OFFICERS
William J. Zawrotny, J.D., Board Chair
Zawrotny is a Partner at Jones Day, a global law firm and one of the largest law firms in the United States. He works extensively on mergers and acquisitions; cross-border transactions; transactional and corporate governance issues for public and private companies; and complex ownership and corporate governance issues for private companies. At the firm’s Atlanta office, Zawrotny is head of the Emerging Companies & Venture Committee, and he serves as corporate counsel for venture capital clients and companies in their early and growth stages. In addition to serving on ACE’s board of directors, Zawrotny currently is an advisory board member for the Department of Management of the Kansas State University College of Business Administration, and a member of the National Advisory Board for the Business Ethics Education Initiative. Zawrotny earned a J.D. from the University of Virginia and graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Business Administration from Kansas State University. He also served as a U.S. Army intelligence analyst from 1989 to 1997.
Sibyl Slade, CRPC®, B.S., Vice Chair
Slade is founder and president of IntegriVest Wealth Advisors, LLC. an independent financial services firm. She lends her 29 years of banking and finance experience to provide personalized comprehensive financial planning and advisory services to small business owners and professionals. In 2022, she was recognized as a Visionary for Advisor Group’s Women Forum. In 2019, she was a nominee for the Ladenburg Institute of Women & Finance. Prior to founding IntegriVest Wealth Advisors, LLC, Slade began her financial services career as a financial advisor with Waddell & Reed, where she was recognized as a recipient of Waddell & Reed’s 2015 Pacesetter as well as received her Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor Designation. In 2017, Slade became an independent financial advisor and emerged as an industry thought leader. A 21-year veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, in this capacity, she served as a senior regional community development manager for the Atlanta Fed’s community and economic development (CED) team whereby she provided regional and national input around these areas. Slade received a B.S. in planning and economic development from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. She is also a graduate of Kennesaw State University’s certification for financial planning program.
Dale Royal, CFA, M.S., Secretary
Royal is the Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in Atlanta, the 33rd metropolitan program office for the national social enterprise, which invests $1.5 billion annually in economic development, affordable housing, community safety, good schools, and local health, while also helping people build the skills they need to compete for living wage jobs. Previously, Royal was president of Atlanta Emerging Markets Inc., a community development entity owned by Invest Atlanta. He was responsible for all aspects of the agency’s involvement in the new markets tax credit (NMTC) program and other public-private partnerships. Royal has a 25-year track record in financing community development projects, with a total of one billion in transactions to develop transit, affordable housing, commercial buildings and mixed-use developments. He is also a leader in developing new funding programs such as venture capital, EB-5 foreign investment and PACE financing for green buildings. Prior to joining Invest Atlanta, Royal worked at Self-Help Credit Union, San Diego’s downtown redevelopment agency, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, San Francisco Housing Authority and Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. A Los Angeles native, Royal holds a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of California at Irvine.
Grace Lopez-Williams, CPA, PFP, MBA, CTRS, Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair
Lopez-Williams is President and CEO of Grace M. Williams CPA P.C., a certified public accounting and consulting services firm established in 1997. Lopez-Williams was the first Latina appointed by Governor Roy Barnes to the WorkForce Investment Board, and by Governor Sonny Perdue to the Georgia State Board of Accountancy. She has received many prestigious awards, including Business Woman of the Year from the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and has been recognized as one of Atlanta’s Most Powerful and Influential Women in Business by Women Looking Ahead magazine. Additionally, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business magazine. Lopez-Williams has a passion for education and served as the President and Founder of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the University of Puerto Rico, and a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University in New Orleans. Lopez-Williams has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1989.
MEMBERS
Miguel Alandete, M.A., Loan Committee Chair
Alandete is the Senior Vice President – SBA Lending Sales Manager at First Horizon Bank in Atlanta, where he oversees a dedicated team of eight SBA product specialists that provide government guaranteed lending products such as the SBA 7(a) and 504 loans. He is an exceptional leader with a proven track record in leading SBA lending efforts. With over 25 years of lending experience – almost all of which were devoted to SBA lending – he brings a wide range of experience in lending to small business customers. His previous roles included Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Wells Fargo and leadership positions with Hamilton State Bank and Regions. At Regions Financial Corporation, he was Senior Vice President and Government Guaranty Lending Manager where he was responsible for overseeing government lending programs across Regions’ 16-state footprint. He also served as the bank’s liaison to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and various Certified Development Companies (CDCs). In addition, he held various leadership and business development roles at CDCs throughout Georgia and the Pacific Northwest, including in GA Small Business Capital, Capital Partners Certified Development Company, and Evergreen Business Capital. In addition to his banking experience, Alandete is involved with state and local small business organizations. He is a founding member and past chair of the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle – an SBA Lenders’ Association and a member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. He obtained a BS degree in Accounting from York College of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.
Matthew D. Bozzelli, J.D., Immediate Past Chair
Bozzelli is Deputy General Counsel (East) for Southern Company and is primarily responsible for several legal practice areas including corporate, energy regulation, legal operations and technology. He joined Southern Company Services in September 2014 as Associate General Counsel and served as Practice Group Leader of the Business Development, M&A, Legal Operations, Innovation and Integration legal team. He is a frequent author and speaker on corporate governance, public company disclosure and transactional matters. Bozzelli is also a director of The Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-interest law center with the mission to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. In 2017, Bozzelli was named a 40 Under 40 Awards honoree by the Atlanta Business Chronicle for his professional and community accomplishments. Previously, he spent 12 years as a corporate attorney at King & Spalding in Atlanta, advising public and private companies on capital markets transactions, securities, corporate governance and M&A. He is the former director and vice chairman of the Georgia Micro Enterprise Network, a nonprofit industry association focused on economic development. Bozzelli received a Bachelor of Business Administration, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 1999, and a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School in 2002.
Grace Fricks, MBA, Board Member
Fricks founded ACE in 1999 and currently serves as President and CEO. She is one of Bizwomen’s 100 Women to Watch, a Women Who Mean Business Honoree by Atlanta Business Chronicle and one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine. She was honored with a Vision of Excellence Award by the Atlanta Business League and presented with the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award by Startup Atlanta. SBA Georgia named Fricks as Financial Services Champion of the Year. Fricks currently serves on the Advisory Board for Atlanta’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI), the Board of Directors of Appalachian Community Capital, the Fifth Third Advisory Board and Invest Atlanta’s New Market Tax Credit Board. She is a past member of the National Board of Directors of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) and Board of Trustees of North Georgia Technical College. Fricks, a small-business owner for more than 15 years, is also a former Board Member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Atlanta chapter. Her undergraduate is in social work from University of Tennessee at Martin and her MBA is from the University of Memphis.
Mary Kepler, MBA, Board Member
Kepler recently retired from her role as senior vice president and chief risk and compliance officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In this role, she led the Bank’s compliance and enterprise risk identification and management efforts, and the Retail Payments Risk Forum. Her responsibilities with the Forum included collaborating with financial institutions and other industry participants, regulators, and law enforcement to identify, understand, and mitigate risks in retail payments. Kepler joined the Atlanta Fed’s supervision and regulation department in 1992 after spending nearly eight years at the Kansas City Fed. In 1998, she was promoted to assistant vice president in the information technology department and in 2002 was named vice president. Kepler later joined the Retail Payments Office (RPO) and in 2005, she became the senior officer over human resources. There, she chaired the Bank’s human resources committee and was an adviser to the management committee. In 2007, Mary took on new responsibilities in the financial management and planning department, where she oversaw the accounting, budgeting, procurement, strategic planning, and enterprise risk management functions. From 2009 through 2017, she served on the board of the Greater Women’s Business Council, a nonprofit organization providing certification for women-owned business enterprises. She served as Vice Chair in 2016 and Chair in 2016 and 2017. Mary has a passion for supporting causes associated with women, girls and opportunity garnered through sports, personal and professional development and entrepreneurship.
Rep. Marvin Lim, JD, Board Member
Lim is a securities attorney with Holcomb + Ward, LLP; a State Representative for House District 98, which includes portions of unincorporated Norcross, Tucker, and Lilburn in Gwinnett County; and CEO/Founder of the Lucky Shoals Community Association. Marvin immigrated to Georgia from the Philippines at the age of seven, eventually earning his Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and his Juris Doctor degree at Yale Law School.
Hollis Linginfelter, CFA, Investment Committee Chair
Linginfelter has extensive banking experience in both production and credit risk management, and currently serves as Managing Director responsible for Credit Risk for Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking at Truist Securities. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from The University of Virginia and her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Georgia State University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst. In addition to serving on the Board of the Jekyll Island Foundation, Hollis is a coach in Buckhead Christian Ministries’ Budget for Life program. A member of Northside United Methodist Church, she has led the Preschool Board, the Finance Committee and the Missions Committee there. Previous volunteer activities include KIPP Metro Atlanta Development Committee, Camp Evergreen Board of Directors, Morris Brandon PTA President, Ecumenical Atlanta Churches for the Homeless Treasurer, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Child Life Volunteer. A native of Rome, Hollis calls Atlanta home. She has three adult children.
Stephanie Martin, MAcc, Board Member
Martin brings a diverse perspective to the boardroom combining deep financial expertise strategy and governance to deliver thoughtful questions and insights that help drive informed decisions. As an SEC qualified financial expert, she has assessed the general application of GAAP to accounting for estimates, accruals, and reserves. She also has extensive experience preparing, analyzing, and evaluating financial statements to be presented in the company’s internal and external financial reports. As an executive and board member with more than 30 years of business experience, she has guided organizations through complex restructuring and capital improvement initiatives totaling over $50 million. Her diverse career experiences include for-profit, privately owned, and not-for-profit organizations. She possesses extensive knowledge of finance, strategy and operations that crosses multiple industries including waste, healthcare, telecom, and member based. Martin is Chief Financial Officer for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and holds a Master of Accounting degree from Kennesaw State University, Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Accounting from Winthrop University and passed all four parts of the CPA exam. A native of South Carolina, she is an avid golfer, sports enthusiast, and resides in Marietta, GA.
Carlos Mata, MBA, Board Member
Mata is a 30-year veteran of the mortgage industry and has been the recipient of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia’s Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Awards for excellence in mortgage banking. He was also selected as one of the top 250 Hispanic Loan Originators in the country by the National Associations of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). A native of Panama City, Panama, Mata received his BS in Economics and Finance from the University of Tennessee at Martin, and an MBA in International Business from Georgia State University. In 1999 Carlos founded the Atlanta Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBA known today as Prospanica. Leadership in business and the community earned Carlos an inclusion on the list of up and commers forty under 40 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Carlos lives in Brookhaven with his wife and two sons.
Courtney I. Smith, MCRP, Board Member
Smith joined PNC Financial in 2013 and leads the bank’s Community Development efforts for Georgia and Alabama. He has an impressive background as a community development professional with experience in creating community reinvestment opportunities, leading self-sufficiency programs, generating small-business and microlending activities, and managing retail and commercial banking activities. He is actively involved in the community and currently serves on the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership One Home Makes A Difference advisory committee, the Habitat for Humanity Georgia Board of Directors, the Habitat for Humanity International CDFI Advisory Board and the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Community Investment Committee. Smith has been honored as a one of Atlanta Business League’s 2016 Men of Influence, was named the 2014 Kappa Alpha Psi (Decatur Alumni) Kappa Man of the Year and received the 2014 Atlanta Tribune Men of Influence Award. Prior to working at PNC, Smith served as Vice President, Community Affairs for Regions Financial and Vice President, Community Development Manager for SunTrust Bank Atlanta. Smith received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of Memphis.