Williams, Brown, Willis and Wright join Jacksonville Public Education Fund Board of Directors
8/2/2017
August 2, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Williams, Brown, Willis and Wright join Jacksonville Public Education Fund Board of Directors
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 2, 2017 — Jacksonville Public Education Fund gained several new members to its Board of Directors. Buck Williams, Latrece Brown, Dr. Patricia Willis and the Honorable Paula D. Wright have accepted their nomination as directors of the independent nonprofit organization.
Buck Williams, Financial Adviser, joined the Board January 2017. Williams, CFP® is a Financial Advisor with The Beard, Williams, Chappell Group at UBS Private Wealth Management. They focus their time working with 50-60 successful families, executives, foundations, endowments and corporate entities. Williams's community involvement is centered on the things he is most passionate about: youth development, education, and the outdoors. He is actively involved with the Sanctuary on 8th Street serving as Treasurer on the Board of Directors and is Chairman of the Troop Committee for Boy Scout Troop 26 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Williams, a fourth-generation Jacksonville native, graduated from the University of Florida where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Food and Resource Economics and a minor in Business Administration.
The Board also welcomed several new non-voting ex officio members:
Latrece Brown replaced Kay Park as the non-voting ex officio Florida Blue Teacher of the Year representative June 2017. Brown is a fourth-year teacher at Andrew Robinson Elementary School, making her the youngest Duval County Teacher of the Year in our county’s history. Brown a lead teacher at her school, specializing in differentiating instruction using multiple pieces of data. Brown has taken a more innovative approach to involving parents in student instructing by starting a Facebook group for parents and students in which she does live broadcasts each week to model strategies, review commonly missed questions and help parents understand the new approach to teaching math — all in real time.
Dr. Patricia Willis, Superintendent, Duval County Public Schools, joined the Board as a non-voting ex officio member in June 2017. No stranger to DCPS, Dr. Willis began her 35-year career in 1977 as an English teacher at Joseph Stilwell Junior High School and Stanton College Preparatory School. She was promoted to an assistant principal at George Washington Carver Elementary School and Ribault Senior High School; vice principal at Kings Trail Elementary, Greenfield Elementary and Andrew Robinson Elementary; and a principal at Gregory Drive Elementary, Susie E. Tolbert Elementary and Matthew Gilbert Middle School. Also during her tenure, Dr. Willis was promoted as the General Director for Professional Development for the District and also served in the dual role of Chief Operating Officer for the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership and Chief of Professional Development. She retired from the District as the Deputy Superintendent in 2012. Dr. Willis holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Secondary Education from the University of North Florida, a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from Nova University, and a Doctor of Education Degree in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Willis is the proud mother of a daughter and son, and the wife of the Rev. Anthony L. Willis, Sr.
The Honorable Paula D. Wright, Duval County School Board Chair, Duval County Public Schools joined the Board November 2016 as a non-voting ex officio member. Wright represents District 4 and was elected to the Duval County School Board in August 2010. A Jacksonville native, Wright graduated from Edward H. White High School and Jacksonville University where she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English. Wright brings a rich and diverse background having experience as a manager in the corporate world, newspaper publisher, radio talk show hostess, athletic coach and an educator in both post-secondary and public school education. As a committed educator, Wright throughout her adult life has dedicated time to mentoring students, serving as an active PTA member at multiple schools and being involved in the community. Wright is an active member of St. Matthew Baptist Church, and she has served in many capacities including on the Springfield Preservation, and Restoration Board, the TRUE Commission, the Duval County Desegregation Committee, Junior Achievement, NAACP Education Committee, as well as other community organizations.
The new members join the current Board of Directors, which includes:
- Poppy Clements, Chair, Community Volunteer
- The Honorable Brian J. Davis, Vice-Chair, United States District Court Judge
- Michael Ward, Treasurer, Michael Ward & Jennifer Glock Foundation
- Lisa Page, Secretary, Director of Attorney and Community Development for the State Attorney's Office
- Dr. Jordan Baker, Ph.D., Retired DCPS Principal
- Ricardo A. Bedoya, Commercial Litigator
- Cindy Edelman, Teacher and Community Volunteer
- Hugh Greene, President and CEO of Baptist Health, CEO of Coastal Community Health
- Kevin Hyde, Partner, Foley & Lardner
- Coley Jones, Senior Vice President in the Commercial Banking Group for Bank of America
- Ronnie King, President, Scratchwerk, LLC.
- Marsha Oliver, MBA, Director of Public Affairs for the City of Jacksonville
- Donna Orender, CEO & Founder, Orender Unlimited, LLC
- Dr. Shannon H. Perry, Ph.D., Community Volunteer
- Anita Vining, Realtor, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services
For more information, contact Charmaine Campo, Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications, at (904) 790-1178 or Charmaine@jaxpef.org.
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About the Jacksonville Public Education Fund
The Jacksonville Public Education Fund is an independent nonprofit organization that works to spark innovation, relationships and resources to power the potential within and around our public schools to achieve excellent outcomes for all students. For more information, visit www.jaxpef.org or call (904) 356-7757.