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Melisa Moore
Board Chair
https://counsel.tennessee.edu/contact/melisa-moore/
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Aurelia Mcbride
Board Vice Chair
Angelia Allen
Board Treasurer
Angelía A. Allen, Treasurer, is the CPO for United Way of the Mid-South and leads the Community Impact Division. Before becoming the CPO in January 2021, Angelía was United Way of the Mid-South's Vice President of Strategic Development and served as a strategic thought partner to the President, playing a critical role in the design, coordination, and implementation of the Community Impact Agenda both internally and externally at United Way of the Mid-South (United Way). She played a key role in the development of the strategic plan for resource diversification and the expansion of United Way’s philanthropic social impact model.
Allen is a leader who believes in championing environments where people can realize their full potential. Recognizing that sustainable business and community prosperity go hand in hand, Allen maintains a strong network of community development intermediaries (including government agencies, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations) to promote a commitment to transforming communities. As a strategic leader committed to community development, Allen has advocated for the use of low-wealth financing to support affordable housing and economic development and has served as a board member of a CDFI that provides mezzanine financing for small businesses. She has been a board chair and member of the executive leadership team for several non-profit entities focused on community and economic development. Angelía earned an M.B.A. from Union University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Memphis. Allen is married to a retired Air Force veteran and has three sons
Dimika Cavalier
Board Member
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Joseph McKinney
Board Member
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Lashawn Lester
Board Member
Board Member (AAC Chair)
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Stacey Richards
Board Member
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Talunja Prophet
Board Member
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Timorie Belk
Board Secretary
Board Member (Academic Achievement & Development)
Tressa Johnson
Board Member
Governance Chair
Tressa V. Johnson is an employment law attorney and a founding partner of Johnson & Bennett, PLLC, in Memphis, Tennessee. Ms. Johnson represents workers in the Memphis metropolitan area and throughout Mississippi in employment litigation matters.
Practicing law for over 16 years, Ms. Johnson handles employment cases involving discrimination, overtime law violations, sexual harassment and other legal disputes. In addition to employment law, she practices personal injury law, negotiating and litigating cases involving catastrophic injuries.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Johnson has recovered considerable amounts in verdicts and settlements for her clients. In honor of her accomplishments, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum invited her to become a life member of the organization, which is composed of attorneys who have obtained recoveries of $1 million or more for their clients. Johnson & Bennett reached a $500,000.00 settlement in a disability case against the Memphis VA in the Spring of 2020. In 2016 & 2017, Ms. Johnson was named a Super Lawyer's Rising Star. She has been named as a Mid-South Super Lawyer from 2018-2023. In 2019, Ms. Johnson won Best of Bar in Small Firm through the Memphis Business Journal. In 2020, Ms. Johnson along with her partner, Ms. Bennett was featured in Super Lawyer’s Magazine.
Outside of her practice, Ms. Johnson enjoys staying active in her legal community. She is a member of the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, The Mississippi Bar and serving as a Board Member of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association. She holds a license to practice law before all Tennessee and Mississippi state courts. Ms. Johnson is also continuous speaker on discrimination topics for Continuing Legal Education and the Society for Human Resource Management. Ms. Johnson enjoys serving as the Governance Committee Chair for the Memphis Merit Academy and the Treasurer for the Memphis Chapter of the Ladies of Charity.
Raised in New Orleans, Ms. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana. She received her law degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where she was a co-founder of the Student Hurricane Network, created in response to Hurricane Katrina. She also participated in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition and belonged to the A.P. Tureaud Chapter of the Black Law Students Association.
Ms. Johnson fights Goliaths every single day for her clients and it is their strength in the face of great adversity that motivates her.