Tony, the founder of The Bennae Group, is a change practitioner and retired disabled veteran who was raised, with his two brothers, in Jackson Mississippi. At 16, he entered Jackson State University and learned life-long lessons about individual excellence, teamwork and leadership as a member of the marching band, “The Sonic Boom of the South.” After three years, he walked away from a music scholarship and joined the military.
For 24 years, as a hospital corpsman and naval officer, he followed, joined, and lead many teams. After being assigned to naval hospitals (stateside and overseas), medical and dental treatment facilities, and the Fleet Marine Force, he was selected and served at the Navy Medicine Center for Organization Development.
Under the womentorship of Dr. Alice Cahill (CAPT, Retired), he designed and facilitated countless leadership courses, interventions, and initiatives that improved the effectiveness and efficiency of Naval Medicine. While still on active duty, he imagined a world absent of oppression, wars, fragmented relationships, broken bodies, and wasted human capital. This vision, mixed with a unique blend of personal and professional life experiences, formal and informal education, extensive exposure to different cultures and people, gave birth to The Bennae Group.
For the past ten years, Tony has worked with unions and nonprofits across the country to facilitate change, train leaders, and support diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] initiatives. As a member of the BOLD faculty at SEIU over the past decade, Tony has led year-long cohort programs for national and regional leaders. He has been on the faculty of the AFL-CIO’s National Labor Leadership Initiative. Tony is a father and grandfather based in Nashville, Tennessee where he and his wife Sabrina are raising their children to take on the world.