Year-End Reviews What is the Class of ’24 reading, listening to, and watching? Four of the newest Leadership Birmingham graduates share the books, programs, and podcasts that have inspired them during their program year. Steven Henkin Rabbi Temple Beth-El The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World, by Rabbi Sharon Brous “[This book] challenges us to think about what it really means to be part of a community and gives practical suggestions about how we can work together to make a better world—starting with ourselves, our families, and our communities.
A Force of Nature
A Force of Nature This fall, the Members Association welcomes a special guest to Birmingham—but it’s really more of a homecoming for Margaret Renkl, an award-winning author and New York Times contributing opinion writer. Renkl is an Alabama native who spent much of her youth in Birmingham and attended Auburn University.
Family Ties
Family Ties A mother and child reunion in the Class of ’24 Tanner Battle enjoys sharing special moments with her mom, Brooke Battle. But she didn’t expect to experience the entire 2023-2024 program year together.
Pathfinders
Pathfinders How a team came together to connect communities through trails A trail winding 36 miles around Greater Birmingham could lead the way to a brighter future. The Freshwater Land Trust (FLT) Red Rock Action Plan envisions a grand loop combining seven new corridors with existing trails.
STORIES THAT MOVE US
STORIES THAT MOVE US Alumni share the books, programs, and music that make them think – and dance Richard Yeilding (LB ’85) RBY Retail Leaves From a President’s Notebook: Lessons on Life and Leadership, by Thomas K. Hearn Jr.
GROWTH MINDSET
GROWTH MINDSET Atlanta’s Martin Tilson Jr. (’88) supports Leadership Birmingham because it inspired him to become an education advocate.
TRUE OR FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE Surprising facts about Alabama’s justice system Justice Day is among the most popular program days because it reveals surprising truths about Alabama’s complex system of courts and corrections. As we look ahead to the next Justice Day on February 8, 2024, take this challenge to see what you know about key points discussed earlier in 2023 by Bennet Wright and judges Michael Streety and Stephen Wallace.
HOW TO HEAL A COMMUNITY
HOW TO HEAL A COMMUNITY Alumni share the lessons of Leadership Birmingham How can a community come together after experiencing widespread trauma fueled by injustice? As part of the September commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Birmingham campaign in the civil rights movement, the Historic Bethel Baptist Church hosted a conference—titled There IS a Balm in Gilead: Healing From the Events of 1963—to explore avenues for recovery. Four Class of 2022 alumni led a session highlighting the connections and conversations that take place within Leadership Birmingham and the ways they use their knowledge to help bridge divides.
READER LEADER
READER LEADER Bonnie Short (YLF ’91) helps Alabama students gain ground in literacy Bonnie Short has good news to share about Alabama’s success in teaching young children to read: The 2022 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP)—the nation’s report card—showed that “our fourth-grade students made gains in literacy while almost every other state declined,” she says. That’s a welcome improvement from the NAEP’s previous report from three years earlier, which ranked Alabama fourth-graders 49th in reading.
SEEN, HEARD, AND REMEMBERED
SEEN, HEARD, AND REMEMBERED Alumni share their latest book, program, and podcast discoveries Gail Andrews (’84) Director Emerita Birmingham Museum of Art American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins “I was totally caught up in this gripping story of a mother and child trying to escape the wrath of the drug cartel that is ignited by her husband’s reveal of their leader. Their story, set in Mexico, and those of the individuals they met as they travel north, was extremely compelling.