Advisory Board Member

Thad T. Dean, CPA, CCIM (The Wealth Society Expert) is a financial and real estate executive with over 20 years of experience. He is the founder and President of The Wealth Society, LLC an organization that develops entrepreneurs, athletes, and entertainers building wealth all across the country. WealthSociety members benefit from his financial, real estate investing, and tax expertise. Thad previously owned two Exit Realty Source One franchises (Lithonia & South Fulton), which consistently lead Georgiain real estate revenue and sales. He was recognized as one of the most distinguished real estate brokers and was featured on the cover of Broker/Agent Magazine in 2009. His approach to wealth-building seminars is proven as he provides advice on real estate investing, tax strategies, sales, and financial education. Thad is a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University with a degree in Accounting. He is an active member of The Georgia Society of CPAs and has been a Certified Public Accountant for over 19 years. His wealth-building seminars are essential to developing and sustaining generational wealth!

Advisory Board Member

Kai V. Dean is a native of Pensacola, Florida. Kai graduated sum-cum-laude from Bethune-CookmanUniversity in 1992 with a BS degree in accounting and a minor in Marketing. Kai was blessed to enter college as a UNCF-Toyota Motor Sales Scholar. Additionally, the scholarship awarded Kai a four-year summer internship at Toyota Motor Sales Corporate office in Torrance, CA. Each four-year summer internship experience offered Kai the opportunity to gain personal hands-on mentorship from top level corporate executives on the West Coast. This exposure changed her life and planted seeds of endless possibilities. During Kai’s college matriculation, she was elected MissBethune-Cookman University in 1992. As Miss BCU, Kai was first introduced into the world of philanthropy within the non-profit sector. In college, Kai became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Upon graduation, Kai worked in multiple Fortune500 companies such as Price-Waterhouse Coopers Public Accounting Firm, Cox Communications, Inc., AT@T (Bellsouth Corporation), Black Entertainment Television (BET), and the Walt Disney Company. During her corporate tenure, Kai held many management positions such as senior Financial Auditor, Senior Project Manager, IT Business Manager, Director of Financial Operations, Director of Development, and Director of Program Services just to name a few.

Advisory Board Member

CFO of McKenneys, Inc., and graduate of the TheUniversity of Georgia. Financial executive with over 25years of results-oriented experience in a diverse mix of industries, including construction, Big 4 public accounting, media, and mortgage origination and financing. Expertise in: restructuring of businesses to drive process improvement, reducing costs and enhancing profits; raising capital via both IPO and secondary equity and debt offerings; marketing and sale of business segments to 3rd parties; re-engineering SEC reporting function and Sarbanes Oxley processes to improve quality and timeliness of reported information; alignment of forecasts and long-range plans with business strategy; effective leadership of multiple finance departments and projects with a large number of diverse staff; negotiation and administration of insurance plans, and building relationships across multi-functional divisions to accomplish business objectives.

Advisory Board Member

Mrs. Nicole Shaw is a proud alumnus of Alabama State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Language Arts Education and Master’s degree in English. She continued her education at Lincoln Memorial University and received her Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. While attending ASU, she was a part of Student Government and served as a former Miss Alabama State University. She’s a member of Delta Sigma ThetaSorority and a member of ASU's inaugural class “50 under 50.”

Her professional career in education began in Montgomery, AL as a middle/high school teacher. She has also served as an instructional coach, assistant principal, principal, and at the district level as an assistant superintendent. Although education is truly a calling, her most enjoyable role in education has been serving as principal of Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia. Under her leadership, Dutchtown High School was recognized as one of America’s Best Schools by US News Report and by Washington Post as one of the most Academically ChallengingSchools. In addition, Dutchtown High School was recognized for its highest graduation rate in the district at 94%, the NAACP Education Award, AP Honor School, and AP Champion Award, the largest JROTC program in the county received over 75 awards within a school year, and for the elite athletic programs.

Mrs. Shaw utilizes her professional career as a platform to promote Historical Black Colleges &Universities. Her most important accomplishment is exposing students to all colleges and supporting them with receiving scholarships. She volunteers in the community by providing students with opportunities to increase their chances to attend college. She has received the Will Crumbley Impact Award and NAACP Administrator Achievement Award. She has served on educational panels with Hank Stewart Foundation for educating parents about the changes and challenges in education. She has received recognition for the completion of the Henry CountySchools Leadership Academy. Finally, she actively works with her sorority, Delta Sigma ThetaIncorporated, by promoting events for awarding college scholarships. Mrs. Shaw is passionate about seeing students succeed and believes that life is about reaching back and supporting others.

Mrs. Shaw is married to Lemone Shaw, who is an ASU alumnus and a former member of the ASU basketball team. They are the proud parents of three children, Ashley Shaw, a graduate of North Carolina A&T, Lauren Shaw, a recent graduate from Alabama State University, and Jonathan Shaw, a rising high school senior. Embracing the values of faith and integrity, she lives daily by the belief that if you put God first, you will never go wrong with your decisions. Her motto, which was instilled at a young age by her father, is what drives her, “Strive for excellence, when better is possible, and good is not enough.

Advisory Board Member

Muhsinah L. Holmes Morris, Ph.D., is the academic program director and assistant professor of chemistry. Morris received a B.S. in chemistry from Clark Atlanta University with honors (cum laude) and an M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from Emory University (biomolecular division). Her research encompasses working in the Morehouse Makerspace Exploration Center, 3D PrintingSpecialized Laboratory Equipment for those with Autism and other Developmental Disorders. She is the PI of the Morris Research and Innovation Group, where they research and develop technologically innovative solutions for those with autism. Dr. Morris won the 2021 VulcanTeaching Award of Excellence and launched her Advanced Inorganic Chemistry course in virtual reality in the spring of 2021 in the digital twin campus created by VictoryXR on the EngagePlatform. She is a pioneer in this space as the chemistry content in VR is limited to non-existent. Wife to a gamer and mom to five sons, she is an inventive autism mom, a volunteer advocacy ambassador, National Community Advisory Council member, and grant review committee member for Autism Speaks. Her purpose in life is to create inclusivity in STEAAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, agriculture, and math). She believes that VR provides a pathway for creating that inclusion through immersive education, vocational rehabilitation services, and therapeutic experience.