Pearline H. Washburn
Investment Committee Chair,
Metropolitan Baptist Church
Investment Committee chair at Metropolitan Baptist Church, Pearline Washburn is also vice president of relationship management/employees first for First Tennessee Bank. She started her bank career in a clerical position and excelled with hard work, gumption, and perseverance. Positions she has held during her career include employment relations specialist, branch manager, and consumer loan advisor.
She is sought out for her wisdom in all things financial at Metropolitan, where she also serves as an usher and member of the Rebecca Club and Trustee Board. A BTW graduate, she furthered her studies at Memphis Area Voc-Tech and the University of Memphis. President of the Curve Optimist Club, she has volunteered with Big Brother and Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, Girl Scouts, United Way, Ronald McDonald House, and the Black Arts Alliance.
She is the wife of Sylvester Washburn Jr. and the mother of three children – Bobby, Sheila (deceased) and Sammie (Tre’).
Carolyn S. Watkins
Administrator, Shelby County Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance
Carolyn Watkins is administrator for the Shelby County Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance. She is responsible for the preparation of the County’s Affirmative Action Plan, Title 7 claims from county employees and Title 7 workshops on discrimination and sexual harassment. She oversees contract compliance ensuring that businesses comply with the rules and requirements for doing business with Shelby County.
A native of Memphis, she is a graduate of Jackson State University and Loyola University School of Law. She has served as Assistant Shelby County Public Defender, adjunct professor at the University of Memphis and Lemoyne-Owen College, chairman of the board for Friendship Baptist Church and a graduate of Leadership Memphis.
She has been MED Week Advocate of the Year award and the BBD’s Advocate of the Year “Simply the Best” award. A member of local and national bar associations, she serves on the boards of the Black Business Association, Girls Inc. and Grace House.
Cassandra Webster
Executive Director,
Memphis Challenge
In 2001, Cassandra Hughes Webster was named the executive director of the Memphis Challenge, an 18-year-old mentoring program that coaches talented students of color in academic advising, internship placement and professional development. The coaching provided ensures that youth will have the assets needed for a great start.
A native of Detroit, she graduated from Michigan State University. She served as event coordinator for LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, an ecumenical service attended by over 45,000 parishioners for Easter Sunday service to promote racial reconciliation.
Her leadership includes past president of local chapters of Jack & Jill of America and National Coalition of 100 Black Women. She is a recipient of the Silver Star News Achievers Award and Med Week Service Award and was featured in the 2007 Women Reaching Beyond Borders Tribute Album.
She is married to Amos O. Webster Jr. and they are the parents of two children, Austin and McKenzii.
Bennie Nelson West
Executive Director, Memphis Black Arts Alliance
Bennie Nelson West is executive director of the Memphis Black Arts Alliance (MBAA). She organized MBAA in 1982 to preserve and promote African-American arts and heritage and to increase artistic and economic self-sufficiency. Opened in 1982, MBAA’s FireHouse Community Arts Academy offers classes in African dance, tap dance, ballet, writing, acting and other artistic skills.
A Melrose High graduate, she received degrees from Tuskegee Institute and Columbia University as well as professional training at New School of Social Research in NYC, University of Memphis and National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. She lived in New York for 10 years, working as a health and human services advocate, planner and lobbyist.
A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she is a past board member of Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau and the local Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is the wife of artist Leonard West and the mother of three children.
Lisa N. Wheeler
Public Relations Manager,
Valero Memphis Refinery
Lisa N. Wheeler is the public affairs manager for the Valero Memphis Refinery. She serves as the public information officer and is responsible for all government, media and community relations.
She is an accomplished, communications professional with over 15 years experience in the public relations industry. Prior to joining the refinery in 2002, she worked for AutoZone’s corporate headquarters for six years. During that time, she held a variety of positions in Marketing, Internal Communications, Community Relations and Public Relations.
A Memphis native, she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and public relations from Austin Peay State University. She has a strong history of community involvement. Currently, she serves on the board of directors of the Better Business Bureau, Tennessee Association of Partners in Education, Memphis City Schools’ Community Partnerships Advisory Board, and the Women’s Empowerment Summit.
June Winston
Executive Director,
Lowenstein House, Inc.
For over 28 years, Executive Director June Winston of Lowenstein House has been an advocate and provider for consumers of mental health services. Lowenstein House continually provides individuals with the psychological rehabilitation needed to obtain hope and achieve success in the community.
Prior to becoming executive director, she was program director at the facility for three years. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Southern-Illinois University and worked on her master’s in rehabilitation counseling at Southern Illinois’ Rehabilitation Institute.
Her commitment to the mental health community is shown by her service on several boards. She is board president of the Tennessee Chapter of the U. S. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Association and chairperson of the Magellan’s Subcommittee on Cultural Competency. She also serves on the boards of the Memphis Mental Health Institute, Disability Law and Advocacy Center, Girl Scouts and the Governor’s TennCare Roundtable.
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