ALABAMA FAMILY TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Office Manager
- Senior Trust Officer
As Senior Trust Officer and Office Manager, Evan is responsible for supporting the day-to-day financial, accounting, and administrative functions of Alabama Family Trust.
Prior to joining AFT in 2017, he worked for Regions Bank for a decade, first in debit card operations and later in trust accounting.
He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management from the University of Georgia, as well as accounting coursework at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President / Manager of BancorpSouth 's Premier Banking Group
David Salter currently serves as Senior Vice President/Manager of BancorpSouth's Premier Banking Group, a position he has held since April, 2005. He has 26 years of banking experience in the Birmingham market, 22 of those in the Private Banking/Wealth Management field.
David graduated from Auburn University with a BS in Finance and from the University of Alabama-Birmingham with an MBA. He has also completed the Graduate School of Retail Bank Management program at the University of Virginia and holds a Series 7 securities license.
David is a graduate of Leadership Shelby County and previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association. He currently serves on the Board of Alabama Asset Building Coalition.
Noted elder care attorney Jennifer Q. Griffin took over as president of the Board of Trustees in October 2023. Griffin had been AFT's vice president since 2021 and was the board's secretary before that. She has served on the AFT board since 2014.
A partner with Birmingham firm Campisi Law, Griffin's practice is focused in the areas of elder law, estate planning, Medicaid planning for long-term care, trust administration, probate, guardianship and conservatorship.
She is an Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®) and a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA). The CELA certification is awarded by the National Elder Law Foundation which certifies practitioners in elder and special needs law. Griffin has served as chairperson of the Alabama State Bar Association's Elder Law Section, and chairperson and court liaison of the Birmingham Bar Association's Probate Section. She has also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Birmingham Bar. She currently serves on the Board of the Estate Planning Council of Birmingham, Inc.
Griffin is a graduate of Alabama State University and The University of Alabama School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Treasurer of the AFT
Jimmy Walsh is treasurer of the AFT board. He is a litigation attorney and partner at Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell in Birmingham. He has been involved with the Boy Scouts for 27 years and is former Scoutmaster for 14 years. He is an active member of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and is its immediate past state president.
John Earl Paluzzi is a graduate of Georgia State University and the Cumberland School of Law. Since graduating from law school he has been employed with the trust departments of AmSouth Bank and Compass Bank. He practiced law as a solo practitioner for twenty years before being elected the Judge of Probate in Pickens County, Alabama where he served for two six-year terms before retiring in 2018. As judge of probate he served the Alabama Probate Judges Association as its treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president. He also has lectured on the law of probate and estate administration at many legal and judicial seminars for more than thirty years.
Judy B. Shepura is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Cumberland School of Law. Since graduating from law school, she has been with Dominick, Fletcher, Wood and Lloyd (now Dominick Feld Hyde) in Birmingham. She has concentrated her law practice in the areas of probate, estate planning and administration, and trust planning and trust administration, with particular emphasis on special needs trusts.
Job Titles:
- President of KIMANDCOMPANY Communications
Kim Davis is president of KIMANDCOMPANY Communications, a Public Relations, Governmental Relations and Online Multimedia Channel company based in Montgomery, Alabama.
She is a former news anchor/reporter/producer and program host for an NBC affiliate station in Montgomery, WSFA. KIMANDCOMPANY handles several PR initiatives for clients in the aviation, wellness, economic development and agriculture arenas.
Ms. Davis joined the Alabama Family Trust because of key personal experiences: a dear friend who committed suicide and two friends who have special needs children with Downs Syndrome and CHARGE Syndrome. Ms. Davis enjoys golf and was recently elected president of Driving Force Women's Golf League in Montgomery.
LaTanya D. Rhines, a member of AFT's board since 2020, is the board's secretary. She is an elder law attorney who has served as the legal provider for the Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments' Area Agency on Aging, where she provides legal assistance to individuals aged 60 and over living in a five-county region. Much of her work centers around estate planning, institutional Medicaid, benefits counseling and long-term care issues.
Rhines received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English (honors) and criminal justice from The University of Alabama in 1993. She received her Juris Doctorate Degree from The University of Alabama School of Law in 1996.
As Executive Director, Lesley oversees the strategic direction, organizational objectives, and overall management matters for Alabama Family Trust. She also works closely with the AFT Board of Trustees to ensure compliance with all applicable governing bodies.
A Certified Public Accountant, Lesley was formerly the organization's Chief Financial Officer. She has a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Alabama and began her career as an auditor working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.
After returning to Alabama, she managed the trust tax departments for the Birmingham offices of two Fortune 500- sized banks. Byars has worked as a consultant to public accounting firms across the country on issues related to taxation and administration of trusts, estates, and nonprofit organizations.
As a Personal Trust Officer, Lisa is responsible for processing requests for disbursements and answering related questions as to the rules and regulations for payments. She also handles requests for grants from the AFT Charitable Trust.
Lisa is a highly motivated professional with over 17 years of experience in the accounting and legal industries.
Lynn Campisi was raised in Metairie, Louisiana and is a graduate of Loyola University and the Birmingham School of Law. As a dedicated advocate for quality of life for elderly and special needs beneficiaries, Lynn is an elder law attorney certified by the National Elder Law Foundation. She is a member of the American Bar, Alabama State Bar and Birmingham Bar Associations along with NAELA and ASNP.
She serves on the boards of ACA, ACCC, and Alabama Family Trust. In 2006 she was given The Powley Award sponsored by NAELA for her service and as President of the Alabama Family Trust. Just recently she was honored with the McCallum Award given by University of Alabama-Birmingham Center for Aging for her service in the elderly community.
She celebrates the end of each day with the evening meal she prepares at home with her husband of 28 years, Mark McGarvey. Most weekends include cherished visits with her parents back in Louisiana.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- AFT 's Former Board Secretary
Wallace T. Davis, AFT's former board secretary, has been named the board's vice president. He retired as the president and chief executive officer of Volunteers of America Southeast Inc. in 2021 after providing leadership for this affiliate for more than 40 years. Davis hosts "Uplifting Moments" on four Mobile radio stations.
Davis is a graduate of Samford University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, with a Bachelor of Science in education, a Master of Theology and a Doctorate of Philosophy in psychology and counseling.