Leadership

Kim Lawkis

Chief Operating Officer

Feeding Alabama

Kim received her dual Bachelor of Arts degree in History & English and her Masters of Public Administration from the University of South Alabama’s College of Arts and Sciences. She began her career as a Program Coordinator with the Mobile Area Education Foundation where her work focused on connecting business leaders with the MCPSS high school academy initiative. Subsequently, she served as the Director of Child Nutrition Programs for Feeding the Gulf Coast, managing feeding and advocacy operations that impacted children and families across the Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida Gulf Coast. With a non-profit career spanning more than a decade, Kim currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Feeding Alabama. In her role with FAL, she works on issues, projects and policies surrounding food insecurity and poverty, dealing with both the private and public responses to hunger.

Kim is a member of Leadership Mobile’s 2016 Class, and she is a member of Mobile Bay Monthly’s 40 under 40 class of 2016. Kim serves on the Mobile Regional Senior Center Foundation’s Board of Directors (Treasurer), as President of the University of South Alabama National Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, she’s Vice President of Alabama’s Volunteer Organizations Aiding in Disasters (AL-VOAD) statewide committee, and is a founding member of the End Child Hunger in Alabama Taskforce. She is a native of Scottsboro, Alabama. Kim and her husband Nick reside in Mobile, Alabama, with their two children.

President, AL VOAD (Volunteers Organizations Active in Disasters) 2023

Lana Mummah is the Finance and Program Director of United Way of Baldwin County, serving the organization for more than 12 years. Lana is responsible for organizing the in-house programs of the nonprofit, maintaining the financial records and the organization’s policies and procedures. Prior to her tenure with United Way of Baldwin County, Lana worked in medical billing for over 20 years.

Lana is involved in several service organizations including the Baldwin County Emergency Food and Shelter Board, Alabama VOAD Past Chair, Baldwin County VOAD Treasurer, Livable Communities Advisory Council, Baldwin County LEPC, Underage Drinking Taskforce, Baldwin County Long-Term Recovery and the Homeless Coallition.

Lana has an AAS Degree from Coastal Alabama Community College and is a member of the 2018-2019 Leadership Baldwin class. She has been married to her husband, Ken, for 30 years, has one daughter Lauryn, son-in-law Dreshon and two grandchildren Camila and Calihan. They reside in Foley.

Lana served as ALVOAD President 2019-2020.

Becky was born in Montgomery, Alabama and raised in Prattville, Alabama for most of her life.  She was fortunate enough to travel and live in several other states as a young girl.  She returned to Prattville and graduated from Prattville High school with an advanced diploma in 1992.

Becky joined the Montgomery Area United Way in 1994.  She started with the organization as the Assistant to the Director of Public Sector Campaigns before being promoted to Associate Director of Agency Relations.  After earning her Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1998 from Troy University, she accepted the position of Statewide Director of the State Combined Campaign that same year. She earned her MBA in 2001 with a concentration in Accounting from Troy University.

In late 2001, Becky was given the task of incorporating the United Ways of Alabama and serving as its first Executive Director.  This position combined her previous State Campaign duties with other activities that benefit the United Way system statewide, such as 211 Connects Alabama.  Becky has served on several State Commissions and Committees representing United Way and the nonprofit sector in Alabama.  She has served on the Board of many other nonprofit organizations.

With Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Becky’s job expanded greatly into crisis response and preparedness.  Ever since, Becky has been involved in recovery efforts including hurricanes and tornadoes across the State.  Crisis preparedness and response has become a large part of United Ways of Alabama’s mission.  She is on the Steering Committee of the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.  Becky has served two terms as Alabama VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) President, Vice President, and is the current Treasurer.

She served as Secretary for the Capital City Kiwanis Club for 20 years.  She served as Vice President for the Montgomery East Kiwanis Club before transferring her membership in 2002.  She participates in fundraisers and other activities to benefit the community. She has given much of her personal time outside of her position to many organizations.

Becky and her husband, Tracy, currently reside in Prattville.  They have twin daughters, both Registered Nurses at UAB.  The Bookers have two furry children: Sugar and Roy.  Her hobbies include gardening, reading and spending time outdoors.

Tasha Cooper, a native of Gainesville, Florida, has spent the past 19 years volunteering for and serving in various capacities at nonprofit organizations including management, marketing & public relations, fundraising, disaster volunteer management, and program development.

Tasha holds a B.A. in Communication & Public Relations from the University of West Florida and a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University-Shreveport.

Tasha moved to Alabama in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and served as the communication intern for the Lee County Red Cross.  For seven years after, Tasha worked for LifeSouth Community Blood Centers in the Daphne and Auburn branches.  In 2013, she moved to Louisiana and served as the Director of Member Services for the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations (LANO). At LANO, Tasha managed membership recruitment and retention, coordinated marketing efforts, and provided consulting services to nonprofits across the state. She worked closely with Volunteer Louisiana and other major response organizations during the Great Flood of 2016 in Baton Rouge.

Tasha has lived throughout the Southeast but moved to Montgomery from Baton Rouge, Louisiana in July 2017. She serves as the Executive Director of HandsOn River Region and resides in Montgomery with her husband Brennan, daughter Nora, son Lincoln, and multiple fur babies.

Larry is originally from Marshall County but moved to Blount County after spending his early teens in Oklahoma. He graduated from Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering in Marietta, Georgia in 1971 with an associate’s degree in Apparel Manufacturing Management Technology.  He graduated from Gardner-Webb University, in North Carolina, with a B. S. degree in Business Management in 1987.

He was appointed as a Charter Advisory Board member to the Georgia Institute of Technology Apparel Technology Center in 1987 and served for five years.

During Larry’s work life of over 52 years, he was always civic minded and served as college Key Club President, State Vice President and National Director for the Tennessee Jaycees, and assisted Rotary International.  He is currently Chairman of the Blount County VOAD (5 years), a Director of the Oneonta-Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Alabama American Legion District 12 Finance Officer (Blount County Commander for four years), Director of Hope House Charities, member of Blount County Grateful Heart Association, member and past Chairman of the Blount County Equalization Board, a member of the Gideon’s International since 1986.

In his career, Larry worked in over 40 countries with responsibilities including the certification of labor laws and working conditions under the WTO guidelines. While working in these various positions, he was responsible to coordinate the recovery efforts of the various businesses which included the 1975 tornadoes in North Alabama, hurricanes David and Fredrick in the Dominican Republic in 1979, the North Ridge, California earth quake in early 1993, hurricanes George and Mitch in 1998, and multiple earth quakes in Costa Rica, and Mexico.

Larry was selected by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown to serve on the U. S. Caribbean Business Development Council in late 1995 to strengthen multilateral commercial relations in the region.  Larry was requested to go to Haiti in 1996 by the US to certify the working conditions could indeed be acceptable to US manufacturers and meet WTO guidelines after the changes installed by the new government. Larry was Vice Chairman of the La Romana Free Zone Association in the Dominican Republic in 1993 and one of two non-Honduran nationals who were voting members of the Honduran Apparel Quota Board. He was selected as a guest of honor at the first ever joint speeches by the Presidents of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala at the U.N. General Assembly in late 1997. He served on the Apparel Research Committee of the American Apparel and Footwear Association from 1990 until 2004.

Larry and his wife Karon, a retired CPA and Blount County native, have been married for 52 years and have two sons and two granddaughters. They moved back to Alabama in 2006 to retire after living in nine states including almost 10 years in North Carolina and 15 years in Connecticut/New York City (work) as well as some international locations.

Larry finally fully retired in early 2017 after working at Weissman’s in St. Louis for seven years as Vice President of Production, Distribution, and International Sourcing Operations.

He has served as an at Large Member of ALVOAD since 2018.

A lifelong resident of Tuscaloosa County, David is a graduate of Tuscaloosa High. He received an A.S. degree from Walker College, a B.S. degree in C&BA and a master’s in criminal justice degree from the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa.

Commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant Ordnance Corps, U.A. Army Reserve he attended the Ordnance Officers Basic Course.  He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in 2003 as a Colonel with 30 years commissioned service.  Military schools include the Army War College, Command & General Staff College, Associate Logistical Executive Development Course and Engineer officers Advance course.  Military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.

He retired from the City of Tuscaloosa in 2014 after serving 29 years in the Police Department and ten as Director, Emergency Management.  For his last twenty years in the Police Department, he served as the Public Information Officer.  He was also the founding coordinator for Tuscaloosa County Crime Stoppers, Inc.

David is married to Jane Harris Hartin is a former middle school teacher with the Tuscaloosa City Schools. They have two sons, Michael and Matthew. Both are Eagle Scouts and Vigil Honor members of Aracoma Lodge 481. They have twin granddaughters that live in Tuscaloosa County and a granddaughter and grandson that live in Elmore County.

Some of his civic service include Past President of Tuscaloosa Civitan Club, Past President, Department of Alabama Reserve Officers Association, President-West Alabama Officers Association, Board Member, Tuscaloosa County Crime Stoppers, Inc., President of Tuscaloosa County V.O.A.D., Silver Beaver Awards Chair for the Black Warrior Council, Boy Scouts of America, member and Secretary to the Board of the Romulus Volunteer Fire Department, Deputy Chief of Staff, Alabama Wing, Civil Air Patrol and West Central Chapter American Red Cross.

Rush grew up in Tuscaloosa, Al attending public schools. Graduated from Tuscaloosa High School 1967. He graduated from Livingston University with B.S.  1973. He is retired from The University of Alabama with 25 years working in management various departments of Facilities Management. He is also retired Lieutenant Colonel Alabama Army National Guard with 28years of service. His service included Military Police and Logistical Support Operations for truckers strike, tornado recovery, and winter storms.

Rush is currently member of the National Response Team Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) on the Long Term Recovery Team and Hosting Team. Deployments with PDA includes Hurricanes Harvey, Michael, and Sally. He has assisted with the organization of Long Term Recovery Groups in Alabama, Hale and Greene Counties.

He volunteers with the Meals on Wheels program and Food Pantry distribution at Grace Presbyterian Church, Tuscaloosa, Al.

Rush and his wife, Mary Jane live at Fosters, AL. They has 6 daughters and 7 grandchildren.

ALVOAD – Immediate Past President    currently serving

President            2020-2022

Vice President    2018 -2020

The Governor’s Office of Volunteer Services (GOVS) serves as Alabama’s Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL). They also serve as the lead for Volunteer and Donations Management during emergencies. They assist ALVOAD in coordination of all disaster efforts, as well as any funding efforts that might be available.

GOVS is the Alabama State Service Commission. With that responsibility they maintain and administer the AmeriCorps grants. GOVS currently has 6 programs in it’s portfolio. The programs serve areas including Birmingham, Mobile, Selma, and others. If you have any questions regarding GOVS responsibilities or programs feel free to check out their website.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency (the “Alabama EMA”) is responsible by statute and several specific Governors’ executive orders for coordinating the emergency activities of all state departments and agencies with local governments, private agencies, organizations, federal agencies and other state governments. This mission of Alabama EMA is to support our citizens, strengthen our communities, and build a culture of preparedness through a comprehensive Emergency Management (EM) program.

Alabama EMA’s Human Services Branch and Individual Assistance program works closely with ALVOAD during all phases of disasters.