The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham welcomes four new board members, Gail Bayer, Meredith Calhoun, Alesia M. Jones, and Chris Kramer, for terms beginning in 2026. The Community Foundation is Alabama’s oldest and largest community foundation.
Learn more about our new board members:
Gail Bayer, community volunteer, is dedicated to making a difference in the Birmingham community. Bayer co-founded the Gail and Jeffrey Bayer Family Foundation at the Birmingham Jewish Federation and the Gail and Jeffrey Bayer Family Religious School Fund at Temple Emanu-El. In 2018, the Bayers chaired the effort to bring the Violins of Hope Program to Birmingham and established the Instruments of Hope Unity Fund. The field of interest fund was created with the guidance of the Aspen Institute, the Community Foundation, and community members to provide a sustainable resource for fostering civil discourse and action toward addressing complex challenges. In 2019, Bayer was honored by the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham for her leadership and creating change in our community.
Meredith Calhoun, commercial real estate developer, entrepreneur, and community leader, has more than 20 years of experience in adaptive reuse, historic redevelopment, and brokerage. She is the founder of Tessa Commercial Real Estate, a Birmingham-based firm focused on helping business owners create wealth through ownership and investment in commercial real estate. Calhoun currently serves on the Industrial Development Board for the City of Birmingham and has held leadership roles on numerous nonprofit boards, including REV Birmingham, the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!), The Literacy Council, and the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama. She is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. She was named one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 of the Decade and a 2024 Power 60 honoree. She is passionate about economic empowerment and inclusive growth.
Alesia M. Jones, principal consultant and owner of AMJ HR Solutions, LLC, brings more than 30 years of HR leadership experience from multiple industries, having recently retired as the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). In 2023, UAB and the Collat School of Business honored Jones by renaming the HR Management scholarship to the Alesia M. Jones HR Endowed Scholarship. Jones has served in executive HR positions at BE&K, Inc. and BellSouth. She is active in the Birmingham community and civic organizations such as The Rotary Club of Birmingham, The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, The HUB Community Development Corporation, and The Women’s Foundation of Alabama. She has served on various boards, including The American Cancer Society, The United Way of Central Alabama, Inc., The McWane Science Center, The Rotary Club of Birmingham Foundation, Oasis of Hope Counseling for Women and Children, and the Railroad Park Foundation. Jones is a 2025 graduate of Leadership Alabama.
Chris Kramer, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Brasfield & Gorrie, has more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of operational roles in their commercial, industrial, and institutional markets. He has led major projects across the Southeast in addition to several projects important to Birmingham including Railroad Park and Regions Field. Kramer has also driven company-wide innovation, technology, and strategic initiatives in other previous roles as Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Information Officer. He has been actively involved in numerous church, civic, community, and professional organizations and has participated in Leadership Birmingham, Leadership Alabama, and the Harvard Young American Leader Program. He currently serves on the boards of Aletheia House, The Exceptional Foundation, Prosper Birmingham, and Red Mountain Theatre, and is a member of the Auburn Engineering Alumni Council, UAB Engineering Advisory Board, Kiwanis, and several local and national construction and technology leadership groups. He was also recently named as one of Auburn University’s Distinguished Auburn Engineers.