birminghamal.gov
Mayor Randall L. Woodfin has announced the appointment of Valerie Collins Thomas and Del Davis to the board of directors for the Birmingham Airport Authority. They will both serve in their roles through July 29, 2030.
“Valerie and Del are longtime servants of our community. Their impact spans both Birmingham and beyond,” said Mayor Woodfin. “The Birmingham Airport Authority has an international reach, and it is imperative that those who sit at the table as decision-makers and advocates are equipped to lead this entity toward success. I am confident in their service and look forward to their leadership.”
Valerie Collins Thomas serves as president & CEO of The VAL Group, Inc., a recruiting support service to UAB Hospital, Children’s of Alabama, and others who must showcase Birmingham to visitors or future residents. Her experience includes work with IBM for over thirteen years; nonprofit management and development as corporate relations director for United Way in NC; executive director of Pitt County’s Domestic Violence Center; director of development at the Allentown Art Museum in PA; manager of major gifts at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network; and director of development for the National Trauma Institute in TX. Collins Thomas is an active community supporter and serves as the chair of the board for Pepper Place Farmers Market, president of the UAB Arts Advisory Board, which includes the Alys Stephen Center, and treasurer of the UAB Women’s Club. She also serves on the board of directors for Create Birmingham, Railroad Park, and the Executive Council for the historic, First Methodist Church in downtown Birmingham.
Del Davis is the founder and CEO of Smart Growth Management, providing C-Level consulting services with a successful record of accomplishment as a strategist, marketing, and business development professional. Over the last 25 years, he has worked at the intersection of infrastructure, community, and economic development, capital improvement programs, and urban reinvestment, developing successful public-private partnerships with $2 billion dollars in deals that span construction programs in aviation, utility infrastructure, energy savings, public finance, and real estate development projects across the U.S. primarily in the southeast. He pursued his undergraduate studies in telecommunications at Alabama A&M University where he was a football letterman, is an alum of the environmental leadership program at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and is a licensed Realtor in the State of Alabama.
Current board members David Germany and Darlene Wilson have been re-appointed to serve through July 29, 2030.
The Birmingham Airport Authority was established in 1986 to manage the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and continue its growth. It is governed by a seven-member board of directors, appointed by the Mayor of the City of Birmingham and confirmed by the Birmingham City Council. The day-to-day operation is managed by the president and CEO and the Birmingham Airport Authority staff of over 100 employees within five departments.
