OUR PURPOSE
At NGPDF, we are committed to molding the exceptional golf players of tomorrow. We provide young minority golfers with the support and resources they need to further excel in the sport. National Golf Player Development Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was established to create additional funding sources.
About Mark Lowry, the Founder
Developing a Youth Golf Training Program
His success with creating a player development system was well documented in the mid-‘90s. In 1995, he was selected to create and launch the Chicago Public Schools’ elementary school training program to feed a struggling high school team program.
The Program’s Success
In three years, more than forty elementary schools were offering after-school golf instruction. The program also grew from 9 of the CPS system’s 73 high schools to more than 30 that competed and advanced from city to regional and state-level competitions.
Joining a Youth Development Organization
In 1998, Lowry joined The First Tee where he held positions in senior leadership for 20 years.
Lowry played a key role in developing the strategies that would guide the development and operations of the organization from a concept to a nationally recognized youth golf development organization. As Vice President of Network Management, Mark oversaw the development and support of the organization’s eight national regions and over 150 network chapters. These experiences gave rise to National Golf Player Development Foundation (NGPDF).
Why He Helps Young Minority Golfers
Lowry says:
“The time has come to support the efforts of the players, parents, organizations, and institutions that are working to deepen the competitive player pool of POC. NGPDF, through its efforts to secure individual, corporate, and industry funding resources and developmental partnerships, will identify deserving POC and provide support to individuals, programs, and institutions that equally share the goal to increase the competitive player pool representing minority communities.” –Mark N. Lowry, Founder
Our Board of Directors
Footnote: click on Board Member name to see bio.
Mark Lowry – Founder and President – Retired
Erroll D. Staton- BIO
Erroll D. Staton is a retired sales executive with 30+ years of experience in medical sales and sales management with Fortune 500 companies including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, Abbott Labs, and Astra Zeneca. Mr. Staton was an integral member of teams that successfully launched several new industry-leading medical devices including the FreeStyle brand blood glucose monitor, Acuvue/Surevue brand contact lenses and several blockbuster pharmaceuticals, including Lipitor, Accupril and Farxiga.
Mr. Staton earned a B.S. in Business & Finance from Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
STEVEN OUTLAW, PGA- BIO
Steven Outlaw, 36, was born and raised in East Chicago, Indiana, and currently resides in Peoria with his wife Jaleesa. From a young age, golf has been a part of his life, with his immediate family all playing the game. Originating from the Hoosier state, known for basketball, golf and more importantly a career in the game, was seen as unobtainable at a young age. His journey and realization into what could be, occurred in 2001 at the First Tee National Conference at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida, where Steven gave the speech that launched The First Tee Scholars Program. To see firsthand the impact the game of golf had on individuals, through the program, was life changing for Steven.
Through the scholars’ program, Steven was able to graduate from Georgetown College, a liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. After graduation, he embarked in the PGA Post Graduate Diversity program, to turn his passion for the game into a profession. Through his completion of the program, Steven was afforded the opportunity to intern with Troon Golf at Troon North Golf Club. Steven was elected to PGA membership in 2012. During his 14 years with Troon, Steven has worked in various leadership positions at Troon North Golf Club, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, and internationally at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the UAE, and The Els Club Teluk Datai in Langkawi, Malaysia. He’s currently the Director of Golf at Wickenburg Ranch Golf & Social Club.
Steven was selected in 2019, along with a special group of PGA Members to join the PGA LEAD Cohort IV group. The PGA LEAD program was created to identify, mentor and progress PGA Members from diverse backgrounds along a guided path to volunteer leadership roles at the Chapter, Section, and National levels of the Association. During the same timeframe, Steven also completed the Troon LEADer program, which is designed to prepare Troon leaders for high level roles in the industry.
Steven was elected to the Southwest Section PGA Board of Directors in 2021 and chairs the Diversity and Inclusion committee. He also serves on Troon Golf’s D&I Council. He looks forward to continued involvement and service within the golf industry, and fostering the change needed to take this game to new heights and areas unseen.
James R. Beatty (JIM)- BIO
James Beatty is a nationally recognized site selection and economic development expert based in Omaha, Nebraska. Jim is considered one of the nation’s leading site consultants in the fields of Call Centers, Customer Service Centers, Shared Service Centers, Mission Critical Facilities and Back Office Operations. He has also pioneered many Economic Development Initiatives in Rural and Urban America. He has been recognized as one of the top 50 consultants in America by the Consultant Connection.
He was appointed to the Congressional Office on US Technology Assessment to review and recommend policy for US technical superiority. He is a former Policy Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. Jim served as the national consultant on information technology for the National Congress for Community and Economic Development (NCCED) based in Washington DC.
Jim serves as the Executive Editor and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the African American Golfer’s Digest which is the nation’s leading print publication and online portal for avid African American golfers.
He is the founder and organizer of the African American Golf EXPO and Forum. This is a multi-day event held to promote the business and economic opportunities for African Americans in the $84 Billion Golf Industry. The inaugural event was held in August 2021 in Atlanta and drew a total of 750 total attendees and 450 unique participants. The event had an economic impact of $700 K. This was a first in the history of the Golf Industry. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Ted Rhodes Foundation and Advisory Board of the Jackson Park Golf Association both based in Chicago, IL. He is also on the Advisory Boards of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America based in Lawrence, KS and the Payne Stewart Kids Golf Foundation based in Brentwood, TN. He is a founding member of the Grassroots Grants Program Committee which provides funding to community based golf organizations throughout the United States. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Hogan Junior Golf Heroes which later became the First Tee of Omaha.
He is a graduate of Doane University located in Crete, Nebraska where he received an athletic and academic scholarship. He majored in mathematics and is the first African American to do so. He is an avid golfer and is involved in the community. He and his wife, Earlene of 53 years have 5 children, 9 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. They reside in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mary B. Richardson-Lowry- BIO
Mary Richardson-Lowry is a visionary leader, executive and lawyer with a depth of experience. She is a respected voice in business imperatives, law, governance oversight, regulatory obligations, and strategic engagement. She is a sought after voice of reason and known for driving outcomes. To know her is to respect her, be inspired by her and listen intently to her. Mary has earned her seat at the table, but is inclusive in her approach to serving on boards as she values varied perspectives.
Currently, Mary is serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Ililewa Companies, a privately held, global manufacturing and distribution company in consumer goods and services. Mary oversees the three companies held by Ililewa. She is spearheading a post-pandemic strategic shift transforming the companies from a brick and mortar focus to an integrated, multi-platform, adaptable global operation with expanded professional management and re-imagined delivery systems that accelerate growth.
Previously, as Equity Partner at Mayer Brown LLC, a global law firm focusing on corporate and government legal imperatives, Mary maintained a thriving government regulations, governance and commercial transactions practice and was a member of the Government Practice Group. Mary began her career in government as a lawyer and additionally served as a departmental leader with the oversight of a multi-million dollar budget and hundreds of employees.
Mary holds a Juris Doctorate from Texas Southern University, a double major Bachelor of Science from San Francisco University with degrees in both International Relations and Speech Communications. She has a Certification in Board Governance and Oversight from Notre Dame. Mary serves on several boards, often in a leadership capacity.
William " Bill" Pearson- BIO
Bill Pearson is a human resources executive. In this role, he has worked closely with senior leaders and their teams to build Human Capital capability.
Prior to his role as the Senior Director, Human Capital for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Bill launched Conrad Consulting, LLC. to help others manage human resource challenges and dramatically improve organizational performance. Bill's practical approach to performance enhancement stems from a career forged as Marine Corps Officer and 20+ years of Fortune 500 HR Executive experience. His hard-earned wisdom enables him to identify human resource constraints, remove barriers, dramatically improve employee engagement and exceed business performance targets.
Before establishing Conrad Consulting, Bill served as the Group Director - HSBC Retail Services. In addition to leading the traditional HR services, executive coaching and talent identification/development roles, he assumed responsibility for corporate giving. During his HSBC tenure he led a sales and marketing department reorganization that better reflected business priorities and objectives. Recognizing that organization without compensation alignment would not produce the desired outcomes, Bill coordinated the redesign of the compensation and incentive plans to align individual performance incentives with company profit targets. His ability to attract exceptional talent is well known by now, and he was again tapped to develop and implement diversity recruiting program for managers. Not only did Bill manage his business unit's not for profit giving budget, but often represented the company at various community affairs activities and events.
While at Allstate, Bill worked to make "Line of Sight' linkages between employee performance and corporate performance initiatives. He also played a key role in developing a minority MBA recruiting process that attracted experienced "B-School" school graduates to Allstate's investment team.
Pearson investigated several high-profile Denny's discrimination complaints. He negotiated on the company's behalf with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and achieved successful resolutions to several high-profile scenarios.
During his tenure with Nike, Inc. Bill was on the front lines selecting, training and deploying dozens of employees to strengthen Nike's ability to address employee issues. He also co-developed policy and procedures that led to consistent approaches reduce discrimination charges.
A life-long student and competitor, Bill earned a Senior Professional Human Resources designation and completed numerous academic and other training programs. A four-year varsity letterman for football, and graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Pearson won "Outstanding Defensive Back of the Year' honors his senior year.
He loves the game of golf. As a High School Varsity Coach, Bill coached several players to the League and State Championship tournaments. Personally, Bill has successfully negotiated the PGA's Player Ability Test in addition to supporting the First Tee Metropolitan New York and the First Tee Phoenix as a volunteer coach.
He is a devoted father now living in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Jeannette A. Gerald - BIO
Business Development Executive & Entrepreneur
Jeannette Gerald is CEO & Principal Consultant at JLA Associates, an independent strategic advisory and consulting services practice specializing in global business development, strategic planning, IT integration and operations management. Through JLA Associates, Jeannette’s work has included collaborations with organizations dedicated to creating profitable business relationships between Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and institutional purchasers in the Life Sciences, Nonprofit and Sports Management sectors.
Prior to JLA Associates, Jeannette served with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) - a funded initiative of the US Department of Commerce. As Senior Manager, she collaborated with Business Center clients, the buying community, and various financing sources to increase access to market and financial opportunities for MBEs. Prior to the MBDA, Jeannette worked as Senior Director and Account Executive at Babson College. She focused on global business development for their Executive Education programs.
Before Babson College, Jeannette was recruited to join the senior management team at United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB). She transitioned to this non-profit role after serving for several years with Fidelity Investments (Boston, MA), a corporate partner of UWMB. As Vice President of Relationship and Account Management with Fidelity, Jeannette delivered service integration and IT solutions for internal business units and profit centers.
Jeannette’s additional career experience has included FleetBoston Financial (now Bank of America), General Electric, and several Marketing and Management Consulting positions with IBM Corporation and Deloitte Consulting. She holds an MS degree in Information and Management Sciences from the University of Chicago, an MBA in International Business and Finance from Roosevelt University (Chicago IL), an AB in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Massachusetts, and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program. She was also a panelist in a Forum on IT and Career Development at Harvard Business School.
As an avid golfer, Jeannette continues to develop her skills with the game. Her experience with sports, financial and golf management strategies has included assignments as Adjunct Faculty at Endicott College, Van Loan School of Graduate and Professional Studies, in Beverly, MA and guest lecturer at Northeastern University, Boston, MA. Last year Jeannette competed in the annual Women In Golf event (San Marcos, CA), winning in her flight, and participated in the Inaugural Bermuda Black Golf Clubs Invitational Tournament in Hamilton, BM.
Our Advisory Board Members
Connect With NGPDF Today
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