Fort Worthy Leaders

The September/October 2022 issue of Madeworthy is all about leaders in Fort Worth. In this issue’s Fort Worthies, we wanted to spotlight some of the incredible new leaders in our community.

In January of 2022, Michelle Green-Ford was named the president and chief operating officer of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce (FWMBCC). Ms. Green-Ford is the first female president in the FWMBCC’s history. She brings a wealth of experience with her to the job. Green-Ford came from JPS Health Network, where she was a vice president and chief diversity officer. Previously, Green-Ford owned a training and consulting company. “I feel honored to serve in the capacity of assisting business owners to achieve their goals,” Green-Ford said in a press release. “My overall focus is to partner with others to create a community where everyone can thrive.”

Joel Heydenburk, a real estate partner with Jackson Walker, recently became the board chairman of the Real Estate Council of Fort Worth. Heydenburk is an alumnus of TCU, where he received a bachelor’s in business administration. He received both an MBA and a law degree from Texas Tech. In a news release, Heydenburk said, “The Real Estate Council has been a leader in advancing commercial real estate interests and the community at large for years, and I look forward to working with the association to continue its mission.”

The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation (JEHF), a Fort Worth nonprofit working to eradicate suicide by funding depression research and promoting suicide awareness through education, announced Matt Vereecke as chief operating officer in August of 2022. Prior to coming to JEHF, Vereecke was Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. He brings more than 15 years of experience in teaching and educational leadership to the position.

In March of 2022, the Morris Foundation named Elizabeth R. Brands, Ed.D, as its newest president and chief operating officer. Mrs. Brands has been with the Foundations since 2016, previously serving as the head of education giving. The Morris Foundation was founded 36 years ago to provide people in need with resources to offer them the opportunity for a more hopeful future in the areas of education, healthcare, and social services. Mrs. Brands is also the executive director of Read Fort Worth.

Andrew Eschelbacher recently took over as director of collections and exhibitions at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter). He came to the Carter from the American Federation of Arts, a nonprofit that develops exhibitions for museums, develops art education programs, and publishes exhibition catalogs. Eschelbacher served as director of curatorial affairs. “I am thrilled to be joining the Carter, a museum I have long admired for its deep connection to its communities and for its extraordinary collection and tradition of vanguard scholarship,” said Eschelbacher in a release from the Carter.

In 1994, Patrick Phillips founded American Billing Systems (ABS) to provide billing support to medical professionals. Now, Patrick’s son, Adam Phillips, has been named the company’s new chief operating officer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, doctors are increasingly outsourcing their billing to companies like ABS. Under Adam’s leadership, American Business Systems offers aspiring individuals another option – business ownership with minimal downside and maximum training and support so that industrious people can achieve success on their terms.