and Past Vice President of the Birmingham Urban League Young Professionals, a member of Young Business Leaders, the Jefferson County Young Democrats and has served as a youth mentor to middle school students.

Birmingham General Manager of Endeavor

Economic Development Director, Bullock County Development Authority

David Padgett is the Economic Development Director at Bullock County Development Authority. A native of Bullock County, David has a unique perspective on the challenges of rural Alabama. He has served in this position since January 2019. David also serves as President of Grow Southeast Alabama, a regional non-profit united for economic development. Padgett was appointed to the State of Alabama Electric Vehicle Advisory Board. He currently serves as a Board member of Sparks Foundation for Wallace Community College in Eufaula, Alabama, the South Central Alabama Development Commission, and the Bullock County Chamber of Commerce. He is an active member of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, the Alabama Agribusiness Council, the Alabama Forestry Association, and the Southern Economic Development Council. Padgett is a graduate of Auburn University in Industrial Operations Management. He has one daughter, Anna Kathryn Padgett, Chief Financial Officer of Lee County Alabama.

Founder & Manager of the Academic Small Business Alliance

Demetria Scott is a seasoned professional with thirty years of experience in business diversity. As an Officer in UAB's Small Business Development, she manages the Academic Small Business Alliance (ASBA) Bridge to Success Internship Program. Recognizing the need to support small businesses in addressing their talent challenges, Demetria has facilitated opportunities for UAB students to gain professional work experience. Over the past decade, she has identified, recruited, and developed partnerships with local and small businesses in the greater Birmingham area, pairing them with UAB students to strengthen their talent pipelines and meet human resource needs.

Under her leadership, more than 150 local and small businesses have participated in the ASBA Program, and the team has successfully recruited over 285 student interns through proactive outreach efforts. Demetria’s unwavering dedication has not only benefited these businesses by providing them with vital talent but also enriched the students' professional lives, with many internships leading to full-time employment, thereby contributing to the economic vitality of the community. Demetria’s work at UAB and in the Birmingham community is marked by her quiet but powerful impact. Her initiatives have played a significant role in fostering a stronger, more prosperous community by supporting the attraction, development, and retention of small businesses and future employees.

Her contributions have earned her several awards from UAB, community organizations, and advocacy groups, recognizing her visible commitment, compassion, and continuous devotion to enhancing the growth of local small and diverse businesses and students. In July 2022, Demetria was honored with the President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award.

Demetria is also a proud mother to her son, Johnathan DeMarco Scott, and daughter-in-law, Jessica Gardner Scott. She is an active member of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church-Rising, where she serves on the Steward Board, Myrtle J. Glover-Women’s Missionary Society, and as a finance team member.

President & CEO of 58 INC | Shelby County Economic Development Corporation

President & CEO, Complete3Tech Solutions

Chris White
Chris serves as the President and CEO of Complete3 Tech Solutions, LLC. He decided to pursue a family life-long dream of becoming a business owner. He, along with his siblings, established Complete3 Tech Solutions in 2015. March 2016, Complete3 Tech Solutions acquired Lyons Computers & Technologies. This venture results in forty (40) plus years of technology experience and gives C3TS the ability to provide the latest innovative solutions.

As Chief Executive Officer, Chris negotiates contracts, oversees daily operations, supervises the technology team, and makes strategic decisions that will align his company with proven leaders in the tech industry. As a result, Complete3 Tech Solutions offers a wide range of innovative, high quality, cost-effective, and personalized technology solutions. Chris and his team created the VBoxS3, a centralized Cloud solution that allows businesses to access all their data and applications at any time from any location all securely. This solution provides a cost savings benefit to companies by “never having to buy another PC” and includes Cybersecurity, Virtualization, and Business Continuity for small to medium businesses, enterprise corporations, local, state, and federal government agencies.

Also, under his leadership, the company has obtained Minority Business Enterprise Certification (MBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Certification (DBE), National Minority Supplier Development Council Certification (NMSDC), Class 1 MBE Supplier of the Year (SRMSDC), Emerging Leader 2019 Graduate, and an Award of Excellence with Mobile Area Water & Sewer System Mentor Protégé Program. Chris serves as Vice Chairman on the Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance and Chairman of the “Top 50 over 50” Positive Maturity board.

Chris’s desire is to help businesses understand that up-to-date technology is a critical element for their business to grow and become more successful. He is enthusiastic about helping clients see the need to evaluate their current infrastructure and how utilizing modern technology can be more profitable and increase security. He is a native of Mobile, Alabama. Chris currently resides near Birmingham, AL with his wife and three young children.

Regional Director Legislative & Ex. Affairs, AT&T

Hometown –Tuscaloosa, AL

BS Degree in Advertising, Minor in Business Marketing from The University of Southern Mississippi

Lived in Shelby County for 28 years

Worked for the Birmingham News for 8 years, and the BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Company for 5 years, prior to her current position as Regional Director of Legislative and External Affairs for AT&T-Alabama (2008-present).

Current role description: Representing AT&T-Alabama in 22 counties as a liaison to state and elected officials, city leaders, business leaders, non-profit organizations, education leaders, emergency officials, etc. Cultivating relationships for significant impact as a community partner.

Community Development Director, City of Montgomery

Chairman

Frank Woodson is currently the President of Digital Fulcrum, LLC. Digital Fulcrum is a digital communications company that helps to leverage brands by using the latest digital technology to transport ideas and services to make the Global Marketplace local