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VANGUARD LEADERSHIP ACADEMY ORGANIZATION TEAM

BOARD OF DIRECTOR

Alveno Castilla.png

Board Treasurer

Alveno Castilla, Esq., CPA

Mr. Castilla is a native of Madison County, Mississippi and retired at the end of 2023 from the Butler Snow LLP law firm (Ridgeland, MS office), where he had been a partner for many years in the Business Services Group. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Mr. Castilla was a partner in the Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A. and the Jones Walker LLP law firms. He is a graduate of Millsaps College, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Virginia Tax Review. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Castilla's full-time law practice concentrated primarily on federal, state, and local taxation matters, including contested matters with the IRS and the Mississippi Department of Revenue; he also handled a variety of corporate, transactional, and financing matters and generally served as a trusted tax and business advisor.  He is a member of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. He is a member of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants.

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Since retiring from full-time law practice, Mr. Castilla has established a mediation and arbitration firm, Castilla Mediation Group, LLC, where he serves as a neutral to assist adverse parties in negotiating jointly acceptable resolution of issues in conflict. He also continues to consult and advise on various tax, corporate, transactional, and financing matters.

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Mr. Castilla frequently writes and lectures on federal and Mississippi tax law matters and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for many years. He received the Mississippi Business Journal "Leadership in Law" award in 2010 and in 2014 was named a Legacy Lawyer by Portico Magazine. He has twice been named "Lawyer of the Year" in Litigation and Controversy (Tax) by Best Lawyers in America -- in 2013 and 2019, and has an AV Preeminent rating (the highest possible) from Martindale-Hubbell, the most recognized and prominent legal directory in the U.S. Over the course of his law career, Mr. Castilla has served in several law firm management roles, including practice group chairman and managing partner.

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Ms. Castilla has a long record of service in civic and community circles and has served or is serving on numerous boards, including the Arts Alliance of Jackson & Hinds County (past president), Mississippi Board of Bar Commissioners, Capital Area Bar Association (past president), Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, Community Foundation of Mississippi (treasurer), Downtown Jackson YMCA, Middle Mississippi Girl Scouts Council, Mississippi Symphony, Smith Robertson Museum, Jackson 2000 (past co-chairman), Leadership Jackson Alumni Association, Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Business League & Foundation, Millsaps College, MINACT, Inc., Mississippi Economic Council (past chairman), Mississippi Baptist Health Systems, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, Mississippi Center for Education Innovation (chairman), Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute (treasurer), E-Center Foundation of Mississippi (chairman), Jackson State University Development Foundation (executive committee), Eco-Jazz NFP (sponsor of an innovative mixed-use community development project in East St. Louis, IL (president)), Alliance for Mississippi's Future (formed by the Mississippi Economic Council to facilitate efforts to change the State flag), appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to Blue Ribbon Mississippi Tax Study Commission (chair of subcommittee on Local Government Tax Issues), New Lake Church Trustee Board (chairman), Vanguard Leadership Academy (treasurer), appointed by Gov. Tate Reeves to the Mississippi Board of Nursing (effective January 2024), and as a volunteer in many other capacities. In 2018, Mr. Castilla was named as one of Mississippi's Most Influential African-Americans by Legend Publishing.

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Mr. Castilla is an active member of New Lake Church, Jackson, Mississippi, and enjoys traveling, theatre, attending baseball and football games, fishing and playing golf as often as possible. He has two adult children resides in Madison County, Mississippi.

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