Meet Our Board
Golden Ellis
Golden's passion for people began at Grambling State University where she learned about finance and to her surprise, how many of her schoolmates knew very little on the subject.
This drove Golden to learn more about the importance of budgeting, savings, investments and most importantly, credit. Having preached the gospel for decades about the importance of credit and always willing to share her personal testimony about the journey toward increasing credit, Golden launched L & G Credit Solutions in Shreveport to extend her personal experience and knowledge to those needing to advance their understanding about credit. Because credit and ownership go hand and hand, Golden is also a licensed realtor for Rhodes Realty, LLC.
Golden believes that integrity, insight, and inclusiveness are the three essential qualities of leadership. As a leader in communities across Caddo, Bossier, Desoto and Lincoln parishes, Golden continues to lend her talents and resources to organizations throughout North Louisiana. Golden serves as Secretary for Shreveport - Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Louisiana - Pines to the Gulf, Auxiliary for Elk's Lodge #122 and served as the 2021-2022 Treasurer for Girls Scout Troop #478 Shreveport, LA. Golden is the 2024 Top Business Professional of the Year recipient for The Greater Shreveport Chamber.
Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas was born in Shreveport, LA to parents who were a teacher and a realtor. He developed from a rich family history which includes a grandfather who help start the first Negro Chamber of Commerce in Shreveport.Starting as a camera operator, Michael quickly advanced to directing and found love in marketing. After his first year as Promotion Manager for KSLA, CBS recognized him at a group meeting for a food drive that brought in more cans per capita than any other location in the country. The drive was also recognized by then President Bush as one of his “Points of Light”.
Michael has had a very successful career - helping to rebrand 3 different television stations and help them move from market 2nd to #1. He was on the CBS Promotion Caucus when CBS was the first Network to go from #3 to #1 in just a season. He was the first person to ever serve 6 terms on the CBS Caucus. He has also served in similar positions for ABC and NBC and has served on the industry leading marketing board Promax. Michael was the first black manager at 4 of the stations he worked for on television. He has had the pleasure of working by side with industry leaders like Oprah Winfrey, David Muir (ABC Anchor), Gary Wordlaw (VP of News for BNN) while sharing time with some of the brightest minds in television marketing in the country.
Michael is a devoted husband to his wife Yolanda, the father of a son and daughter, and grandfather to three grandchildren.
Angela Smith, Esq.
Ms. Angela Smith is the principal partner and the Law Offices of Angela Smith and is also a Certified Public Accountant. Angela's passion is juvenile justice and she has served youth in various capacities over the course of her career. Her past and present affiliations include the Children's Law Committee, The National Association of Council for Children, and the Pelican Center. Angela has worked in Tax preparation services along with her work for juveniles and has served in a professional capacity on the National Association for Tax Professionals and the American Society for Tax Problem Solvers. Angela is a member of Morning Star Baptist Church and a mother of two adult children.
Dr. Gretchen Stewart, Advisory Board Member
Gretchen is the Founder of Smart Moves Academy (SMA), an inclusive private school launching in the Tampa Bay area with a vision to ignite the mind through movement. SMA’s model will optimize brain performance through physical activity for lifelong learning, health, fitness, and emotional well-being and will map a new course in teaching and learning where the brain and the body take precedence as natural and dynamic influencers of cognition.
Inspired by her 14-year-old son, Ari, who was labeled with Autism at age 3, Stewart says she struggled to find an inclusive learning environment where he could thrive. She developed a homeschool curriculum for him that resembles the model she aims to implement at SMA. Gretchen’s doctoral research with a group of international experts in movement, the brain, and cognition helped to further develop SMA’s model
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