My name is Darby Teal Ross. My mother named me after freed slaves who earned their name "Darby” which meant ‘freed man’ in Dutch, spoken by early Dutch colonizers during the formation of early America. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, a city with rich history and contributions to today’s music and the Civil Rights Era. Memphis is home to The Little Rock Nine’s historical visit, Martin Luther King Jr’s Freedom Rally appearance and later assassination, Elvis Presley, and Brown vs. Board of Education case.
My middle name comes from my Grandfather, Elgin Teal, who never had a son of his own. He along with my father, Rod Ross, were my first examples of how black men cope with racial inequity and systematic oppression within the workplace.
I have over a decade of experience in automotive and financial originations. I have maintained an average run rate of $48 million plus at minimum for the past seven years of my career. I am someone who remains energized as I identify and optimize areas of opportunities around me. I enjoy thinking on a macro level and always use available resources to enhance my value within my position. I leverage relationships within multi-departments and external partners to further get things done. I am a creative innovator with a strategic mind. I believe I can achieve any goal set before me if I can maintain my growth mindset and behave in a manner that promotes peak performance.
I am a proud community leader, activist, and social impact strategist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I enjoy spending my extra time sharing in spaces curated for those who like to positively build within their communities. I am the CEO and non-technical founder of Reformium. Technologies LLC. My company was founded with the vision of solving prison reform and the purpose of disrupting the monopoly on incarcerated people connecting with loved ones via telecommunications. We. Are actively bridging the digital divide for incarcerated people and their loved ones.
Darby is a Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant for the Nonprofit Impact Institute with Social Venture Partners Dallas (SVP Dallas). For more information on the Nonprofit Impact Institute, please contact dogoodbetter@svpdallas.org.