Cathy Wright has been named chair of the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the state’s oldest and largest community foundation. The Community Foundation also announced that Nancy Goedecke and Vivian Mora are joining the board with terms starting in 2021.
Cathy Wright, JD, LEED AP, a founding partner of Clarus Consulting Group, recently retired when she sold her interest to a group of employees. She has consulted with organizations ranging from international business, government to nonprofits. Prior to entering consulting, Ms. Wright was a founding partner of the law firm of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, LLC where she practiced business and commercial litigation. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Association and the Alabama Bar Association. She has been an Adjunct Professor of Law. She also was an Instructor at the Duke University Nicholas School for the Environment. A certified Mediator, Ms. Wright was a founding member of the Alabama Academy of Attorney Mediators.
She serves on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of MONY Life Insurance Company, a Protective Life subsidiary. She is the principal author of The Status of Women in Alabama and a member of the Board of Directors of Leadership Birmingham and the Executive Committee. She received the Birmingham Bar Association’s Burton L. Barnes Award for Public Service and the Alabama State Bar Association Indigent Defense Award. Ms. Wright is married to Michael L. Hall and they have three children, David, Nathan and Elizabeth Hall.
Nancy Goedecke is the Chair of the Board & CEO of Mayer, her family’s 90-year old business. Prior to her role as Chair/CEO she served as Vice Chair. Nancy also serves as a member of Mayer’s Advisory Board, Executive Leadership Team and Strategic Natural Team. In addition to being involved in the business, Nancy has spent a great deal of time volunteering in the community. In 2018 and 2019, she served as the chair of the board of directors of the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and was the 2019 Chair of the Birmingham Business Alliance. In 2020, Nancy completed her terms on the Fed board as well as the board of Blue Cross Blue Shield. She continues to serve on the boards of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, the Birmingham Zoo (Chair in 2020/2021), McKinney Capital, Smile-A-Mile, UAB Leadership Council and United Way. Nancy recently joined the board of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Nancy has received several local and national award recognitions. Most recently she has received the Yellowhammer Women of Impact Award (2017), Momentum’s Woman of Leadership Award (2016), Girl Scout’s Mildred Bell Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), AL.COM’s Women Who Shape the State Award (2015), and the National Philanthropy Day United Way of Central Alabama Outstanding Civic Leader Award (2014). She is also a recipient of the Central Alabama Women’s Business Center Alabama Roses Award, Girl Scout Women of Distinction Award and Junior League Shining Star Award.
Although her business and civic involvement are important to Nancy, her real passion is her family… sons David and Scott, daughter-in-laws Jayna and Lauren, granddaughter Ava and grandson Alex.
Vivian Mora became a pioneer in the Hispanic Insurance Market in Central Alabama when she opened a full-service bilingual State Farm office in 2009 in Hoover. Its success in the Hispanic marketplace is built on playing an active role in the community, through the local Hispanic media, community events and support of non-profit organizations. In April of 2020, she started her second office in the City of Irondale, as the first State Farm agent in the state of Alabama with a second location.
Vivian worked for over two years as Assistant Public Information Officer and Hispanic Liaison for the Mayor’s Office of the City of Birmingham. In that position, she advised Mayor Bernard Kincaid on Hispanic issues, represented the Mayor and the City in meeting and events and coordinated public and media relations for the Mayor and staff. Vivian also help establish and worked as the Vice-President for Hola Latino, the first Hispanic Marketing Agency and Spanish Media Production Firm in the state
Born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Spanish father and Danish-Yugoslavian mother, Vivian moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2000. Vivian holds a BA in Social Communications, Public Relations, from Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo, Brazil, a Master’s degree in Culture and Communication in Science and Technology from the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain and a Master’s degree in Communication Management from UAB. Vivian is married to Hernan Prado, and is the proud mom of two sons, Alex and Alan.