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Stephen Black, President and FounderStephen Black
studied American History at The University of Pennsylvania, where he
received his Bachelor’s degree in 1993 graduating magna cum laude,
before attending Yale Law School where he graduated in 1997. Following
law school, Black moved to Birmingham to become involved in public
affairs and to practice law at the firm Maynard, Cooper and Gale. After
three years in private practice, he spent a year serving as an
assistant to the Governor, where he researched policy issues and worked
on economic development projects. After leaving the Governor’s office
in 2001, he returned to Maynard, Cooper and Gale and began his campaign
for Alabama State Treasurer. After coming up 3% short of victory in the
2002 general election, Stephen returned to practice law at Maynard,
Cooper and Gale and became an adjunct professor in the Honors Program
at the University of Alabama. In June 2005, Black was appointed to the
UA faculty as a Senior Lecturer in Communicative Ethics and asked to
create and then direct a new Center for Ethics and Social
Responsibility. He also serves on the boards of the Alabama Civil
Justice Foundation and the Alabama Poverty Project. Neeta Kirpalani, Projects Manager Neeta Kirpalani, a
native of North Carolina, graduated magna cum laude and received a
Bachelor's degree in Biology from Wake Forest University in May 2003.
Since graduating, she has served as an Accounting and Administrative
Assistant for the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and also served
as a staff member at the Buncombe County Board of Elections. She was
very active with the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) in
Asheville, helping to organize numerous community-wide AIDS awareness
programs and fundraisers. This past year, Neeta served as a FocusFirst
VISTA on the staff of Impact and is currently pursuing her Master’s
Degree in Health Behavior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Katie Dean, FocusFirst Administrator Katie Dean, raised
in Grove City, Ohio, spent three years attending classes in Madison,
New Jersey; Iceland; London; and Washington, DC to earn her Bachelor’s
Degree in History from Drew University. She was admitted to Phi Beta
Kappa and graduated summa cum laude in May 2006. At Drew, Katie studied
Arabic, worked in the University library, raised social and political
awareness with Alliance and the College Democrats, and performed in a
flute choir. She worked for two summers with the Franklin County
Treasurer’s Office, and during the spring of 2006 she interned at the
U.S. State Department’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator. She is
currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health at the University
of Alabama at Birmingham. Sarah Louise Smith, SaveFirst Coordinator Sarah Louise Smith,
a native of Tuscaloosa, graduated cum laude from Williams College in
Williamstown, Massachusetts, in June 2006 with a BA in Political
Economy. During her time at Williams, Sarah Louise tutored students at
Williamstown Elementary School, was active in the advocacy and public
awareness efforts of the Student Global AIDS Campaign, and served on a
student government faculty committee. In 2005, Sarah Louise worked with
the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria, an international
organization that encourages cross-cultural dialogue by sponsoring
forums on current international issues. She has also spent part of each
summer since high school working at the Tuscaloosa County Board of
Education in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Following her time with IMPACT, Sarah
Louise plans to attend law school. Wilson Nash, SpeakFirst Coordinator Wilson Nash
graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 2003 after being active on
the school debate team. He attended Birmingham-Southern
College, and recently graduated in May 2007 with a double major in
Religion and Political Science. During his time at BSC, he
served as the President of both the Honor Council and the BSC Chapter
of College Democrats. He was also a brother in the Sigma Chi
Fraternity and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa
honor societies. He was recently married to Callie Stone, a
marketing graduate from Auburn University. Following his time
with Impact, Wilson plans to study abroad to obtain his Master’s degree
in International Relations. Walker Grooms, AmeriCorps VISTA Walker Grooms, a
native of
Birmingham, graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, with
Disciplinary Honors in Philosophy, and as an Honors Program Scholar
from Birmingham-Southern College in May 2006 with a degree in
Philosophy. During his tenure at Birmingham-Southern, he
volunteered as the Service-Learning coordinator and tutor for
International Tutoring, a conversational English program for non-native
English speakers. He was involved in the campus chapter of
Alabama Arise, and in 2006 interned with Greater Birmingham
Ministries’ Constitutional Reform Education Campaign, completing,
among other things, a Spanish translation of the campaign’s
educational presentation, “Alabamians Bringing Democracy
Home!” He was also a 2005 Charles B. Vail Research Fellow
in political science to Dr. Vincent T. Gawronski for a project which he
co-presented with Dr. Gawronski in 2006 at the 26th International
Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in San Juan, Puerto
Rico. He first worked with IMPACT during an Interim class in
January 2005. Following his time at IMPACT, Walker hopes to
pursue a degree in public policy. Elizabeth Blair, AmeriCorps VISTA Elizabeth Blair, a
native of Headland, AL, graduated magna cum laude and with University
Honors from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in May 2007 with a
degree in Philosophy and Legal Affairs. While studying at
UAB, Elizabeth served as an Honors Program Teaching Assistant, an
executive board member for the Leadership and Service Council, and as a
volunteer for the Birmingham Crisis Center. She was also a
four year member of the UAB Mock Trial Team, serving as Captain for the
last three years. During that time, Elizabeth won 10 Best
Attorney Awards and lead the team to a National Tournament Championship
in 2006. Following her time with IMPACT, she plans to attend
law school. Lindsay Helmbock, AmeriCorps VISTA Lindsay Elizabeth
Helmbock recently graduated cum laude from Samford University with a
major in International Relations and a minor in Spanish.
Throughout college Lindsay enjoyed studying abroad in Costa Rica,
London, and Peru learning more about Spanish, homelessness, poverty,
and economics. She was a member of the Social Justice
Committee on campus helping to raise awareness and encourage activism
among students concerning genocide, child soldiers, and human
trafficking. Last summer Lindsay was an intern under the
Outreach and Leadership Development Ministry at her home church in
Carmel, Indiana learning more about social justice issues in the
Indianapolis area. Following her time at Impact, Lindsay
hopes to embrace the rest of her twenties in a number of possibilities
which include world traveling, immersing herself at a language school
in Latin America, or becoming involved in urban outreach and
development. Steven Rocker, AmeriCorps VISTA Steven Rocker, a
native of Mobile, Alabama, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
International Studies and History from the University of Alabama at
Birmingham (UAB) in May 2007. During his time at UAB, Steven
participated in the Student Government Association, the Asian-American
Organization, as well as the Model Arab League team. Steven also served
as Senior Staff Writer for UAB’s student newspaper, Kaleidoscope. In
the spring semester of 2006, Steven attended the Semester at Sea
program, a cross-cultural experience where 700 students travel by ship
to interact with disparate peoples around the globe. Following his time
with Impact, Steven hopes to pursue a career in International affairs. Sarah Patton, AmeriCorps VISTA Sarah Patton was born in California and moved
to Jackson, Mississippi in 1998. While attending Auburn University, she
was a Soccer Sweetheart and she worked with Habitat for Humanity.
In 2003, she transferred to the University of Mississippi to pursue a
degree in Finance. While at Ole Miss she studied abroad in
Florence, Italy for a semester, was active in the Finance and Real
Estate clubs and the Leap Frog organization. In the fall of 2004,
she campaigned for the Presidential Election. She also received
her Real Estate License and sold residential real estate in Oxford,
Mississippi during her time at college. After graduating, she
worked for a regional bank as a Management Trainee. Sarah plans
to go back to school for her Masters in Elementary Education from the
University of Alabama at Birmingham upon completing her year with
IMPACT. Daniel Ferguson, SpeakFirst Debate Coach Daniel has lived in the Birmingham area most of this life. He graduated in 2004 from Birmingham-Southern College with a B.A. in Philosophy and is currently pursuing a Masters in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has volunteered with the SpeakFirst program since its inception and now serves as a Debate Coach for the team. Fredericka Anderson, Math
Enrichment Program Coordinator |
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© 2005 Impact Alabama |
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