TSU - Key Persons

Regent Caroline Baker Hurley was appointed to the Texas Southern University (TSU) Board of Regents by Texas Governor Greg Abbott with her term set to expire on February 1, 2027. She served as a state district judge for over 21 years in Harris County, and continues to sit by assignment as a Senior Retired State District Judge. Prior to the bench, she was a partner of McFall, Sherwood & Sheehy. She is currently in charge of a MDL, and an arbitrator, and a mediator with a certificate from the AA White Dispute Resolution Center. In addition, she has taught several courses as an adjunct professor in Trial Advocacy at the University of Houston Law Center. She is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and has been elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates and is a representative from the Houston Chapter to the ABOTA National Board. She has served as chair of the Ethics Committee for the Harris County Civil District Judges and on several committees of the State Bar of Texas, including the Committee on Judicial Ethics, Judicial Section. She is a past president of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists and the ADR Section of the Houston Bar Association, a member and chair of a State Bar Grievance Committee, and co-editor of the Texas Business Litigation treatise. Additionally, she serves on the board for BakerRipley, Posse Houston Advisory Board, The Tapia Center for Excellence and Equity in Education, Hobby Center Foundation, and the Houston BARC Foundation. She is an advisory board member of The Chinquapin School, lifetime board member and former chair of Girls Incorporated of Greater Houston, former chair of Leadership Houston, and former vice president of The Heritage Society. Baker received an A.B. in History from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law.

Honorable James M. Benham

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Secretary
CEO of JBKnowledge

Regent James M. Benham was appointed to the Texas Southern University (TSU) Board of Regents by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in October of 2020 and was reappointed for a second term in 2023. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Texas Southern University Board of Regents and is Chairman of the Administration and Finance Committee. Regent Benham is the CEO of JBKnowledge, a 280-employee global insurance software company he co-founded in 2001, with offices and staff in 4 countries. He served for five years as an Adjunct Professor of Construction Science at Texas A&M University and still volunteers as a mentor and advisor for student groups. Regent Benham served the City of College Station as a Planning and Zoning Commissioner from 2011 to 2012 and was elected to two terms on the College Station City Council from 2012 to 2018 where he also served as Mayor Pro Tem. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He lives in College Station and is an avid airplane pilot and musician. Regent Benham received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting in 2001 and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems in 2002, both from Texas A&M University.

Honorable Marc C. Carter

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Vice Chair

Honorable Marilyn A. Rose

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Certified Public Accountant

Regent Marilyn A. Rose was elected to serve as the Board's Secretary. Regent Rose is a Certified Public Accountant and a former Registered Texas Assessor Collector. She has audit experience in the public accountant firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche. And, is currently employed at the Harris County Sheriff's Office. She was a founding partner of, Rose Pinnock LLC in the early 2000s offering accounting and business consulting services. The company was later renamed LM Rose Consulting Group LLC. She is a former board member of the Lupus Foundation - Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. Regent Rose is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

Honorable Pamela A. Medina

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Attorney
2 Nd Vice Chair

Regent Pamela A. Medina was appointed to the Texas Southern University (TSU) Board of Regents by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in April of 2019. Regent Medina is an attorney at Medina Law Texas, PLLC, where she advises clients in estate planning and estate administration. She drafts and modifies trust agreements for both personal trusts and court created trusts. She represents clients in guardianship proceedings and in probate litigation and general civil litigation. Regent Medina is a native Houstonian. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Texas, at Austin, and her Juris Doctorate from Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, graduating cum laude. Regent Medina is a licensed attorney, a member of the Texas State Bar, and the Texas State Bar's Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section. She is a Houston Bar Association, Board Director. She is a former president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston. She is a State Bar Foundation Fellow and Leadership Houston Fellow. Regent Medina is a member of the University of Texas, Texas Exes and Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Alumni Association. She volunteers with Work Faith Connection and Lemonade Day Financial Literacy at Yellowstone Academy.

Honorable Stephanie D. Nellons-Paige

Regent Nellons-Paige has served in numerous leadership roles in public transportation. She developed the first industry relations plan for Ryder Public Transportation (First Group America), which supported business development by educating key officials on the benefits of outsourcing and resulted in multimillion-dollar partnerships. She also led more than $40 million of practical research studies for the Transportation Research Board to assist transportation providers across the nation improve service to the riding public.

Joseph Greenwich

jo..@tsu.edu

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Department Business Administrator

Judy Dyer

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Retired

Keith Beckford

ke..@tsu.edu

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Senior Manager

Kerrigan Williams

ke..@tsu.edu

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Communications Manager

Lamont Waddell

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Treasurer Emeritus / Lamont Waddell & Associates, Inc.

Marlon Brown

ma..@tsu.edu

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Maintenance Customer Supervisor

Matthew "Matt" Rogers

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Retired

Melinda Spaulding

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Executive Director
Vice President, University Advancement

Michael Williams - Treasurer

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Treasurer

Minerva Juarez

mi..@tsu.edu

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Leasing Coordinator

Mr. Ed Bennett

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Executive Director
Facilities & Maintenance

Mr. Steven Stafford

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Executive Director
Procurement Services

Ms. Faith Ruiz

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Executive Director of Board Relations

Ms. Latonya Joseph

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Board Coordinator

Ms. Mellany Patrong

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Risk Manager

Naomi Lawrence-Lee

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Director of Academic Technology

Patricia (Pat) Lewis

pa..@tsu.edu

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Department Business Administrator

Paula Stapleton

pa..@tsu.edu

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Comptroller
Controller

Quincy Cooper Soileau

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Leasing Coordinator

Raven Williams

ra..@tsu.edu

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Community Coordinator

Regent Simmons

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Member of the Board
Founder and Chairman of Let Our Vision Evolve

Regent Brandon L. Simmons was appointed to the Texas Southern University (TSU) Board of Regents by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in February of 2023 and unanimously confirmed by the Texas Senate in May of 2023. Regent Simmons serves in multiple business and civic leadership roles where he contributes the perspective of an executive, investor, and attorney. Earlier in his career, Regent Simmons built a law practice at Hogan Lovells, counseling technology companies and investors on transactions and corporate governance from offices in Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. Regent Simmons is an experienced board member and recognized leader in board governance. He has served on numerous corporate boards for early and growth stage companies across the information technology, energy, aerospace & defense, and financial services sectors. He also devotes significant energy to nonprofit board service for organizations that advance human flourishing. In addition to his ongoing entrepreneurial and governance activities, Regent Simmons is Founder and Chairman of Let Our Vision Evolve (LOVE). LOVE supports entrepreneurship and education initiatives and hosts events that connect young people with inspiring business role models. In July of 2023, Regent Simmons established the LOVE Fund at TSU to support initiatives focused on innovation and economic opportunity. Regent Simmons earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Stanford Law School. Following college, he was awarded the John W. Gardner Fellowship, a joint honor of Stanford University and the University of California. Following law school, he served as a law clerk for Chief Judge J.L. Edmondson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Regent Simmons has been a member of the Young Presidents' Organization since 2020 where he has served as a member of Black YPO's executive committee and has twice served as a forum moderator. Regent Simmons is a fifth-generation Texan and third-generation Houstonian. His father was raised in Fifth Ward where his grandfather was a Deacon at Olivet Missionary Baptist Church. Through Regent Simmons' decades-long economic empowerment efforts, he honors the Simmons family's generational journey: labor in east Texas fields and pine forests in the 19th century, westward migration from Houston to San Francisco via military service and classroom teaching in the 20th century, and return from Silicon Valley to Texas soil in the 21st century via entrepreneurship.