Coastal Alabama Leaders You Should Know: 11 Names Making a Difference

Mobile and Baldwin counties are home to no shortage of civic-minded professionals, and a recent roundup highlighted eleven of them for going above and beyond in their fields. The recognition, assembled to spotlight community impact across coastal Alabama, spans shipbuilding executives, school administrators, nonprofit directors and small business owners who have each left a mark on the region.

Among those honored was Celia Mann Baehr, president of the Mobile Symphony, who traced her civic involvement back to her parents’ example of community engagement. Also recognized was Chandra Brown Stewart, who leads both the Junior League of Mobile and Lifelines Counseling Services as agency director. She said the best advice she ever received was simple: look to community leaders, learn from their strengths, and let the rest go.

The honorees reflect the breadth of coastal Alabama’s economic and civic landscape. Joel Erdmann, athletics director at the University of South Alabama, and Craig Perciavalle, president of Austal USA, represent two of the region’s most visible institutions in higher education and shipbuilding. Robert Owen, superintendent of Baldwin County Public Schools, was recognized for steering one of the fastest-growing school systems on the Gulf Coast, while Ralph Hargrove, head of Hargrove Engineers and Constructors, was cited for building a major engineering firm rooted in Mobile.

Entrepreneurs also earned spots on the list. David Morris, founder of QB Country, built a football training business with a national footprint from its coastal Alabama roots. Karin Wilson, owner of Fairhope’s Page and Palette bookstore, was honored for sustaining an independent bookstore as a cultural anchor in downtown Fairhope. Shaul Zislin, a Mobile entrepreneur known for redeveloping downtown properties, rounded out the business side of the list.

Community and civic engagement figured prominently as well. Michael Pierce, executive director of the MLK Avenue Redevelopment Corporation, was recognized for ongoing efforts to reinvest in historically underserved Mobile neighborhoods. David Trent, site director of Airbus Americas Engineering, represented the aerospace sector’s growing footprint in the Mobile area, reflecting the plane maker’s expanding partnership with the University of South Alabama.

About Austal USA

Austal USA, led by honoree Craig Perciavalle, is the American subsidiary of Australian shipbuilder Austal, and its shipyard on the Mobile River builds aluminum vessels for the U.S. Navy, including the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship and the Joint High Speed Vessel, making it one of the largest manufacturing employers in the Mobile area.