|

Benjamin L. Hooks, J.D.
Chairman, Board of Directors
Former executive director of the NAACP, Hooks spent almost 18 years as the leader of the world’s largest and oldest civil rights organization. He is an attorney, ordained minister and former judge. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and attended LeMoyne College in Memphis, Tennessee, and Howard University in Washington, D.C. He served in the 92nd Infantry Division in World War II and saw combat in Italy. Following military service, he received the Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. President Richard Nixon appointed him to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In November of 2007, President George W. Bush awarded Hooks with the Presidential Freedom Award. Academically, Hooks has been recognized by Fisk University as Distinguished Professor and by the University of Memphis, where the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change is housed. He has also served as chairman and co-chairman of Children’s Health Forum and the Memphis Civil Rights Museum.
Back to Top
Booker T. Jones
Founder/President/CEO
Board of Directors
Long before MINACT’s inception, Jones had an incessant desire to become a part of the solution to the problems of America’s disadvantaged. He began a career in Job Corps after leaving the Navy in 1966, taking his first employment with the Breckinridge Job Corps Center in Morganfield, Kentucky, now the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center. Jones quickly moved through the Job Corps program from his entry-level position as resident adviser in Kentucky to serve in a center director position in Mississippi. His vision of starting his own company to continue services through Job Corps was realized in 1978 when he founded MINACT and successfully competed for his first Job Corps contract. Jones is a graduate in sociology from Indiana State University in Evansville, Indiana, and has done additional graduate studies in business administration at the University of Evansville. He is active in community organizations that promote the development of people. He serves on the boards of BancorpSouth Bank Community Board, Momentum Mississippi, the Children’s Health Forum, and the advisory board of the College of Business at Jackson State University. He was recently appointed by the Secretary of Labor to serve on the Federal Job Corps Advisory Committee, where he now serves as chairman. In May 2007, he was honored for his significant contributions to the growth and development of business in the state of Mississippi by his induction into the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame.
Back to Top
Robert Smith, M.D.
Vice Chairman, Board of Directors
A caring heart matched by impeccable skills has made Smith a physician his native Mississippians can be proud to call their own. Smith, a charter fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a charter diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice, is well known for his interest in helping young people prepare for the medical profession and his commitment to making sure adults and children have proper medical care. Smith opened the first private, black-owned family health center in Mississippi—Central Mississippi Health Services, Inc. He has served as preceptor for many medical schools, including Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee; Iowa University in Iowa City, Iowa; Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; Howard University in Washington, D.C.; and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is active in other professional and civic organizations with a special interest in education and the arts.
Back to Top
Alveno Castilla, CPA/J.D.
Secretary, Board of Directors
Castilla has a deep interest and commitment to projects that develop youth. That’s why a lot of his volunteer time is devoted to the National Alliance of Business Youth Motivation Task Force, the accreditation team for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the board of trustees for Institutions of Higher Learning’s Uniform Financial Reporting Committee. A partner in the law firm of Watkins, Ludlam & Stennis, Castilla currently serves as chairman of the firm’s board of directors, and as chairman of the firm’s Business Solutions Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of federal, state and local taxation, and corporate and finance matters. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Tax Law Section. Castilla is a certified public accountant, licensed in Mississippi and Tennessee. He holds a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, with an M.B.A. in management and finance and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He is an active member of various other civic and professional organizations.
Back to Top
Toni D. Cooley
Member, Board of Directors
Cooley is president of an organization named Systems’ Companies. As such, she manages the company’s local and national projects in areas ranging from project coordination, vocational training, management consulting, and manufacturing. In the 1980s, she was the legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Wayne Dowdy, D-Miss. She serves on numerous professional and civic organizations. Cooley earned a B.A. degree in business administration from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota.
Back to Top
General
Augustus Leon Collins
Member, Board of Directors
General Augustus Leon Collins, a native of
Mississippi, brings a wealth of experience to the board and has
distinguished himself in service to our nation. He was nominated to
serve on Mississippi’s Worker’s Compensation Commission in 2007, after
retiring from the U.S. Army as a Brigadier General. General Collins is
the first African American to attain the rank of General in the history
of the Mississippi National Guard. He was awarded the rank of
Brigadier General while serving in Iraq in 2005. General Collins served
in command and staff positions in the Army and Mississippi National
Guard, including mobilizing troops for Iraqi Freedom and Enduring
Freedom. While in Iraq, he commanded a force of more than 4500
soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. The General has many honors and
awards to his credit including induction into the University of
Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Mississippi Military
Academy Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 2006. General Collins
graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Business Administration. He earned a Master’s in Business
Administration from Jackson State University and a Master’s degree in
Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania.
Back to Top
Reuben V. Anderson, J.D.
Member, Board of Directors
Anderson, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice and a trailblazer in the legal profession, brings a superior record of accomplishments and experience to the board. He was the first African-American since Reconstruction to serve in several high-profile judicial positions including Mississippi Supreme Court Justice (1985-90); Circuit Court Judge, 7th Circuit Court District (1982-85); County Court Judge, Hinds County (1977-82); and Municipal Court Judge, City of Jackson, Mississippi (1975-77). Anderson, the first African-American graduate of the University of Mississippi Law School, also was the first African-American to occupy the Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law and Government at that institution. In 1997, Anderson served as the first African-American president of the Mississippi Bar Association. Anderson currently serves as a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and as a director of the boards of numerous businesses and organizations. He is a partner in the law firm of Phelps Dunbar, L.L.P. He is also a member of numerous professional organizations.
Back to Top
Reginald E. Jones, J.D.
Member, Board of Directors
Jones brings great leadership and expertise to the board from his prior leadership positions and employment experiences. He was nominated to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by President Clinton and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a term that ran from 1996 to 2000. Prior to his appointment to the EEOC, Jones was senior legislative counsel in the office of Senator James M. Jeffords, R-Vt. From 1989 to 1993, he was minority counsel and staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor. During his Senate tenure, Jones was significantly involved in the enactment of many landmark legislative issues, including the Civil Rights Act of 1991, The Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Jones is an attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of DLA Piper US, LLP. Jones received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a law degree from New York University’s School of Law.
Back to Top
John I. Douglas
Member, Board of Directors
Douglas has more than 30 years of experience managing Job Corps’ operations and as a corporate executive. The Kansas City native is a graduate of Kansas City Junior College, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Baylor University. He has done postgraduate work as well. Before launching his career in Job Corps, Douglas was a teacher and counselor in the Missouri school system. Douglas has spent much of his career in Job Corps, including director of guidance and deputy center director at the Pine Knot Job Corps Center; field program specialist at the Job Corps Regional Office in Kansas City, Missouri; recruitment and placement branch chief, Job Corps Regional Office, Kansas City, Missouri; deputy regional director, Job Corps, Kansas City; CETA federal representative, ETA, Kansas City, Missouri; financial/grant manager, ETA, Kansas City, Missouri; and regional director, Region VII/VIII, Job Corps. After 34 years with the Job Corps program he retired from federal service in 1999. He currently serves as a member of the National Job Corps Association board of directors.
Back to Top

Sam Devore, CPA
Executive Vice President
Devore is responsible for the day-to-day management of the corporation. A certified public accountant, his career with MINACT began in 1980. Prior to joining MINACT, Devore worked in the banking industry in various senior management-level positions. He also worked for two years in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Baptist Mission of East Africa, and served in the U.S. Air Force. A native of Illinois, Devore received a Master of Accounting Science degree and a B.A. degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana, Illinois. He also has an M.B.A. degree from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.
Back to Top
Jacqueline Beasley, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Administrative Services
Beasley joined MINACT in 2002 as vice president of human resources. In her current role, she has primary responsibility for human resources operations and business development. She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in educational administration and leadership with a cognate in business administration from Jackson State University. Her work experience includes more than 25 years in planning job development and training programs, human resources, and financial management. She earned a B.A. degree in business administration from Alcorn State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Delta State University.
Back to Top
Mark Brantley, CPA
Vice President of Fiscal Services
Brantley is a certified public accountant with more than 25 years of Job Corps financial experience. He began his career with MINACT in 1978, the year of the company’s inception. Being among the first employees provided him the opportunity to grow with the company and to experience its climb to success. Brantley is responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining a procurement and property accountability system for the efficient and effective use of corporate resources. He received a B.A. degree in accounting from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.
Back to Top
Tom Deuschle
Senior Vice President of Operations
Deuschle
has an abundance of experience in workforce development at the state and
federal government levels, as well as the private sector. Deuschle
served as a regional director for the Job Corps program in the U.S.
Department of Labor from 2000 to 2005 before re-joining MINACT in 2006
as Vice President of Operations. In his role as Senior Vice President
of Operations, Deuschle has corporate oversight responsibility for
operation of all MINACT operated centers. All Vice Presidents of
Operations, who have specific center oversight assignments, report
directly to Deuschle. He is intricately involved in proposal
development from the operations perspective. Deuschle graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree from Central Missouri State University.
Back to Top
Lyn Dockter-Pinnick
Vice President of Operations
Pinnick’s Job Corps experience began in 1995 as manager of academics at the Quentin N. Burdick Job Corps Center. She joined MINACT’s corporate staff in 2005. Prior to working at MINACT, Pinnick spent more than 20 years in a variety of academic settings. Pinnick now serves as vice president of operations, and is responsible for the oversight of three Job Corps centers in the Dallas region: Quentin N. Burdick, and Shreveport. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in English from Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota, and completed her Master of Arts degree in counseling and guidance at the University of North Dakota.
Back to Top
Delois
White
Vice President of Operations
Delois White joined MINACT in 1986 and has held a number of
key positions at the St. Louis Job Corps Center in St. Louis, MO. White began
at the center as a residential counselor before becoming the advanced career
training/GED coordinator and the Equal Opportunity Officer. She was then
promoted to counselor/orientation specialist. From there she held positions as
manager of vocations, career team manager, director of Career Development
Period/Career Transition Systems, and then became center director in 2006.
White joined the corporate team in 2009. She is responsible for the overall
operation of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Job Corps Center in Memphis, Tennessee and
the Batesville Job Corps Center, in Batesville, Mississippi. White has a
Bachelors of Science Degree in Psychology and Government from Oberlin College,
and has completed masters’ work in Public Administration at St. Louis
University.
Back to Top
Patrick Smith
Vice President of Operations
Smith joined the corporate staff as vice president of operations in 2001. He initially joined MINACT as a guidance counselor at the St. Louis Job Corps Center and worked in various positions at the St. Louis and Burdick Job Corps centers. He oversees the St. Louis, Excelsior Springs, and Gerald R. Ford Job Corps centers. Smith graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in justice studies in 1988.
Back to Top
|