Donald Watkins

Donald V. Watkins (born September 8, 1948) is an American trial attorney, commercial banker, and international business entrepreneur.

Watkins has also founded, owned, and managed many businesses across a variety of industries and disciplines. These businesses operate in U.S. and international marketplaces.

Watkins serves as Chairman and CEO of Masada Resource Group, LLC (www.masada.com), a global waste-to-ethanol/diesel fuel development company, with waste-to-energy projects in varying stages of development in forty-seven countries across four continents.

In 2011, Watkins co-founded Nabirm Energy Services (Pty) Ltd. (www.nabirm.com) in Windhoek, Namibia, and he is a principal shareholder in Nabirm and serves on the company’s board of directors. Nabirm explores and develops oil, natural gas, and uranium resources. In 2016, Nabirm announced that its offshore Namibia oil block contains a massive volume of unrisked recoverable oil and natural gas. In 2012, Nabirm successfully competed against the Iranian government for valuable uranium mining concessions in Namibia.

In 2000, Watkins co-founded Alamerica Bank (www.alamericabank.com), a state-chartered bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. This was the first and only bank charter issued by the State of Alabama to an African-American-owned financial services institution. Watkins is the Bank's largest shareholder. Alamerica Bank is one of only nineteen black-owned banks in America. The Bank never sought or received federal "bailout" money during the Great Recession of 2008. It enjoys one of the best Tier 1 capital ratios among banks in Alabama and is profitable today.

Watkins is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Watkins, who is single, is the father of four sons and one daughter, all of whom are adults.

Watkins was born in Parsons, Kansas on September 8, 1948 to Dr. Levi Watkins, Sr. (1911–1994) and Mrs. Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins (1917–2013). He is the fifth of six children born to Levi and Lillian Watkins. Dr. Watkins was president of Alabama State University from 1962-1981. Mrs. Watkins was an educator by training and certification.

Watkins attended Southern Illinois University from 1966 to 1970. In September 1970, Watkins was one of two black students to desegregate the University of Alabama School of Law. Three black law students broke the color barrier at the law school the prior academic year. Watkins attended the three-year law school program on a Herbert Lehman Scholarship awarded by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York City. Lehman Scholarships were awarded to young African-American students in the 1970s who demonstrable an interest in advancing the cause of civil rights and/or serving the public interest.

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