AHA Grants Review Panel

Trained as a sociologist, Jeneve Brooks, Ph.D., is an educator, author, and nonprofit consultant with a servant’s heart for community building. She currently serves as the co-vice president/secretary of the Spiritual Enrichment Center of Dothan, on the board of Art in Public Places, and was recognized for her outstanding professional service by the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association.

Dr. Brooks has also dedicated much time to racial reconciliation work and to bringing diverse people together through the arts in Alabama’s Wiregrass. She co-founded the Wiregrass Blues Fest in 2011 and the annual festival is still going strong. In addition, Dr. Brooks created nine mini-documentaries on various festival honorees. She is currently renovating an old downtown home in Dothan (called AL Seed), which she plans to use as a community gathering space.

Benjamin Isaak Gross, Ph.D., is associate professor of political science at Jacksonville State University. He directs its general education program and the Center for Leadership and American Principles, as well as directing the Tocqueville Lecture Series and co-editing Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas. Gross earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Texas and engages in research and teaching of political theory, American political thought, American government, and international human rights. He managers grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Education, and other entities. Gross lives in Jacksonville with his wife and three children. In addition, he serves as a local Cub Scout den leader, enjoys outdoor activities, and is a spectator of sports.

Tina Naremore Jones, Ph.D., retired as provost at the University of West Alabama in Fall 2026. She was awarded the title of vice president emerita upon her retirement. Previously, she served as vice president for the Division of Economic & Workforce Development. While in that role, the Division secured more than $9 million in grant and private foundation support for economic, workforce, and community development. Jones was the founding director of the Center for the Study of the Black Belt, which serves as the management entity for the newly designated Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, and she continues to work as its principal investigator charged with the development of its management plan.

Jones has written for the Encyclopedia of Alabama, Alabama Heritage, Alabama Review, and Tributaries. She is the co-editor of Belles Letters: Contemporary Stories by Alabama Women, contributing author to Alabama Women: Their Lives and Times, and editor of Bridging Time: 175 Years at the University of West Alabama. Jones serves on the boards of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Folklife Association, Alabama Main Street, and Black Belt Treasures.

Charlotte C. Teague, Ph.D., is associate professor and chair of the Department of English & Modern Languages at Alabama A&M University, where she has taught for more than two decades. Her scholarship centers black church rhetoric, black women’s literature, womanism, protest literature, and the relationships among gender, identity, and power. Dr. Teague’s recent publications include “Spatiality in Morrison Contexts: Mapping Racialized Spaces in The Bluest Eye” in Salem Press’s Critical Insights: The Bluest Eye and “Farms for Self: A Legacy of Selfhood and Labor” in Tributaries: Journal of Alabama Folklore. Her recent work also includes articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama and book reviews for the Alabama Writers’ Forum.

Dr. Teague’s work as a writer and educator has earned national recognition, most recently through her selection as a 2027 HBCU Faculty Fellow with the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. A second-generation AAMU alumna, she holds degrees from Alabama A&M University, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Morgan State University, where she earned her Ph.D. in English.

LoRen Modisa, Ed.D, MPA, currently serves as the director of the Office of Health Advancement within the University of South Alabama’s Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. Modisa is a higher education professional who prioritizes advocacy and uplift in all her personal and professional relationships. With over eight years of experience in nonprofit management, educational advocacy, and program development, she has learned to see all opportunities through the lens of accessibility, equity, and inclusion.

Most of Modisa’s professional career has been dedicated to community development and social impact work. She has worked with the United States Peace Corps, Clinton Foundation, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Her research interests focus on the racial socialization of historically marginalized students on higher education campuses. Socially, she is an investor with the Society of Clotilda Giving Circle, founding investor with the Black Girl Scholarship Fund, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and a board member of Prism United.