Allegacy Center for Leadership & Character Article Archives

The Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character (ACLC) in conjunction with A Bed and A Book hosted students, faculty and staff on the terrace Wednesday for the annual bed build. The ACLC was thrilled to have Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines on hand to take part in the event. With the spirit of Prohumanitate in mind,…

Last week, Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character (ACLC) scholars met for their first enrichment session of the year, “Leading the Self and Political Leadership,” with special guest Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. ACLC Executive Director Pat Sweeney and Executive Affiliate Pete Watson were also in attendance. As the students work to develop themselves as leaders…

The Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character is excited to announce that Ann Johnston will join the team as an Executive Affiliate. In this capacity, Ms. Johnston will deepen her engagement with business school students. Her role will include a variety of activities including serving as a guest speaker across academic programs, leading student coaching…

The Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character (ACLC), alongside the Program for Leadership Character, recently hosted entrepreneur and whistleblower Tyler Shultz for a two-day visit, September 22-23. At the age of 22, Shultz uncovered and exposed significant fraud at the Silicon Valley biotech company, Theranos. Today, Shultz speaks on the vital importance of integrating ethics…

The ACLC Scholar program for the 2025-2026 school year officially kicked off Friday, September 12th with lunch and team building activities at the Graylyn Estate. This year’s scholars—Callie Dammeyer, Huda Saeed, Chris Douglas, Lucas Guerra, Matthew Littrell, and Sailor Troutman—gathered with Executive Director Pat Sweeney and ACLC affiliates Cathy Pace, Pete Watson, and Adam Holtzschue…

After an enriching and rewarding inaugural program, the ACLC is proud to announce the new class of ACLC Scholars: Callie Dammeyer – MSBA Callie graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Business and a minor in Economics. Earning Dean’s List honors from 2021 – 2024, her leadership experience includes serving…

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Dave Clawson as an Executive Affiliate with the Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character at the Wake Forest School of Business. A legend in Wake Forest Athletics, Dave served as Head Coach of WFU Football for 11 transformative years. He oversaw the most successful…

Patrick Sweeney, Executive Director of the ACLC, and Dana Hutchens, Director of the Office of Personal and Career Development, were recently featured in prominent national publications, offering valuable insights on current workforce trends. In pieces for The Washington Post and The Hechinger Report, Sweeney discussed characteristics of Gen Z in the workplace and highlighted strategies…

Kelly Smith retired in March, 2025 from his role as Sr. VP/CFO of Replacements, Ltd. after a 39-year career in accounting and finance. Long known as a “fixer” or troubleshooter, Kelly helped adjust the Replacements Ltd. business model which dynamically changed the business cash-flow, ushering in an era of prosperity for the business. Kelly was…

The inaugural class of ACLC Scholars presented their group project to program donors, faculty and guests on Friday, April 11. When selecting an organization to support with their project, the scholars chose A Bed and A Book, a non-profit that enriches the lives of children in our community, after hearing Mayor Allen Joines discuss his…

Themes of support, outstanding mentorship, inspiration and a greater understanding of the self as an individual and as a leader of character emerge as our ACLC Scholars reflect on the impact of the program. Isra Al Hashimi – MSBA “Being mentored by such incredible leaders has truly been a transformative experience. Their wisdom and unwavering…

ACLC Scholars served two families in need by delivering beds and books with the non-profit organization A Bed and A Book. “After doing multiple bed builds, it was great to see the other side of the process and get the opportunity to see the excitement on the child’s face when we delivered the bed,” said…

A luncheon was held to recognize and celebrate the young leaders who attended the 2025 Service Academies Leadership Conferences. Lessons on leadership, networking opportunities, impactful speakers and engaging discussions with cadets and peers are among the key takeaways shared by our 2025 attendees. Each year, the Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character sponsors WFU School…

The ACLC and BEM 318 hosted the first ever Community Bed Race: AWAKEN GREATNESS on April 1, 2025 to raise awareness and financial support for A Bed and A Book. As part of the Leadership Experience Action Project, Dr. Douglas Johnson’s Calloway Leadership Experience students partnered with Engineering students to design and build beds for…

Junior BEM major, Ariana Adams, attended the US Military Academy at West Point McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character. The theme of the conference, Leading Organizations Through Change, made a personal impact on Ariana as she was able to “foster individual leadership skills as well as understand how to work with teams and communities to…

Liv Murphy, a senior Accountancy major, attended the US Air Force National Character and Leadership Symposium, bringing back lessons that she will apply as an athlete here at Wake Forest, in her future career, and in life in general. “It was a huge honor to be given the opportunity to learn from such well-spoken and…

Juan Figueroa, a junior BEM major, attended the US Air Force Academy National  Character and Leadership Symposium. The theme of the conference was Warrior Ethos. Juan learned that warrior ethos means “being tough-minded and resilient, with the ability to stay motivated,” characteristics he feels are essential to leadership. Dr. Justin Stoddard’s session on resiliency was…

The Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character sponsored Senior BEM major Matthew Facchine to attend the 2025 US Naval Academy Leadership Conference. Matthew brought home a number of key takeaways about being an authentic leader. “I came to learn that authentic leadership didn’t just mean being who you are as a leader, but also helping…

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Cathy Pace as an Executive Affiliate with the Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character at the School of Business. With a remarkable 46-year journey at  Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Cathy recently retired as its CEO and President. She rose through the executive leadership ranks,…

Allie Shmidt, a junior Psychology major and member of the Wake Forest Field Hockey team, was sponsored by the ACLC to attend the 2025 US Naval Academy Leadership Conference. Allie noted that she was honored to attend the conference and took away invaluable lessons that she will bring into her personal life and career path…