One of the greatest things about Momentum is the powerful alumnae network. Periodically we interview these amazing women about their experience in our program.

Jennifer Buettner is the Executive Director of the Birmingham Bar Association, an association of approximately 3,500 attorneys in the greater Birmingham area. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the BBA, which provides a range of services to members in their practices. In her role, Jennifer ensures that the BBA offers meaningful educational and professional programs for attorneys, hosts events where members can network and get to know each other, provides opportunities for attorneys to develop leadership competencies, and encourages attorneys to engage in public service.

Jennifer also serves as the Executive Director of the Birmingham Bar Foundation, which is the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the BBA whose mission is to unify the philanthropic and educational efforts of the BBA.

Before becoming Executive Director of the BBA and the BBF, Jennifer was a practicing attorney for 18 years. She began her legal career with Balch & Bingham and, after becoming a partner, moved to an in-house position with Southern Company. Throughout her career at Southern Company, she took on roles of increasing responsibility, first focusing on transactional matters and then moving into an executive level position at the nuclear power division of the company.

In addition to being a Momentum alumna, Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors for Oasis and Hand in Paw and is a past President of The Literacy Council Board of Directors. She is married to Ernest Bates and they are the parents of Claire, a 5-pound bobtailed cat who thinks she is a dog. Both Jennifer and Ernest are Birmingham natives and enjoy all of the exciting restaurants, bars, events and opportunities that Birmingham has to offer our community.

What did you gain from your Momentum experience? 

Momentum allowed me to see that it is not only okay, but also necessary, to focus on myself, improve myself and care for myself. Men are terrific at focusing on themselves, but women need to be better at it. We need to realize that to be good leaders we must be self-aware and continually on a path of improvement. I also gained some strong friendships that have lasted more than a decade since I was in the program.

What is one piece of leadership advice you have been given that has helped you in your career?

If I say that I am going to do something, do it now and do it right. One of the key elements of integrity is follow-through, and the more immediately you take action, the better.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you tell your 18-year-old self?

Don’t be in a rush to be a grown up. Take a gap year. Enjoy every experience open to you. That’s where true learning happens.

What challenges do you think the next generation of women leaders face?

Women will continue to face many of the same challenges we have always faced and one of the reasons for that is that women are not well represented in state and federal legislatures, on the bench and in executive offices. We need to encourage women to run for political office and support those who do.

What do you think organizations need to do differently for more women to rise into executive roles?

Businesses need to allow for more flexible work schedules – the reality is that women are the primary caregivers to children and parents and the business day needs to recognize that reality.

What three words do you think should characterize every leader?

Decisive, Dependable, Optimistic

How do you manage your career, home, and community life?

I achieve balance by starting every day with exercise. That’s what gives me energy to be active all day and to enjoy all of the things that need to be accomplished throughout the day rather than just slogging through them!

What advice do you have for aspiring leaders?

Embrace all opportunities, be very open to change, and don’t underestimate yourself.

One of the greatest things about MOMENTUM is the powerful alumnae network. Periodically we interview these amazing women about their experience.

As senior vice president and deputy general counsel, Leigh Davis is responsible for generation energy policy, legal and operations strategies for Southern Company’s operations organization, which includes generation, transmission, engineering and construction services, system planning, research and environmental affairs, and the company’s competitive generation business units. She is a graduate of MOMENTUM’s Class of 2008.

What did you gain from your MOMENTUM experience?

Lifelong friends and a growing network of professional women leaders to learn from and lean on.

What is one piece of leadership advice you have been given that has helped you in your career?

Be yourself and have confidence in your own unique strengths and abilities.

What challenges do you think the next generation of women leaders face?

Increasing the value creation to be gained by having more substantive and diverse representation in all levels of leadership, especially at the higher levels of executive management. A lot of value creation is still being left on the table in every industry that an entire workforce would benefit from.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you tell your 18 year-old self?

Relax!

What three words do you think should characterize every leader?

Integrity, Courage, Excellence.

How do you find balance in your career, home and community life?

There is no balance. Preparation and prioritization are both critical so you can more fully enjoy your busy life with all of its competing demands. Leverage resources you need to fit your own lifestyle and needs without feeling guilty or comparing yourself to others. Be disciplined with what you choose to take on and what you shed from your life.

What other advice would you like to give to women in leadership roles or to those aspiring to lead?

Collaborate, be viewed as one who includes others. Seek to be as approachable, genuine, and trustworthy as possible.

Dana W. Nolan
Executive Vice President, Head of Investor Relations
Regions

Dana Nolan serves as the Head of Investor Relations at Regions, a regional bank that operates throughout the South, Midwest and Texas and is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.  Regions is a member of the S&P 500 Index and ranks on the Fortune 500 listing of America’s largest companies.

Nolan joined Regions in 1989. Prior to assuming her current role, she was named associate director of investor relations in 2010 and had previously held a number of positions including Wholesale Funding and Liquidity Manager and head of Debt and Capital Management, both in the bank’s Treasury Division.

Nolan earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is a graduate of the Bank Administrative Institute’s Graduate School of Bank Financial Management at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and a member of the bank’s Senior Leadership group.

What did you gain from your MOMENTUM experience?
MOMENTUM provided an invaluable opportunity to connect with professional women and hear their stories of success, ambition, efforts and concerns.  It was an empowering experience that motivated me to invest in myself.

What is one piece of leadership advice you have been given that has helped you in your career?
Leverage your successes along the way.  Continually remind management of your accomplishments, skills and expertise.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you tell your 18 year old self?
Rid yourself of preconceived notions of what you “should do” or what you are “supposed to be”.  Career options and choices are limitless.

What three words do you think should characterize every leader?
Humble, determined and visionary

How do you find balance in your career, home, and community life?
Successfully integrating career, family, and personal life continues to be an ongoing challenge.  While I’ve made decisions I regret, I try to learn from those experiences and adjust accordingly.  I am also more comfortable outsourcing certain household tasks and responsibilities which has been very liberating.

Is there a book that has been helpful to you in your career? If so, please share the title and author.
I enjoy reading a variety of books, but I am particularly fond of good biographies.   David McCullough is one of my favorite authors.  Clearly, biographies are informative, but they are often inspirational.  For me, they offer mentors at a distance and promote self discovery.

Is there anything else you would like to share? Advice you would like to give women in leadership?
Women have the tendency to focus and concentrate on tactical rather than strategic leadership. We need to put most decisions in a strategic context and then broadly communicate that context.   Identify new opportunities and trends in your environment and then chart a course that inspires women and men throughout your organization.

Cheri L. Canon, M.D., F.A.C.R. is a Professor and Witten-Stanley Endowed Chair of Radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Radiology. She completed her undergraduate training at the University of Texas at Austin, followed by medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch. After completing her residency training in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), she joined the faculty in the Abdominal Imaging section.

Dr. Canon served as the Radiology Residency Program Director and Vice Chair of Education for seven years. She served as the UAB School of Medicine Curriculum Committee Chair, during which time an organ-based curriculum was implemented. She then served as Senior Vice Chair of Operations and Division Director of Diagnostic Radiology before her appointment as Chair. She serves on the UAB Health Services Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Canon served as an oral examiner for the American Board of Radiology (ABR) for eleven years. She is a member of the ABR Oral Exam Committee for GI and Chairs the GI Committee for the ABR Certifying and Maintenance of Certification Examinations. She received the ABR Lifetime Service Award in 2013. She is the Chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Commission on Education and the ACR 2015 Program Committee. She sits on the ACR Board of Chancellors. Additionally, she sits on the Boards of Directors for the Association of University Radiologists, the American Institute of Radiologic Pathology, and the Academy of Radiology Research, on which she serves as Academic Council Chair. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

What did you gain from your Momentum experience?

A close network of lifelong friends and colleagues on whom I still rely on to this day, a renewed energy and enthusiasm for my career goals, and a valuable resource for ongoing leadership development.

What is one piece of leadership advice you have been given that has helped you in your career?

Don’t leave decisions to chance. Do your homework before the meeting, discuss strategic variables  in advance with key stakeholders, and know their position before the vote. Don’t assume you can sway them in the board room with data and discussion. By then, the decision has already been made.

What challenges do you think the next generation of women leaders face?

The ongoing challenge of establishing the value of women in leadership. Although we have made great strides, there is much more work to be done.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you tell your 18 year old self?

Be patient, relax, and take it all in. Things happen in due time and shouldn’t be rushed. And always follow your intuition.

What three words should characterize every leader?

Emotionally intelligent, optimistic.

How do find balance in your career, home, and community life?

Still a work in progress and improving every year. I should be there by age 90 or so.

Is there a book that has been helpful to you in your career?

Tough question. There have been so many, and many I go back and re-read depending on the current challenges and environment. My husband would say The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Every problem and leadership challenge  in the world can be solved with the basic principles in this book.

Anything else you would like to share? Advice?

Everything, career, leadership, marriage, family, is a journey with many ups and downs. Be patient and value what you have as it is ever-changing. Don’t waste a moment.

Brief Bio

Anne Marie enjoys pulling together the moving parts in multi-forum or multi-plaintiff high-stakes litigation.  In her cases, she partners with her clients to approach the challenges of litigation in efficient and creative ways.  Currently, she is using these skills to help a major facilitator of online travel reservations respond to cases across the country.  She also played a central role advising HealthSouth Corporation as it defended and prosecuted claims relating to a massive accounting fraud perpetrated against it by corporate officers.  That litigation resulted in a $2.8 billion verdict against the company’s former CEO and $100 million from a settlement with the company’s former investment bank. Anne Marie’s practice has taken her to trial in venues as diverse as Alabama state and federal courts, AAA arbitrations, and the Tribal Court of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Continue reading “Facetime with Anne Marie Seibel” →