Spoken Word Artist
Born to a drug-addicted mother and an absent father, Roderick Borisade struggled hard in life during his preteen years. After losing his older brother to cancer in 1996, he named himself “Odd?Rod”. Against the odds, he pushed himself through high school to earn a full college scholarship to UNF. Starting an open mic at college, he developed leadership and speaking skills that brought in 200 students a month to express themselves. He learned that his story of perseverance was helping others to cope with what they were going through. Since 2011, he’s toured over 350 colleges and earned many awards including 2014 & 2016 APCA Spokenword Artist of the Year. His mission is to inspire a the nation to push through every obstacle placed before them and live their life as leaders.
Amy Soverow
Artist
Prior to owning and operating her glass art studio, Amy Soverow spent 35 years working in the media industry. She has been a college professor, conducted research for TV and radio stations around the country, and started 24/7 cable channels in St. Louis and Washington, DC. Locally, she was Research Director for FOX6 WBRC-TV and Research Manager for The Birmingham News and for Alabama Media Group, the parent company of state wide news website, al.com. Soverow is interested in how best to get reliable information in a time when traditional media is losing ground to social and digital media.
Barbara-Shae Jackson
Artist and PhD Student
Barbara-Shae Jackson is an accomplished writer and poet who was born in Montgomery, AL and spent her formative years, as a military child, in Naples, Italy. She is a published writer whose work has been featured in MOTIVATED Magazine and ESSENCE Magazine’s Bestseller "Souls of My Young Sisters." She was a guest poet invited to perform during the Mississippi Freedom 50th return of the Freedom Riders National Celebration and was a part of the 200 piece choir. Prior to starting her graduate program, Barbara-Shae taught English in Angola, Africa as a part of their infrastructure rebuild post-civil war.
Jeremy Reid
Administrator
Jeremy Reid is employed as the Coordinator of Special Programs in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships at The University of Alabama, a position that allows him to manage an admission program, grow and develop first-year students. His previous experience includes designing campus-wide educational initiatives, assisting with a philanthropic giving society, and providing support for the University’s student ambassador group.
Kate Hendricks Thomas
Health Promotion Educator
Kate Hendricks Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Charleston Southern University. She is a teacher, speaker, and writer. Dr. Thomas, also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, helps businesses and military veterans optimize their performance through resilient leadership training. Her behavioral health research, published in journals like Best Practices in Mental Health, the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and Military Behavioral Health, has been praised as “masterful” and “constructive.” She lives in Charleston, SC with her wild toddler and the Great Dane who dotes on him.
Business Professor
Ronald Dulek, Ph.D., is the John R. Miller Professor of Management at the University of Alabama where he has won numerous awards for his outstanding teaching at The University and has been voted MBA/ EMBA Teacher of the Year thirty-three times. In 2007, the senior class at the University of Alabama selected Ron as the inaugural speaker for the University’s Last Lecture Series. He and his wife, Sally, reside ten months a year in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and two months a year in a remote bush house in Sabie Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa where his talk was inspired.