Our Board of Directors
Dr. Audie Woolley
President and Chairman
WISE
Chief Pediatric Otolaryngologist
Pediatric ENT Associates
Medical Director, Cochlear Implant Program
Children’s of Alabama
Dr. Audie Woolley completed undergraduate studies at Angelo State University and attended medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He completed his residency in otolaryngology head and neck surgery at Washington University-Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating residency, he completed a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Dr. Woolley spearheaded the cochlear implant program at Children’s of Alabama in 1995 and since its inception has performed over 700 cochlear implants. He is co-founder of the Alabama School of Hearing, recently renamed WISE (Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education). Dr. Woolley has published numerous articles and book chapters in the field of otolaryngology and is a featured speaker nationally and internationally.
Cameron Bishop
Vice President, Commercial Banking Officer
ServisFirst Bank
Cameron Bishop is employed with ServisFirst Bank as Vice President, Commercial Banking Officer. He has over 15 years of experience in the banking and financial industry working with private and commercial banking clients, managing and growing deposit and lending relationships. He also trains and mentors credit analysts on underwriting, loan closings, and managing loan portfolios. Mr. Bishop earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama. Cameron has 3 daughters and is married to Cassidy Bishop.
Claudia M. Hardy, MPA
Retired
O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
Claudia M. Hardy, MPA, a community engagement leader, retired from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in early 2025 after a 32-year career where she served as Director for Community & Research Relations in the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB). Additionally, she served an Associate Scientist, Cancer Control and Population Science and had a faculty appointment as an Instructor in the Heersink School of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology.
She has over 25 years of experience as a senior level administrator, consultant, and strategist in health disparities initiatives and community engagement. She provides capacity building, strategic planning and guidance to researchers, clinicians and others conducting community engagement, community outreach and research programs in medically underserved minority communities around cancer prevention and early detection. Ms. Hardy has utilized a Community Health Advisors (CHA) model in much of her work, training over 2000 CHAs across the country targeting cancer and other chronic diseases. Lastly, she has extensive experience serving on non-profit boards of directors, advisory boards, leadership development and volunteer training. Her work has fostered collaborations with local, state, national and international organizations, including Zambia.
Ms. Hardy holds a BA in Communication Arts specializing in Public Relations and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) specializing in Organizational Management and Behavior from UAB. She is a 2023 graduate of the Heersink School of Medicine Leadership Department of Medicine Class.
McGowin Miller
Founder/President
DMS Construction & Services
McGowin Miller is originally from Brewton, Alabama but now lives in Birmingham with his wife Celina and three kids, Jim, David, and Izzie. He is founder and President of DMS Construction & Services. McGowin enjoys playing competitive golf and will be representing the USA in the World Deaf Golf Championship this October in Hawaii.
Leigh Leak
Parent of LSL Graduate
After graduating from The University of Alabama in 1988, Leigh moved to Birmingham and worked in various positions in the healthcare field. She and her husband Joe have been married for many years and are the parents of two daughters, Caroline and Virginia. Caroline, now 24, was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and has two cochlear implants. As a result of available resources and many hours of auditory verbal therapy, Caroline learned to listen and speak at an early age and enjoyed great academic success in both pre and post-secondary school. Caroline graduated from Mountain Brook High School with honors in 2014 and received a degree in journalism and Spanish from Washington & Lee University in 2018. Virginia is a rising senior at Auburn University and is a special education major.
Leigh has been a community volunteer and involved in numerous philanthropic organizations for almost 30 years. In addition to serving as a board member for WISE, she is a member of the Downtown Birmingham Sunrise Rotary Club, Community Impact board member for the United Way of Central Alabama and a board member for the YMCA of Greater Birmingham.
Leigh is passionate about advocating and addressing the challenges that exist in providing therapy needed to ensure academic success for Alabama’s children affected by hearing loss.
Mary Lauren McBride
McBride Interiors
Parent of WISE Graduate
Mary Lauren McBride is the principal and founder of Mary McBride Interiors, LLC. She received a Bachelors degree from the University of Alabama in Interior Design. She has worked professionally in both Commercial Design and Residential Design since graduating in 2004. In 2014 she founded her own firm and has continued to grow since then. In addition to running her own firm, Mary Lauren has served on numerous boards and organizations within her community over the past 16 years. She currently serves on the Board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham and the Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education. She is a mother to three girls and married to Bart E. McBride. Mary Lauren’s daughter, Vivi, attended the WISE Preschool program for several years.
Marcia Hay-McCutcheon
Professor
Department of Communicative Disorders
University of Alabama
Marcia Hay-McCutcheon began her career as a primary school teacher and a teacher for deaf and hard of hearing children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts (1986) and a Bachelor of Education (1987) at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She and her husband, Russell, moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1993 where she obtained a Master of Arts degree in Audiology (1997). She worked as a clinical and research Audiologist at Riley Children’s Hospital, Indianapolis, IN from 1997 to 1999. It was in her capacity as an Audiologist that Marcia first began to work with hearing impaired children and adults who use cochlear implants. She went on to complete a PhD degree (2004) at the University of Iowa where her work examined electrophysiological and behavioral responses from adults who use cochlear implants. From 2004 to 2008 she worked at the Indiana University Medical School in the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery where she conducted research that examined how cochlear implants improved speech understanding skills in both children and adults. Since 2008, she has worked as an Associate Professor and currently, Professor, at the University of Alabama in the Department of Communicative Disorders. Her work focuses on improving access and affordability of hearing healthcare for people with hearing loss in underserved Alabama communities, with help from the Hear Here Alabama mobile audiology clinic.
John Henley
State Farm
John Henley has been in the insurance and risk management industry since 1990 and has been a State Farm Agent in Vestavia Hills since 2010.
John is a 1985 graduate of Andalusia High School, a 1989 graduate of Mercer University with a BBA in Business Management and a 2000 graduate of Troy University with an MBA.
John is a member and past president of the Vestavia Hills Sunrise Rotary Club; a graduate and past president of Leadership Vestavia Hills; He is a member of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, was Chair of the VH Chamber in 2020 and 2021 and continues to serve on the Board of Directors as immediate past chair. He was elected to serve as a member of the Vestavia Hills City Council from 2012 – 2016.
John was the recipient of the Dr. Charles A. “Scotty” McCallum Leadership Award presented by the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and 2018. John and his wife Gina were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Leadership Vestavia Hills in 2020 and both were also recognized as the parishioners of the year by St. Elias in 2020.
John and his wife Gina have been married since 1995 and have two daughters. Katharine and Lily are both graduates of Vestavia Hills High School and the University of Mississippi. He and his family are active members of St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church.
Betsy Prince
Retired
Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services
Betsy graduated with a master’s degree in Special Education and spent the first years of her professional career as a teacher of children with multiple disabilities and advocating for their full inclusion and participation in communities throughout their lifetimes. Throughout her career, Betsy has directed various training and leadership development programs aimed at empowering people with disabilities and their families to impact policy and legislation. She has Served as Director of Partners in Policymaking of Alabama, Director of the Family Advisory Board for Civitan International Research Center, and Executive Director for the Arc of Alabama. Betsy has worked for the past 25 years for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services and served as Director of Alabama’s Early Intervention System. She has led in the development a system of services and supports for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families throughout Alabama. As a mother of a young man who had significant intellectual and multiple disabilities, she has long been an advocate for those requiring extensive, complex systems of care. She has a passion for systems change through grassroots advocacy, sharing the importance of quality early childhood programs and their impact on young children and families, and promoting the inclusion of all people with significant disabilities in education, work, play and every aspect of community life.
Beverly Hunter, Ed.S.
Retired
Alabama State Department of Education
Beverly Hunter is a retired educator who has spent her entire career working with children with disabilities. Beverly graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Speech Therapy and from the University of Alabama with a M.A. in Deaf Education. She began her career as an educator of deaf children at Lakeview School in the Birmingham schools and moved on to the Alabama Department of Education as the Education Specialist for Deaf, Blind and Deaf/Blind programs. In this role, Beverly provided technical assistance to local school personnel in implementing programs in special education to comply with Public Law 94-142. In 1980 Beverly joined the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Mississippi where she directed a program for preschool children with hearing loss and supervised graduate students in aural rehabilitation. Beverly returned to the Alabama Department of Education and provided leadership for the Department in the development of preschool services for children with disabilities. Upon her retirement from the Department, Beverly joined the Alabama Ear Institute in 2006 and organized the first classes of the School for Hearing in cooperation with Children’s Hospital staff. Beverly is very enthusiastic about the growth of WISE and the opportunities provided to families with children learning spoken language. After many years in education, her work at WISE is truly her most fulfilling.
Jennifer Andress
Homewood City Council
Parent of WISE Graduate
Jennifer Andress is honored to serve on the WISE Board of Directors; her son Will was in the inaugural class of the pre-school in 2009. She is serving her second term on Homewood City Council. She is the Campus Visit Coordinator in the Office of Admission at Birmingham-Southern College, and coaches for Resolute Running Training Center in Homewood. She serves as Chair of the Red Mountain Greenway Recreational Area Commission, and on the Board of Directors Mountain Brook YMCA. She is also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Homewood and Mountain Brook. Previously, Jennifer served as President of the Birmingham Track Club, for two terms on the Board of Directors for Girls on the Run Birmingham, as President of the Shades Cahaba PTO, and as an executive officer of the Service Guild for the Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs. She is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Birmingham. Jennifer, her husband Keith and their two sons, both bi-lateral cochlear implants wearers, are members at Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood.
Tammi Dahle, Ph.D.
VP Enrollment & Student Affairs
Dean of Students
University of Montevallo
Parent of WISE Graduate
Dr. Tammi Dahle is the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs at the University of Montevallo. In that role, she oversees 65 staff members in 11 University departments and is responsible for all strategic initiatives related to enrollment as well as student services and campus safety. A Birmingham native, Dr. Dahle is a graduate of the University of Montevallo and received both a Bachelors Degree of Fine Arts and a Master’s Degree in Counseling from that institution. Dr. Dahle also holds a doctoral degree from the University of Alabama in Counselor Education, which she received in 2003. Over the 20 years she has worked to help educate Alabama students at UM, Dr. Dahle has also served as Career Center Director, Counseling Center Director, Counseling and Career Center Director, and Dean of Students. Her professional involvements include American Counseling Association, Alabama Counseling Association, Alabama College Counseling Association, the Alabama Career Development Association, the Alabama Mental Health Counselors Association, the American Student Conduct Association, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Dr. Dahle was selected by the Birmingham Business Journal as a 2018 “Woman to Watch” and she has been involved in the Birmingham Area Consortium on Higher Education Department of Justice Grant to prevent sexual violence, the Shelby County Drug Free Coalition and the Charity League of Birmingham. Dr. Dahle is married to John Dahle of Birmingham and has two sons, Jack and Ben.
Charlie Regan, Jr.
President/CEO
Gorrie Regan & Associates
Charlie Regan Jr. is the President and owner of Gorrie Regan & Associates in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1959, Gorrie Regan is a systems integrator tracing its origin as a time clock service company. Since that time, they have grown to offer business and building systems throughout the southeast and around country. Specializing in employee time keeping systems, parking revenue control, and security and access control systems, Gorrie Regan is an industry leader in the markets they serve. Charlie Regan Jr. attended Auburn University where he was President/Vice President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Social Fraternity. He has recently served as President of SAE House Corporation. He and his wife, Jennifer Wynn Regan are active alumni members of the School of Liberal Arts and recently participated in a university fundraising campaign that raised over one billion dollars. He is very active in his community as he serves on the board of the Crippled Children’s Foundation, Executive Member of the Alabama Better Business Bureau, the Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (WISE) and The Monday Morning Quarterback Club. He and his wife Jennifer, have three children and are very active members of Covenant Presbyterian Church. Charlie has served his church as a Deacon and an Elder. Charlie has a wide range of interests from competitive BBQ events, gardening, and as a self-described motor head – a passion for anything with an engine from cars to motorcycles to boats to airplanes.
Steve Hill
Retired
President and CEO of AEgis Technologies Group
Parent of 3 LSL Graduates
Steve Hill is the retired President and CEO of The AEgis Technologies Group. In this role, he provided ongoing executive direction of a $130M+ annual revenue company with 380+ employees and its subsidiary business units in 10 locations throughout the US. AEgis specializes in using modeling & simulation technology to support weapon systems development and war fighter exercise support and training. One of the company’s primary objectives is to use modeling & simulation to train our war fighters so they come home safely. The company has particular technical expertise in Directed Energy, Satellite Communications, C4ISR, Virtual Reality and Cyber Security. In late 2019, AEgis Technologies was acquired by Arlington Capital Partners of Washington, D.C. Steve and his wife, Andi, retain a financial interest in the company, which has been renamed Blue Halo, and he remains on the Board of Directors. BlueHalo has grown, primarily through acquisition, to 1,400+ employees and $475M in revenues. Steve received a BSEE from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and continued his education at Vanderbilt University Owen School of Management Executive MBA Certificate. Although Steve grew up an Army dependent in a variety of locations around the world, he considers the Huntsville area to be home. Steve and his wife, Andi, have three adult children all of which are deaf, have bilateral cochlear implants and use the Listening & Spoken Language (LSL) Communication Mode. He enjoys working out, hiking, boating/wake surfing, and spending time with his family. Steve is the Board Chair for Lincoln Village Ministry and for the International Leadership Institute and a Board Member of the UAH Foundation and Redstone Village. Steve is on the President’s Advisory Council at UAH and a member of the Parents Advisory Board for Samford University. He is also an active member of C12 – a Christian business peer advisory group. Steve and Andi volunteer or support the Cornerstone Initiative, CRU, Huntsville Botanical Gardens, His Hands Mission International, Heartlight Ministries, Huntsville Hospital Foundation, Huntsville Hospital Pediatric Therapy & Audiology Center, Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (W.I.S.E.), and Alabama Hands & Voices. Steve and Andi attend Summit Crossing Community Church.
Thomas Oliver
Vice President
Shareholder
Carr Allison
Tom Oliver, a founding Shareholder at Carr Allison, is a trial attorney specializing in complex matters involving transportation and professional litigation. He has litigated cases in the state and federal courts of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. Tom was selected by USLAW to serve as its Chairman in 2015-2016, after serving on the Board and Executive Committee, as well as Chairman of its Transportation and Professional Liability Committees. Tom served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a Trustee of the Alabama Law Foundation for over 17 years including serving as its President in 2014-2015. He has been named to the Mid-South Super Lawyers list, Top Lawyer by Corporate Counsel, is included in The Best Lawyers in America© and earned an AV-rating through Martindale-Hubbell. He was also chosen as a 2017-2018 “Top Flight Lawyer” for bMetro magazine. Tom served for more than 12 years on the Board of the Alabama Chapter of the March of Dimes, including a two-year term as Chairman. He served as President of the Auburn University Bar Association and remains active in the Alabama State Bar and American Bar Association. Tom is an instrument-rated pilot and enjoys flying in his Beechcraft Bonanza. He enjoys playing golf and is an avid supporter of his alma mater: the Auburn Tigers. He has been married for over 30 years and is a proud grandfather of two girls!
Alan Tidwell
Associate Professor of Finance and Real Estate
Alabama Association of Realtors Chair of Real Estate
University of Alabama
Dr. Alan Tidwell is an Associate Professor of Finance, the Alabama Association of Realtors® Chair of Real Estate, and Director of the Real Estate Academic Program at the University of Alabama. Dr. Tidwell is a committed educator and has been recognized for excellence in teaching courses spanning the disciplines of real estate, finance, risk management, and quantitative analysis. Dr. Tidwell serves the profession in editorial, advisory, and reviewer roles with academic and/or industry journal outlets and is listed among the top 10 Global Real Estate Researchers (2023). He has published in highly regarded real estate finance and economic journals, including Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Real Estate Research, Applied Economics, Journal of Housing Research, Journal of Property Research, Cities, Journal of Forest Economics, Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, and Real Estate Issues. Several papers have been recognized by conferences as the “best” paper category award winner, and papers he has co-authored have been presented at academic conferences such as the American Real Estate Society, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, Financial Management Association, Urban Economics Association, and the Academy of Financial Services. His research has been referenced by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Yahoo! Finance, and Fox Business Online among other media outlets.
Dr. Tidwell has a proven track record of excellence in leadership and development. For the past few years, he has served as the AAR Chair of Real Estate and acting as a real estate program director at the University of Alabama. During that time, the real estate team has substantially expanded the scope of the Real Estate Program while implementing best practices that foster an atmosphere of excitement and growth substantially increasing academic offerings and student enrollment. He has also been afforded the opportunity to participate in several professional and consulting projects with global, regional, and local corporations, a municipality, and the state of Georgia and currently hold the Appraisal Institute’s MAI Appraisal Designation. In the community, Dr. Tidwell serves on the Advisory Board of Catholic Social Services of West Alabama, the Woolley Institute for Spoken Language Education (WISE), and the Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE).