Board Type: Advisory Board

Kate McNeel

Kate McNeel grew up in Jackson, and as a child spent time chasing mosquito trucks, riding bikes over to Riverside Park, and shopping at the Sunflower. After attending Saint Andrew’s School she headed west to Stanford University. She has spent the past 30 years working in the high-tech industry – 20 of those years working remotely from her home office in Fondren – and is currently the global marketing strategy lead for SAP SuccessFactors.She and her husband Pleasant McNeel have successfully launched one child into the working world, with the second currently finishing out her junior year in college, connecting remotely with her professors at Reed College in Portland, OR. When not under lockdown due to global pandemics, she spends time at CrossFit Jxn, enjoys cooking, and is on a quest to find the perfect $12 bottle of red wine.

Pam Johnson

Pam Johnson is an author and consultant. Before venturing out on her own as a publicist, political strategist, and media and issues management consultant, Pam was executive director of the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women and the Mississippi Association for Justice (the Trial Lawyers). She was Assistant Secretary of State for Policy and Publications and served as the Office of the State Auditor’s first communications coordinator.She has been a public school teacher, a news editor of two weekly newspapers, a magazine publisher, a florist, a lobbyist, an advocate, and was twice elected Alderwoman in her hometown of Mount Olive.  She holds a bachelor of science degree in English Secondary Education from the University of Southern Mississippi and is a long-time associate member of the Mississippi Press Association. She and her husband Bill recently celebrated their 48th anniversary and live in the Brandon Reservoir area. They are the parents of two grown children and are the grandparents of two. 

Wendy Shenefelt

Wendy Shenefelt serves as Programs Director for Alternate ROOTS, a Southern-based regional arts service organization and coalition of artists and cultural organizers striving to be allies in the elimination of all forms of oppression.A former dancer, current consultant, wannabe writer and Texas Woman’s University alum, Wendy splits time between her beloved chosen home of Jackson, Mississippi and her four-wheeled office traveling and snacking across the South.

Dr. Judy Alsobrooks Meredith

A former TV and radio news reporter and anchor in Jackson, MS and Cincinnati, OH, Dr. Judy Alsobrooks Meredith is a retired college Mass Communications professor. 

A PhD in Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University, her interests include women’s issues in the U.S. and internationally. Her doctoral dissertation, THE GLASS CEILING: AN ANALYSIS OF WOMEN IN ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE DEEP SOUTH, was published in 2011.A Gary, IN native, she now lives in Jackson, Mississippi with her husband, civil rights icon, James Meredith. They have a blended family of five children and 11 grandchildren.