Alumni on the Move

Erstwhile MSU Spokesman reporter Devon Ashby, ’19, has published his first book, “PG vs MoCo: A Memoir of High School Football in the Shadow of the Nation’s Capital.” The volume presents dynamic football talents from the public schools of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area, including parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The collection of stories raises the question of whether Maryland’s presence as a football state should be acknowledged as much as its basketball presence. Ashby earned his bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism from Morgan. He cut his journalistic teeth in interviews with MSU President David K. Wilson, who often called him a “future award-winning journalist.”

Tyson J. Beale, Ph.D., ’10, has been selected as the new Vice President of Student Services at Coker University, in Hartsville, South Carolina. In his new post, Dr. Beale is responsible for providing leadership, management and supervision for student services programs, student services personnel, student financial aid, recruiting and retention, enrollment management, response to student needs and fostering of institutional development. Among his previous posts in higher education, Dr. Beale served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Fayetteville State University. He received his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Morgan.

Lt. Col. Michael L. Bell, U.S. Army

(Ret.), ’76, has been selected as the Morgan State University Department of Mathematics and Math Club (Mu Alpha Tau) 2020 Alumnus of the Year! Lt. Col. Bell, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Morgan, is Second Vice President of the MSU Alumni Association and a member and past President of the association’s “Bear Battalion” ROTC Alumni Chapter. He is an inductee in the MSU ROTC Hall of Fame.

N’bare N’gom, Ph.D., Dean of Morgan’s James H. Gilliam, Jr., College of Liberal Arts, has appointed Jesse J. Bennett, Jr., ’69, as Chairman of the college’s Advisory Committee. His two-year term ends in 2023. Bennett — the husband of Sheila C. Bennett, ’69 — is a retired education professional, having worked for 24 years in public and institutional schools in the Baltimore area and for 23 years as an education union field representative in Pennsylvania and Maryland school districts. He brings years of experience in volunteer service to the committee, including as Chairman of the 50th Anniversary Committee for the MSU Class of 1969; as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery, in Baltimore; and in other positions. He earned his Bachelor of Science in health education at Morgan.

A recently released memoir by Elizabeth I. (“Liz”) Best, ’86, “Chosen: Only by His Grace,” is the latest of seven nonfiction books she has published. The prolific author and book publisher is the Founder and President of Best Writing & Consulting Services, Inc., a company dedicated to helping its clients overcome writer’s block and meet their writing goals and objectives. In her former work as an independent correspondent for several local and national print media outlets, she was able to hone her craft and complement it with a master’s degree from the University of Baltimore. Best earned her bachelor’s degree in business at Morgan. Her memoir is available for purchase on her website, www.lizbest1.com.

Morgan State University alumni Tracy Vontélle Green, ’92, (top photo) and Nancey Harris, ’93, have launched Vontélle, LLC, a company that targets consumers aged 25–65 with its unique luxury eyewear and matching facemasks, displaying ethnic patterns that reflect African, Caribbean and Latin cultures. Vontélle’s mission is to empower customers to, “walk confidently in this world: for every occasion.” Green earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science at Morgan, and Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts in telecommunications from MSU. Louisiana State University (LSU) has tabbed longtime collegiate and National Football League coach and former Morgan Bears scholar-athlete Daronte Jones, ’01, as the Tigers’ Defensive Coordinator. Jones spent the past five years coaching in the NFL and came to LSU from a post as Defensive Backs Coach for the Minnesota Vikings. He has also been successful at the college level, with the University of Wisconsin, the University of Hawaii, UCLA, Bowie State University, Nicholls State University and Lenoir-Rhyne University. The former Bears defensive back began coaching at the high school level in Louisiana soon after earning his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from MSU.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has appointed Rachel Jones, ’07, to the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 27B in Calvert and Prince George’s Counties. Jones, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Morgan, had served as Southern Maryland Field Representative for U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin since 2016 and, before that, as an assistant to U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Maryland State Sen. Nathaniel McFadden, ’68 and ’72. Her appointment fills a vacancy created when Delegate Michael A. Jackson was elevated to the State Senate in January, after the passing of longtime Maryland Senate President Thomas V. (“Mike”) Miller. Jones has been active in humanitarian work in the U.S. and abroad for more than a decade, as Chair of the Missions Ministry of her church and as Vice President of the board of Farming 4 Hunger.

Delaware native Micaiah Latimer, ’15, has joined the full-service architecture, interior design and landscape architecture firm Bernardon, as a Designer in the company’s West Chester, Pennsylvania, office. Latimer previously worked for five years as a Graduate Architect with Harris-Kupfer Architects, Inc., in Baltimore, Maryland, after earning his bachelor’s degree in architecture and environmental design from Morgan.

The life and work of writer, artist and educator Maurice (“Raheem”) Mander, ’95, was recently featured on the website of HBCU Buzz. In the article, Mander recounted the socioeconomic challenges of his upbringing in Trenton, New Jersey; his experiences as a student at Morehouse College and Morgan State University; and how they fed the creativity that gave birth to his comic book series, “Surian Seed: HBCU Superheroes,” which, he reported, is being made into an animated film. Mander holds a master’s degree in AfricanAmerican history from Morgan.

The Public Relations Society of America Maryland Chapter (PRSA Maryland) has elected David Marshall, Ph.D., ’87, as its 2021 President. Dr. Marshall earned his Bachelor of Science in religious studies from Morgan and is Professor and Chair of the Department of Strategic Communication in MSU’s School of Global Journalism and Communication. As a member of PRSA Maryland’s board of directors last year, he recruited and on-boarded the chapter’s first diversity, equity and inclusion co-chairs. He has also been active with PRSA National and The PR Council on plans to create career pipelines for diverse talent by encouraging agencies to increase their recruitment efforts at HBCUs. As President, he is seeking to enhance his skills to help boost the career success of strategic communication majors at Morgan.

Wall Street veteran Tiffany McGhee, ’00, has joined the business news TV channel CNBC as a Contributor. McGhee is also Founder and CEO of StocSavvy, a weekly email publication addressing the needs of women investors, and is a former Partner and head of Institutional Investment Services at Momentum Advisors, a New York City-based investment advisory firm launched by another Morgan graduate, Allan Boomer, ’99. McGhee established her own investment firm, Pivotal Advisors, in 2020. A native of Baltimore, she began her career at Merrill Lynch in 2003 and has long been committed to engaging experts and educating novices on the workings of Wall Street and investing. Traci McKenzie-Knight, ’02, has been appointed as Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). McKenzie-Knight is an established cybersecurity leader with nearly two decades of experience in the federal and private sectors, including a recent position leading Cyber Operations for GSFC. Before taking that position, she served as Senior Cybersecurity Advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She holds a Bachelor of Science in information systems from Morgan and is a Certified Information Security Manager.

Muriel Giles Mitchell, ’69, has joined the Board of Directors of the Howard County (Maryland) Arts Council as a Community Liaison. A veteran educator with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Morgan and a Master of Education from Northeastern University, Mitchell bring a wealth of experience and expertise along with new perspectives to the board. After moving to Howard County from Boston in 1973, she enjoyed a 38year career with the Montgomery County Public School System, working as a reading specialist, Title I specialist and special education coordinator. She now serves as the coordinator of Howard County’s annual Black History Expo and in a number of volunteer posts in her community.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed Stephanie Nellons-Paige, ’81 and ’85, to the Texas Southern University Board of Regents. Her term runs until Feb. 1, 2025. Nellons-Paige, a native of Baltimore City, is CEO of the Houston-based consulting firm Nellons-Paige Group, Inc., and recently served as a Managing Director of the $25-billion Texas Central High-Speed Rail project, leading its business and workforce opportunity policy. Influential in the public and private sectors, she has been active in numerous initiatives, among them Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Minority and Women Business Ecosystem Assessment and COVID-19 Health Equity and Response task forces and the Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity. She earned a Bachelor of Science in urban studies and a Master of Science in transportation management at Morgan.

New York University (NYU) has appointed Aisha Oliver-Staley, ’02, as the institution’s General Counsel and University Secretary. She began serving in the position in January. A magna cum laude graduate of Morgan, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in business management, Oliver-Staley has a J.D. from Howard University and served as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel at Georgia Institute of Technology during her 10-year tenure there, before taking her current post at NYU. Oliver-Staley is deeply involved in community service, having worked as a pro bono immigration attorney, a reading mentor, a trustee of her local church, a volunteer with L.E.A.D. Atlanta and in other volunteer positions.

Tenyo Pearl, ’93, was named to the Daily Record’s 2020 Maryland’s Top 100 Women Circle of Excellence. Pearl, recipient of a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morgan, is Director of Coppin State University’s NonProfit Leadership Alliance. She was selected for the honor by the statewide business and legal publication because of her leadership achievement demonstrated through professional accomplishments, community involvement and mentoring. The Circle of Excellence recognizes Top 100 Women honorees who have won the award for the third and final time. In the 25-year history of the award, 337 women have joined the Circle of Excellence.

Carl S. Perkins, Ed.D., ’80, has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of Howard Community College (HCC) by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. Dr. Perkins is serving a six-year term, through June 30, 2025. Now an adjunct faculty member at McDaniel College and a Professional Development School Liaison and Supervisor and adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), he previously served in the Howard County Public School System for 35 years as a teacher, new teacher recruiter and Assistant Principal. He also served on the Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education for the Maryland State Department of Education. Perkins holds a master’s degree in educational supervision and administration from Morgan.

Sports journalist and author William C. Rhoden, ’73, has been voted into the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Hall of Fame. Rhoden, a native of Chicago, was a scholar-athlete at Morgan, where he was a member of the Bears’ football team; served as Assistant Sports Information Director; and earned his Bachelor of Science in speech communication. After graduating, he worked for the Baltimore Afro-American, the Baltimore Sun and Ebony magazine, before joining The New York Times staff as a sports columnist, a position he held until his retirement in 2016. Rhoden published his first book, “Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete,” in 2006. Now a writer and editor-at-large for ESPN’s The Undefeated, he also assists the next generation of journalists as the head of The Rhoden Fellowship, a two-year program sponsored by ESPN that trains aspiring African-American journalists from HBCUs.

RCA Records has named Samantha (“Sam”) Selolwane, ’00, as Head of Promotion, overseeing the company’s hip-hop, R&B and mixshow formats. A 20-year music industry veteran with 15 years at RCA’s parent company, Sony Music, Selolwane had served as Senior Vice President, Urban Promotion for the record label since 2017. She began her career in radio as an intern, programmer and on-air personality before becoming a promotion executive with Jive/RCA Records/Sony. Known as an innovative, passionate advocate for artists, she has worked closely with countless talents, including Chris Brown, Usher, Miguel, Jazmine Sullivan, Alicia Keys and others. She earned a Bachelor of Science in telecommunications at Morgan.

Internationally renowned opera singer and voice professor Kevin Short, ’84, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Baltimore Concert Opera (BCO) for a three-year, renewable term. Short is on the voice faculty at the University of Maryland and serves as an adjunct professor at the Curtis Institute of Music. He received his training at the Curtis Institute of Music (master’s degree, voice); the Juilliard School of Music Opera Center; and Morgan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music education with a concentration in vocal studies. Short maintains homes in Maryland and Switzerland and thrills audiences around the globe with his performances as a versatile bass-baritone in a wide range of repertoire.

Inspired by his own success at losing weight with a healthier diet, Raymon Simpson, ’10, has launched The Crestlyn Kitchen, a carryout restaurant located about a mile from Morgan’s campus, near the Alameda. The restaurant’s menu seeks to address common health problems of Black Baltimoreans by featuring lower-sodium, lowerfat meals and low-sugar, vegan, vegetarian and ketogenic options. Customers are also allowed to make special dietary requests. Simpson holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture and environmental design from Morgan. His new venture was highlighted in the Feb. 4, 2021 issue of the Baltimore Sun.

Jamil White, ’05, has been named Controller of New Energy Equity (NEE), a solar developer and financier based in Annapolis, Maryland. White, a Certified Public Accountant, has more than 15 years of experience in various accounting fields, including assurance, corporate accounting, financial reporting and tax compliance, and has a reputation for building strong teams and delivering timely results in fast-paced environments. His past employers include high-profile companies such as Ernst & Young (EY) and Washington Gas, and his most recent post before arriving at NEE was at Howard University, where he served as the Senior Director of Accounting and Reporting. White earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Morgan.