2025 Business Leaders Hall of Fame
Thank you for helping us honor the remarkable contributions of three incredible business luminaries and advance the mission of Junior Achievement!
Since 1965, Junior Achievement has been on the forefront of empowering young minds and eradicating generational poverty by providing essential financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship programs to local K5-12th grade students in high impact schools.
By participating in our Business Leaders Hall of Fame, you directly contribute to shaping the destinies of thousands of students in the Triad region. You equip students with the skills they need to achieve economic success, creating a more prosperous and responsible community for us all.
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Congratulations to our 2025 Business Leaders Hall of Fame Laureates!
Shirley T. Frye
Shirley T. Frye, a distinguished Greensboro educator, has earned numerous honors, including the 2022 Triad Business Journal Outstanding Women in Business Award, the 2017 News & Record Woman of the Year Award, and the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine. After graduating with highest honors from N.C. A&T State University, she pursued a career in special education and later held leadership roles at N.C. A&T, Bennett College, and WFMY News 2, where she earned an Emmy. Frye’s groundbreaking leadership includes chairing the integration of Greensboro’s YWCA and serving as its first president, with the current YWCA building named in her honor. She has volunteered extensively, serving for over 20 years on High Point University’s Board of Trustees and the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Board. In her spare time, Frye enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, alongside her husband, Justice Henry Frye, North Carolina’s first Black Chief Justice, with whom she shares a legacy of civic dedication and trailblazing achievements.
Edmund R. Gant, Jr.
Edmund R. Gant, Jr. (Eddie) has made a lasting impact through transformative leadership and community service. After obtaining degrees from Guilford College and Cornell University, he began his career at the Boys and Girls Club of America, where he revitalized a struggling location by securing funding, increasing membership by 800%, and expanding services to reach over 1,000 at-risk youth. Now, at Glen Raven, Inc., his work reflects a deep commitment to volunteerism and community engagement, complemented by leadership roles with AuthoraCare Foundation, United Way, and the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Gant’s dedication to service is rooted in a family legacy of giving back and improving lives. Married to Allison Draper Gant for 36 years, he finds joy in their two children, Olivia Gant Miller and Edmund Gant III, and their grandson, Thomas A. Miller.
Dr. Janet Spriggs
Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, the seventh President of Forsyth Technical Community College, brings nearly three decades of leadership experience to North Carolina’s Community College System. A two-time Aspen Presidential Fellow, she is nationally recognized for her commitment to equity, economic prosperity, and workforce development through education. Dr. Spriggs’ own journey as a community college student fuels her passion for creating transformative opportunities for others, supported by her doctorate from Northeastern University and additional degrees from Nova Southeastern and Roger Williams University. She serves on prominent boards, including Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., and as Vice President for the American Association of Women in Community Colleges. Married to her husband Doug for nearly 40 years, she cherishes family time, golf, photography, and crocheting.
