Daniel T. Reid
Board Chair
Mr. Reid is President of West Tennessee banking groups with Guaranty Bank, and has been a banker in the Memphis market for the last 37 years. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Administrative Management and Finance from the University of Tennessee (Martin). He has been very active in training opportunities in leadership, lending and productivity. Some of Mr. Reid’s community involvement includes: Board of Directors/University Club of Memphis and Admissions Committee Chair, past president of the Rotary Club, Paul Harris Fellow, Leadership Bartlett Chairman, Bartlett area Chamber of Commerce Board member and Secretary/Treasurer, Central Gardens association Board member, member of the Central Gardens Landmarks Committee, member of the Brooks Decorative Arts Trust, member of the Collierville Tomorrow Board, graduate of the New Memphis Institute (Leadership Academy) Master’s Program and a communicant at Grace St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Mr. Reid currently serves as Chair of The Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board of the City of Memphis.
Monice Moore-Hagler
Board Vice Chair, Secretary
Ms. Hagler is a partner with the law firm of Hagler Law Group, PLLC. Her law practice is concentrated in the areas of finance, property law, business and commercial transactions. She serves as closing attorney for commercial and residential transactions to buyers, sellers and lenders, as counsel to a number of for-profit and non-profit development entities, as well as to municipal and county governments. Ms. Hagler serves as counsel to affordable housing developers, providing legal assistance in the redevelopment of several major mixed-finance, mixed-use developments, including overseeing acquisition, condemnation, redevelopment, multifamily financing and homeownership sales. Ms. Hagler earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Memphis School of Law, a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee (Martin). Ms. Hagler’s community service includes: serving on the Advisory Board of the University of Tennessee at Martin, the Board of the YMCA, the Memphis Bar Foundation and is a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. She is former Chair and currently serves as Secretary of The Health, Education and Housing Facility Board of the City of Memphis.
James B. Jalenak
Board Director
Mr. Jalenak became a member of the board in 2017. He is a graduate of East High School, Yale College, and Yale Law School, and has practiced law in Memphis for over 50 years. Mr. Jalenak’s law practice primarily specialized in commercial real estate, with corporate and estate planning also included. His civic activities have included serving as President of Memphis Zoological Society, Temple Israel, Memphis Rotary Club, and Memphis Public Education Fund, and serving as an officer and board member of LeMoyne Owen College, Memphis Urban League, Memphis Depot Redevelopment Corporation, and the Southern College of Optometry. He is married to the former Natalie Block of Buffalo, and they have two daughters, Molly (Mrs. Jason) Wexler and Katy (Mrs. Clay) Levit, and four college age grandchildren.
Buckner Wellford
Board Director
Mr. Wellford is an attorney and the Chair of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell and Berkowitz’s Advocacy Department. Mr. Wellford earned his Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 1978 and a law degree from the Washington and Lee School of Law in 1981. He represents hospitals, physicians, and medical groups in health care litigation, regulatory, peer review, contract and employment matters. He is a former Shelby County Commissioner, elected to two terms on the Commission from 1994 through 2002. Mr. Wellford’s community involvement includes: Board member for Meritan, Inc., where he served two terms as Chairman of the Board, Board member of the r Memphis Bar Association, Board member of the Goodwill Boys Club, and former Memphis Literacy Council “Each One Teach One” tutor. He presently serves on the Advisory Board to the Health and Public Policy Institute for the University of Memphis School of Law, as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Legislative Review Committee and is a member of the Tennessee Bar Foundation.
Cliff Henderson
Treasurer, Board Director
Cliff Henderson is the Chief Financial Officer at Experitec, Inc. and oversees finance, information technology, supply chain, risk management, benefits, and legal functions. He brings over twenty-five years of financial experience and has also worked in similar finance, accounting, and project management roles with Pfizer Inc., Medtronic PLC, and Monogram Food Solutions. Henderson graduated from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University with a major in finance and obtained his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. His community service has included prior mentor or corporate leadership roles with Junior Achievement, United Way, and the National Black MBA. He serves as the Treasurer of The Health, Education and Housing Facility Board of the City of Memphis.
Katie Shotts
Vice Secretary, Board Director
CEO & Executive Vice President, Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®
Ms. Shotts attended New Mexico State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies. She began her career in real estate and Association Management at the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) in 2008. She served the MAAR membership for seven plus years managing events, communications, supporting various committees and as the Staff Director for the MAAR Commercial Council. Ms. Shotts then served for four years as the COO of the Pinellas REALTOR® Organization in Clearwater, Florida, and then as the CEO at the Hernando County Association of REALTORS® in Hernando County, Florida before being brought back home to Memphis. She was chosen as the CEO of the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® in March 2019. Ms. Shotts holds her REALTOR® Certified Association Executive (RCE) designation, At Home With Diversity (AHWD) and e-PRO certifications, served as 2020 Advisory Board Chair of the National Association of REALTORS® Association Executives Institute, has served on numerous committees for Florida REALTORS® and Tennessee REALTORS®, and is an RPAC Sterling R Major Investor. Through her work at MAAR, she provides education, training and support to more than 4,100 REALTOR® members in advocacy, fair housing and building strong, diverse communities.
Howard Eddings, Jr.
Board Director
A life-long Memphian, Howard Eddings, Jr. is married to Delisa Rose Flowers. Together they have 3 children, two sons and one daughter. Growing up in Memphis, TN, a distinguished graduate of the School of Social Work from the University of Memphis, Howard went on to become President /CEO of Memphis Leadership Foundation, Inc. in 1993. As President/CEO, he gave leadership to numerous not-for-profit organizations that have had a tremendous impact on our city, particularly in under-served communities. Currently, Howard is the Chief Executive Officer of RedZone Memphis, Inc, a youth-focused, community-based outreach organization that focuses on the comprehensive needs of men, women, and children who live in the Orange Mound community. While serving as president, in 1991 with a B.A. degree in Social Work, Howard received the Distinguished Graduate Award. In January 1998, he successfully completed the Executive Management Institute at Christian Brothers University. Howard has a strong commitment to the welfare and peace of the city of Memphis.
Vincent Sawyer
Board Director
Vincent Sawyer is an Memphis-native public interest attorney licensed in the State of Tennessee and employed by The Works, Inc. For years, Mr. Sawyer has played an integral part in the improvement of our city’s most underserved communities and has tirelessly worked to shed light on the inequities found in these struggling neighborhoods. His practice area focuses on anti-blight interventions, neighborhood maintenance and community development efforts. For example, Mr. Sawyer has played a major role in the revitalization of the Klondike community and the living conditions of its residents. Moreover, Mr. Sawyer has been intricately involved in the policies and practices that led to the clean up hundreds of vacant and abandoned properties in many struggling communities throughout Memphis.
Mr. Sawyer also heads dozens receiverships in the Shelby County Environmental Court for public nuisance properties previously determined to pose severe health and safety risks to the surrounding community. Said receiverships have led to the improvement of the quality of life of countless residents in dozens of communities throughout Shelby County and has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax revenue for Shelby County and the City of Memphis. Through participation in the Vacant Property Receivership Consortium, Mr. Sawyer aims to educate and deliver the receivership tool to many under-served communities nationwide that struggle with dangerous vacant and abandoned properties.
Mr. Sawyer is also a Co-Chair of the Blight Elimination Steering Team, which is a collaboration focused on blight fighting tools, strategies and initiatives across different departments and agencies and in concert with nonprofit, civic, and business partners. He has also participated in the publication of numerous articles, including multiple articles in The Commercial Appeal, addressing the successes and challenges of resolving the more than 17,000 vacant and abandoned properties throughout Shelby County. Overall, Mr. Sawyer is a valuable member of the legal community dedicated to resolving the legal challenges attributable to systemic, wide-spread property abandonment and to restoring our disadvantaged communities.