Leadership organization welcomes new CFO, Director of Development & Engagement, Director of Programs, and Event Coordinator
MEMPHIS, Tenn., September 14, 2021 – Leadership Memphis, whose mission is to engage local leaders to impact Memphis in a positive way, announced today a new executive team to help lead the organization and continue its 42-year history of being a valuable resource and network for leaders in Memphis while preparing them to continue building upon the city’s rich leadership legacy. The new executives recently welcomed to Leadership Memphis include Donna Macri, Chief Financial Officer; Mario Hogue, Director of Development and Engagement; Kenya Johnson, Director of Programs; and DeNeia Whitted, Events Coordinator.
“We are proud to welcome Donna Macri, Mario Hogue, Kenya Johnson, and DeNeia Whitted to the Leadership Memphis team,” said Reggie Crenshaw, President and CEO of Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis. “Each of them brings a wealth of experience, innovative ideas, and a diversity of perspectives to their new roles that we know will benefit our organization and our community. We are excited to see how they contribute to the well-established history of Leadership Memphis leading the charge to make our city better.”
As Chief Financial Officer, Donna Macri will be responsible for oversight of the finance for Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis. Macri brings 16 years of experience as a CFO in the private sector to her new role. An operationally focused executive, Macri believes in improving performance through profit-driven analysis, practices, and business strategy. Macri has served in a diverse group of business verticals to include consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, distribution, and third-party logistics industries.
Mario Hogue will serve as Director of Development and Engagement where he will be responsible for the organization’s fundraising efforts as well as Leadership Memphis alumni engagement. Over the last seven years, Hogue has led communications efforts for the third largest health system and the largest public school district in Arizona before most recently serving as Public Information Officer of the largest municipal school district in Shelby County. Throughout his career, Hogue is responsible for generating over four million dollars through federal, state, and local grants and a capital improvement campaign that utilized donor planning, engagement events, and digital call-to-action marketing tactics.
As Director of Programs, Kenya Johnson will be responsible for the advancement of the Leadership Memphis mission through best-in-class programs, including the Executive and FastTrack classes. Johnson has over 15 years of business experience navigating complex employee and business matters while implementing cross-functional projects, creating strategies for process improvement, and solving challenging compliance issues. Johnson has extensive experience developing learning modules and planning and conducting training for organizations in industries ranging from legal and education to manufacturing and logistics. Skilled at facilitating team-building events, Johnson enjoys bringing diverse groups and ideas together. She demonstrates her passion for education and community involvement through her active volunteerism with Literacy Mid-South, Youth Villages, Shelby County Schools, The Works, Inc., Habitat for Humanity, and other community-based projects.
In her new role as Event Coordinator, DeNeia Whitted will work closely with Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis on planning and executing their alumni engagement events and volunteer days of service. Whitted founded her own event planning company, Events by Day, in 2004 and has produced many unique events from weddings, fashion shows, pageants, high-end celebrity social events, and galas and other nonprofit charity functions. Priding herself on succeeding in her professional life and in her personal life striving to be a good role model for her two daughters, Whitted is also the creator, executive producer, and co-host of her passion project the “Our HBCU Experience” Talk Show which allows her to shine a light on HBCU alumni that are thriving in business, art, and community.
PHOTOS:
Donna Macri, Chief Financial Officer, Leadership Memphis
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Mario Hogue, Director of Development and Engagement, Leadership Memphis
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Kenya Johnson, Director of Programs, Leadership Memphis
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De’Neia Whitted, Event Coordinator, Leadership Memphis
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About Leadership Memphis:
Leadership Memphis is a non-profit, community leadership development organization. Its mission is to prepare and mobilize leaders to work together for the good of the whole community. Originally founded in 1979 as The Memphis Institute of Public Responsibility, Leadership Memphis has graduated more than 3,900 leaders from its programs. For more information, please visit LeadershipMemphis.org.
About Volunteer Memphis:
Volunteer Memphis builds capacity for effective volunteering and connecting people with opportunities to serve throughout Memphis and Shelby County. The organization helps individuals, families, corporate teams, and community groups strengthen Memphis and the Mid-South through service at more than 300 nonprofit organizations and schools. Our volunteers are at work every day of the year, tutoring and mentoring children, helping individuals and families make pathways out of poverty, improving our Memphis and Shelby County environment, and more. Volunteer Memphis is an affiliate of the Hands-On Network, an association of 250 volunteer service organizations across 16 countries and an action Initiative of Leadership Memphis. For more information, please visit VolunteerMemphis.org.