Spelman Welcomes New Board Members

As a dynamic, inspirational executive Cheryl Mayberry McKissack has a history of stellar success igniting growth by building world-class management teams, leading digital transformations, raising capital from investors, and penetrating multicultural markets. She is a respected board member with multifaceted expertise in addition to being a well-known author and speaker. For more than a decade, she challenged and motivated young entrepreneurs as associate professor in the MBA program at Northwestern University’s prestigious Kellogg School of Management. In 2019, she became president and co-owner of Black Opal, a global cosmetics and skin care company founded in 1994 for women of color. In November 2019, Black Opal acquired Fashion Fair Cosmetics and McKissack along with her business partner Desiree Rogers secured financing for both companies.

Kamau Bobb, Ph.D. is a national authority in STEM education. He is the founding senior director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. An engineer and science and technology policy scholar whose work focuses on the relationship between equity for students and communities of color in the STEM enterprise, large educational systems, and the social and structural conditions that influence contemporary American life. Dr. Bob brings to his current position a wealth of experience as a former program officer at the National Science Foundation. At NSF, he was responsible annually for $30 million of investments targeted towards improving computing and STEM education. In that role, he worked at the highest levels of the federal government to help shape the national research agenda for effective means of delivering equitable and quality computational education to all students.

Spelman alumna Sherina Maye Edwards is currently one of the youngest Black CEOs of a $500M+ company and just took her company through a half-billion-dollar acquisition. Most CEOs don’t get to do that in their entire career, let alone before forty. Edwards started her career as a lawyer and recently swapped her title for CEO of INTREN. INTREN LLC is a utility specialty company that MasTec, an infrastructure construction company, newly acquired. INTREN is one of the largest private energy distribution contractors in the United States and Edwards is leading them through the acquisition. Before working at INTREN, Edwards’ resume is nothing short of inspiring. She worked on the Illinois Commerce Commission as the youngest commissioner appointed in the state of Illinois. President Obama appointed her as co-chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Voluntary Information-Sharing System Working Group.

Zoe Shepard is a sophomore student at Spelman College pursuing a B.S. in Health Science. A Dean’s Scholar and Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Scholar, she is actively involved within the Spelman Community as a member of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students and the Health Careers Club. She is also a Career Planning and Development Ambassador who aids with events geared towards providing career, internship, graduate school, and professional development opportunities. Outside of the academic arena, she enjoys singing in Sister’s Chapel as a member of the Manifest Praise Team and the Genesis Community Choir. With her background in ballet, she also enjoys taking advantage of athletic and artistic outlets that are available on campus.