The University of Alabama College of Human Environmental Sciences presented the annual Jack Davis Professional Achievement Awards during recent homecoming activities on campus.
This year’s honorees include Ron Andro, Amanda Brasher Black, Lee Bonner, Kirkland Kasmer, Lindsay Langford, Beth Moody, Vicki Peeples, Dr. Benjamin T. Raines, Jay Roberson, Kelsey Carnes Scott and Dr. Jereme Wilroy.
The Jack Davis awards are presented to outstanding CHES alumni for their professional accomplishments. The awards have been given out since 1986, and are named to honor the first man to graduate from the College with a degree in nutrition, Dr. Lewis Clifton “Jack” Davis, Jr.
The department of consumer sciences conferred a Jack Davis Professional Achievement Award on Beth Moody, a two-time graduate of CHES. She earned a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in family financial planning and counseling in 2007, a master’s degree in the same concentration the following year and a CFP® designation as well. Moody is a member and senior advisor at The Welch Group in Birmingham, Alabama. She also serves as a committee member for the firm’s Foundation and as the firm’s director of talent development.
Ron Andro was recognized for professional achievements in human environmental sciences. With a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s in health systems management, this senior health care executive turned to CHES to hone his skills in negotiation, mediation and conflict management. He is a December 2020 graduate of the MSHES degree program and completed the graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution in May 2018. As Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Operations Officer of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, Andro leads a team responsible for delivering patient-centered ambulatory, inpatient, surgical and ancillary patient care services and operations.
Sport hospitality recipient, Jay Roberson, Jr. has built professional and political careers working as president of the Birmingham Iron professional football team, in collegiate athletics administration, as the owner of a sports marketing/management company and a member of the Birmingham City Council. Roberson’s company Top Ten Management has been responsible for managing sporting events, marketing, working on public policy for sports, business development and strategic partnerships with various organizations throughout the United States and internationally. After serving as Vice President for The World Games 2022, Roberson accepted a position with international business development company Volkert as assistant vice president. Roberson earned a master’s degree in hospitality management with a sport hospitality concentration in 2021.
Kirkland Kasmer was awarded the professional achievement award for fashion retailing. She graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in apparel and textiles and began her career in New York as an account lead with BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP. She joined Cinq à Sept at Jaya Apparel Group in 2015. Rising through the ranks quickly, Kasmer became vice president of global sales and merchandising in 2019. In that position, she worked closely with design and product development teams to increase wholesale volume by 115%. In August of this year, Kasmer was promoted to senior vice president.
In apparel design, this year’s professional achievement award recipient was Kelsey Carnes Scott. A 2012 graduate, Scott has worked as a designer for several apparel brands and has advanced quickly. She spent over five years at Abercrombie & Fitch, three years at Carter’s | OshKosh B’gosh, and recently moved to San Francisco where she works as senior technical designer at Old Navy, Inc. Current responsibilities include increasing sustainability practices by utilizing 3D product creation and limiting the number of fit samples required, serving on a team that evaluates software for digital product creation and managing toddler knits and sleep.
Receiving the professional achievement award in interior design was Amanda Brasher Black, a 1989 CHES graduate. She has a wealth of experience in the built environment having worked in design, construction, and as a business owner, project manager, dealer sales executive, business developer and regional manager for a major furniture manufacturer. Black is currently southern area regional manager for Via Seating, Inc. where she manages 10 independent rep groups and 35 reps in commercial office, healthcare, education and government furniture sales across 18 states. Previously, Black served as a territory manager for Herman Miller in Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.
The Jack Davis award in nutrition went to Lindsay Langford. A 2004 graduate with a bachelor’s in food and nutrition, she has worked as a sports dietitian for numerous athletic programs and teams since 2005. She has served as a team dietitian for the NBA, WNBA, NFL, IndyCar Racing and the US Soccer Women’s National Team. A veteran dietitian with both RD and CSSD designations, she has experience working with individuals, teams, chefs and high-performance teammates, and was one of the first full-time sports dietitians in the country. Langford currently works as lead dietitian for St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Jack Davis award in health science was awarded to Dr. Jereme Wilroy in recognition of his major contributions to enhancing the longevity and quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries. After completing his PhD in Health Education and Health Promotion at CHES in 2016, he did postdoctoral training at UAB and Lakeshore Foundation and was rapidly promoted to assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, co-director of research at Lakeshore, associate scientist and co-director of UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems.
The department of human development and family studies awarded assistant professor emerita and assistant dean emerita, Vicki Peeples its Jack Davis Achievement Award. After earning her master’s at The University of Alabama, Peeples began her career at UA as an instructor, then assistant professor in the department where she received her degree. She taught adolescent, lifespan, adult and advanced child development classes and advised students. She was integral to the growth of HDFS majors during that time. In 2010, she became an assistant dean with responsibilities over student services, academic misconduct and undergraduate advising. She served in that role until her retirement in 2017.
Athletic training chose Dr. Benjamin Todd Raines as the 2022 professional achievement award recipient. Raines earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training and a Master of Arts in Health Education and Health Promotion at UA. He then completed post-baccalaureate and graduate studies in biochemistry and genetics. In 2014, he graduated medical school from the UAB School of Medicine and completed an orthopaedic surgery residency and an orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship, sub-specializing in advanced arthroscopic techniques, limb realignment and shoulder replacement. During the past 16 years, he has treated and worked on the sports medicine teams for middle and high school athletics, as well as collegiate and professional programs.
Lee Bonner was selected for a Jack Davis award by the hospitality management program. A 2018 meetings and event planning graduate, Bonner is Scheduler for the Office of the U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy where she has overseen all logistics and planning since 2019. She plans and executes event logistics including swearing-in and State of the Union receptions Members of Congress and cabinet secretaries and works with governmental leaders on official protocol events. Her duties include coordinating travel for Members of Congress for official trips, both domestic and international.
This year’s honorees include Ron Andro, Amanda Brasher Black, Lee Bonner, Kirkland Kasmer, Lindsay Langford, Beth Moody, Vicki Peeples, Dr. Benjamin T. Raines, Jay Roberson, Kelsey Carnes Scott and Dr. Jereme Wilroy.
The Jack Davis awards are presented to outstanding CHES alumni for their professional accomplishments. The awards have been given out since 1986, and are named to honor the first man to graduate from the College with a degree in nutrition, Dr. Lewis Clifton “Jack” Davis, Jr.
The department of consumer sciences conferred a Jack Davis Professional Achievement Award on Beth Moody, a two-time graduate of CHES. She earned a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in family financial planning and counseling in 2007, a master’s degree in the same concentration the following year and a CFP® designation as well. Moody is a member and senior advisor at The Welch Group in Birmingham, Alabama. She also serves as a committee member for the firm’s Foundation and as the firm’s director of talent development.
Ron Andro was recognized for professional achievements in human environmental sciences. With a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s in health systems management, this senior health care executive turned to CHES to hone his skills in negotiation, mediation and conflict management. He is a December 2020 graduate of the MSHES degree program and completed the graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution in May 2018. As Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Operations Officer of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, Andro leads a team responsible for delivering patient-centered ambulatory, inpatient, surgical and ancillary patient care services and operations.
Sport hospitality recipient, Jay Roberson, Jr. has built professional and political careers working as president of the Birmingham Iron professional football team, in collegiate athletics administration, as the owner of a sports marketing/management company and a member of the Birmingham City Council. Roberson’s company Top Ten Management has been responsible for managing sporting events, marketing, working on public policy for sports, business development and strategic partnerships with various organizations throughout the United States and internationally. After serving as Vice President for The World Games 2022, Roberson accepted a position with international business development company Volkert as assistant vice president. Roberson earned a master’s degree in hospitality management with a sport hospitality concentration in 2021.
Kirkland Kasmer was awarded the professional achievement award for fashion retailing. She graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in apparel and textiles and began her career in New York as an account lead with BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP. She joined Cinq à Sept at Jaya Apparel Group in 2015. Rising through the ranks quickly, Kasmer became vice president of global sales and merchandising in 2019. In that position, she worked closely with design and product development teams to increase wholesale volume by 115%. In August of this year, Kasmer was promoted to senior vice president.
In apparel design, this year’s professional achievement award recipient was Kelsey Carnes Scott. A 2012 graduate, Scott has worked as a designer for several apparel brands and has advanced quickly. She spent over five years at Abercrombie & Fitch, three years at Carter’s | OshKosh B’gosh, and recently moved to San Francisco where she works as senior technical designer at Old Navy, Inc. Current responsibilities include increasing sustainability practices by utilizing 3D product creation and limiting the number of fit samples required, serving on a team that evaluates software for digital product creation and managing toddler knits and sleep.
Receiving the professional achievement award in interior design was Amanda Brasher Black, a 1989 CHES graduate. She has a wealth of experience in the built environment having worked in design, construction, and as a business owner, project manager, dealer sales executive, business developer and regional manager for a major furniture manufacturer. Black is currently southern area regional manager for Via Seating, Inc. where she manages 10 independent rep groups and 35 reps in commercial office, healthcare, education and government furniture sales across 18 states. Previously, Black served as a territory manager for Herman Miller in Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.
The Jack Davis award in nutrition went to Lindsay Langford. A 2004 graduate with a bachelor’s in food and nutrition, she has worked as a sports dietitian for numerous athletic programs and teams since 2005. She has served as a team dietitian for the NBA, WNBA, NFL, IndyCar Racing and the US Soccer Women’s National Team. A veteran dietitian with both RD and CSSD designations, she has experience working with individuals, teams, chefs and high-performance teammates, and was one of the first full-time sports dietitians in the country. Langford currently works as lead dietitian for St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Jack Davis award in health science was awarded to Dr. Jereme Wilroy in recognition of his major contributions to enhancing the longevity and quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries. After completing his PhD in Health Education and Health Promotion at CHES in 2016, he did postdoctoral training at UAB and Lakeshore Foundation and was rapidly promoted to assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, co-director of research at Lakeshore, associate scientist and co-director of UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems.
The department of human development and family studies awarded assistant professor emerita and assistant dean emerita, Vicki Peeples its Jack Davis Achievement Award. After earning her master’s at The University of Alabama, Peeples began her career at UA as an instructor, then assistant professor in the department where she received her degree. She taught adolescent, lifespan, adult and advanced child development classes and advised students. She was integral to the growth of HDFS majors during that time. In 2010, she became an assistant dean with responsibilities over student services, academic misconduct and undergraduate advising. She served in that role until her retirement in 2017.
Athletic training chose Dr. Benjamin Todd Raines as the 2022 professional achievement award recipient. Raines earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training and a Master of Arts in Health Education and Health Promotion at UA. He then completed post-baccalaureate and graduate studies in biochemistry and genetics. In 2014, he graduated medical school from the UAB School of Medicine and completed an orthopaedic surgery residency and an orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship, sub-specializing in advanced arthroscopic techniques, limb realignment and shoulder replacement. During the past 16 years, he has treated and worked on the sports medicine teams for middle and high school athletics, as well as collegiate and professional programs.
Lee Bonner was selected for a Jack Davis award by the hospitality management program. A 2018 meetings and event planning graduate, Bonner is Scheduler for the Office of the U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy where she has overseen all logistics and planning since 2019. She plans and executes event logistics including swearing-in and State of the Union receptions Members of Congress and cabinet secretaries and works with governmental leaders on official protocol events. Her duties include coordinating travel for Members of Congress for official trips, both domestic and international.
2022 Jack Davis Achievement Award winners Dr. Jereme Wilroy, Beth Moody, Kelsey Carnes Scott, Amanda Brasher Black, Jay Roberson, Dr. Benjamin Todd Raines and Vicki Peeples with Davis family member Alice Maxwell. Not pictured: Ron Andro, Lee Bonner, Kirkland Kasmer and Lindsay Langford.
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