Robert Littleton

Vice President, Architecture | Goodwyn Mills Cawood, LLC (GMC)

205.999.6590 | robert.littleton@gmcnetwork.com

Robert is the Vice President of Architecture for Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) GMC is one of the largest Architectural and Engineering Firms in the Southeast, with over 500 employees in 22 offices Robert has spent his career focused on K-12, Community College, Municipal and University projects in Alabama Local and regional projects in which he was the Architect include: Little Ridge Intermediate School (Fort Payne), Renovations of the Westin and the new Element Hotel (Bridge Street), Huntsville Pediatrics and Edgars on South Memorial Parkway (Huntsville) Robert is a member of the American Institute of Architects Robert grew up in Albany, Georgia and moved to Huntsville in 2013 with his wife, Lain Littleton and son William, after spending over a decade in Birmingham, Alabama Lain is a CPA and the Controller for Fite Building Company and William is a 6th Grader at Hampton Cove Middle School

Joyner Livingston

Senior Manager | Deloitte Consulting

256.604.2007 | jolivingston@deloitte.com

Joyner Livingston is an IT Modernization Leader with ten years of program and portfolio management experience He has supported technology insertion for program offices and major commands across the Army and Air Force Prior to entering the defense sector as a civilian, Joyner served in the US Army as an Armor officer He continues to serve in the Army Reserve supporting the design and execution of cyber training and validation exercises for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University, a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering, with concentrations in Operations Research and Modeling & Simulation from the University of Alabama – Huntsville, and is a Certified Modeling and Simulation Professional and Project Management Professional Joyner serves a small group leader at a church in downtown Huntsville and has been an active coach in local recreational leagues

Sinead Lounmala

County Extension Coordinator | Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Auburn University)

256 393 5425 | scl0043@auburn edu

Sinead Lounmala immigrated to the United States from Ireland at five years old After graduating from high school, Sinead enlisted in the U S Army and deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) I After more than seven years of honorable service, Sinead left the military She spent the next 12 years traveling the country supporting her husband until his retirement from the U S Army in 2020 During that time, Sinead pursued her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) Through her social work career, Sinead served in various positions to include a mental health court, an inpatient behavioral health facility, a veteran rapid rehousing program, and most recently providing educational services via Alabama Extension Sinead is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in the state of Alabama Sinead has been a resident of Madison County since 2020 with her husband, David, and two sons, Liam and Eli

Roderick Matthews

Director of Aviation Army Contracting (Aviation) | Department of the Army - Army Contracting Command (ACC) - Redstone Arsenal (RSA)

256 361 3925 | roderick r matthews civ@army mil

Roderick, a native of Jackson, MS, is the Director for Aviation ACC-RSA with 35 years of Government Civil Service Roderick is the recipient of numerous accolades & awards (i e AMC Employee of the Quarter, Secretary Army Excellence in Contracting Awards, ACC Contract Professional of the Quarter/Year & Commanders Award for Civilian Service) and a certification Level III in Contracting and Level I in Program Management He is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and received a Bachelor of Science in Management from Jackson State University and a Master of Science Degree in Acquisition and Contract Management

A 30-year resident of Madison AL, he is married to Brenda Matthews, loving & proud dad to 2 amazing sons (Justin and Jordan) and two daughters-in-law (Cheyna and Dorothy) He is a devoted grandfather to awesome grandsons (Lionel, Josiah, & Cairo) Roderick is extremely active with “Matthews Mission” (community & charity programs) and strongly supports his beloved fraternity (Kappa Alpha Psi) & alma mater Jackson State University

Rae Ann Meyer

Associate Director, Marshall Space Flight Center | NASA 256 682 4858 | rae w meyer@nasa gov

Rae Ann Meyer is associate director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Named to the position in January 2022, she leads development of the center's business operations, guides daily business decisions, and oversees center operational policy and processes In addition, she is a senior adviser in advancing the direction of the center's future

Meyer helps manage the center’s 7,000 on- and near-site civil service and contract employees and helps oversee an annual budget of approximately $4 billion She provides executive leadership across Marshall’s mission support areas as well as the center’s diverse portfolio of human spaceflight, science, and technology efforts, which touch nearly every mission NASA pursues She helps ensure MSFC resiliency (strong workforce, infrastructure, and partnerships) to continue Marshalls strong economic impact to Alabama for years to come

Meyer, her husband, David and their children reside in Madison, Alabama

Jared Mitchem

Regional Vice President, South | Tennessee Valley Authority

615 210 4153 | jemitchem@tva

Gov

Born, raised, and schooled in Alabama, Jared is a lawyer by training and trade, but he also spent half his career solving realworld problems in various business roles As a lawyer, he worked on and supervised every aspect of TVA’s legal portfolio, from complex litigation to large power supply contracts As a business leader, he’s been part of teams responsible for economic development incentives, contracts, and stakeholder relations Jared has volunteered as a competition judge for First Robotics and at numerous TVA events around the Tennessee Valley In Huntsville, he is an ex officio member of the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce, and he serves on Mayor Battle’s Environmental Sustainability Committee Jared enjoys domestic life with his family and exploring the outdoors (on foot, on a bike, or in a kayak, and often with a fishing pole in tow)

Carrie Olden

256.390.7184 | carrieolden@gmail.com

Carrie Suggs Olden is the Legislative Affairs Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center In this role, Carrie is responsible for coordinating all federal and state government relations at Marshall Space Flight Center and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana Prior to joining NASA, Carrie worked for various Members of Congress for 16 years, including recently retired Senator Richard Shelby Within the community, she serves as the President of Marshall Child Development Center and the Vice President of Fund Development in the Junior League of Huntsville Carrie resides in Huntsville with her husband George and two little girls, Ann Margaret and Eleanor

Garrett Parr

Vice

President | IronMountain Solutions, Inc

256 468 2872 | garrett parr@imsinc us

Mr Garrett Parr is a Vice President at IronMountain Solutions where over the past 10 years he has provided professional services for DoD customers He moved to the city of Huntsville over 35 years ago and has remained here for both his bachelor's and master's Degree's pursuance Once entering the workforce professionally, he has always held positions requiring a constant level of marketing to members of the community to include industry partners After graduating with a Communications degree in 2004, he began his career in Huntsville and has remained local since that time He began working for IronMountain Solutions as a Program Analyst and then a Business Development Lead In 2015, he began supporting Army Aviation in a direct customer support position and was shortly thereafter promoted to a Division Director and then finally a Vice President in a 300+ employee company

Venus Quates

President & CEO | LaunchTech, LLC

917.200.2303 | venus@welaunchtech.com

Venus Quates is a proud Air Force Veteran with a strong heart for service and an affinity for space and flight She is also the President & CEO of LaunchTech, a minority, woman, and service-disabled veteran-owned company that provides cradle-to-grave innovative and emerging technology and engineering solutions to enterprise customers in the public and private sectors

In addition to her visionary leadership, Quates is an accomplished technologist and consultant with over 26 years of domestic and international experience working with major Fortune 100/500 companies, global banking giants, and leaders in the Aerospace and Defense industries and leading portfolios and projects ranging from $1M to $5B

Quates has traveled the world, educating the masses on utilizing technology for community and economic growth

As service is in her DNA, Quates faithfully serves on the National Board of the Girl Scouts of the USA and various Technology, STEM, and Veteran-focused boards

Wesley Rakestraw

Vice President of Academic Affairs | Calhoun Community College

256.636.0929| wesley.rakestraw@calhoun.edu

Mr Wesley Rakestraw has 29 years of experience in the field of higher education He currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Calhoun Community College, where his focus is instructional relevance, digital literacy, and curriculum development He started his career at Wallace State Community College as an instructor in the Natural Sciences, later becoming Division Chair Mr Rakestraw then became the Director of WSCC’s Oneonta Campus where he became involved with workforce development in the Central Six Region After two years in that role, he advanced to Dean of Applied Technologies at Wallace State He has extensive experience working with North Alabama Works and Central Six Workforce Councils His wife of 30 years, Donnette, is a pharmacist in Cullman They have two children and are natives of North Alabama

Kimberly Robinson

256 797 1982 | kimberly robinson@rocketcenter com

Dr Robinson is the CEO and Executive Director of the U S Space & Rocket Center, Alabama’s leading tourist attraction and home to the world-renowned Space Camp Prior to becoming CEO in February 2021, Dr Robinson worked at NASA as the Utilization Manager for Advanced Exploration Systems at NASA HQ for the Artemis Program Previously she served at NASA’s Payload Mission Manager for Artemis 1, as well as Strategic Communications Manager and Deputy Program Integration Manager for NASA’s new SLS rocket

Dr Robinson also served as the Deputy Project Manager for the Ares I-X test flight, which was named Time magazine’s science invention of the year in 2009, and as a Crew Trainer preparing NASA astronauts for science missions aboard the Space Shuttle She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Yellow Hammer’s Women of Impact, NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, and a Silver Snoopy Award

Allison Ross

256.476.7315 | allison@yellowhammernews.com

Allison Ross is the owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia, LLC, an Alabama-based media company delivering news and information across a variety of platforms including Yellowhammer News, YHN Radio News Network, SoulGrown and 265 Today

Prior to entrepreneurship, Allison was in the economic development industry for over 11 years After working as the Vice President of Morgan County Economic Development Association, she joined the team at international site selection and consulting firm Hickey and Associates There she led capital investment projects spanning the United States, with specific expertise in incentive negotiation and project financing

She is a graduate of the University of Alabama, a member of the Shepherd’s Cove Hospice board of directors, the Huntsville Committee of 100 and Christ Redeemer Church Along with her husband and twin children, Allison lives in Guntersville

Chief Data Scientist | Sigmatech Incorporated

404 271 3892 | romeil sandhu@sigmatech com

Romeil Sandhu is currently the Chief Data Scientist at Sigmatech Incorporated assisting the DoD in varied domains Romeil is born and raised in Huntsville, AL and a proud graduate of Huntsville High, Huntsville Middle and Jones Valley Elementary School He first received his B S , M S , and then PhD degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering Following this, he had been a Professor at Stony Brook University with nation-wide recognitions on three separate occasions prior to his return to Huntsville In this time as a faculty member, his passion was focused on veteran affairs and in particular, assisting veterans and their dependents in higher level education in technical areas of machine learning to data science - much of which he continually hopes to pursue Outside of work, his favorite past time is spending quality time with my family and his first love, his dog June

Julie Savage

Program Manager/Business Developer | ExoAnalytic Solutions

808.866.2933 | jsavage@exoanalytic.com

Ms Savage has 18 years of experience in the missile defense industry including 3 years as a government civilian serving as the lead for Cybersecurity, M&S Accreditation, and RADAR for the MDS Operational Test Agency Ms Savage was awarded 2 Civilian Commendation Medals and the 2020 Army Modeling and Simulation Award She lived on Kwajalein, RMI for 15 years and was the lead ALTAIR systems engineer and flight test director While on Kwaj, Ms Savage also taught dance to 100 kids each year, sang in a rock band, and operated a thriving photography business Now, living in Madison, she is an avid Trash Panda fan, AL council woman for the Prof Photographers of America, 2022 Gold Photographer of the year, an international juror for photography/art portfolio reviews, and a PTA member for Horizon Elementary Ms Savage is currently working as a program manager and in business development for ExoAnalytic Solutions

Jared Sharp

Partner | Warren Averett

205.617.2622 | jared.sharp@warrenaverett.com

Jared resides in Madison with his wife, son and three daughters He is a member of Warren Averett in the tax division of the Huntsville Office He has been practicing public accounting since 2005 Jared has experience serving clients in industries such as technology, biotechnology, government contracting, manufacturing and distribution He focuses his practice on tax planning, research and development tax credits and tax structure for mergers and acquisitions He is a volunteer board member for BioAlabama and the Heart of the Valley YMCA

Gwen Shelton

Regional Director | Senator Tuberville

931.607.7924 | sheltongw@gmail.com

Gwen is the North Alabama Regional Director for Senator Tuberville She dove into politics headfirst serving as chairman of the Republican Party during the Bush/Qualyle campaign She continued has a working member on the campaigns of Senator Thompson and Congressman Hilleary Those experiences sparked her desire to step into public service She served 18 years elected office Her first elected office was to City School Board and continued as Vice Mayor, eventually serving as the first female Mayor Gwen's focus is on positive growth for her community She holds both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from Middle Tennessee State University She is married to Scott and they have two sons She always starts her day with a morning run

Dylan Smith

District Director | Office of U.S. Representative Dale Strong 256 605 5362 | dylan smith2@mail house gov

Dylan, an eighth-generation North Alabamian, is the District Director for Congressman Dale Strong He was formerly the Editor of Yellowhammer News

At the age of 26, he became the youngest-ever chairman of the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors He previously led the organization's legislative agenda as vice chairman of the chamber's public policy committee Dylan's past community service also includes serving on the former Jackson County Health Care Authority Board of Directors, where he supported the entity's affiliation with the Huntsville Hospital System

Dylan's previous political involvement includes serving as chairman of the Young Republicans of Northeast Alabama and vice chairman of the Jackson County GOP Executive Committee He also served as an elected member of the 5th Congressional District GOP and Alabama Republican Party State Executive Committees He was recognized by Jackson Magazine as a member of the publication's "Top 20 Under 40 Class of 2019 "

Ranier Steinwandt

Dean, College of Science | University of Alabama in Huntsville

561.809.4234 |

rs0141@uah.edu

Rainer Steinwandt received his M S and Ph D degrees in computer science, researching topics in computer algebra, from the University of Karlsruhe (Germany) in 1998 and 2000, respectively Since 2021, he serves as Dean of the College of Science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Before joining UAH, he served as Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Boca Raton, FL for more than five years, and also as Director of FAU's Center for Cryptology and Information Security Before joining FAU, Rainer was with the University of Karlsruhe in Germany His research has been funded through the Air Force Research Laboratory, the German Federal Office for Information Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, and the NATO Science for Peace and Security program He is a recipient of the 2018 NATO Science for Peace and Security Partnership Prize

Brad Walker

President | Torch Technologies

256.698.1567 | brad.walker@torchtechnologies.com

Brad Walker joined Torch Technologies in 2006 and currently serves as President of Torch He recently led the Advanced Concept Engineering (ACE) Group which consists of over 600 employees across 10 locations The ACE Group supports a diverse set of customers and provides a wide range of engineering, scientific, and logistics support throughout the DoD lifecycle in areas such as systems engineering, test and evaluation, requirements, software development, electrical and mechanical system design, metrology, optical sensors, virtual trainers, Joint operations, and obsolescence Mr Walker has over 35 years of experience providing services support and solutions development for DoD programs Mr Walker has expertise in Ballistic Missile Defense programs, development of advanced instrumentation for warhead testing, and development of advanced algorithms for sensor and command and control applications Prior to joining Torch Technologies, Mr Walker held leadership positions at Computer Sciences Corporation and Nichols Research Corporation

Stuart Whitaker

Vice President, Commercial Banker | ServisFirst Bank

256 508 4590 | swhitaker@servisfirstbank com

Stuart Whitaker is an experienced commercial banker with extensive experience in the financial services sector Whitaker is a member of the Committee of 100 Young Professionals, serving on the BizPac Board in 2022, and he is a member of Rotary of Greater Huntsville where he sat on the board as Director of Club Service in 2019 Additionally, he is a graduate of Leadership Huntsville/Madison County’s Connect Class 22 Stuart and his wife Lillie have four children and attend Rivertree Church in Huntsville The Whitaker's are also currently serving as ambassadors for the Lincoln Village Ministry