Presenting the 2026 Baylor Alumni Award winners

Baylor graduates truly do “fling their green and gold afar,” making an impact in virtually any field you can think of. This year’s Baylor Alumni Award winners are no different, with recipients ranging from the CFO of Walmart to a child protection specialist serving children in Myanmar.

Congratulations to this year’s honorees:

Alumnus of the Year: John David Rainey (BBA ’93, MBA ’95), executive vice president and chief financial officer of Walmart. Rainey’s resume includes 18 years at Continental and United airlines and seven years as CFO of PayPal before he joined Walmart in 2022. But it all began at Baylor: “I credit Dr. Terry Maness with sparking the flame for me on having an interest in finance,” he says. “And if Dr. Maness sparked the flame, then Dr. Bill Petty fanned the flame. Taking his class was the moment where I realized this is what I want to do as a career.”

Pro Ecclesia Medal of Service: Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert (BA ’96), dean and professor of homiletics at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. An ordained Baptist minister, Gilbert leads The Preaching Project, a ministry dedicated to empowering ministers for effective service within African American churches and communities. He was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College in 2022, and was named dean of the Howard School of Divinity in 2024.

Pro Texana Medal of Service: Brenda Snitzer (BSED ’85, MSED ’86), executive director of The Stewpot, a community ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Dallas. Under Snitzer’s leadership, The Stewpot has grown to serve thousands of homeless and at-risk people in the Dallas area. Last year, The Stewpot served more than 300,000 meals and distributed more than 2 million pounds of food while also facilitating healthcare visits, job training, shower services and more.

Pro Texana Medal of Service: Brenda Snitzer (BSED ’85, MSED ’86), executive director of The Stewpot, a community ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Dallas. Under Snitzer’s leadership, The Stewpot has grown to serve thousands of homeless and at-risk people in the Dallas area. Last year, The Stewpot served more than 300,000 meals and distributed more than 2 million pounds of food while also facilitating healthcare visits, job training, shower services and more.

Pro Mundo Medal of Service: Biak Nu Sung (MSW ’12), a child protection specialist with UNICEF dedicated to advancing child welfare and protection in Myanmar. An encounter with a Baylor graduate connected Biak with Baylor during her undergraduate studies in Singapore. After graduating from the Global Mission Leadership Scholars Program in the Garland School of Social Work, Biak returned to her native Myanmar, where she uses what she learned at Baylor to influence international child advocacy, policy development and family support initiatives.

Sic ’em, Bears!