Alphonso R. Jackson served as the 13th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was nominated by President George W. Bush on August 28, 2004, and confirmed by the Senate on August 31, 2004. Jackson announced his resignation on March 31, 2008.
Dwayne Orville Andreas, was one of the leading farm industrialists of the 20th century. He was former CEO and chairman of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Under his leadership he turned ADM into the largest processor of farm commodities in the United States.
Anthony Lee Coelho is an American politician from California who served in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and is a former chairman and current member of the board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation.
Nido Qubein is a Lebanese American businessman and motivational speaker. He has been the president of High Point University since 2005. He received his associate degree in business from Mount Olive College, his bachelor degree in human relations from High Point University in 1970, and a Master of Science in business education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Bryan School of Business & Economics in 1973. Qubein is the founder and chairman emeritus of the National Speakers Association Foundation. He has served as chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company since 2001 and sits on the board of directors of BB&T, La-Z-Boy Corporation, and nThrive.
Samuel Truett Cathy was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946.
Thomas J. Donohue Sr. is the former President and CEO of the United States Chamber of Commerce located in Washington, D.C. The Chamber of Commerce supports pro-business causes and is the largest and oldest trade association in the United States. The Chamber is the largest lobbying group in the U.S., spending more money than any other lobbying organization on a yearly basis. Donohue was the Chamber's president and CEO from 1997 to 2021.
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphasize the importance of higher education. The association is named for Horatio Alger, a 19th-century author of hundreds of dime novels in the "rags-to-riches" genre, extolling the importance of perseverance and hard work.
Alexander Stanley Kroll is a former professional American football player and a retired advertising agency executive at Young & Rubicam, where he served as CEO for ten years.
J. Barry Griswell is former Chairman and CEO of the Principal Financial Group and retired CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.
David Charles Novak is an American businessman, author and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of David Novak Leadership, and co-founder and former CEO of YUM! Brands Inc.
Earl W. Stafford, Sr. is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder of The Stafford Foundation, and was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans in 2010.
Alan B. Miller is an American businessman who is the founder of Universal Health Services, and currently serves as the company's executive chairman. Miller founded the company in 1979 and it has grown to become a large provider of hospital and healthcare services in the US and the UK. In 2022, UHS had revenues of $13.4 billion. In September 2020, UHS announced that, consistent with the company's long-standing succession plan, Alan B. Miller would step down as CEO.
Wanda M. Austin is a former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Austin also served as interim president for the University of Southern California, following the resignation of C. L. Max Nikias. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position.
Jim Gibbons is an American nonprofit executive and was the CEO and president of Goodwill Industries from 2008 to 2018.
Susan E. Sygall is an American disability rights advocate and civil rights leader. She is the CEO of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), which she co-founded in 1981.
Henry Viscardi Jr. (1912-2004) was an American disability rights advocate who championed the cause of equality and employment of disabled people in workforce. In 1952, on Eleanor Roosevelt's advice, he founded Abilities, Inc. which has now expanded to the Viscardi Center - a non-profit organization and global leader advocating for the empowerment of people with disabilities. To provide equal educational opportunities to children with disabilities of all ages, he founded the Human Resources School in Albertson, New York in 1952, which was later renamed the Henry Viscardi School in his honor. He served as advisor to several US presidents bringing many policy changes in the disability sector. He is also the author of the book Give Us The Tools. In his honour, the Viscardi Center in 2013 started the Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards to identify and recognize exemplary leaders from the disability community.
The Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards were established to honor the legacy of the founder of the Viscardi Center, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a leading disability rights advocate who wore prosthetic limbs. These international Awards, first conferred in 2013, recognize exemplary leaders in the disability sector around the globe who have had a profound impact on changing the lives of people with disabilities and championing their rights. Considered as most prestigious, these global awards honor champions of disability activism.
The Viscardi Center is a non-profit organization in Albertson, New York, dedicated to educating, empowering and employing people with disabilities. It was founded in 1952 by Henry Viscardi, Jr., a noted disability activist, who was also advisor to eight US Presidents on matters pertaining to disability policies. John D. Kemp is the current President of the Viscardi Center.
Wallace Rasmussen was an American businessman and prominent philanthropist. Hired at Beatrice Foods Company in 1934 as an ice hauler, Rasmussen served as president and then chairman and chief executive officer of the former international food conglomerate, Beatrice, from 1976 until his retirement in 1980. Rasmussen rose to the top of the business with just a high school diploma.
