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LEADERSHIP

Men of Distinction

In the fall of 1993, a group of over ten young men from Talladega, AL and Dallas, TX met as freshman on the campus of Alabama State University (ASU). They started what is now a perpetual friendship with a common ambition to be successful and a desire to use their knowledge, time and monetary gifts to give back through an organization they founded called TallaDallas; now operating as TDI.

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Marc DesGraves IV, CPA

Vice President 

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A native and resident of Dallas, TX., Marc P. Desgraves, IV is a Certified Public Accountant and owner of Desgraves, CPA providing fractional CFO services as well as merger & acquisition consulting to the tech start-up industry.  Marc is also general partner in the seed funding venture capital firm A-Plus Management Group, LLP which exists to provide capital and business development opportunities for new and innovative products.  Corporate America contributions over the last two decades include several executive level stops in the oil & gas, public accounting, financial services, airline, and publishing industries.  Whether serving on the Board for Turning Dreams Into Realities or a group of charter schools in the DFW area, or even being a huge supporter within the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, Marc’s true purpose in life is to assist youth in reaching their full potential.

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Jeremy Spratling

President

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Jeremy L. Spratling was born and raised in Talladega, Alabama. He graduated from
Auburn University at Montgomery with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics in1996. He graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in 2001. He worked in the financial services industry for 14 years before founding Corporate Facilities Management, Inc. Mr. Spratling serves in several philanthropic roles. He is a certified business counselor with SCORE SBA.
Mr. Spratling handles the overall management of Corporate Facilities Management, Inc. Corporate Facilities Management, Inc., (“CFM”) is a facilities management company. It is one of the largest facility management companies in the Southeast as well as one of the
largest minority owned firms. 

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Timothy Fields

Secretary

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Timothy Fields has spent the past 25 years working in various areas of higher education, primarily in enrollment management at Emory University where he currently serves as Senior Associate Dean in Undergraduate Admission. In this role, he serves as a member of the leadership team for the recruitment, evaluation, and construction of the freshman class for Emory University, including students who will eventually matriculate to Goizueta Business School and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. In addition to his work in enrollment management, he has also worked in student affairs, residential life, athletics, and with several Federal TRiO programs at two-year, state flagship, and private institutions. 

Beyond his work in higher education, Timothy has worked with several Non-Profit and Community Based Organizations that include 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Chicago Scholars, UPS Foundation, Jack Kent Cooke, National Merit Corporation , United Negro College Fund, the Gates Foundation, and currently a Board Member for TDI (Turning Dreams into Reality). He has also done work with the Division of Family and Children Services helping students in foster care gain access to college, as well as other community initiatives.  

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Terrance Turner

Treasurer

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Terrance is from Talladega, AL. He attended Alabama State University from 1993 to 1997. Terrance graduated with honors from ASU in 1997 with a B.S. in Accounting. After which, Terrance attended the University of Arkansas where he received a Master’s in Business Administration. He started his career at the Dallas office of Arthur Andersen as an auditor and later accepted a position in Atlanta, GA in Arthur Andersen’s Transactions Advisory Services (M&A).

After leaving Andersen in 2002, Terrance accepted a position as a Financial
Controller for a business within the Emerson Retail Solutions Division (“ERS”) which is a Division of Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions. He was later promoted to Director of Finance, Director of Operations and Director of Strategic Planning. Terrance currently serves as the Vice President, Finance for Electronics and Solutions (Emerson) where he oversees all aspects of Finance and Accounting for the Division.

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Dr. Brencleveton Donta Truss

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B. “Donta” Truss’ career reflects his dedication toward strengthening institutions and improving the pathway to higher education for many, especially low income and first generation students. As an experienced administrator and educator for the past 22 years, he has served in a variety of capacities including student success, student affairs, institutional research, planning and effectiveness, accreditation, academic affairs, student retention, admissions and recruitment, advising, grant writing, program development, and leadership.  Truss is currently Vice President for Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach at Grand Valley State University.

 

Prior to his current position, Truss  served as a member of the Executive Management Team as Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management, Student Affairs and Student Success at Shippensburg University. Under his leadership, first time undergraduate enrollment increased by 11.5%, graduate enrollment increased by 2%, and retention increased by 4.5%. 


Truss is a triple graduate of Alabama State University. His doctorate is in Educational Leadership, Policy and Law. He was selected to serve as a national leader for the Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Leaders in Enrollment Advancing Diversity (LEAD) Curriculum Workgroup, where he was on the team that developed an Executive Leadership program for future Senior Level Enrollment Management Leaders. He is also a trained accreditation evaluator for both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Middle States Commission of Higher Education (MSCHE).

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Bryant Spencer

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Bryant Spencer is from Carrollton, Alabama. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Alabama State University.  He received his MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.   Bryant is currently the General Manager of IQ Purchasing (a CVS Pharmacy subsidiary).  In this role Bryant is accountable for instituting world class procurement / sourcing processes and practices including supplier development and relationship management.

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Tyrish Garrett

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Tyrish Garrett was born in Talladega, Alabama, the son of Brenda Garrett and Howard Leonard. He has one brother, Brian Garrett, who currently resides in Talladega, Alabama. He received his formal education at Alabama State University where he received a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing. Tyrish, also received his M.B.A from Troy State University in Business Administration.

Tyrish has been employed by United Parcel Service for the last thirteen years. He has worked as the Sales/Marketing Supervisor for the last three years. Tyrish’s duties included implementation of sales strategies, evaluation of customer compliance and value, and provide cross-functional support for profitable sales growth. Tyrish’s was previously a Finance Supervisor. Tyrish’s duties have included district profitability analysis, customer profitability, and Auditor training. Tyrish has also worked as a volunteer for United Way. His United Way responsibilities included meeting with Company Coordinators to plan, organize and schedule employee meetings. Assist with developing campaign goals based on potential. Generate ideas; provide enthusiasm, and a new perspective. Educate and communicate the United Way story. Develop and deliver brief speaking presentations to employee groups. Assist coordinators with completing campaigns on time.

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Dr. Anthony Lewis

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Dr. Anthony Lewis is from Talladega, Alabama. Dr. Lewis received a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Education degree in Special Education and a degree in Educational Leadership from Alabama State University (Montgomery, Alabama). He also was selected and completed the Instructional Leadership Academy with Samford University (Birmingham, Alabama). Dr. Lewis received his Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri). He began his educational career in Montgomery, Alabama as a Special Education Teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal. Because of his successes in Alabama, he was recruited to work in the Kansas City, Missouri School District where he served at Principal, Director of Elementary Schools, and Assistant Superintendent where he assisted the district in receiving enough points to be fully accredited – which had not happened in over thirty years. In 2017, Dr. Lewis was selected, completed and received certification from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA)/The School Superintendents Association’s Urban Superintendents Academy in partnership with Howard University. In January 2018, the Lawrence Public Schools School Board unanimously approved Dr. Lewis to become the first African-American Superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence Public Schools in the 7th largest school district in the state, 2nd largest employer in the city, and serves nearly 12,000 students in 21 schools.

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Demetrice Jones

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Demitrice Jones attended Alabama State University in 1993 and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. In 2003 he enrolled into the ASU Graduate Program and received his Master of Science degree in General Counseling.

Demetrice is employed with Hancock Bank and currently serves on the management team. His responsibilities include the supervision of call center associates, coordinating statistical reports, as well as evaluating and counseling associates on performance issues. He was previously employed with BB&T, formerly Colonial Bank, from August 1999 through June 2010. From January 2008 through June 2012, Demetrice was employed with Youth Enhancement Family Service, Inc. There he served as a behavioral therapist for at-risk youths that encountered personal, family, and behavioral issues within their homes, communities, and schools. He has also written two relationship novels, When the Truth is Revealed 2008 and If He Won’t, I Will 2009. Demetrice is currently working on his third novel titled, Now that the Truth is Revealed.

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Herman Moncreif, CPA

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Herman Moncrief currently serves as the Vice President of Finance for HealthTech Holdings, Inc. Mr. Moncrief is responsible for all aspects of accounting and financial reporting, in addition to managing and directing the general accounting, billing, credit, collections and tax functions of the Company. Mr. Moncrief is originally from Prattville, AL. Mr. Moncrief received a BS degree from Alabama State University, with a concentration in Accounting in 1997 and is a certified public accountant in Georgia. Shortly after graduation Mr. Moncrief relocated to Atlanta, GA and begun his professional career as a Staff Accountant for The Maxim Group. Mr. Moncrief subsequently served as Senior and Staff Auditor for Arthur Andersen, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia from December 1998 to June 2002. From June 2002 to November 2004, Mr. Moncrief served as Corporate Controller for InterCept, Inc., a Norcross, Georgia provider of information technology solutions for community-based financial institutions. Mr. Moncrief served as Audit Manager for KPMG LLP in Atlanta, Georgia from November 2004 to February 2006. From February 2006 to July 2013 Mr. Moncrief served as Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer of American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA). American Software is a publicly traded software company operating primarily in the Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) and Supply Chain segments of the software industry.

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Greg Hall

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Gregory (Greg) Hall was born in Anderson, IN. and moved to Talladega when he was 3 weeks old to be raised by his grandparents. He graduated from Talladega High School in 1992 and enrolled at Auburn University and majored in Electrical Engineering. After two years in school he withdrew and moved to Montgomery and enrolled in John Patterson State Technical College where he earned an Associate Degree in Computer Information Systems Technology, thus reuniting him with his childhood friends at Alabama State.

He is now employed with AT&T as a Service Technician, where he has been for the last twelve years, holding various positions within the company in three different cities. 

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Terrance Hall

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Terrence Hall is originally from Talladega, Al. He attended Alabama State University back in the fall of 1993 and majored in finance. After college, he worked as a loan processor for Northeastern Financial Services from 1997-2001. From there he started working for Regions Financial Corporation as head loan officer for hazard and flood loans for the Midwest Region from 2001-2005. Mr. Hall was then employed with Delta Airlines, the premier airline in the global airline industry, where he worked in Global Sales Support and Services. Afterwards he obtained the position of Learning Support Trainer. He has been awarded with the Certificate of Excellence for outstanding performance, is a three-time member of the renowned Pinnacle Club, and a nominee for the Chairman’s Club which is the highest award to an employee with Delta Airlines. Upon his return home he became a finance manager for Truss Auto Group, LLC. He has now started his own tutorial service, F.I.N.A.O., Failure Is Not An Option, that mentors to youth of all ages to encourage the advocacy of good grades. In his spare time he enjoys reading, traveling the world, and watching and playing sports. He is also a youth basketball and Cal Ripken youth league baseball coach. Mr Hall is a renowned member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc

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