Meet the KTJ Contributors
Amethyst V.
Humanities student
Amethyst is a native of Jasper, Ala. A graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, she currently attends the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she is earning a degree in English with a concentration in Professional Writing.
Béverly B.
Project Coordinator and Task Force Manager
Béverly grew up in France, the United States and Germany. She learned French and English simultaneously, not remembering which she knew first. Once she decided to live in the United States, she used her hard-earned experience in a variety of cultural settings and educational philosophies in order to be successful at ever-increasing roles of responsibility. Throughout each experience, Béverly has remained true to her passion for language and used her skills as a writer, editor and translator. While working as a legal secretary for Balch & Bingham LLP in Birmingham, Alabama, she had the privilege to proofread novels, articles and law review pieces for attorney and author James L. Noles Jr. Currently, Béverly works for an engineering firm in Claremont, California, where she supervises a document management task force for two multi-million dollar contracts. Béverly received her B.S. in businessmanagement from Bryan College and her paralegal certification from the University of California–Riverside.
Bob S.
AHF Executive Director
Bob was appointed AHF executive director in 1987. A native of Tuscaloosa, he earned his B.A. in English at Amherst College and his M.A. in American Studies at Boston University. Stewart also earned an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from Emory University, where he was awarded the Johnston American Corporation Award. Prior to the AHF, he served for two years as deputy director of the Huntsville Museum of Art. He also held professional positions or internships at various museums and historical organizations, including Old Sturbridge Village , Birmingham Museum of Art, Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board and Smithsonian Institution. Stewart received the 1996 Virginia Hamilton Prize from the Alabama Historical Association and served as project director for a statewide project that received the 1995 Schwartz Prize from the Federation of State Humanities Councils. He was a member of the 2000 Class of Leadership Alabama.
Bob W.
AHF Board Chairman
Bob, of Birmingham is a governor’s appointee to the board of directors. He received both his A.B. and M.Ed. from Birmingham Southern College and his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. Whetstone attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison for his postdoctoral seminar in management and attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham for his postdoctoral internship at the Center for Aging. A former educator, Whetstone spent time working in Birmingham elementary schools and Banks High School. He spent 38 years teaching at Birmingham Southern College and was recently named one of 12 most outstanding educators by the college. He began his career at the college as an associate professor of education and also served as associate dean of the college, chairman of both the Departments of Education and Physical Education and the Division of Education, and project director and coordinator of research for the Alabama Education Study Commission. Whetstone serves as the vice president of the Shelby County Arts Council.
Visit his personal website here.
Katie C.
AHF Public Relations and Publications Manager
As public relations and publications manager, Katie is responsible for promoting the Alabama Humanities Foundation mission—through contacting the news media and regularly updating and maintaining the Foundation’s website, ahf.net. She also serves as editor of the Mosaic. Crawford grew up in Meridian, Miss., and attended the University of Alabama, where she obtained a B.A. in journalism.
Malík B.
AHF Board member
A playwright/poet/performer, Malík’s experience on stage, as well as behind the scenes, spans 40 years. His play, Real Black Men Don’t Sit Crosslegged on the Floor (A Collage in Blues) was produced in New York by New Federal Theatre to critical acclaim. He is the co-director and co-founder of StoryTree Company, a 16-year-old theater company that tours original works for children and adults. Malík has played principal roles in Castle Rock’s Whispers in the Dark and MGM’s The Super Cops. He has also held workshops for students in schools across Alabama, focusing on poetry writing, drama and performance. Malík is a technical advisor to the Governor’s Black Belt Action Commission. He has twice received playwriting fellowships from ASCA, the last in 2007 for lifetime achievement.
Paul L.
AHF Development and Public Relations Director
A Birmingham native, Paul graduated from the University of Alabama with a B.A. in marketing and communications. He has more than 25 years of fundraising experience, having served as vice president and director of development for the Baptist Health Foundation from 1985–2005. In 1993, he was named Alabama’s Fundraising Executive of the Year. He also served as president of the Alabama Chapter of the National Society of Fundraising Executives in 1996. He is a Certified Fundraising Executive. Lawson oversees donor relations, develops and maintains fundraising programs and directs major events.
Susan P.
AHF Grants Director
Susan came to AHF in 2005 after 13 years at The Mint Museums in Charlotte, N.C., where she served as the adult programs coordinator. She holds an M.F.A. in drawing and painting from California State University at Long Beach, an M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a B.A. in art and English from Agnes Scott College. She has taught art history and studio for the past 20 years at numerous universities.
Thomas B.
AHF Programs Director and SUPER Manager
A native of Daphne, Thomas received a B.A. in political science from the University of Alabama and an M.A. in art history from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has taught art appreciation at Jefferson State Community College and managed Bradshaw House Gallery in Birmingham for three years before joining the AHF staff in the spring of 2002. He oversees all of AHF’s programs and personally manages the statewide teacher program, SUPER (School and University Partners for Educational Renewal).
