Rolanda Gaines, a 15-year veteran of the sports industry, was named director of strategic marketing and communications at FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports Tennessee and SportSouth. In this role, she will lead the strategic planning and execution of on-air promotions and off-channel marketing. Prior to joining FOX, Gaines held the post of senior director of strategy for ESPN Content Development. In this role, she was responsible for driving sponsorship opportunities for original content programming. Before that, she served as senior director of business operations and development ? also at ESPN. Gaines was a 2006 Network Journal ?40 Under Forty? honoree. She earned a bachelor?s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Fordham University.
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Tracey Jeter was named president and CEO of the Maryland/District of Columbia Minority Supplier Development Council (MD/DC MSDC). Prior to this, she served as president and CEO of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council (VMSDC), where she was responsible for a $1 million budget. In that role, she oversaw a number of financial institutions, regional localities, universities and hospitals; the partnerships she managed led as high as the Governor?s Office. As a special assistant to the president at Virginia State University, she served in several capacities including sales and marketing roles. In 1996, she founded Gordon Tracye Advertising & Public Relations, a marketing firm for small businesses and nonprofits. Jeter holds a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications from Old Dominion University.
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J. Michael Kirkland will be installed as the 2013 ? 2014 president of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accoun-tants Board of Directors. He is credited with being the second African-American to lead the 116-year-old professional organization. A director in the Deutsche Bank AG Accounting Policy and Advisory Group, Kirkland?s career began with accounting 
firm Arthur Andersen & Co. He has also held positions at Banker?s Trust and JPMorgan Chase. A member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the Real Estate Task Force, Kirkland is the recipient of the 2013 National Association of Black Accountants Award. He is a graduate of Fordham University.
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Dorothy R. Leavell, publisher and chief executive officer of the Crusader Newspaper Group, was named chairperson of the trade organization National Black Chamber of Commerce. She will lead a board of 18 directors and help further the mission of strengthening minority-owned businesses. Prior to her current role as publisher of CNG, Leavell served as the first female chairperson of Amalgamated Publishers. During her tenure in the publishing industry, she has held several executive-level positions with National Newspaper Publishers Association. She is an award-winning civic leader who is credited with leading trade missions to Africa and the Caribbean and with being a co-founder of the program Heroes in the ?Hood. Leavell studied at Roosevelt University.
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Adrienne Lofton Shaw was named vice president and chief marketing officer for The Dockers brand at Levi Strauss & Co. She will be responsible for creating and leading the brand?s strategy and overseeing its global marketing 
initiatives. Prior to joining Dockers, she served as senior marketing director at Under Armour Inc., where she was charged with leading the company?s global brand strategy. During her tenure there, she launched a successful marketing strategy for women?s accessories. Before that, she held several top marketing positions at Target Corp., General Motors Planworks and GAP Inc. A member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc., Lofton Shaw earned a B.B.A. in business with a concentration in marketing from Howard University.
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Rashada Whitehead was named CEO of Flowers Communications Group, a role that has earned her equity stake in the agency. She was appointed president of the firm two years ago and led the agency?s profitability margins while overseeing a growing roster of clients that included MillerCoors and American Honda. Whitehead?s award-winning work on marketing campaigns has earned her more than 25 industry awards,? including PRWeek?s ?40 Under 40? Award in 2009. A supporter of economic and social empowerment for youth, she serves on the board of Chicago Scholars and My Sister?s Keeper Chicago. Whitehead holds a bachelor?s degree in English from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and a master?s degree in marketing communications from Roosevelt University. She also is a graduate of the Tuck School of Business? Executive Education Program at Dartmouth College.
