After 21 years with the Mississippi Economic Council Chamber of Commerce in March Cathy left the role as Chief operating Officer to start her own Company, giving her the opportunity to leverage her experiences and skills to continue to foster partnerships in

 the State, primarily focusing on leadership development, supporting minorities and small businesses and event and project management.   

During Cathy’s time at Mississippi Economic Council and Leadership Mississippi, Cathy had the opportunity to build some meaningful relationships. MEC was more than a workplace to Cathy —it was a place of growth, learning, and transformation. during Cathy's tenure at MEC, she was able to be part of significant initiatives like the On The Bus Drop-Out Prevention Program with former Mississippi School Superintendent, Dr. Hank Bounds in 2008, , The inception of Mississippi Building Blocks (A project through Leadership Mississippi), an initiative to improve children's school readiness by increasing early childhood program quality and teacher instructional proficiency, and one of the most impactful initiatives was the MONUMENTAL task of changing the state flag.  

Kathy Clem, originally born and raised in Florida, is a transplant to the South, having lived in Jackson, Mississippi for over forty four years.  She is a graduate of Belhaven University with a degree in business administration. Kathy has worked for The Good Samaritan Center, Inc., for thirty eight years.   During her tenure at Good Samaritan she has been lead case manager, Director of FOMP (First Offender Misdemeanant Program), Director of Social Services, and Director of Good Samaritan/Jackson. She has been the Executive Director for the last twenty-three years. Kathy is a visionary in the nonprofit world emphasizing unique as well as “tried and true” ideas for her charity; ideas that include charitable gaming, upscale resale stores, dynamic social media, diversity in hiring, and quality customer and client service.  Good Samaritan Center is a progressive nonprofit that assists families in crisis with practical solutions. Under Kathy’s leadership, Good Samaritan Center is an organization that believes that we should be an example to others in the communities we serve and recently Good Samaritan has collaborated with Extra Table in Hattiesburg to begin Hub for the Hungry, a food rescue effort to save perfectly fine food stuffs from being thrown away but rather rescued and given out to charities and churches that then give to struggling families. Kathy has sat on a number of non-profit boards (which includes being board president) for charities that deal with homelessness, hunger relief, diversity and inclusion, ultra and trail running, and neighborhood development. She is a graduate of Leadership Greater Jackson. In the last couple of years, she has become active in MS Capital City Pride and has helped organize Pride events for the LGBTQ+ community and the allies that love and support LGBTQ+ individuals. Creating safe places for all individuals, especially youth, has become a passion. Kathy’s hobbies include craft beer, travel, being outside (whether hiking in the mountains or swimming at the beach) and community development. Kathy’s wife, Sonja Battle is a hospice nurse and lives in Gainesville, Florida in a home that they have recently built.

Demondes Haynes, MD, is a native of Louisville, Mississippi. He is a first-generation physician and first-generation college graduate. He received his Bachelor’s degree from The University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. He attended medical school at The University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He completed residency training in internal medicine, served as chief resident, and then completed fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). He also holds a Master of Science degree in Population Health Management from the John D. Bower School of Population Health. He is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and is Associate Dean for Admissions for UMMC’s School of Medicine. Prior to becoming Associate Dean for Medical School Admissions, he served in several in leadership roles in the department of medicine including Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and The Executive Vice Chair. He also served previously as the pulmonary and critical care fellowship program director. He continues to be active in patient care and teaching at UMMC. Medical education and direct patient care remain his primary focus areas. He has enormous passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical education and in the improvement and elimination of healthcare disparities.

Laurie Smith Lawson is a graduate from Mississippi College, the University of Southern Mississippi and Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. All three degrees are in social work. She is the executive director of the Clinton Community Christian Corporation (4Cs) and associate professor and chair of the MS College Department of Sociology and Social Work, and director of the Social Work Program at Mississippi College. She was named the 2012 Alumnus of the Year of the Department of Sociology and Social Work, and the 2021 Distinguished Lecturer for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.  

Lawson is instrumental in her community, in civic and service organizations, formerly serving as a board member of Clinton Habitat for Humanity, the Mental Health Association, National Association of Social Workers, Mississippi Chapter, and Hinds County Human Resource Agency. She currently serves on the Mississippi Department of Mental Health Suicide Prevention Task Force, and co-chair of Christians Understanding Race and Equality (CURE) at Mississippi College. She is committed to empowering others, promoting awareness and acceptance of self through mentorship efforts.

She and her husband, Donald, reside in Raymond, and are the parents of four children, April, Douglas, Dierdre (08) and Marshall.

Miracle Buckley, ODT, currently serves as a pediatric occupational therapist at Children’s Therapy Clinic. She received her bachelor of science degree in kinesiology and exercise science with a minor in piano performance at Mississippi College, and she received her associates degrees in psychology and occupational therapy assistant from Holmes Community College – Ridgeland, MS. She has completed over 20 years of volunteering at Camp Dream Street in Utica, MS, and she currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the organization. Dr. Buckley has a boyfriend, two older sisters, three older brothers, and a rambunctious cat.