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.
David Parsons:
Commissioner, Alabama Department of Insurance, 1999-2003; Acting Insurance Commissioner, 2008.
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 Rep. 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. 1993 SGA President, Hampden-Sydney College. Former Assistant Finance Director to the Alabama Governor. Former Director of Governmental Affairs, Business Council of Alabama. Vice Chancellor for State Affairs, The University of Alabama System, since 2023.
Eric L. Motley
1993 Youth Conference on National Affairs presiding officer; 1991-1992 Youth Legislature representative and National Affairs conference delegate. Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Presidential Personnel; youngest appointee of the G.W. Bush administration. Former Director, Office of International Visitors, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. State Department. Author, Madison Park, A Place of Hope. 2023 Samford University Alumnus of the Year. Since August 2021, Deputy Director, National Gallery of Art.
Mayor Steven Reed, Montgomery, Alabama
1991 Youth Legislature senator selected as a delegate to the YMCA Conference on National Affairs. Montgomery mayor since Nov. 12, 2019. Montgomery County Probate Judge, 2013-2019
Kimmie Lipscomb
2001 Youth Governor. White House press office, 2006-2008; Special Assistant to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Interior, 2004-2006. Communications Director, United Against Nuclear Iran, 2009-2011; Executive director, Emerging Market Credit and Local Rates, Morgan Stanley since 2019.
Kasdin Miller Mitchell
2003 Youth Governor. Law clerk, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and 11th U.S. Appeals Court Judge Bill Pryor. On-the-record spokesperson for First Lady Laura Bush. Litigation partner with Dallas firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Set to argue a case in October 2025 before the U.S. Supreme Court.
R.B. Walker
2004 Youth Legislature Speaker of the House. SGA President, University of Alabama, 2007-2008. Director of State & Federal Government Affairs, Alabama Power Company
Forrest McConnell IV
2006 Youth Governor. General Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Armed Services since 2021. Employed by the U.S. House of Representatives, since 2006.