Myla Calhoun

Myla E. Calhoun is the president and CEO of Propel Education. Previously, Myla was the vice president of the Birmingham Division of Alabama Power, where she is responsible for the company’s operations, sales, economic and community development, and external affairs activities for more than 430,000 customers across six counties in north central Alabama. Calhoun most recently served as president of the Alabama Power Foundation and vice president of Charitable Giving for Alabama Power, awarding grants to Alabama nonprofits, education institutions and community organizations. Prior to joining Alabama Power, Calhoun was general counsel and senior vice president of Regional Development and Public Policy for the Birmingham Business Alliance.

My Truth

I lead a foundation that is mission focused on elevating Alabama. Through the work of the Foundation across the state, I am very aware of the often-intractable nature of problems that arrest development for many who live here. It can be overwhelming, but it seems to me that our best course in addressing our many social, economic and educational gaps is to invest in ideas and programs deeply before investing broadly. This comes with its own challenges because the needs are many and the resources are limited. To better address this, we have recently established a division on strategic initiatives.