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.
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 Wilson focuses on developing strategy and plans for the 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. Kim 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 no stranger to the NBMBAA. She 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 chapter’s leaders and members. She also works closely with the organization volunteer leadership in ensuring chapter operations, expansion, organizing, and implementing strategies for recruiting and retaining members and academic relationship management. Implement membership benefits and incentives, utilize, and implement training strategies that ensure development of volunteers, and development and administration of organization strategic focus. Executes events and member programs to provide access to knowledge and success through our five channels of engagement: education, career, leadership, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle to assure full advantages are taken of this extraordinary membership!
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 has MBA Certification and Certified Project Manager from Loyola University, 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. She is a contributing writer for GraceToday magazine.
Liz is active in church and the community. Her community involvement has included volunteering and motivational speaking for such organizations as UNICEF, NAACP local events, The Coca-Cola Company, the American Heart Association, and Public Schools System Career Day Programs in both Georgia and Illinois. She has also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Liz and her husband are the proud parents of three daughters and two granddaughters.
Cecil B. Lucy, JD, CPA
Vice President of Finance & Legal Affairs/Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Lucy is responsible for directing and overseeing all financial and legal activities of the association including the preparation of current 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 the national board finance committee and being a resource in the board's formulation of its strategic plan and goals. He has been a member of the association for over 10 years and is a lifetime member.
Mr. Lucy 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 over twenty years of progressive experience in accounting, auditing, finance, treasury, payroll, insurance & risk management, information technology, and law. Mr. Lucy's diverse background includes employment with complex 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 of helping others indirectly through the organizations which he has served.
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, where he was responsible for project planning and managing the implementation of activities for complex projects and programs with broad scope, high impact and long implementation time frames. Additionally, 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 received his MSM degree from Baker University, earned 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 over 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 Marketing and Communications
As the Director of Marketing and Communications, Vera is responsible for the strategic development, marketing, branding 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. In collaboration with corporate partner development, programs, and other departments, she monitors trends that indicate the need for new product development and services. She also manages the coordination of public relation outreach to media, corporations, vendors, and other key constituencies.
For over 15 years, Vera has demonstrated success in developing effective go-to-market, sales, and promotional strategies - with an emphasis on business marketing and emerging technologies. She previously held positions with AT&T, The National Association of Broadcasters and the GANNETT Corporation. As an entrepreneur, she founded (EMS) Expect Marketing Success, Inc., a marketing consulting firm that focused on small business start-ups.
Her affiliations and memberships include: The National Black MBA Association, The Junior League of Chicago, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Through her community volunteer experiences, Vera has provided assistance to many organizations for children, women in transition and families.
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.