(BIRMINGHAM, AL) – Two nationally prominent executives, Carmen J. Smith, vice president of Creative Development Inclusive Strategies for Walt Disney Imagineering, and Rick Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America, Inc., have been named to The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation’s (MCSF) Board of Directors.
A New York native, Carmen J. Smith is responsible for developing a diverse pipeline of product and people to enhance Walt Disney Imagineering’s consultant talent and its creative processes. Over more than 30 years at The Walt Disney Company and ABC, Carmen has played a key role in shaping the creative development process to expand the relevance and diversity of its products and experiences. In doing so, she has received a number of awards and honors in the television and entertainment industry as well as in national diversity and cultural leadership.
Rick Schostek has overall strategic planning, support and governance responsibilities for Honda North America. He is a member of the Honda North American Regional Operating Board and is the company’s risk management officer. He joined Honda in 1987 in Ohio as an attorney, and then assumed levels of increasing responsibility, including leadership of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in 2004 and Honda Manufacturing of Indiana in 2008, and he was promoted to senior vice president in Ohio in 2012. Schostek is a member of the board of directors of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and the National Association of Manufacturers.
“We are thrilled to have Carmen Smith and Rick Schostek join the board as they bring a wealth of experience from the business world and the realm of service to humanity. We at the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation welcome them with open arms to our leadership ranks, and we believe their additions will add invaluable positive impact to our society,” said MCSF Founder and President Dr. Shelley Stewart.
“These board additions help ensure the nation’s children, their parents and our communities will keep receiving the right instruction to never quit on education. Our leadership lights the way for a more successful future for America’s youth,” said MCSF Executive Director Sherri Stewart. The new members join senior Board members Stan Lawler, president of Lawler Foundry Corporation, and Matthew Dent, president and chief operating officer of Buffalo Rock Company.
Stewart founded the MCSF in 2007 in honor of his late mother, Mattie C. Stewart. The Birmingham-based nonprofit has since reached some 17 million students, teachers, parents and community leaders in 49 states and Canada through tools such as The Choice Bus, the InsideOut documentary and toolkit, and the Learn2Earn financial curriculum. The recently published book Mattie C.’s Boy – the Shelley Stewart Story covers Stewart’s amazing life story, with proceeds going to the foundation (www.mattiecsboy.com).
About The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation
The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the dropout rate. The foundation was established in honor of Dr. Shelley Stewart’s late mother, Mattie C. Stewart, in the summer of 2007 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The mission of the foundation is to create tools and resources to help educators, community leaders and parents effectively address the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate. The foundation also partners with America’s Promise Alliance, Communities In Schools, Jobs for Alabama’s Graduates, the National Dropout Prevention Center, PepsiCo, Shelby County, State Farm and Verizon Wireless. For more information, visit www.mattiecstewart.org.
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