Board of Directors

Board Chair
Kenneth Palmer

During his 38 years with AT&T, Mr. Palmer has led the Asset Controller Group, Financial Support in Regulatory Proceedings, Accounting Compliance and Division Financial/Accounting Support. As a modern media company, AT&T’s unique blend of businesses work together providing customers around the world with technology, entertainment, news, advertising and more. Mr. Palmer completed his education at Drake University. In addition to serving as a charter member of the MLK. Sr. Community Resources Collaborative Board of Directors, Mr. Palmer serves as Treasurer for the Charles H. Wesley Education Foundation Board of Directors and serves on the Board of Trustees for Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Treasurer
Dan Russell

Dan W. Russell is the founder, CEO and President of Russell & Associates, LLC in Snellville, Georgia. Russell & Associates, LLC is a leader in developing new startup businesses, finance and accounting Services, tax consulting and human resources services. Delivering the highest quality of financial and human resources management services that enable individuals and businesses to excel. Prior to starting Russell & Associates, Mr. Russell, retired after 40 years in the private sector, city government and the healthcare industry. Mr. Russell is a graduate of Saint Thomas University of Miami, Florida with a degree in Accounting, attended Nova Southeastern University of Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a Master of Business Administration and Georgia State University for an Executive Master of Business Administration. Mr. Russell is married with three adults’ children and two grandchildren.

Secretary
Burnette Cockfield

Members-At-Large

Brenda Cibulas

Brenda Cibulas is the Director of Behavioral Health and Social Services at Mercy Care. Mercy Care is a federally qualified health center and Atlanta’s only healthcare for the homeless program (330h). Mercy care also offers Primary Care Physicians, Pediatrics, Behavioral Health, Dentistry, Vision, Infectious Disease and other services to all ages. Mercy Care accepts most insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid and offers a sliding fee scale based on household income for the uninsured. Prior to her time at Mercy Care, Ms. Cibulas completed her undergraduate studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, completed her graduate studies at Georgia State University, acquired multiple certifications in her field and held similar positions at Dekalb Community Service Board and Emory Healthcare. Ms. Cibulas is currently the Board Chair of United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Dekalb Advisory Board.

W. Forrest Coley, Jr.

Hailing from Steelton, Pennsylvania, Mr. Coley comes to us as an experienced healthcare sales and marketing professional with superb communication, presentation, sales, and leadership successes. As an exceptionally creative thinker and problem solver, he exhibits deep managerial, analytical, organizational skills. Throughout his career, Mr. Coley has excelled in sales process improvement, managing complex projects, and has provided his expertise on matters relating to the intersection of sales, marketing, and HR functionalities. Mr. Coley earned his B.S. (1985) and MBA (1990) from The Pennsylvania State University, both with a management and marketing focus. Being a civic and volunteer minded leader, Mr. Coley has spent a vast amount of time serving the neighborhoods of Atlanta as an officer with Fourth Ward Neighbors, Inc. and within Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) System. He has also served on the Board of Directors of multiple organizations, including Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy, and Our House, Inc. Since his retirement from Corporate America in 2017, Mr. Coley stays active as a property developer and manager, and as a successful Realtor with Keller Williams while serving as the GA representative for their Social Equity Ambassador Program.

Melissa Maheux

Melissa Maheux is the Key Accounts Director at Google Cloud Platform. She is a sales leader whose passion is to educate large enterprises to use technology to drive organizational impact and business value. She leads the account strategy and the execution of multimillion-dollar revenue objectives for Fortune 50 accounts in the Southeast. Ms. Maheux completed her undergraduate studies at Earlham College and completed her graduate studies at DePaul University. She has held similar sales and leadership positions at TriDatum Solutions, IBM and served as a Corps Member/Teacher with Teach for America, which brings quality education to children in underserved communities. Ms. Maheux has also contributed to the community by serving as a volunteer with multiple organizations including Mercy Home for Boys and Open Hand Atlanta.

Amber Murray

Amber Murray is a Director and the Deputy General Counsel at Jamestown, a privately held real estate investment and management company with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. In her capacity as Deputy General Counsel, Amber is responsible for managing financing transactions and dispositions of real estate assets within the Jamestown portfolio. She is also responsible for managing legal matters across the Jamestown portfolio including supervising external leasing, litigation, and bankruptcy counsel. Prior to joining Jamestown, Amber practiced in the capital transactions and real estate practice group at King & Spalding LLP. Amber received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Arts in Hispanic Language and Cultures from New York University. Ms. Murray attended law school at Georgetown University Law Center. Over the course of her career, Amber has served as an officer and board member for the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless and the Alumni Association Board of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy and the Board of Trustees at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Dina Vann

Ms. Vann brings over 10 years of commercial property management experience to the MLK Sr. Collaborative and, along with it, strong problem-solving skills, a detail-oriented mindset, and an ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment. Presently, she manages over 1 million square feet of office space. For several years, Ms. Vann was the owner of her own consulting firm that conducted Real Estate Appraising. Ms. Vann received her B.A. in Information Systems from the University of Central Missouri.