Team Board of Directors

With over two decades in the banking industry, Lee serves as Senior Vice President for Cadence Bank. An active leader, Lee serves in leadership roles with various local organizations, including: Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, M.S. Leadership of Greater Mobile, and as the Chairman of the Industrial Development Board for the City of Fairhope. Lee is a graduate of The University of Alabama, LSU Graduate School of Banking, Leadership Baldwin, and Alabama Leadership Initiative. He resides in Fairhope with his wife and two children. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, traveling, and spending time outdoors.

Jep Hill previously served as President of Mobile Baykeeper’s Young Advisory Council before joining the Board of Directors. Jep is a native Mobilian who returned after studying at The University of Alabama. Jep’s professional background includes supporting roles in offshore supply, healthcare software, and automotive remanufacturing, and he recently began as the Director of Finance for McGill Toolen Catholic High School.

Lyndsey was born and raised in Montgomery, but has called the Gulf Coast home since 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration from The University of Alabama and a Masters of Business Administration from Auburn University Montgomery. Lyndsey is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Valuation Analyst. She is currently a manager with Wilkins Miller Certified Public Accountants and Advisors. Lyndsey resides in Spanish Fort with her husband and two children. She enjoys live music, podcasts, and spending time on the water.

Sam was raised in Opelika, Alabama but has called the Mobile Bay area home for the past 10 years. Sam graduated from the University of Alabama and received his law degree from Cumberland School of Law. He practices with Ryan & Wilkes, PC, handling storm water runoff litigation and an array of other civil matters. When not working, Sam enjoys playing music, fishing, diving, kayaking, and writing. His short fiction has placed in several writing competitions and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Sam and his wife, Libba, reside in Fairhope with their two young boys and lazy wiener dog, Gus.

Sam is the President and CEO of Logical Computer Solutions, Inc., a technology company providing solutions, service and consulting throughout the Gulf Coast region. Mr. St. John graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering. Mr. St. John and his wife Linda have a house on Fowl River and they are active in managing and monitoring the Osprey population, storm water and water quality issues there. Mr. St. John is also actively involved in various organizations in the community such as Muddy Water Watch, Coastal Conservation Association, Fowl River Area Civic Association, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast Technology Council, and the Alabama Coastal Foundation where he serves on the Board.

Steve grew up in Fairhope and holds a BS in Civil Engineering from The University of South Alabama. Steve is a Professional Engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction. He enjoys sailing, fishing and kayaking and is a past Commodore of the Fairhope Yacht Club. He also holds a USCG Master’s Credential with a Sailing Endorsement. Steve’s past volunteer service includes the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), the U.S. Green Building Council, the City of Fairhope’s Industrial Development Board, and he has served on the boards of the Hargrove Foundation, the Fairhope Yacht Club and the Fairhope United Methodist Church. Steve and his wife Susan are retired and reside in Fairhope.

Sumpter is an attorney in Mobile practicing in the areas of tax and estate planning, healthcare, and general business transactions at Phelps Dunbar, LLP. He is a native of Greenville, Alabama, studied economics at Ole Miss, obtained a law degree from The University of Alabama Law School, and obtained an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law School. Sumpter has a wonderful wife, Dr. Alinda Guynes McGowin, and three small children. He is a mediocre but dedicated fisherman whose best days are spent with his son exploring the rivers, bays, and bayous surrounding Mobile – killing bait and learning lessons the hard way.

A 1993 graduate of Washington & Lee University, Jeremy worked for a regional bank as a branch manager and commercial lender before entering the commercial real estate industry in 1998. Prior to founding MCR in 2012, he served as a principal and V.P. of Sales and Development at White-Spunner & Associates, Inc. of Mobile where he specialized in commercial sales, leasing, development and real estate consulting services. Jeremy is active in many area organizations including the Mobile Area Association of Realtors, where he served as President and member of the executive committee, as well as the Downtown Mobile Alliance and the Alabama CCIM Chapter. A Mobile resident, Jeremy is married to Myrtle Milling and has four children, Jeb, Emilia, Lee, and Helen.

Benson serves as Controller at White-Spunner Investments, LLC. He previously served as the President of Mobile Baykeeper’s Board of Directors. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Vice President of the St. Ignatius School Advisory Board. He resides in Mobile with his wife and three children.

Scott Schneider is Executive Vice President at CPSI, where he has worked since 1983, when he was its eleventh employee. Today CPSI is a publicly traded company with over 2,000 employees. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Commonwell Health Alliance and also holds a position on the Industrial Development Board for the City of Daphne. He previously served as Vice President to the Mobile Baykeeper Board of Directors. He lives in Daphne on Mobile Bay with his wife Betsy and two labs; their four children are all grown “and off the payroll!” He loves kayaking, paddleboarding, and fishing along with bowhunting.

George was born and raised in Pine Bluff, Ark., and has called the Gulf Coast home since 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Rhodes College at Memphis. George is an award-winning journalist and former top aide to Mayor Sandy Stimpson at the City of Mobile. He currently serves as Director of Government Relations for Volkert, Inc., a 100-year old engineering firm based in Mobile. He also serves on various boards including the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, Housing First and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. George resides in Fairhope with his wife and two children.

Jasmine was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but due to growing up in a military family, traveled around a bit before they landed in Tallahassee, Florida, where she was raised. She received her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Florida State University and comes to Mobile after a brief stint in Colorado with her current company, Stantec. She relocated to Mobile with her husband Javon to assist the City of Mobile with the Capital Improvement Program where she currently serves as a Project Controls Consultant. Since relocating to Mobile, Jasmine has been able to rapidly get involved with various opportunities the City has to offer including participating in the Mobile Citizen’s Police Academy, the Mobile Fire and Rescue Citizens Academy, and being a member of the FBI Mobile Citizens Academy Alumni Chapter. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog Prince, playing soccer, and staying involved with many other community engagement activities.

A graduate of C.F. Vigor High School and Spring Hill College, Carletta has 20 years of experience as a small business owner and consultant. In her career, she has devoted a wealth of time to various non-profit and community organizations, including the NAACP, where she has served as the State Chair on Environmental Justice. Additionally she has served as the commissioner of the Prichard Board of Adjustment, the president of “We Matter” Eight Mile Community Association, and the executive director of the Coastal Community Council. She has also offered her talents as a basketball coach in the AAU league.

Rachel Knapp is a former soloist with the New York City Ballet. She began her training at the Joffrey Ballet School and entered the School of American Ballet. While attending the Chapin school, she received a scholarship that allowed her to study at the Royal Danish Ballet. She then became an apprentice with the NYCB and joined the corps de ballet. She has been featured on the Late Show with David Letterman and PBS. Rachel splits her time between New York City and Fairhope.

Nick Williams is a lifelong Baldwin County resident. He grew up within walking distance of Mobile Bay on the Eastern Shore, spent a brief stint on the beach side of 182 in Orange Beach, and now resides with his wife, daughter, and Labrador Retriever on the banks of the Tensaw up in Stockton. He holds a Bachelor in Science in Marketing Management from the University of South Alabama, and currently works as the Managing Editor of Great Days Outdoor Media LLC. As part of his duties, he also hosts the Alabama Freshwater Fishing Report Podcast. When he’s not writing or recording, he can usually be found knee-deep in a tributary stream or tupelo swamp, fly-casting for panfish or blowing on a wood duck call.

Dale Emge has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Missouri, doctoral graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from Southern Illinois University. He spent all of his 22-year corporate career in the plastics industry, initially with Dow Chemical and later with the Monsanto Company. His roles ranged from plastics application research to international business and market development (eventually coordinating programs in US, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Canada) and finally mergers and acquisitions. In that final role he led acquisitions from British Petroleum and Bayer Chemical and finally in the formation of a joint venture (Advanced Elastomer Systems, Inc.) between Monsanto and the Exxon Corporation. He served as Director of Operations for the joint venture until he left in 1994 to form his own company. In 1994, Dale purchased a small plastic injection molding company with 12 employees and $600k annual sales. He grew Permian Plastics Inc. to a major Midwest group specializing in precision, high performance design and molding with over 100 employees and $10M in annual sales until he sold the company in 2015. In 2016 he joined Clayton Capital Partners, an investment banking firm in Clayton, Missouri, as a Director of Acquisition and Merger for the plastics industry. Dale and his wife Kristin have lived in the area since 2010; but retired as full-time residents in 2017 to their current home in Daphne, Alabama. Dale and Kristin have three children and nine grandchildren.