About Us – The Bean Path

About Us

Our Mission

The Bean Path is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Jackson, Mississippi and was founded by Dr. Nashlie Sephus. Our mission is to sow technical expertise in order to grow networks and fertilize communities.

What We Do

We essentially provide technical advice and guidance to individuals and small businesses in the community. Our initiatives include Tech Office Hours at the local libraries, engineering and coding programs for youth, and scholarships/grants for students and community organizations.

Invest in Your Future by Learning Tech

Meet The Team

Founder, Chief Executive Officer

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Nashlie Sephus

Dr. Nashlie H. Sephus is the Applied Science manager for Amazon’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) focusing on fairness and identifying biases in AWS AI technologies. She formerly led the Amazon Visual Search team in Atlanta, which launched visual search for replacement parts on the Amazon Shopping app in June 2018. This technology is a result of former startup Partpic (Atlanta) being acquired by Amazon, for which she was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Prior to working at Partpic, she received her Ph.D. from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2014 and worked for a year with Exponent, a technical consulting firm, in New York City. Her core research areas were digital signal processing, machine learning, and computer engineering. She received her B.S. in Computer Engineering from Mississippi State University in 2007. She is featured as Georgia Tech’s inaugural top 40 under 40 alumni in the Class of 2020.

Dr. Sephus is a native of Jackson, Mississippi and a 2003 graduate of Murrah High School/Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex (APAC). She had several internships and research experiences worldwide with companies such as IBM, Delphi, University of California at Berkeley, GE Research Center, GE Energy, Miller Transporters, and Kwangwoon University in Seoul, South Korea.

In 2018, Dr. Sephus became the founder and CEO of The Bean Path non-profit organization based in Jackson, MS, assisting individuals and startups with technical expertise and guidance. In September of 2020, she became the owner and developer of the Jackson Tech District, at least 12-acres of mixed-use commercial real-estate in downtown Jackson to bring tech training and workforce/economic development to the area. In addition to these, she is the co-founder of KITTLabs in Atlanta, GA which was created to assist in building equity and opportunity, targeting Black entrepreneurs in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math). During her leisure time, she enjoys playing tennis, playing the piano, listening to music, bargain hunting, biking, gardening and working on do-it-yourself (DIY) projects at home.

Interim, Chief Operating Officer

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Amber Johnson

Dr. Amber Johnson is a Jackson, MS native and the owner of The Kidult Life, a lifestyle brand. Dr. Amber, attended Tougaloo College, The LeMoyne-Owen College, and Jackson State University where she studied Computer Science. In 2019, Dr. Amber became the first black woman to graduate with a PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University.

Dr. Amber has worked with organizations such as Girls Who Code, Black Girls Lead, and BRIGHT-CS, which all aim to bridge the digital divide and pour into youth through tech programming. Dr. Amber’s experience in several sectors of tech such as cybersecurity, healthcare, and cloud computing, has been a driving force for innovation through consulting, software engineering, software development, as well as research.

Board Member

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Stephen Brown

A native Jacksonian, Stephen graduated from Oak Forest Elementary, Power APAC, Peeples Middle School, and THEEEE Murrah High School (Roll Blue!) before heading to Loyola University in New Orleans to earn his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and a minor in Music Business. Stephen is the youngest of four children born to Herbert and Stephany Brown. Coming from a family of educators, Stephen’s counseling and presentation style is reminiscent of a college professor.

Stephen has been a full-time staff member with WHEF since January 2013. He is a member of National College Access Network, Mississippi Counseling Association, and most notably the Southern Association of College Admission Counselors from which he received the Rising Star Award at the regional conference in 2017. His passion for education and working face-to-face with students is immediately apparent when witnessing his interaction with families. He takes the most pride in providing free ACT Prep services, having had multiple students increase their overall scores by as many as 10 points!

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Almesha Campbell

Dr. Almesha L. Campbell currently serves as the Director for Technology Transfer and Commercialization at Jackson State University (JSU). She manages the intellectual property process from triage of invention disclosures to commercialization. She provides strategic direction and vision for defining partnerships in commercialization, entrepreneurship, and innovation initiatives between JSU and other institutions, funding agencies, and industry stakeholders.

Dr. Campbell is the Principal Investigator for the National Science Foundation funded JSU Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Site designed to train teams of faculty and students how to commercialize their ideas using the Lean Startup Methodology. She also leads a number of initiatives geared towards increasing the innovation, Technology Transfer, invention, and entrepreneurial activities at JSU, such as the JSU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship which houses the XR Academy, Makerspace, and Learning Collaboratory.

Dr. Campbell received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida, the master’s degree in Mass Communications, and the doctor of philosophy degree in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University. She holds membership in professional organizations such as the Licensing Executives Society (LES), the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), and the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA).

Board Member

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Nader Dabit

Board Member

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Denise Fondren

M. Denise Fondren currently serves as Staff Attorney for the Earlene Gardner Victims Assistance Project at North Mississippi Rural Legal Services (NMRLS) in Oxford, MS. In this role, she provides legal assistance and support to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in twenty-seven northern Mississippi counties. She works closely with other service providers and community agencies to ensure victims are heard and assisted. She served in several different capacities at NMRLS prior to going to Law School such as Executive Assistant and Foreclosure Prevention Support Staff. She has been with NMRLS since 2010.

Denise earned her Juris Doctorate from The University of Mississippi School of Law in May 2017 and was admitted to The Mississippi Bar September 2017. She also holds two Bachelors of Business Administration degrees from The University of Mississippi in Managerial Finance and Banking & Finance.

She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority where she serves as Assistant Treasurer and Undergraduate Advisor in the Oxford Chapter. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Bean Path, a non-profit technology consulting and networking corporation. She attends and serves on the finance committee at South Hopewell M.B. Church in Oxford. Most notable, she is the mother of a beautiful daughter, Jamari Fondren. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and watching college football.

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Roderick Jackson

Dr. Roderick Jackson is the laboratory program manager for buildings-related research at NREL. He works closely with senior laboratory management to set the strategic agenda for NREL’s buildings portfolio, including all research, development, and market implementation activities, which aim to improve the energy efficiency of building materials and practices. He also guides discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office to expand research related to buildings-to-grid, as well as mechanical and thermal properties of building materials to enhance heat transfer. He also helps identify industry partnership opportunities to develop building envelope and equipment technologies.

Jackson comes to NREL from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he was the group manager for Building Envelope Systems Research.

One of Jackson’s most notable industry accomplishments is a result of his role as the technical lead for the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) demonstration project at ORNL. With Jackson’s leadership, AMIE brought together experts from multiple research teams across the lab, 20 partners from industry, and DOE scientists to design, develop, and demonstrate a 3D-printed house that shares power wirelessly with a 3D-printed electric vehicle. The first-of-its-kind project was completed in just nine months.

Jackson has been cited in more than 560 publications; is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers; and has received several awards in his career, including the National GEM Consortium Alumni of the Year and Greater Knoxville Business Journal’s 40 under 40.

Board Member

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Sarah Lee

Sarah Lee is Director of the School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to entering academia, she had a 20 year career at FedEx Corporation. Sarah has launched multiple programs to increase the participation of women in computing, including the Mississippi Affiliate Aspirations in Computing award program, in collaboration with the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), for girls in grades 9 -12. Sarah was recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top in Tech award program in 2019. In 2020, she received the prestigious John Grisham Master Teacher award, the highest faculty award for teaching at Mississippi State University. Sarah holds a BS in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems from the Mississippi University for Women and a master’s degree in computer science from MSU. She earned her PhD in computer science from the University of Memphis.

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Xavius Levy

Xavius Levy is a lifelong resident of Jackson and a product of Jackson Public Schools. He graduated Valedictorian of the Class of 2002 from Lanier High School where he also served as Mr. Lanier.

Upon graduation, Xavius was named a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar, receiving a “full ride” scholarship to the 4 year college of his choice. He was also awarded the Jackson Rotary Club Scholarship. After high school, Xavius pursued a degree in a STEM field from Mississippi College and later transferred to THEE Jackson State University.

Despite the socioeconomic challenges faced as kid in Jackson with limited resources, Xavius found a way to excel academically and developed a keen interest in technology. He realized early on that regardless of the academic gifts one may possess, having access to resources and positive advocates played a vital role in an individual’s future success.

After losing his mother to cancer as a teenager, Xavius devoted much of his time to volunteering with youth development programs such as Young Life and Big Brother Big Sister. Despite not yet having completed his degree, he still honors his mother’s legacy of helping others by serving as the Jackson area volunteer coordinator for his company’s (CarMax) foundation.

Engagement Manager

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Angelyn Irvin

Marketing & Public Relations Manager

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Theresa Kennedy

The Moss Point native attributes her success to her parents. Her mother – a teacher – taught her to work selflessly. Her father instilled in her a diligent attitude, sociable nature and an unwillingness to accept mediocrity. She is a graduate of Moss Point High School and a proud alumna of the Alcorn State University, where she was apart of the 2001 SWAC Women’s Tennis Champion team and initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Upon earning a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Agricultural Economics from Alcorn State University, Theresa has worked in the area of agriculture, entrepreneurship, banking, political campaigns, small business consulting, city government, community outreach and marketing.

She served as the Director of the Women Business Center of Mississippi, an organization that assists women entrepreneurs and small business owners with starting and/or growing their businesses. She was honored to impact the lives of women across the state.

With much dedication, Theresa has moved full-steam ahead with her public relations, marketing and brand/business development agency, fifty-five │twenty, LLC, which was founded in 2012. Her clients include: entrepreneurs to small businesses to non profits. She is continuing to let her light shine and helping others do so as she serves as Senior Advisor and making a difference in the bottom line of her clients.

Social Media Marketing Specialist

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Mariah Morris

Mariah Morris is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi is where she accredits her interest in a career in business. She is passionate about all things marketing with an emphasis on digital marketing. She is an entry level professional with over three years of experience working in various marketing settings. She has worked top retailers such as ASICS, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker. She is driven, passionate and determined to succeed in every aspect in life.

Officer of Human Resource & Finance

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Tonie Sephus

Tonie has 30 years of Postal Service commitment, with over ten years of which she served in financial accounting and payroll. She has also exercised two years prior to the Postal Service, as a secretary/bookkeeper in a non-governmental business capacity. Her expertise has shown her to be competent and diligent with an integrity for accuracy.

Tonie is a mother of two successful adults and holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Jackson State University. She utilized her degree to excel into self-proclaimed proprietorship as a seamstress specializing in wedding attire.

As a Christian, she believes that she can do all things through Christ, who is the head of all things. As a person, she believes that we all are created equal and as a woman, she believes that multitasking is a must. Her motto is “You can do nothing wrong, when all you’re trying to do is right. Because anything that’s broken can be mended and anything that’s missing can be fulfilled.”

Tonie is proud to be a part of The Bean Path team, knowing that she can contribute greatly to its future success.

Technology Officer in Residence

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Ivan Walker

Ivan Walker is a software development engineer (SDE) with the Amazon/A9 visual search team based in Atlanta, GA. He put his PhD studies on hold to assist startup company Partpic build out their platform for visual search for replacement parts. Partpic’s success in this space led to their acquisition by Amazon. He recently lead the infrastructure effort for his team to launch their fastener recognition service within the Amazon mobile app.

As a doctoral student at Georgia Tech, Ivan split his time between researcher and instructor. As an instructor, Ivan was consistently highly rated by his students. Ivan’s research topic was developing paradigms to utilize neural interfaces (non-invasive EEG) to assist athletes in achieving optimal performance.

Ivan holds a B.S./M.S. in Computer Engineering from Jackson State University. His previous work and research experiences includes Intel (GEM Sponsor), IBM, Raytheon, Army Research Laboratory, and Air Force Research Laboratory. His research interests are in cognitive science, machine learning, software engineering, and education. Ivan played collegiate tennis while at JSU and is still very active in the sport. His doubles team was recently runner-up for City (Atlanta) Champs in their division. He also enjoys bowling, ping pong, water activities that don’t require swimming and inspiring his 20+ nieces and nephews.

Executive Assistant

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Whitney Wells

Programs Manager

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Kellie Williams

Kellie is a native of Jackson, MS. She is a graduate of Forest Hill High School and has certification in Medical Billing and Coding from Tusla Tech in 2018. Kellie has 19 years of experience working in the healthcare setting. She is the Clinic Office Supervisor at Baptist Premier located in Jackson. She loves to help with volunteer projects with her church to help those in need. Kellie also loves spending time with family, and believes family is important and provides a framework to personal values.