Lindsay Landrum
Executive Director, CASA of Jefferson County
CASA of Jefferson County — the abbreviation for Court Appointed Special Advocates — has a special mission for staff and volunteers: to advocate for children who have been victims of abuse and/or neglect and effectively be their adult “voice.” Maintained by a small team of six, including current Executive Director Lindsay Landrum, as well as many dedicated volunteers, CASA ensures children suffering from neglectful, abusive or otherwise unfit homes are placed into caring environments so they can thrive.
Cases are assigned by judges on an individual basis, according to Landrum, and, because CASA is split into two courthouses in Birmingham and Besssemer with just three staff members at each, training volunteers and boosting morale is consistently important.
Landrum, who has been in the nonprofit world for almost 12 years, earned her experiences through living in Denver, Colorado and Sioux City, Iowa and working for two city shelters: Urban Peak and the Warming Shelter, respectively. At the Warming Shelter, Landrum raised funds publicly and privately and grew the staff before relocating to Birmingham in 2020 with her family. By that time, the Landrums had adopted foster children of their own, and Lindsay Landrum was ready to embrace her new role at CASA. “Everything I’ve done has led me to this position,” she mused, smiling. “I guess you could say the stars aligned.”
Casaofjeffersoncounty.org
Garrett Harper
Executive Director, Urban Ministry
The mission of Urban Ministry — to serve the residents of Birmingham’s West End — is carried out daily, thanks to dedicated staff, volunteers and the neighbors themselves. Incorporating Community Church Without Walls and led by Executive Director and former Co-pastor Garrett Harper, Urban Ministry operates two main ministries: Compassion and Wholeness. Compassion ensures families have immediate bills paid and fresh groceries to eat, while Wholeness equips them for a brighter future.
Wholeness is made up of WE Learn, WE Cafe and WE Build, plus WE Work, a two-year apprenticeship program giving the neighborhood’s young adults a chance to learn their chosen trade in hospitality, education or architecture. Life skills, including financial management, are part of the program as well. “They learn their trade through serving the neighbors,” noted Harper. “When they graduate from the program, they’re able to lease one of the homes renovated through WE Build. Lease payments are based on income, and they own the home, interest-free, eight years later.”
Harper, who became Executive Director in August 2020, called the relationship between CCWW and UM “incredible,” pointing out that the church, which shares the space, is the nonprofit’s “closest partner.” “Our goal is to keep young adults financially stable, emotionally stable and living here in West End,” he said. “Neighborhoods are transformed by the people who live there.”
urban-ministry.org
Pamela Reed Phipps
Executive Director, Grace House Ministries
A Christian-based group home founded by “Mama” Lois Coleman, Grace House Ministries has boosted the lives of girls in the foster system since 1992. Grace House had humble beginnings, starting with just eight girls. Today, 40 girls between the ages of 6 and 19 thrive on the Fairfield, Alabama campus under the tutelage of Executive Director Pamela Reed Phipps. Grace House is positioned to help young ladies look toward their futures with optimism and faith.
Programs at Grace House cover residential, educational and spiritual needs. Girls learn living skills like cooking and laundry, are educated either on-site or at one of two partnering schools — Restoration Academy and Holy Family Cristo Rey High — and achieve emotional health through private counseling and volunteering.
Phipps, who declared her role is “a calling rather than a job,” became part of Grace House during her college years as a volunteer mentor for one of the first eight girls. Later, after leaving her job as a paralegal, she was inspired to develop an organization for teaching etiquette and moral character to young women. She returned to Grace House, and, since 2010, has served as Executive Director and worked hard to uphold Mama Lois’ vision and grow Grace House's campus to serve 100 Alabama girls in foster care.
grace-house.org
Melanie R. Bridgeforth
President and CEO, Women’s Foundation of Alabama
In the United States, less than 1.6 percent of charitable giving goes directly to bettering the lives of women and girls, according to Melanie R. Bridgeforth, CEO and President of the Women’s Foundation of Alabama. Since women and girls face a myriad of systemic issues as a subset of the population, such a statistic is quite unsettling — and is the basis of the organization’s mission. On behalf of women and girls in the Magic City and beyond, The Women’s Foundation of Alabama moves resources into the community through grantmaking, commissions research and advocacy for policies to “dismantle the systems that cause oppression,” said Bridgeforth. For example, in 2019, The Women’s Foundation worked with members of state legislature to make it unlawful for businesses to discriminate on the basis of sex or gender for equal work.
Originally from Athens, Alabama, Bridgeforth was born and raised a Southern girl who noticed the discrepancies in society affecting women and girls and sought to do something constructive to change it. Following her background in leading legislative organizations, government lobbying and championing public policy, Bridgeforth is honored to be the current President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, a role she’s held since 2018. “My trajectory has been about promoting positive social change,” she said. “We have an incredible team, Board, and great volunteers. Birmingham is a forward-thinking city with community, corporate and civic leaders who are invested in building a better life for everyone, and we’re excited to be part of that.”
WFAlabama.org