Leonard F. Springs is Chair of The Mildred Springs and Ella Springs Jones Scholarship Foundation. He is one of six children of Mildred Springs and the brother of Ella Springs Jones. Mr. Springs grew up in rural Johnston, South Carolina, where he learned the values of discipline, hard work, education, and service to his community and faith.
Mr. Springs earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Voorhees College, now a university, and was bestowed a Doctor of Humane Letter, Honoris Causa by Voorhees. After graduating from college, Mr. Springs served in the U.S. Army, where he became a decorated Vietnam veteran. Following his military service, Mr. Springs leveraged his values, education and military service to serve his community as a school guidance counselor and working for the Urban League.
For over 27 years, Mr. Springs held numerous positions in the banking industry, including senior level roles with Wells Fargo and its predecessors, First Union and Wachovia. During the Clinton Administration, Mr. Springs was appointed to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bank Secrecy Advisory Group.
In November 2009, Mr. Springs was honored to be appointed as a Senior Advisor in the Obama Administration, serving in the Department of Education, Financial Student Aid, Minority Serving Schools Division. Constituent groups to which he devoted his expertise included Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Predominantly Black Institutions. During his tenure, Mr. Springs worked on multiple White House Initiatives to support and implement President Obama’s 2020 Post-Secondary Education Goals.
Mr. Springs professional career also includes service as Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development for Urban Settlement Services, an African-American business and President of Queen City Ventures Partners, LLC, an African-American investment group.
Mr. Springs commitment to the advancement of African-Americans is further illustrated by his service as a Board Director for M&F Bank and the NAACP National Board of Directors. He is especially devoted to nurturing African-American male youths and was the founding President of the Greater Charlotte Chapter of the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. Mr. Springs dedication to ensuring higher educational opportunities for African-Americans has been tirelessly reflected by his Trustee roles on a number of HBCU Boards of Trustees, including Allen University, Elizabeth City State University, Florida Memorial College, Johnson C. Smith University Foundation, South Carolina State University Foundation and Voorhees College for which he was Vice Chairman.
Currently, Mr. Springs is President and CEO of The S Group Consultant, Inc., a consulting firm, specializing in assisting companies in the development and implementation of business practices, processes and strategies to support diversity initiatives that impact the workforce and public relations with the community.
He is an active alumnus With the Voorhees Alumni Association.
The awards and accolades Mr. Springs has received during his decades of professional and community endeavors are far too many to list. He has been recognized as one of America’s top corporate officers in Dollars and Sense Magazine and a community leader in The HistoryMakers.
Mr. Springs is the proud father of two adult daughters.
Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Elyse Bailey is a graduate of Mallard Creek High School and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications. Ms. Bailey was on the dean’s list for several years, a member of the Golden Key national honors Society and a member of the Speech Pathology honors club. Ms. Bailey was a member of Golden Delight Auxiliary for the Blue and Gold Marching Machine. Ms. Bailey is also a graduate of Clemson University with a Master of Science degree in Athletic Leadership.
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Upon graduation, Ms. Bailey auditioned and was selected for the Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders and was a member of the squad for 4 years, including being a cheerleader for the 2017 NFC Championship playoffs and Super Bowl LI in Houston Texas. As a member of the squad, Ms. Bailey participated in numerous charitable activities in the community.
Ms. Bailey is the founder of Elyse Simone Consulting and Choreography, a highly successful consulting company that provides training for students and women who strive to become a professional dancers or cheerleaders.
Board members are responsible for evaluating students’ applications, selecting award recipients, and recommending the amount of individual awards to be disbursed. The Board consists of the following members:
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Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, President and CEO, Voorhees College
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Ms. Jerrilyn Johnson, Edgefield County School District
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Bridget Ellis, Educational Credit Management Corporation
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Elaine Springs McCottry, Springs Family Member
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Joi Jones Gilliam, Springs Family Member
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Damaun Dowdy, CEO, Liftus Realty, LLC
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Lenny Springs, CEO, The S Consulting Group and Springs Family Member
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Ronnie Devine, Support Services Deputy Director, Mecklenburg County
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Kendra Price, Multilingual Teacher, Strom Thurmond High School
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Kiera O'Shea, Professor, Tennessee State University
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Byron Springs McCottry, Springs Family Member
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PROGRAM GOVERNANCE
The Foundation’s day-to-today operation is managed by a Director and the Chair of the Board of Directors. The Foundation Director are responsible for the following:
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Developing a communication and marketing plan to connect with potential applicants, program participants, community, and donors.
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Establishing an annual academic calendar to include financial aid due dates, informational workshop dates, college tour dates, scholarship applications due dates, and Board of Directors virtual meeting dates.
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Receiving applications and other supporting documents from applicants and disseminate to Board of Directors members.
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Fund development, accounting and managing all funds and disbursing awarded funds as stipulated by the Board of Directors.