2023 Distinguished Alumnus Awards
Distinguished Alumnus Award
We are honoring this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Emily Greer (’84).
Emily Greer dedicated her 29-year career as a senior executive at ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude, until her retirement on December 31, 2021. Most recently, she was Chief Administrative Officer for ALSAC, where she was responsible for leading the day-to-day administrative operations and serving as a trusted advisor and number 2 to the CEO, Rick Shadyac.
Since retirement, Emily is living her passion for helping others. She started her own coaching consulting firm, Greer Leadership Solutions, and has partnered with Vistage Worldwide, the world’s largest leadership organization for CEOs, to help guide a private advisory council of CEOs as they work together to solve their most pressing challenges.
Emily graduated cum laude from Christian Brothers University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management; earned her certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources through the Society of Human Resources Management; earned her Level 2 Certification in Executive Coaching from the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership and earned her Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Memphis, where she received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence and was inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
An active member of the community, Emily serves on numerous boards in the Memphis community and nationally, including serving on the Board of Compass Community School, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), and Tri Delta Fraternity. She has been elected as incoming Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Christian Brothers University. She has served as a member of the boards for the Greater Memphis Chamber, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, Ronald McDonald House of Memphis, LeMoyne-Owen College and was Co-chair of the transition team for Memphis Mayor-elect Jim Strickland in 2015.
Emily has received numerous honors and awards, including 25 Influential Black Women in Business Award, The Network Journal; 2017 Workforce Diversity Executive Leadership Award, The National Organization for Workforce Diversity Board of Directors; Top 25 Women in Business, Memphis Business Journal; Alumna of the Year, The University of Memphis; 2018 Distinguished Alumna Award, The University of Memphis; Hall of Fame, Fogelman School of Business and Economics, The University of Memphis; 50 Women of Excellence, Tri State Defender; 2021 Honorary Doctorate of Public Service, Christian Brothers University; 2022 Hall of Fame, Memphis Catholic High School, and 2022 Spirit of the Dream Award, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
She is married to her husband, Jarvis, and they have two children, McKenzie and Jarvis, Jr., and five grandchildren.
Distinguished Young Alumnus Award
Melissa Duong (’13) is being honored with this year’s Distinguished Young Alumnus Award. Melissa Duong is a first-generation American and native Memphian whose family migrated from Vietnam in 1979. As a student at CBU, majoring in Business Administration and concentrating in Marketing, she was also active on campus, serving as a leader in Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and Delta Sigma Pi, the nation’s largest and first co-ed professional business fraternity. She also received on-campus experience in marketing as a student, interning with the School of Business and writing feature articles about students and alumni in the CBU Connections, the School of Business Newsletter, and social media. Melissa interned with First Horizon Bank during her senior year where she has remained, first in Communications and Community Investment for the First Horizon Foundation, and rising to her current role as Vice President of Community Development & Public Relations.Melissa met fellow CBU alumnus Yuki Namba (BS Mechanical Engineering ‘15) when they were students at Germantown High School. They married in 2017 and currently live in Asheville, North Carolina.
In her corporate position at First Horizon Bank, she actively lives our Lasallian mission by merging the worlds of financial services with social services to promote community reinvestment and financial literacy to improve affordable housing to underserved communities and break down socio-economic barriers. She serves on the board and chairs the resource development committee of Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina (a community leader in best practices to end homelessness through the Housing First model). She previously served on the credit committee for Mountain BizWorks (a Community Development Financial Institution that works with minority, women, immigrant entrepreneurs and businesses unable to access financing from banks and other traditional sources), served as a committee member of WomanUp (an initiative of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce focused on women in business) and was the East Tennessee Vice Chair of the Tennessee Affordable Housing Coalition. Before leaving Memphis, she served on the board of Overton Park Conservancy and was the Annual Campaign Chair and board member for the Church Health YMCA.
Melissa continues to support her alma mater as an active advocate and resource for CBU Career Services by connecting positions with First Horizon Bank to CBU alumni, donating professional attire for the CBU Career Closet, and participating in career panels for current students. She was the first recipient of the CBU Career Services Rising Star Award in 2013, received Presidential Recognition for her achievements and service while attending CBU, was recognized as Memphis Magazine’s Next Gen in 2014, and is a graduate of the New Memphis Institute Embark Program.