Speaking Of People - James Perkins, Jr., becomes Selma, Alabama's first African American mayor - this and other items are discussed - Brief Article

Ebony, Nov, 2000

AIRLINES RESERVATIONS VICE PRESIDENT

Ellen Torbert, vice president of reservations for Southwest Airlines, is the airline's first African-American officer. As a member of the senior management team, Torbert's responsibilities include guiding and directing more than 6,000 reservation employees and overseeing operations in the company's nationwide reservation centers. The Paducah, Ky., native earned a bachelor's degree in manufacturing administration from Western Michigan State (Kalamazoo). Torbert lives in Mound, Texas, with her husband, Walter, president of an investment firm, and their two children.

SELMA'S FIRST BLACK MAYOR

James Perkins Jr., 47, became the first Black mayor of Selma, Ala., defeating 10-term mayor Joseph T. Smitherman, 70, a former segregationist. The historical defeat marks Perkins' third run for the mayoral seat in Selma, home of the infamous 1972 "Bloody Sunday" incident on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which sparked the Selma March. The Selma native earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Alabama A&M University and studied business administration at Auburn University in Montgomery. Perkins, the father of four, owns a technology information firm and lives with his wife, Cynthia.

IBM VICE PRESIDENT

Dr. Mark Dean, co-developer of the IBM PC, has been named vice president of the newly formed Systems Group at IBM research, where he will lead the development of the corporation's next-generation server and hardware technology. Dean, a native of Jefferson City, Tenn., earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee, a master's degree in electrical engineering from Florida-Atlantic University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He lives in Austin, Texas.