Forge Member Spotlight: Derrick Magnotta

Forge Member Spotlight: Derrick Magnotta

Meet Forge Member, Derrick Magnotta!

 

Derrick is the COO of Quality Counts, Inc. – an employment screening company – they do background checks, drug testing, and medical exams for employers around the country. We love having Derrick as part of the Forge community!

 

What is your favorite part about your job?
“Problem solving, hands down. Every customer brings a unique set of challenges, and I love digging into those—figuring out their processes, pain points, and goals. Then I get to match that with our capabilities and experience to craft something tailored and effective. It’s like building a custom solution every time—and that never gets old.”

 

What made you decide to join Forge?
“I had been working from home a few days a week, but wanted to manage better work/life balance. When my office was at home, I could always work. Going to a clean, neutral third space helped improve my focus at work and improve my enjoyment of life at home.”

 

What is your favorite thing about Forge?
“It is bright, clean, and there’s always freshly brewed Domestique coffee. What else can you ask for?”

 

What is your favorite spot/place to work at Forge?
“I like to sit overlooking the window onto the street. It’s amazing how many people don’t know how to drive in a city.”

 

What are your favorite tech tools to get your job done or keep your life organized?
“The best tech tool for me is one that reinforces my daily rituals and keeps me focused. I use a personal Google Site as my home base—it’s where I link all my core systems, applications, and dashboards. Each day starts with a review of our performance dashboard from the previous business day—order volumes, error rates, fulfillment rates—so I can immediately get a pulse on operations. Having everything centralized in one place makes my workflow feel streamlined and intentional. It’s the first page I open every morning and the top item on my bookmarks bar. Other applications include our proprietary systems, Google Sheets for analytics and dashboards, ChatGPT (including a custom trained bot on my company’s SOPs), and Any.do for task tracking and scheduling.”
Is there a product you cannot live without?
“Endel! It generates sound based on mood to help me focus, gain energy, or decompress after the day.”
What is the last show you binge-watched?
“Veep (for at least the fourth or fifth time)”

 

What is your ideal weekend in Birmingham?
“My ideal weekend in Birmingham starts with a quiet Friday night—cooking pasta or pizza at home for my wife and just enjoying some downtime together. Saturday kicks off with a walk at Ruffner with our dog, Roosie, grabbing a coffee at Domestique, then meeting up with friends for wine at Red or White or a beer at a brewery. We’ll usually head to a second spot for dinner – ideally Hattie B’s. On Sunday, we sleep in, grab a taco from Taco Morro Loco, and hang out on our screen porch. Simple, low key, relaxed.”
Meet Forge Ambassador LaToya R. Mims

Meet Forge Ambassador LaToya R. Mims

Meet LaToya R. Mims- our newest Forge Ambassador!

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is LaToya R. Mims. I am a proud native of Birmingham, AL. I am married to my best friend, Henry Mims and we have two beautiful children, Harper (6) and Mason (almost 2).
Professionally, my background is in Clinical Laboratory Science and Infection Prevention, but I have recently shifted gears to really utilize my strengths of breaking down barriers in communication and truly fostering relationships to work in serving others, through my nonprofit.
I am an avid lover of volleyball and basketball, and have 12 years of coaching volleyball under my belt.

What brought you to Forge?

 

I was familiar with Forge because I previously utilized the Cahaba conference room and was impressed with how effortless the process to book a room was. So when Catrice, who is also an Ambassador at Forge, recommended the opportunity to serve as an Ambassador, I was very interested.

What are you looking forward to about working at Forge?

 

After meeting with Kim and learning about how the Ambassadors serve, I was truly amazed by the opportunities to network. So, I am really looking forward to participating in the panels and other community networking events.

What do you do when you are not working at Forge?

When I am not at Forge, I am putting in the work to build my nonprofit, The WildFlower Alliance, into a sustainable organization that will impact families for generations to come.
I also am a part of 3 different leadership cohorts, UAB Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and other related Disabilities (LEND), Partners in Policymaking Alabama (PIPA) and Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) LEND Scholars based in Connecticut, to truly invest in building my knowledge base of policies that impact individuals with Disabilities.

If you could choose to do anything for the day, what would you choose to do?

If I could do anything for a day, it would be to sit on a beach in front of the ocean and just be.

What is your favorite thing about Birmingham?

 

My favorite thing about Birmingham is our ability to evolve and thrive. We have seen and endured some remarkable times, historically that set a precedent. Birmingham is stronger today and our growth continual.
Meet Forge Ambassador Catrice Pruitt

Meet Forge Ambassador Catrice Pruitt

We are excited to introduce our newest Forge Ambassador, Catrice Pruitt!

 

Catrice Pruitt

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

 

A native of Fairfield, Alabama, Catrice is pursuing her Ph.D in Early Childhood Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She completed her Masters in Early Childhood Education at Alabama State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Miles College.
With 15+ years of experience in early childhood education, Catrice uses her expertise to mentor, motivate and educate child care directors, advocate for our youngest learners on Capitol Hill alongside the Women’s Foundation of Alabama and Voices for Alabama’s Children. She is also transcending into other ventures such as finance and health and well-being to help evoke community impact and economic power.

What brought you to Forge?

 

The opportunity to grow professionally and personally, while making new connections.

What are you looking forward to about working at Forge?

 

Learning more about co-working spaces and how to best meet the needs of clients in this setting. Also, making new connections and knowing what services are in the Magic City.

What do you do when you are not working at Forge?

 

Catrice works at a local nonprofit making quality childcare happen for our youngest learners. In her spare time, you can find Catrice active with several committees and focus groups, serving on several Board of Directors, leading several peer groups such as the W.E.D.N (Women Entrepreneurs & Directors Network), mentoring future leaders in 21st Century Skills readiness, reading and listening to audio books, and serving at my church.
You can also find her at local eateries, coffee shops, Barnes & Noble, and most importantly, spending time with her greatest joy, her daughter Erin.

If you could choose to do anything for the day, what would you choose to do?

 

Spend the day in another country enjoying the food and learning the culture.

What is your favorite thing about Birmingham?

 

The legacy of Birmingham and the people who helped shape it.
Member Spotlight: Ethan Davis

Member Spotlight: Ethan Davis

 

Tell us a little bit about what you do/your company does.

 

Front Gate Tickets specializes in ticketing and RFID technology for 180 music festivals in North America. We help with everything from building and hosting the ticketing website, wristband fulfillment, and making sure everyone scans correctly on-site for both Live Nation and independent promoters.”

What is your favorite part about your job?

 

 

“The travel for sure! Each year I end up getting to go to about 20 different music festivals, so you probably won’t see me in the office every week.”

What made you decide to join Forge?

 

“That sweet sweet location! It’s hard to beat downtown Birmingham.”

What is your favorite thing about Forge?

 

 

“The absolutely amazing commute from my apartment in the building.”

What is your favorite spot/place to work at Forge?

 

 

“Catch me on the West side overlooking the food hall courtyard OR in a booth on a meeting that should have been an email.”

What are your favorite tech tools to get your job done or keep your life organized?

 

“You gotta have that external monitor and cable bag with you! (I’m borderline useless without a second screen.)”

What is the last show you binge-watched?

 

 

“What We Do In The Shadows”
Member Spotlight: Daniel Rock

Member Spotlight: Daniel Rock

 

We love getting to know Forge Members and we are excited to share more about Daniel Rock, Chief Revenue Officer at SuiteFiles.

 

In addition to your job title, tell us a little bit about what you do/your company does.
“I am responsible for the sales and marketing functions at SuiteFiles, we are an intelligent workspace that helps any business that needs to collaborate with others. We do everything from document management, client portals, email management, pdf editing and digital signing all in one platform.”
What is your favorite part about your job?
“Making a difference to our customers – our solution really does make their lives easier.”
What made you decide to join Forge?
“I miss being around people when I work, so the opportunity to network and socialize is key!”
What are your favorite tech tools to get your job done or keep your life organized?
“I have to practice what we preach – so SuiteFiles is key, we use it extensively day-to-day.”
What is the last show you binge-watched?

 

“Reacher series 2”
What is your ideal weekend in Birmingham?

 

“I’m still working this out, we only arrived in April, but it would probably involve a great dinner and some live sport.”
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