Home > About Us > Executive Management Team
Our management team consists of capable professionals who bring strong leadership and wide-ranging expertise. They are dedicated to NBMBAA’s principles and goals and committed to strengthening and facilitating the growth for our members and partners.
Cecil B. Lucy, JD, CPA
Vice President of Finance & Legal Affairs/Chief Financial Officer
Cecil is responsible for directing and overseeing all financial and legal activities of the association, including the preparation of financial reports, the completion of the annual audit, the preparation of organizational tax returns, conducting contract reviews and negotiations, serving as the staff liaison to several national board committees and being a resource in the board's formulation of its strategic plan and goals. He has been a member of the association for more than 10 years and is a lifetime member.
Cecil received his undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a certified public accountant and a licensed attorney at law. He has more than twenty years of progressive experience in accounting, auditing, finance, treasury, payroll, insurance & risk management, information technology and law. Cecil's diverse background includes employment with organizations including the Citizenship Education Fund, Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Sears, Roebuck and Co., and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Although he has experience in both non-profit and for-profit accounting, he became an expert in non-profit accounting, allowing him to fulfill his passion for helping others indirectly through the organizations which he has served.
Kim R. Wilson
Vice President of Strategic Program Initiatives
As the V.P. and Director of Strategic Program Initiatives for the National Black MBA Association, Kim focuses on developing strategy and plans for annual conference programming to meet the needs of the NBMBAA membership. Kim is also responsible for working with the association's chapters to expand their local programming initiatives. She brings more than 15 years of experience in financial and project management, both in corporate America and as an entrepreneur. She has previously held positions with The Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund of the University of Virginia Alumni Association, Cable & Wireless, WorldCom and T. Rowe Price and Associates. As an entrepreneur, she founded KRW Consulting, a management consulting firm that focuses on non-profit management and fund development.
Kim is a Past President of the National Black MBA Association's Washington, DC Chapter, and effectively led her chapter to two National Chapter of the Year awards. She is also a lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association.
Kim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a Master of Science in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.
Elizabeth “Liz” Hope
Director of Chapters, Membership, and University Relations
As Director of Chapters, Membership, and University Relations for the National Black MBA Association, Liz focuses on the delivery of effective programs, training and support services to chapters’ leaders and members. She also works closely with the organization’s volunteer leadership in ensuring chapter operations, expansion, organizing and implementing strategies for recruiting and retaining members; and academic relationship management. Liz implements membership benefits and incentives; and utilizes and implements training strategies that ensure development of volunteers and administration of organization strategic focus. In addition, Liz executes events and member programs to provide access to knowledge and success through the NBMBAA’s five channels of engagement: education, career, leadership, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle.
Liz initially became involved with the NBMBAA as a volunteer in 1996. She served as a member of the Atlanta Chapter Board of Directors and later joined the headquarters staff in 1999, where she has served as Project Manager to CEO, Director of Administration, and Director of Communications prior to her current assignment. She completed the mini-MBA Certification Program along with the Certified Project Manager from Loyola University, a B.A. degree in Behavioral Science from National-Louis University, and is a certified Toastmaster with Toastmasters International. She also brings experience in Human Resources staffing, office management and non-profit fund development. Liz is a contributing writer for Grace Today magazine.
Fred J. Phillips III
Director of Information Technology
Fred is responsible for the overall strategy and operation of the Information Technology Systems, including managing long and short-range changes to the infrastructure to support the mission of the organization. Prior to his current position, he was a Project Manager for Sprint, Information Technology, Enterprise Computing Operations. In this role he was responsible for project planning, managing the implementation of activities for complex projects and programs with broad scope, high impact and long implementation time frames. In addition, he was responsible for aligning project requirements and deliverables with the strategic and tactical goals of the organization and establishing and nurturing positive relationships with project sponsors, participants, stakeholders and customers.
Fred earned his MSM degree from Baker University, a Masters of Project Management degree from Keller Graduate School of Management, and is a member of the Project Management Institute. Fred has been active with the Kansas City Chapter since 1997, serving as Chapter President, Webmaster, Chairperson of the Newsletter Committee, and Vice-President of Administration. Additionally he is active with Junior Achievement and the Urban League.
Reniece R. Wright, MSHR
Director of Human Resources
Reniece received her MBA Degree from Loyola University Chicago, with a concentration in Human Resources Management. She has more than 15 years experience in Business Operations.
Reniece has a demonstrated track record in building competencies and identifying trends for Leadership Development. She is adept at involving teams in developing creative solutions, project planning, implementation and assessment. She has also led efforts to implement cross-functional process analysis, improvement and cost reduction programs, as well as HR merger integration requirements. Reniece is a certified Project Management Professional and a member of PMI, SHRM, and HRMAC.
Vera Lewis
Director of Development and Marketing Communications
As the Director of Development and Marketing Communications, Vera is responsible for strategic partner development, marketing, and implementation of internal and external communications. She manages the design and production of all marketing and collateral materials, including quarterly NBMBAA e-newsletters, the association's website and MBA magazine. She also manages the coordination of public relation outreach to media, corporations, vendors and other key constituencies.
For more than 15 years, Vera has been successful in developing effective go-to-market, sales and promotional strategies - with an emphasis on business development and emerging technologies. She previously held positions with AT&T, The National Association of Broadcasters and the GANNETT Corporation.
Vera is a graduate of DePaul University with a Master of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Marketing from Loyola University.