As part of the NextGen Awards Series, Birmingham Business Journal honored emerging leaders in the law field. Congratulations to the three BSC alumni on the list: Nancy Williams Ball ’04, partner at Bradley LLP; Chris Daniel ’08, partner at Sheffield & Lentine PC; and Denzel Okinedo ’16, attorney at Burr & Forman LLP.

Debbie DuPree Williams ’72 of Flat Rock, N.C., held a signing event for her debut novel, “Grave Consequences,” on Oct. 9. Williams published the novel in 2020, combining two of her passions – faith and family – to pen the story of a long-lost family secret and a hidden grave, based loosely on her own great-grandmother’s life. She is a member of Word Weavers International and American Christian Fiction Writers, and you can learn more about her at debradupreewilliams.com.

Dr. Brent Boyett ’89, addiction medicine specialist and founder of Pathway Healthcare, LLC, has joined North Mississippi Regional Pain Consultants in Tupelo, Miss. Boyett treats all forms of substance abuse disorders, including alcohol, opioid, and drugs, specializing in medication-assisted addiction recovery and high-risk populations, including pregnant women. He is board-certified in family medicine, addiction medicine, preventive medicine, and dental anesthesiology, and he has been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow by the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Carla “The Truth” Youngblood ’94, Birmingham native and stand-up comedian, was featured in a Birmingham Times collection of stories from breast cancer survivors. Now cancer-free, Youngblood spoke about her diagnosis and treatment, a story she also shares during her stand-up routine and documented in her book, “Cancer Ain’t Funny! Laugh Anyway.”

Joel Taylor ’00 became CEO of Hilton Head Regional Healthcare in September. Taylor most recently served as the CEO of Coastal Carolina Hospital, one part of the system he now leads. He first joined Hilton Head Regional Healthcare in 2016 and has been a Tenet Health employee for 10 years.

Three BSC alumni were included in the Birmingham Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 for 2021. Congratulations to Jamie Box Dabal ’03, vice president of operations at Children’s of Alabama, Stephanie Houston Mays ’04, shareholder and chief talent officer at Maynard Cooper & Gale, and Adam Israel ’06, partner at Balch & Bingham LLP.

Chase Wise ’06, president of Saginaw Pipe Co. Inc., was selected to join IberiaBank’s local advisory board and will bring his knowledge of the Birmingham business community and economic landscape to the team. Wise oversees all company operations for Saginaw and helped establish the Saginaw Foundation for Hope, a charity focused on disaster relief. Prior to his current role, he owned and operated Southern Fly Charters, a fishing service in Boca Grande, Florida, where he served on the board of directors of the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Paul Cleveland, professor of finance at BSC, has received a fellowship through Troy University's Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy. Cleveland is one of eight scholars who have been named Johnson Center Fellows to conduct and present research.

Carol Smith Sandner ’50 of Birmingham on Oct. 16,2021. At BSC, Sandner served as president of Kappa Delta and was a delegate to its national convention. She married her childhood sweetheart, the late Joseph E. Sandner, Jr. ’50, in 1950, and they were married for almost 60 years. Sandner was also a member of the Kappa Delta Alumni Association, where she served as president and helped establish both the Vanderbilt University and Samford University chapters. She was a member of the Silhouettes Dance Club, Harlequins Dance Club, Gaieties, Highlands Sewing Circle, Money Matters, and The Country Club of Birmingham, as well as a member of the UAB School of Nursing Board of Visitors and an active member and Sunday school teacher at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. She was the consummate hostess, opened her home to celebrate birthdays and holidays, and hosted weekly “Family Fun Nights” on Sundays, which were the source of many spirited debates and deep conversations.

Kenneth E. Little ’51 of Birmingham on Oct. 11, 2021. After graduating from BSC, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega, Little received his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. In graduate school, he was elected president of ATO, president of his senior law school class, and president of Pi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity. Following law school, Little joined the U.S. Air Force and served as Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, allowing him and his wife to travel internationally while living at Air Force bases in Augsburg, Germany, and Izmir, Turkey. Returning to Birmingham, he worked at Birmingham Trust National Bank and Southern Life and Health Insurance Company, where he retired as senior vice president and general counsel. Little was an active member, deacon, and elder at Independent Presbyterian Church and a long-term active member of The Kiwanis Club of Birmingham.

Margaret O’Neill Berry ’53 of Birmingham on Oct. 14, 2021. Berry earned bachelor’s degrees from both the University of Alabama and BSC, where she joined Phi Beta Phi Fraternity and developed lifelong friendships with a group who called themselves “The Lunch Bunch” that has met for lunch every month for nearly 70 years. She taught in the Birmingham City School System before pursuing her graduate degree in music education at Florida State University. Berry was a longtime member of Canterbury United Methodist Church, where she volunteered her musical talents as a pianist accompanying countless children’s choirs and sang in the choir herself. She sang in the BSC Alumni Choir for many years, often attended the Alabama Symphony’s Masterworks Series, and showed her paintings at the Mountain Brook Art Association’s spring art show. Much of her time as a grandparent was spent attending all seven of her grandchildren’s numerous arts and sports activities.

Dr. Gertrude Hatfield Naisbitt ’55 of Birmingham on Oct. 5, 2021. Following her graduation from BSC, Naisbitt received her M.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. She spent her life primarily as a resident of Milwaukie, Ore., and she spent her career in the mental health field. Naisbitt was an animal lover and a strong advocate for placement of senior animals, especially those with medical issues, into loving homes. She enjoyed music and being with her family.

Donald T. Parker ’57 of Birmingham on Oct. 18, 2021. Upon graduation from BSC, Parker joined the U.S. Marine Corps and became a fighter pilot. He later became successful in medical sales and served in the Air National Guard.

Robert H. Fleisher ’60 of Birmingham on Oct. 1, 2021. Fleisher was a lifelong resident of Birmingham. He was a graduate and football state champion of Ramsay High School before attending Vanderbilt University and finishing his degree at BSC. Fleisher went into the family business selling antiques and estate jewelry at Alabama Auction Room. He loved his family, friends, customers, and sports.

Kathleen “Katy” Cassen Sexton ’66 of Birmingham on Sept. 24, 2021. Sexton taught elementary school in Birmingham City Schools for five years before starting “katy-dids,” her creative children’s accessories business. She sold and shipped hand-crafted baby and children’s gifts all over the country for more than 40 years. She was a longtime member of Mountain Brook Baptist Church, where she served on several committees and was active in her Sunday School classes. Sexton was also a past president and member of Charades Dance Club and the Yellowhammer Garden Club of Irondale. One of her great loves on a continuing basis was dogs, especially golden retrievers, and she and her husband, Richard P. Sexton, Jr. ’68, enjoyed sharing their home and lives with eight of them over their married life.

Dr. John Edward Mitchell ’76 of Selma, Ala., on September 13, 2021. Mitchell graduated magna cum laude from BSC before attending medical school at the University of South Alabama, graduating in 1983, and completed his residency in Selma. He practiced medicine in Rolling Fork and Anguilla, Miss., subsequently joining medical practices in Dothan, Rainbow City, and Selma. For nearly 15 years, he was a faculty member in UAB medical residency program in Selma, through which he found a second calling in teaching. Mitchell was a compassionate physician as well as a gifted pianist and trumpet-player.

Philip R. Allman ’11 of Springfield, Va., on June 18, 2021. A 2004 Vestavia Hills High School graduate, Allman studied philosophy at BSC and then received his master’s degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Most recently, he served as a records clerk for an international law firm in Washington, D.C. Allman also had a passion for music – he started playing guitar and singing around Birmingham before high school and continued to play in his youth choir and praise band at Shades Mountain Baptist Church and on a music mission trip to Northern Ireland. Allman and his friends formed the group American Animal and recorded a six-song album in 2014.

William J. “Billy” Rushton III, former BSC trustee, of Birmingham on Sept. 30, 2021. Rushton attended Phillips Exeter Academy as a member of the swim and crew teams and then Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1951. Upon graduation, he was called to active duty with an ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in field artillery and sent to Fort Sill, Okla. There, he met his future wife, the late LaVona Price Rushton, then a freshman at Oklahoma University. Rushton spent one year in Korea assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in a 105 Howitzer battery and was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious service. The Rushtons married and began their lives together in Birmingham, his hometown. Rushton joined the actuarial department of Protective Life Insurance Company, where he became a Fellow of The Society of Actuaries. He later joined the sales team, making the Million Dollar Roundtable, leading the company in sales, and becoming vice president of individual sales in 1962. He succeeded his father as president in 1967 and in 1969 as CEO of Protective Life. Rushton was active in Birmingham as a leader in several corporate and nonprofit boards and community organizations, including as chair for the United Way Campaign and Foundation, the first chair for Leadership Birmingham, president of the Rotary Club, and trustee and member of the Arts Alliance at BSC. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. The Rushton Scholarship, funded by the Rushton family, is one of BSC’s most prestigious and generous awards.