NATIONAL ISSUES FORUMS INSTITUTE

Cristin F. Brawner is Executive Director of the National Issues Forums Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves to promote public deliberation about difficult public issues. She has dedicated her career to helping communities and our democracy thrive. As a nonprofit executive, Brawner has led dynamic staff teams, built partnerships, and developed coalitions for improving civic life. As a consultant, she helped clients manage large teams and projects successfully, engage diverse communities thoughtfully, build partnerships strategically, and communicate effectively.

Brawner is the former Executive Director of the David Mathews Center for Civic Life in Alabama, where she oversaw the growth of the organization’s programming, partnerships, and impact. She is a former Associate with the Kettering Foundation and the former Project Coordinator for the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative. She is also the founder and facilitator of the Southern Deliberative Democracy Network, an informal group dedicated to strengthening democracy and dialoguing across differences.

Brawner is a graduate of the University of Montevallo and a member of Class II of Leadership Alabama’s Alabama Leadership Initiative (ALI). She is a member of the David Mathews Center for Civic Life Board of Directors.

ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY

A native of Louisiana, Steve Murray has called Alabama home since he began graduate school at Auburn University in 1993. Murray is Director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH), the state agency that serves as the permanent repository for state government records, a special-collections library, and the state’s history museum. Murray became Director in 2012 after serving for six years as Assistant Director for Administration. His prior experience in public history included service as Managing Editor of the Encyclopedia of Alabama and The Alabama Review, both at Auburn University.

From 2013 to 2020, Murray was a member of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission and co-chaired its Education Committee. He co-chaired the Alabama World War I Centennial Committee and is a past president of the Alabama Historical Association. At the national level, his service includes terms on the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) and the board of the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). member of the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Hollie C. Cost is the Assistant Vice President for University Outreach & Public Service at Auburn University, collaboratively leading the Rural Health Initiative to improve healthcareaccess in rural Alabama. With over 25 years of teaching and civic leadership, she prioritizes inclusivity, sustainability, health and wellness, educational equity, and youth civic efficacy. Cost has served as a Professor of Special Education and a special education teacher. Along with a team of stellar colleagues, she launched the Montevallo Junior City Council, Thrive Together Shelby County, the Montevallo Sister City Commission, Future Falcons, Montevallo Connection and other impactful initiatives. As mayor of Montevallo (2012-2020), she oversaw $10 million in capital projects.

Cost holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in special education from Auburn University. Her honors include Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Humanitarian of the Year and Alabama Main Street Hero. She was recognized as one of 25 Women who Shape the State in 2023 and was the recipient of the 2019 Jean O’Connor-Snyder Award from the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. She currently serves as chair for the National Issues Forums Institute and a partner in Keys to the City Community Coaching.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS RESEARCH COUNCIL OF ALABAMA

Ryan Hankins came to PARCA in October 2015. He is active in local and statewide nonprofit work and serves on numerous boards and committees, including the Executive Team of the Alabama Committee for Grade-Level Reading, the Alabama Counts! 2020 Census Committee, and the advisory boards for the Masters of Public Administration at Auburn University and both the Masters of Social Work and Department of Human Development and Family Science at Samford University. He has previously served on the board of the Alabama Association of Nonprofits, the Birmingham—Jefferson Food Policy Council, the Medicaid Citizens’ Advisory Board, the Bold Goals Workforce Development Council, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, and is past president of the Alabama Association of Free Clinics. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management Executive Education program, the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute, Leadership Birmingham, Leadership Alabama, and a Birmingham Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 Honoree. Hankins holds a B.A. In religion and English literature, a Master of Divinity, and a Ph.D. in public policy. He has completed additional studies at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and Oxford University.

ALABAMA POSSIBLE

Chandra Scott is the Executive Director of Alabama Possible, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to removing barriers to prosperity through education, advocacy, and collaboration. Under her leadership, the organization has driven major statewide initiatives, including the 2025 launch of the Alabama Direct Admission initiative, the nation’s first Historically Black and Predominately Black Community College Network, and groundbreaking efforts to expand FAFSA completion and college access. She also serves on several state and national boards shaping postsecondary policy and workforce development. Chandra is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and Michigan State University, and she lives in Alabama with her husband, Loren, and their two children.

PROJECT HORSESHOE FARM

John Dorsey, M.D., M.B.A. is the Founder and Executive Director of Project Horseshoe Farm. He received his B.A. in Neurosciences from Pomona College; his M.D. from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia; and his M.B.A. with a focus on Health and Medical Services Administration from Widener University. He completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical Center where he was selected by the faculty for its Outstanding Resident Award and was selected by U.C. Davis medical students for the Resident Medical Staff Outstanding Teaching Award. In addition to his current work with Project Horseshoe Farm, Dr. Dorsey provides psychiatric care and serves on the Board of Directors at Hale County Hospital. He also serves as the staff psychiatrist at Colonial Haven Nursing Home. He serves as an adjunct clinical faculty member at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He was selected as a “Pillar of West Alabama” by the Community Foundation of West Alabama and is a member of Class XXI of Leadership Alabama.

DAVID MATHEWS CENTER FOR CIVIC LIFE

Chauntina Whittle is a Troy University Alumna with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Psychological Research. Chauntina currently serves as the Program & Outreach Coordinator for the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. She is a former DMC McKenzie Fellow, Jean O’Connor-Snyder Intern, and Hunger Free America AmeriCorps VISTA for the Office of Civic Engagement at Troy University. Chauntina utilized her undergraduate career as a JOIP Intern by facilitating discussions with youth members in her local community, expanding her expertise in moderating discussion using a deliberative dialogue structure, piloting research on the impacts of deliberation conversation styles, and contributing to the evolution of youth development initiatives in the local area. She has created countless discussion guides on topics ranging from structures of racial bias, community values, voter education/values, social media/technology wellness, mental health, micro-aggressive behavior, etc. Chauntina hopes to continue to pursue her passion for research and community advocacy. Her research interests include: Creation and facilitation of culturally competent and inclusive mental health interventions for minority communities, Advocacy for improvement in psychological interventions/services of underrepresented communities, and Psychological consequences of social/societal constructs of cultural perfectionism.

Chauntina can be reached at cwhittle@mathewscenter.org

KEYS TO THE CITY

Herman is the co-founder of Keys to the City Community Coaching, LLC, a community development firm which, among other community-building services,  equips communities, nonprofits, and local governments with tools to uncover, visualize, and amplify their deepest impacts through participatory methods like Ripple Effects Mapping (REM), inspiring connection, learning, and sustainable growth. Herman is also a certified Professional Community and Economic Developer (PCED).  In addition, he has over 20 years of experience working in municipal government, including nearly 14 years as City Clerk & Treasurer in Montevallo, Alabama. For over a decade prior to that, Herman was a commercial real estate broker, and is currently the co-owner and agent with Team Lehman, a real estate brokerage firm situated in Montevallo. He is also a founding member of Montevallo’s Main Street program, has served on the Main Street Alabama board, and is a past Board Chair of the Bessemer Chamber of Commerce. Herman has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Sewanee: The University of the South, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a Master’s of Environmental Management from Samford University.

WALLACE CENTER FOR ARTS & RECONCILATION

Theoangelo Perkins is now in his fifth-term as Mayor of Harpersville and, having served in several government positions with the town, is a longstanding public servant. He is the Chair and co-founder for the Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation. He serves as the Pastor for Liberty Church and is also a realtor and former teacher. Mayor Perkins researches genealogy in his spare time--learning about the history of the families who have lived in Harpersville.