Spelman College Board of Trustees

The board provides strategic leadership to the College by employing its members' expertise in everything from finance and international affairs to philanthropy and science.

Trustee responsibilities

A trustee acts as a member of the governing board of Spelman College which is responsible for basic oversight and governance of the institution including election of the president of the College; basic educational and fiscal policy; the granting of degrees; and promotion and tenure of faculty based on the recommendation of the president. The board’s authority as a governing body is set forth in the bylaws and is not managerial or operational in nature. Individual trustees have no authority independent of the board.

Tamaria Kai Davis, C'2001
Secretary of the College

Ray Anthony Galloway
Clerk of the Board of Trustees and Assistant to the Secretary of the College

Meet the Board

Walter R. Allen
Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Co-investigator, “Educational Diversity in U.S. Law Schools"
Ph.D. and MA, University of  Chicago
BA, Beloit College
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2012
City of Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.

Claire “Yum” Arnold
CEO, Leapfrog Services 
B.A., Mary Baldwin College 
Honorary Doctorate, Mary Baldwin College 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2008 
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Theodore R. Aronson 
Founder, Aronson+Johnson+Ortiz 
B.S., University of Pennsylvania, 
The Wharton School of Business, 
M.B.A., University of Pennsylvania, 
The Wharton School of Business 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2004
Chair, Investment Committee
City of Residence: Philadelphia, Penn.

Rosalind G. Brewer C’84 
President and CEO, Sam's Club
B.S, Spelman College 
Advanced Management Program, University of Pennsylvania, 
The Wharton School of Business
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2006
Chair of the Board and Chair of the Executive Committee
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Mary Brock
Co-Owner, WNBA Atlanta Dream
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2012
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Janine Brown
Chair, Alston & Bird’s Global Strategies Group 
B.A., University of Michigan 
Jurist Doctorate, Duke University 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2008
Chair, Board Affairs Committee
City of Residence:  Atlanta, Ga.

Donald A. Coleman
Chair and CEO, GlobalHue
B.A., University of Michigan
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2011
City of Residence: New York, N.Y.

Kimberly B. Davis, C’81 
Managing Director of Global Philanthropy and President, JPMorgan Chase Foundation
B.A., Spelman College
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2008
Chair, Human Resources Committee 
City of Residence: New Rochelle, N.Y.

Jerri L. DeVard, C’79
B.A., Spelman College 
M.B.A, Clark Atlanta University 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2005
City of Residence: London, England

Evelynn Hammonds, Ph.D., C’76 
Dean, Harvard College 
B.S., Spelman College 
B.E.E., Georgia Institute of Technology 
S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
Ph.D., Harvard University | Honorary Degree, Spelman 
Co-Chair, Faculty Affairs & Educational Policy Committee
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2008
City of Residence: Cambridge, Mass.

Rose Harris Johnson, C’57
B.A., Spelman College 
M.Ed., National College of Education
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2005 
City of Residence: Evanston, Ill.

Richard D. Legon
President, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
B.A. and M.P.A., George Washington University
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2011
City of Residence: Fairfax, Va.

Gwendolyn Adams Norton
B.A., College of William and Mary 
Executive Program, Louisiana State University, 
Graduate School of Banking of the South 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2008 
Chair, Buildings and Grounds Committee
City of Residence: New York, N.Y.

Kemi Oyewole, C'2014
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Economics/Mathematics Major
Spelman College Student Trustee: Elected in 2011
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Vicki R. Palmer
B.A., Rhodes College
M.B.A., University of Memphis 
Honorary Doctorate, Cambridge College 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 1995
Secretary of the Board
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Lovette Twyman Russell, C’83
Community Advocate and Volunteer 
B.A., Spelman College 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2009
Chair, Student Affairs Committee
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Suzanne F. Shank
President and CEO of Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., LLC
B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology
M.B.A., The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2011
City of Residence: Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Bradley T. Sheares
B.S., Fisk University 
Ph.D., Purdue University 
National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow 
Lucille P. Markey Scholar at the Center for Cancer Research, MIT
Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Audit, Budget and Finance Committee
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2004 
City of Residence: Washington, D.C.

Esther Silver-Parker
President and CEO
The SilverParker Group 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2010

Cynthia Neal Spence, C’78 
Associate Professor, Spelman College 
B.A., Spelman College 
Master’s Degree and Ph.D., Rutgers University 
Certificate, Management and Leadership in Education, Harvard University 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2009 
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Ronda E. Stryker
Director, Stryker Corporation 
B.A., University of Northern Colorado 
Master’s Degree, Western Michigan University 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 1997 
Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Developmental Committee
City of Residence: Portage, Mich.

Beverly Daniel Tatum 
President, Spelman College 
B.A., Wesleyan University 
Master’s Degree, Hartford Seminary 
Master’s Degree and Ph.D., University of Michigan 
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Ex Officio 
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Kathy N. Waller 
Vice President and Controller, The Coca-Cola Company 
B.A., University of Rochester
M.B.A., William E. Simon School of Business Administration, University of Rochester
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2009
Chair, Audit Committee
City of Residence: Atlanta, Ga.

Celeste Watkins-Hayes, C’96 
Associate Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, Northwestern University
Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University 
B.A., Spelman College
Master’s and Ph.D., Harvard University
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2009
Co-chair, Faculty Affairs and Educational Policy Committee
City of Residence: Evanston, Ill.

Representatives:

Anita C. Foster, C'2013, Student Government Association President
Soraya Mekerta, Faculty Council President
Daphne L. Smith, C'80, National Alumnae Association Spelman College President

Life Trustees:

Laura Chasin
Peggy Dulany, Ed.D.
Marian Wright Edelman, Esq., C’60
Russell Edgerton, Ph.D.
Robert Holland, Jr.
June Gary Hopps, Ph.D., C’60
Yvonne Jackson, C'70 
Elizabeth McCormack, Ph.D.
G.G. Michelson