Dr. Arturo Menefee is the Interim Executive Director for The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development. He has more than fifteen years of professional and academic experience in leadership, community, workforce and economic development. As a successful community development practitioner, Dr. Menefee has led several teams of professionals that have provided leadership development, community engagement, resource development, organizational wellness and disability research services to the citizens of Alabama. Dr. Menefee is a board member of the Alabama Communities of Excellence Program (ACE), the Alabama Association of Community Development Corporations (AACDC) and the Greater Peace Community Development Corporation (GPCDC). While serving as President of GPCDC, he was instrumental in the development of the Youth Leadership Academy, the establishment of an entrepreneurship training program to assist non-custodial fathers and led an initiative to construct 48 single-family homes in an economically distressed community in Opelika, Alabama. He is the author of Engaged Leaders, Better Communities, a leadership development curriculum. Arturo received his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Auburn University. He is also a fellow at the Manufacturing Diversity Institute (MDI) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Menefee is committed and passionate about empowering people and building communities.