Danny McKinney, a co-founder and partner in McKinney Capital, has been named the new chairman of the Birmingham Promise board of directors.
McKinney is succeeding Leroy Abrahams, a Regions Bank executive who has served as the board’s chair since Birmingham Promise was created in 2019.
“Danny has been a valuable member of our board for two years, and we are fortunate to have someone with his experience and passion ready to step into the leadership role,” said Samantha Williams, executive director of Birmingham Promise.
McKinney said he looks forward to the opportunity to build on the legacy that has been created under Abrahams’ guiding hand.
“We’re at a point in Birmingham Promise’s history where we are not just able to see the wonderful investments that are being made in our city’s young people; we are also starting to see students who have benefited from scholarships and internships complete their education and set out on their career journey,” said McKinney, a graduate of the University of Alabama and Harvard Business School. “It’s a win for them and a win for our city.”
Joining the Birmingham Promise board are Nick Willis, the greater Alabama regional president for PNC, and Mary Pat Lawrence, the senior vice president for government affairs at Protective Life.
Willis has led PNC’s Alabama market since 2017 and helped spearhead the 2021 acquisition of BBVA, which made PNC one of metro Birmingham’s largest banks. Prior to his time with PNC Bank, the University of Alabama graduate worked for Regions Bank and IberiaBank. Under Willis’ leadership, PNC gave Birmingham Promise $10 million, its largest private donation to date.
“PNC and I believe in the mission of Birmingham Promise,” Willis said. “Equipping students in Birmingham City Schools for college and career success is an investment in their future and in our future as a city.”
Lawrence has seen first-hand how internships can change the course of a student’s life. She attended the University of Alabama for undergraduate and law school, where she received an opportunity to intern for then-U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. That experience led her to return to Washington to work on Capitol Hill as a lobbyist and lawyer for 20 years before returning to Alabama to work at Protective Life.
“Joining the Birmingham Promise board means having a chance to make a real difference in the lives of students,” Lawrence said. “By exposing them to career possibilities and supporting their college journey, Birmingham Promise inspires young people to set big goals and to accomplish them.”
Birmingham Promise provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of Birmingham City Schools who attend public colleges and universities in Alabama. It also manages a paid internship program that allows high school seniors to spend time working at local businesses and build valuable job skills.
