Scholarship recipients have an opportunity to form a mentoring relationship with any of the founders.

Author of Soul Work: Excerpts From My Journey, Jan Hice is an artist and seasoned sales and management professional. She has 15 years experience in consultative sales and a proven track record of listening to customers, uncovering needs, creating winning proposals, and closing substantial deals. She has worked both domestically and throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and speaks Spanish fluently. Mrs. Hice earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration (Marketing and International Business) from Georgetown University and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Mrs. Hice inspires others through her coaching. Heart alignment and Self-love are the basis of her coaching philosophy. She draws upon the depth and breadth of her education, life experiences, and unique skill set to support her clients in living their heart's joy. She also coaches groups in workshops that she personally designs, develops and delivers.

Mrs. Hice continues to write and photograph intuitively. Her artistic creations, which are branded and sold though her company, Heart's Joy, LLC, are an expression of her passion for nature, travel, photography, and spiritual discovery. She believes that her photography draws the eye to the natural beauty that surrounds us, yet often goes unseen. It beckons us to appreciate the innate process of being and becoming - the journey.

Soul Work: Excerpts From My Journey (ISBN # 978-0-9793120-0-7) can be purchased at the Leavey Center Bookstore as well as online at Amazon.com, BN.com and on her web sites. Learn more at www.janhice.com and www.heartsjoyphotography.com.


Ms. Karen Clanton is the Director of Internal Communications Manager at law firm Perkins Coie LLP. Ms. Clanton has many years of experience in the legal publishing industry and has taught university-level business and project management courses as an adjunct professor. Ms. Clanton serves on several boards and edited the book Dear Sisters, Dear Daughters: Words of Wisdom from Multicultural Attorneys Who've Been There and Done That.published by the American Bar Association. She obtained her B.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University and her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.


Ms. Angelique McLin-Kelley worked for 7 years as a Sales Representative for M&M/Mars. She and her husband now reside in Oklahoma where they are preparing for small group Christian Ministry. Ms. McLin-Kelley is not currently active with the Butler Fund.


Profiled by Newsweek as one of the people "Changing the Face of Hollywood," Ms. Taj Paxton is well respected within her industry for integrity and grace under pressure. Her career includes coveted positions in film, television and music and she has worked with some of the industry's greatest artistic minds. A graduate of the McDonough School of Business, she is an independent producer and writer.



Ms. Ava Rogers has been a U.S. Foreign Service Officer since 1992, specializing in Africa and the Middle East. From 2005-2007, Ava worked on secondment with the United Nations Mission in Sudan. Ava counts this work in Darfur among the most rewarding experiences of her entire professional career. After leaving Sudan, Ava completed a one-year sabbatical focusing on helping to rebuild her hometown of New Orleans. From 2008-09, she worked as a Pearson Fellow for the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress. Ava’s next posting is as Consul General in Juba, Sudan.