ALUMNI
2014 Chapter
Alumni of the Year
Texas Southern
University National
Alumni Association
Julia Askew
President
AUSTIN
Vera Givens
CHICAGO
Bernadette TuckerDuck
DALLAS
Ethel Curtis
FORT WORTH
Leslie Johns
JESSE H. JONES
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Verdis Wilson
MAROON & GRAY
Leo Brimmer
METRO HOUSTON
Joyce Sission
NEW ORLEANS
Sheryl Reynard
OCEAN OF SOUL
Garnet Foster
SAN ANTONIO
James Shelton
WASHINGTON DC/METRO
Robert Reeder
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY
Shawn Williams
PHARMACY & HALTH
SCIENCES
Dr. Angela Zachary
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY &
HEALTH SCIENCES
Dr. Crystal Cooper
Miss Homecoming
TSU Graduate
Skillern-Jones to
lead HISD Board as
President
The HISD Board of
Education voted to
name Trustee Rhonda
Skillern-Jones its new
president. SkillernJones earned a
bachelor’s degree in
business administration
and a master’s degree
in clinical sociology
from Texas Southern
University. In accepting
the new role, SkillernJones said that she’s
honored to be given
this responsibility
and “I take it very
seriously.”
Womack Appointed
to Board of Directors
Gerald W. Womack, a
Jesse H. Jones School
of Business alumnus
and prominent real
estate developer,
was appointed to
the Houston First
Corporation Board
of Directors by the
Houston City Council
for a two-year term.
The Houston First
Corporation operates
the city’s convention,
arts and entertainment
venues. Womack
has been actively
involved in the Houston
community for many
years.
Davis Named Manager of Operations
Gary Davis, a 1979 cum
laude graduate of the Jesse H.
Jones School of Business, has
been named as the Manager of
Operations at Reagan International
Airport in Washington D.C.
Davis is responsible for the safe,
efficient, and secure operation of
the Reagan National Airport complex, including
aircraft operations, terminal buildings, leased
space, airport road systems, airport parking
structures and associated facilities.
TSU Alumnus
Appointed by
President Obama to
National Council on
Disability
Dr. Royal P. Walker
Jr., a Texas Southern
University Thurgood
Marshall School of Law
alumnus and former
executive director
of the University of
Southern Mississippi
Institute for Disability
Studies, was appointed
by President Barack
Obama to the National
Council on Disability
(NCD), an independent
federal agency
that recommends
disability policy to
the Administration,
Congress and other
federal agencies.
Education Alumnus
named Interim
Superintendent
Brian McDonald
was voted to interim
superintendent of the
Pasadena, California
Unified School District
Board of Education.
McDonald, who
holds a master’s
degree in education
administration from
Texas Southern
University, previously
served as the school
improvement officer
in the Houston
Independent School
District.
visit us online at
www.tsu.edu.
TSU Alumnus Making a Name for
Himself in the Big Apple
Texas Southern University
alumnus Jason O. Parker heads the
Client Events and Administration
Division for the Nickelodeon
Cable network. He played a major
role in planning and executing
the inaugural Nickelodeon Kids’
Choice Sports Awards, hosted by fellow TSU
alumnus Michael Strahan, this summer.
TSU Alumnus Elected President of Houston Black American Democrats
Attorney Edward Pollard, graduate of
TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law,
was elected President of the Houston
Black American Democrats (H-BAD).
H-BAD is a long standing progressive
organization dedicated to building a strong
political power base focusing on issues
that directly affect the Black community
in Houston. H-BAD is the only majority
African American group sanctioned by
the Harris County Democratic Party. Mr.
Pollard succeeds former Houston City
Council-Woman Carol Mims Galloway.
Pollard is the Son of Dr. Dianne Jemison
Pollard, long time Theatre professor at
Texas Southern University.
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