The Faces of Our Organization
Raven Payne
FOUNDER
BroDrick Engram
CO-FOUNDER
Darrell Sabbs, Jr.
CO-FOUNDER
Jimmy Whaley
LEADERSHIP MEMBER
Terence Clemons
LEADERSHIP MEMBER
Jennifer Wilson
LEADERSHIP MEMBER
Whitney Kimbrough
LEADERSHIP MEMBER
Jessica Wright
LEADERSHIP MEMBER
The Leadership Team
GET TO KNOW US
Dr. Raven Payne, Ed.D.
FOUNDER
Raven is the Founder of twenty40. She is the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) Director at Albany State University. She is a former English instructor at South Georgia Technical College, where she was also the lead instructor of the English department and the writer and co-director of the current Quality Enhancement Plan (a strategic initiative for improving student learning and engagement). While at South Georgia Technical College, she had the honor of serving as the 2015 Instructor of the Year, being recognized as a 2021 Instructor of the Year nominee and served as a local and State advisor for the National Technical Honor Society. She is also a member of the Georgia Association for Developmental Education, the National Association for Student Success and a member of the Georgia Association of Women in Higher Education.
Raven is a graduate of Spelman College where she earned a BA in English with a minor in Comparative Women Studies; she holds a MS in Management with a concentration in Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness from Troy University; she recently earned a doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Organizational Development from Grand Canyon University.
Raven is actively involved in the Americus-Sumter County community: past Vice Chair and member of the Sumter County Voter Registration and Board of Elections, board member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and a panel judge for Columbus-Synovus Trust Company’s annual essay contest. Her past involvements have included: 2015 graduate of the Advancing Sumter Leadership Academy, Vice President of the Board for the Fuller Center for Housing and a board member of ALAI (Adult Literacy Action Initiative).
In addition to her community involvement, Raven was named one of Rural Leader magazine’s 2016 Forty under 40 Top Four; a 2017 Honorary council member for the City of Americus; May 2018 Georgia Economic Developers Association Young Professional Spotlight; the Winter 2018 feature story of the Americus magazine; honored as a 2018 Community Trailblazer by the Omicron Alpha Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., the Spring 2019 feature story of the Sumter County Living magazine; a 2020 graduate of the South Georgia LEADS Leadership Program; and has had the honor of being recognized by several other organizations throughout the Americus-Sumter County community for her commitment to community service.
Raven is also a writer and a speaker, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and actively involved in her family's business, Barnum Funeral Home, Inc.
BroDrick Engram
CO-FOUNDER
BroDrick is a hard worker and dedicated to the things that are important to him. He is a graduate of Sumter County Comprehensive High School and South Georgia Technical College, where he earned associate degrees in Marketing Management and Criminal Justice.
Many know BroDrick from his affiliation with Ruby Tuesday. BroDrick began his restaurant career at the early age of 18, at the Americus, GA Taco Bell as a crew member. After two months, he was promoted to team trainer and after showing strong leadership ability, he was promoted to Shift Leader after only one year of being a team trainer. After being transferred to the Albany, GA location, BroDrick was once again promoted to General Manager earning awards such as Restaurant Manager of the Year and the Albany Georgia’s Boys and Girls Club Restaurant of the Year.
Moving into a bigger role with a different company, Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen, BroDrick began a Training Manager Program and traveled across the country training newly hired managers for the company.
Missing home, BroDrick decided to accept a position of Assistant Manager at the Americus, GA Ruby Tuesday. After spending 3 years in this position, he was promoted to Restaurant General Manager and in a short time, he improved the restaurant in many different aspects (sales, pace and tickets time) earning him recognition as one of the Top 3 Restaurants in the district and named as one of the top 10 General Managers of his district.
BroDrick is the owner of Geno's Pressure Washing, LLC and is also an associate of Barnum Funeral Home.
Darrell D. Sabbs, Jr.
CO-FOUNDER
Hard-working, trustworthy and fun are only a few of the adjectives used to describe this young man! As a 1999 graduate of Americus High School, Darrell attended Morehouse College and later graduated from Albany State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. After graduating, Darrell worked for the Sumter County Schools as a high school math teacher and served as head swimming coach. After teaching for 3 years, he transitioned to South Georgia Technical College teaching math. Just recently, Darrell obtained an Associates of Science in Funeral Services from Ogeechee Technical College in the Spring of 2017.
Darrell currently works as an adjunct math instructor at South Georgia Technical College, and is preparing to operate as the chief executive officer at Barnum Funeral Home; a family business that has been in operation since 1905. Darrell is the father of two beautiful daughters, and serves as the Polemarch of the Americus-Sumter Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.
We’re proud to be a group of movers and shakers.