Alumni Notes
Askew and enjoys working with Harbert College and the School of Accountancy to develop relationships with students and professors. Brent (B.J.) England (’01, information systems management) works with the CurbSmart app, an app which helps with school-line car dismissal that was featured in Harbert Magazine in 2019. They were recently awarded a contract from the USDA to provide an online application that allows families from across the states to apply for summer EBT benefits and have moved into international custom- ers. He is currently the COO of Nutri-Link Technologies, Inc., managing departments including DevOps, customer onboarding and support, and Project Managers. “The concepts I learned at Harbert have helped me throughout my 20 years in information technology.” Brent Heckart (’04, MBA) was promoted to chief financial officer at Elessent Clean Technologies in 2022. Work keeps him busy, but 2025 will be extra exciting as his oldest child graduates college, his middle graduates high school, and his youngest moves on as a high school upperclassman. As Elessent’s CFO he manages the compa- ny’s financial standing and operations through accurate and timely accounting, financial planning, treasury, tax, audit, risk, and compliance. He also directs the company’s global information technology. Jennifer Hester (’04, business adminis- tration) is the human resources manager at Petra, an insurance consulting firm in Birmingham, Alabama. Her busi- ness degree from Auburn initially led her into the advertising industry as a media planner. At 30, she decided to change careers and dove into the world of human resources. This change led her from Atlanta to Birmingham, and she has been there for 12 years.
Kea Calame (’02, finance) recently completed the $37 million redevelop- ment of the historic Daniel Pratt site in Prattville, Alabama and currently serves as the senior vice president at Envolve Communities LLC in Montgomery, Alabama. Ben Cook (’01, international business) was recently promoted to global head of customer service transformation for Ford Motor Company. He was recruited to Ford Model e by the Model e CEO before moving into a larger global role in September 2024, where he oversees busi- ness transformation through tech stack modernization of their front and back-end systems that impact their customers and dealers globally. Luke Crider (’08, accounting) began working for JDSAT, an operations research and data science firm in 2020 after a 22-year career in the Marine Corps. He became the lead for business devel- opment in 2021 and worked to bring innovative processes and standardized approaches to growing the business. His daughter, Lakelen, just started Auburn as a Biomedical Sciences student, and he and his wife, Sheree, are happy to be able to share a piece of the Auburn experience with her. “Critical thinking experiences I gained at Harbert have been valuable in each role since graduating.” Anna Davis (’01, accounting, ’02, MAcc) is now a tax partner in the Atlanta office of Hancock Askew & Co., LLP. She has over 20 years of experience in public account- ing and works primarily with high-net- worth individuals, executives, and retirees, providing tax compliance and consult- ing services as well as fiduciary and estate-planning services. She also works with many large real estate tax partner- ships and non-profit organizations. She is actively involved in recruiting for Hancock
Steve Higginbotham (’08, executive MBA) has been the CEO of Smile America Partners for nine years and was recently recognized with the Entrepreneur Of The Year Michigan and Northwest Ohio Award by Ernst & Young LLP. His work is rewarding as it helps brighten the smiles of 500,000 underserved schoolchildren each year. “My experiences at Auburn University, specifically Harbert College of Business where I earned my MBA, have helped me to remain focused on support- ing the growth and needs of others, align- ing incentives to perform optimally in achieving objectives.” Anna Holley (’05, finance) has been a senior asset manager for Greystone, a servicer for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for eight years and has been in the industry for 14. She manages a portfo- lio of multifamily loans, which includes analyzing financial statements, conduct- ing property inspections, assessing risk, completing property valuations, conduct- ing presentations on watchlist loans, and more. She has two children, Parrish and Katherine Davis, whom she brings back to the Plains often. Russell Jones (’06, finance) earned the designation of Master Municipal Clerk in June 2024. The MMC designation is given to those who complete demand- ing education requirements and have a record of significant contributions to their local government, community, and state. After graduating in May 2006 with a finance degree, he worked in the account- ing department for the City of Opelika for almost six years, and he served as Opelika’s city clerk for more than four years. Traci Kelley (’03, logistics) is the chief marketing officer at Auburn University Credit Union.
52 Harbert Magazine, Spring 2025
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