Featured Speaker
Brittany Wagner is a nationally respected athletic academic counselor, life coach, and motivational speaker best known for her role as the breakout star of the hit Netflix documentary series, Last Chance U. Recognized for her compassion, encouragement, and no-nonsense attitude, Brittany often times served as mentor, mother, and disciplinarian behind college football’s most inspiring success stories. Many of these young men fighting to overcome run-ins with the law, extreme poverty, abandonment and a complete lack of academic preparedness. Brittany’s inadvertent stardom led to feature interviews with ABC’s Nightline, The Dan Patrick Show, The Kidd Kraddick In the Morning Show, GQ, The New York Times and New York Daily News – to name just a few.
Prior to filming the documentary series, Brittany spent over fifteen years working with college athletes at various levels. During her eight years at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi, she helped over 200 football players academically qualify for nationally respected NCAA Division I schools. All of the students Brittany previously advised who made it to the NFL also hold college degrees.
Over the past two years, Brittany has traveled all over the United States as a motivational speaker. In the fall of 2017, she launched her own company, Ten Thousand Pencils (10KP). Through 10KP, Brittany is able to pursue her passion of helping at-risk youth by working individually with high school and college administrators, counselors, and teachers on building relationships with these type students to better understand and support their emotional, social and academic needs.
Ms. Wagner earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Mississippi State University and currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. She is the proud mom of one daughter, Kennedy.
Other Speakers
Augustus L. Collins is the Chief Executive Officer of MINACT Inc., a leading workforce training, development and management corporation headquartered in Jackson, MS. Collins has been in that position since September 2016. MINACT contracts with the United States Department of Labor to operate Job Corps Centers across the nation. MINACT currently has operations in Alabama, California, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota, and Tennessee.
Prior to being appointed to his current position, he served for more than 35 years in the United States Army and the Army National Guard, including tours as the Director of Mobilization Forces, U.S. Army Forces Command, the Commander of the 155th Separate Armored Brigade in the Iraqi Theater of Operations and his final position as the Adjutant General for the Mississippi National Guard.
Collins initially retired from the Army in 2007 and was appointed as Commissioner, Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. However, in January 2012 Governor Bryant requested that he be recalled from military retirement and was appointed as the Adjutant General for the Mississippi National Guard. In that role, he commanded a force of more than 12,500 service members from both the Mississippi Army National and the Mississippi Air National Guard. He served in that position until his retirement as a Major General in August 2016.
Collins currently serves on the Board of Directors for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Trustmark National Bank, Mississippi Power Company, and the Armed Forces Benefit Association. He is a Past Chairman of the Mississippi Economic Council, the Chamber of Commerce for the State of Mississippi. He a Past President of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, the current Vice Chairman of the University of Mississippi Foundation and serves on the board of directors of Friends of Mississippi Veterans. He previously served on the board of directors of the National Guard Association of the United States and is a former member of the Governor’s Commission on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Collins has been the recipient of many awards and decorations to include the Distinguished Service Medal; the Legion of Merit (with OLC); the Champion of Justice Award, presented by the Mississippi Center of Justice; Trailblazer and Forerunner Award, presented by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.,; Top 25 Most Influential African American in Mississippi; the Distinguished Citizen Award, presented by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.,; and the Whitney M. Young Service Award, presented by the Boy Scouts of America. Collins is also an inductee into the Alumni Halls of Fame at the University of Mississippi, Northeast Mississippi Junior College, the Mississippi Military Academy’s Officer Candidate School and the Jackson State University ROTC.
Collins earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Business Administration from Jackson State University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. He has also completed studies at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School.
Collins and his wife Debra reside in Madison, Mississippi.
Dr. Lewin is the Chief Medical Officer of On Demand Pharmaceuticals (ODP). Part of the founding executive team, he currently oversees the quality, regulatory, and pharmacy functions and is developing ODPs distributed and point-of-care manufacturing approach. He is also an associate professor of anesthesiology & critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and maintains a part-time clinical pharmacy practice in the neurosciences critical care unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Prior to joining ODP full-time, Dr. Lewin was the director of the Critical Care & Surgery pharmacy division at Johns Hopkins for 11 years. Prior roles included clinical specialist positions at Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Dr. Lewin earned his PharmD degree from the Temple University School of Pharmacy, his MBA from the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business, and completed a PGY1 and PGY2 critical care residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. He has over 20 years of critical care pharmacy experience, with a primary focus on neurological critical care. He is an author of over 55 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, and has delivered over 75 invited presentations at local, national, or international conferences. He is a past-president of the Maryland Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the American College of Critical Care Medicine and the Neurocritical Care Society. He is a previous member of the board of directors and executive committee for the Neurocritical Care Society.
Alfredo Morales, MD, MHA, MSML is the System Director of Virtual Care for North Mississippi Health Services. Currently responsible for the direction and leadership of operational, financial, programmatic, personnel, and growth activities for North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS) Virtual Care Department.
A leading force in digital healthcare strategy and operations. He has led virtual care initiatives across the USA for 9 years. He joined NMHS in 2022 from Grady Health in Atlanta GA, serving as the lead applications architect for their Digital Engagement Team. Prior to that, Alfredo held leadership and digital roles in Banner Health and Philips Healthcare.
Dr. Morales holds a Medical Degree from Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena, a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Grand Canyon University, and a Master’s in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Health Data Management, a Board member of the Mississippi Telehealth Association. He holds a certificate from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on Quality and Safety alongside Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
Shane Spees is the president and chief executive officer of North Mississippi Health Services. Before joining NMHS, he served as president and CEO for Baptist Health System in Birmingham from 2007-2013. He previously worked in Texas, where he was president from 2004-2007 of Valley Baptist Hospital Holdings, Inc., which serves the Rio Grande Valley, and senior vice president and chief executive officer of Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, all of which are part of Valley Baptist Health System. Spees held several leadership roles within the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, which serves the greater Houston area and much of Southeast Texas, from 1995-2004.
He received his master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Houston at Clear Lake in 1997, where he was recognized for academic and leadership excellence. Spees graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor of public administration degree in 1992 and the Ole Miss School of Law with his juris doctor in 1995. He was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1995.
Cody Smith is a 2016 graduate of the University of Mississippi where he majored in Public Policy Leadership and was a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Lott Leadership Institute. Cody graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2019. Upon graduation and completing the Mississippi Bar Exam, he joined Governor Phil Bryant’s Office as Associate General Counsel and Policy Advisor. Once Gov. Bryant left office in 2020, Cody joined the Mississippi Division of Medicaid and is currently serving as an attorney and legislative liaison for the Division.
Aaron Sisk was named Plan President & CEO for Magnolia Health Plan on May 10th of 2016. Mr. Sisk was promoted to CEO from his role as Chief Operating Officer, a position that he held with Magnolia since joining the company in May of 2013. Originally from Madison, MS, Aaron received his Juris Doctor in May of 2003, from the University of Mississippi School of Law and became an active member of the Mississippi Bar in October of that same year. Prior to that, Aaron completed his undergraduate education at Mississippi State University, earning a B.A. in Sociology with a certificate in Criminal Justice.
Prior to joining Magnolia, Aaron served as a Senior Attorney for the Mississippi Department of Insurance and Director of the Department’s Life and Health Actuarial Division. A large part of Aaron’s work with the Department involved monitoring market reforms associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and managing the Department’s efforts to implement a state-based health insurance exchange for Mississippi.
Aaron serves as a Board member for the Mississippi Life and Health Guaranty Association, the Mississippi Association of Self Insurers, the American Cancer Society, and President of the Mississippi Association of Health Plans. In 2021, Aaron was named volunteer of the year for the Mississippi Chapter of the American Cancer Society, due in large part to his role as Chair for the 2021 ACS Hope Ball which raised over $850,000 to support the Hope Lodge in Jackson, MS.
Aaron currently resides in Madison, MS, with his wife Brittany and their two daughters, Ella & Harper.
Lee Greer, M.D., serves as Corporate Medical Director for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, A Mutual Insurance Company.
Dr. Greer holds an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University, a medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and a Master of Business Administration degree from Yale University. He is certified with the American Board of Family Medicine with a Certificate of Added Qualification – Geriatric Medicine.
In his role as Corporate Medical Director, Dr. Greer acts as a liaison between Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and the Provider community and supports the development and monitoring of the Company’s Quality Management programs to include quality of care best practices. He also provides physician expertise in Company corporate and strategic initiatives and assignments.
Dr. Greer serves on the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association – Mississippi Chapter, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Mississippi Colorectal Roundtable. He has previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Information and Quality Healthcare and the Chairman of the Physician Leadership Committee for the Mississippi Hospital Association.
Dr. Greer is a Member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Mississippi State Medical Association and the American Geriatrics Society.
Dr. Greer is married to Reena Greer. They have one daughter.