TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Robert C. Grant Sr. 1943- 2022 Businessman, U.S. Air Force L ongtime Nashville 1961) entered the Chapter Invisible on September 1, 2022. He was born to Fred and Gertrude Grant on March 14, 1943, in Mont- gomery, AL. He was the youngest of four children, with one sister and two brothers. Grant attended Alabama businessman Robert C. Grant, Sr. (Beta Zeta State University where he earned in 1965 a dual degree in Art and English. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty of Grambling University, where he taught art. He eventually joined the United States Air Force, where he attained the rank of Sergeant, and served as an Aircraft Control and Warning Technician until his honorable discharge in 1969. He later served as a Veteran Affairs Coor- dinator and Employment
Albert Gibbs II 1983-2023 IT Professional, Mentor, Community Leader
T he founder of the Leadership Acad- emy Albert Gibbs II (Zeta Chi 2002) entered the Chapter Invisible on December 31, 2023. He was a published author and spoken word artist, a 30 under 30 recipient by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and a 40 under 40 Black business leader of South Florida. He was a sales leader with Amazon Web Services (AWS), selling services to startup organizations focused on AI and Machine Learning. He advocated for higher education and envisioned a better future for himself and others. Gibbs was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on February 9, 1983. In 2001, he graduated from Deer- field Beach High School and attended the University of South Florida, earning busi- ness marketing and creative writing degrees. In 2004, he attended Imperial College in London, England, to pursue postgraduate studies in international business.
“WHEN I MOVED BACK TO SOUTH FL IN 2012, IT BECAME CLEAR TO ME THAT THE YOUNG BROTHERS OF TOMORROW NEED OUR HELP.”
Gibbs worked for several companies before joining Citrix in 2015. Interestingly, Gibbs, at age 18, interned at Citrix, where he was mentored by the company’s CEO and another employee. At the time of passing, Gibbs worked as a Senior Account Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In addition to his pro- fessional career, Gibbs was passionate about mentoring and assisting youth, first through The Big Brother Big Sister program during and after college, then as a founding member of the Dress for Success Program in Oakland, California, while living in Silicon Valley. Gibbs would start a non-profit mentoring
organization called The Albert Gibbs Leadership Academy. Gibbs on his academy: The Academy serves students in the South FL area. “Creating Leaders through Mentorship” is the motto of the Academy and was founded based on the ideology of they will become what they see and the primary focus is partnering members of the community with high per- forming students. Among the Academy sponsors: Citrix, Miami Marlins major league franchise, VMWare, and Comerica Bank. Brother Alex Gibbs II is survived by his wife Shirley Sims, daughter Kali, sister Nicole Gibbs Scott. ♦
54 THE JOURNAL ♦ FALL 2024
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