Dr. Billy R. Counts has spent his adult professional life in service to others. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2020 after a 30-year career, serving in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and multiple U.S. locations, culminating in his final assignment as the Redstone Arsenal Installation Command Sergeant Major. During his final military assignment, Dr. Counts became aware of Phoenix and its mission of helping people with significant disabilities improve the quality of their lives through meaningful employment, skill development, and professional growth and development.
Upon retirement from the U.S. Army, Dr. Counts joined Phoenix as the Assistant Vice President of Government Services and was later promoted to Vice President. In this role, Dr. Counts manages a business portfolio of federal AbilityOne service contracts with DoD, DoJ, GSA, NASA, as well as numerous commercial contracts that employ over 800 people with significant disabilities in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia. These contracts provide employment opportunities in janitorial, grounds maintenance, administrative, reception, mail room, warehousing and receiving. In addition, the revenue from these opportunities allows Phoenix to give back to the local community through a grant program that provides over $150,000 annually to Huntsville/Madison County nonprofits that directly or indirectly support people with disabilities.
Dr. Counts serves on the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce as the co-chair of the Military Affairs Committee, the City of Huntsville Office of Multicultural Affairs Strategic Advisory Council, the Redstone Regional Alliance, and is a member of the Huntsville Rotary Club as well as a graduate of Leadership Greater Huntsville Class 35.
Dr. Counts holds a Doctor of Business Administration specializing in Organizational Leadership and Development from Capella University, a Master of Arts in History from American Military University, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Columbia College.
Dr. Counts lives in Meridianville, Alabama with his wife, Birgit, of 30 years, and has one daughter (Patricia) and four grandchildren (Holly, Lilly, Daisy, and Aldric).
