Bobby grew up in the Memphis town of Frayser and graduated from Frayser High school. He later attended Shelby State Community College and received both an Associate’s Degree of Arts and Science in General Education before enrolling in LeMoyne-Owen College.

Bobby pursued a government position with corporate America before returning to Memphis as the Assistant Director for the TN Charter School Resource Center. Bobby began his tenure with Memphis City Schools in 2000, serving as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and principal for twelve years.

He has a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Freed Hardeman University and will graduate this May with an EdD in Educational leadership with an urban focus from the University of Memphis. Most notably, Bobby is the founder and CEO of Frayser Community Schools – a Charter Management Organization and turnaround charter operator in the state.

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Beverly is the Holder of the Morrie and Lillian Moss Chair of Excellence in Urban Education at the University of Memphis. During her professional career in education, she worked in Ohio as a high school teacher and served as a state department of education supervisor. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she co-led an innovative program to prepare teacher leaders for urban schools. Since arriving in Memphis 11 years ago, she has designed a Graduate Certificate in Urban Education, created the Center for Urban Interdisciplinary Research and Engagement, and coordinated the Johnson Scholars Program that develops exceptional urban educators.

As a classroom teacher, she conducted relationship-building home visits for her students, which informed her teaching and built partnerships with families to benefit academic achievement. As a professor, her research focuses on equity in education, urban education, and teacher education. These commitments illustrate both the practical and scholarly ways that she enacts her commitment to effective educator-led family engagement practices and designs, particularly with social justice perspectives.

Mrs. Connie Booker serves as Co-Pastor of Cathedral of Faith Community Church , under the leadership of her husband of 31 years, Rev. C. L. Booker, Sr. She is the mother of two children, Calvin Jr., and Connika and proud Nana of three cherished grandsons. A native of Memphis, TN. and a strong believer in it takes the village, she is a graduate of Northside High School and continued her post high-school studies at Rice College in Memphis.

Connie is a strong advocate for children and families in Memphis. She has a deeply sincere and nurturing manner toward the dispossessed and underrepresented. Mrs. Booker maintains a food pantry and clothing closet and has helped numerous people obtain food, clothing, housing and other tangible goods that promote their dignity and well-being. She has mentored the young person or older adult to promote educational success as well as how to dress for that success. This endearing woman has been an efficient and effective counselor to many. She is a role model.

Quincey, mother of five, has participated in community related activities most of her life. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Klondike Smokey City Community Development Corporation (KSCCDC). In this role, she advocates for parents and families while fulfilling the mission of the KSCCDC: to improve the economic health of the North Memphis communities through community, workforce, and family development initiatives. Through these efforts, Morris seeks to revitalize the spirit of the community by encouraging economic growth and improving the general quality of life for neighborhood families.

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Rychetta Watkins completed her undergraduate degree at Washington University and her PhD in English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since 2012, Rychetta has consulted with non-profits organizations in the arts and education providing project management and program development capacity for greater impact. Prior to that, Dr. Watkins was an Assistant Professor of English at William Jewell and Rhodes Colleges. Her research on contemporary African American and Asian American literature and civil rights movements of the 1960’s fuels her belief in educational and arts access as social justice issues. The relationship between political identity and cultural expression is the subject of her 2012 book, Black Power, Yellow Power and the Making of Revolutionary Identity, and her 2016 play, Iola’s Southern Fields, which depicts Ida B. Wells’ early years in the Mid-South and the roots of her activism in Memphis.

Rychetta has served in various leadership capacities within local non-profits, including Interim Senior Manager for Neighborhood Strategies for Whole Child Strategies, Inc., AmeriCorps Programs Coordinator for the City of Memphis, Program Manager for Common Ground, and Development Manager for Stand for Children Tennessee. Rychetta focuses her civic engagement through local organizations, such as Hattiloo Theatre and The Shelby County (TN) Chapter of The Links, Inc.

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Stephanie, a North Memphis native, attended Millington Central High, and studied psychology at the University of Memphis. Stephanie’s career in advocacy began as a parent volunteer. Because of her passion and willingness to help, Stephanie was elected to serve on the Shelby County Head-start Policy Council, where she later became Vice Chair.

As a board member and parent of three school-aged children, Stephanie understands the challenges parents and children face as it relates to the constant changes in education. Stephanie’s role in many community groups, including the Frayser Neighborhood Council has helped to improve many residents’ quality of life. As Vice President of the group, she’s petitioned Memphis City Council to rebuild communities to align with former President Barack Obama’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.

Connect with Stephanie via LinkedIn.