Youth Legislature Alumni of Distinction
Since its first Session in 1949, the Alabama YMCA Youth Legislature has produced many leaders, in all walks of life. Below is a listing of just some Youth Legislature Alumni of Distinction. We welcome any suggestions for additions to this list.
Joe Rodgers:
1952 Youth Legislature Senator. Later served as United States Ambassador to France in the Reagan Administration.
Richard Holder:
Youth Legislature Delegate from Montgomery. Later became President of Reynolds Metals.
Toni Tennille:
1959 Youth Legislature House Delegate. Noted singer of the “Captain & Tennille” duo, popular in the 1970’s.
James Vickery:
1960 Jere Hardy Award winner. Retired lawyer, former President of the University of Montevallo. Professor emeritus of Troy University.
Judge Bernard Harwood:
Former Circuit Judge, Tuscaloosa County;. Alabama Supreme Court Justice, 2001-2007; former adjutant professor, The University of Alabama School of Law; practicing attorney.
Jim Campbell:
Youth Legislature Floor Leader, then Majority Leader. Served in the Alabama House of Representatives, 1978-1994, and was Speaker Pro- Tempore of the House, 1987-1994. Currently practices law in Anniston.
Judge James H. Anderson:
Past Chairman, Alabama Ethics Commission; Montgomery County Circuit Judge.
Colonel Mike Sullivan:
Former Director, Alabama Department of Public Safety.
Judge Sharon Yates:
Justice, Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, 1992-2004. Former professor, Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law.
Cleo Thomas:
1973 Youth Legislature Senate Floor Leader. First African-American SGA President of the University of Alabama. Trustee Emeritus, University of Alabama System (Active service years, 1983-2002). Lawyer, Anniston.
Stephanie Wolfe Bell:
1975 House Jere Hardy Award recipient, and also awarded for Best Bill in that year. Alabama State Board of Education, 1994-2025.
Lamar P. Higgins:
1977 Youth Legislature Lieutenant Governor. First African-American Troy University SGA President. First African-American member of the Troy University Board of Trustees (Service years: 1996 until his death in 2021). Deputy Director of the Alabama Department of Economic & Community Affairs. Deputy Mayor of Huntsville. Huntsville Space and Rocket Center Director. Lobbyist with Fine, Geddie & Associates in Montgomery.
Ken Mullinax:
1977 Youth Legislature Speaker of the House. Press Secretary to United States Representative Earl Hilliard (D-Birmingham). Alabama State University Director of Media Relations and Public Relations since 2008.
Caroline McDonald Aderholt:
1986 Youth Legislature Speaker of the House. Auburn University Board of Trustees. Married to U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville. President, Republican Spouses Club.
Porter Banister:
1989 Youth Legislature Lieutenant Governor. Former Assistant Finance Director to the Governor. Former Director of Governmental Affairs, Business Council of Alabama. Vice Chancellor for State Affairs, The University of Alabama System, since 2023.
David Parsons:
Commissioner, Alabama Department of Insurance, 1999-2003; Acting Insurance Commissioner, 2008.
Winston Tucker:
1992 Youth Legislature Speaker of the House. First Collegiate Legislature Speaker of the House. SGA President, Auburn University. Graduate Fordham University School of Law. Legal recruiter, New York, NY.
Juli Verma:
1997 Jere Hardy Senate Award recipient. 1998 Alabama Junior Miss. Assistant professor of politics, University of California, Santa Cruz. Ph.D. Criminology, Law And Society, University of California, Irvine.