Trustee Directory
Chair Kristin Harper is founder and CEO of Driven to Succeed, LLC, which provides market research, brand
strategy consulting, keynotes and training on leadership and emotional intelligence
for Fortune 500 companies and rising leaders.
An award-winning businesswoman, Kristin went from college intern to Global VP of a
Fortune 15 company in her 30s. A classically trained marketer who built her career
at Procter & Gamble, The Hershey Company and Cardinal Health, she’s led global iconic
brands including Crest®, Oral-B®, and Hershey’s KISSES®.
Author of The Heart of a Leader: 52 Emotional Intelligence Insights to Advance Your
Career, Kristin is deeply committed to developing people and giving back to her community.
She is an active lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., minister at
her church, and Co-Founder/Board President of Pacesetters Unlimited, Inc., which provides mentoring and scholarships to African-American youth. Kristin received
her Bachelor's and MBA degrees from Florida A&M University, and executive education
from Harvard University. During college, she was elected the first female Student
Government President in nearly a decade, and now serves as an appointed member on
the FAMU Board of Trustees. She and her husband are the proud parents of three children.
Email: Kristin@DriventoSucceedLLC.com
Term: January 7, 2021 - January 6, 2026
Dr. Ezzeldin Aly
Email: ezzeldin.aly@famu.edu
Term: April 2024 - August 2025
Otis Cliatt, II, is president of Pacific Harbor Line, Inc. and is believed to be the first African American to lead a North American railroad. With more than 20 years of experience in the railroad industry, his expansive career includes prior senior leadership positions at Union Pacific Railroad, CANAC, Inc., an industrial rail switching company, and Cliatt Consulting, a rail management company. Trustee Cliatt is a combat veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions in Desert Storm. He was also an eight-year member of the U.S. Army’s elite Special Operations Command Airborne at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He proudly served in the 112th Signal Battalion Airborne Special Forces Command while on active duty and in the 20th Special Forces Group Airborne while in the Florida National Guard.
Trustee Cliatt earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from Florida A&M
University and graduated from the UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Program.
In 2019 he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by the Florida A&M University National
Alumni Association. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., having
served on the Board of Directors for the Houston, Texas and Irvine-Anaheim, California
Alumni Chapters, respectively.
Email: otis.cliatt@famu.edu
Term: December 11, 2020 - January 6, 2025
John Crossman has been in the real estate industry for just over 30 years. He is the founder and President of the Winter Park based firm, CrossMarc Services, which offers investment, development, advisory, and brokerage services in the commercial real estate industry. Passionate about promoting real estate education, John founded Crossman Career Builders to work with colleges to provide the best real estate education possible, as well as provide free resources to young professionals and college kids. John has 11 endowed scholarships at 7 different universities and is the author of the best-selling book, Career Killers/Career Builders, which he wrote for young professionals.
Email: jcrossman@crossmarcservices.com
Term: June 22, 2023 - January 6, 2026
Natlie G. Figgers is an Attorney and Businesswoman who serves as the Founder of The Law Office of Natlie G. Figgers, LLC.
Knowing for certain that she wanted to help others, Natlie started her academic success by attending Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, specializing in Juvenile Justice. She would then gain her Juris Doctorate from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. This accomplishment made it possible for her to work as a law clerk with one of Florida’s top commercial litigation firms and to eventually open her own law practice where she focuses on business and personal injury.
In addition to her academic achievements, Natlie also has an extensive technical and business background. While still a full-time undergraduate student, she served as the chief operating officer for a Florida-based telecommunications company. Once Natlie began law school, she was promoted to chief human resources officer, where she remained for the next six and a half years. In recognition of her work over the years, Natlie became the recipient of numerous awards. This would include being named Florida Memorial University's most Ardent Community Advocate in 2022, the National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40 list in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Natlie has also been featured in publications such as the Top 100 Magazine, GQ Magazine, Miami Herald, and the Miami Times.
Email: natlie@figgerslaw.com
Term: March 29, 2023 - January 6, 2026
Vice chair Deveron Gibbons, J.D., a consultant for Amscot Financial and a retired senior vice president of the company, is a former Tallahassee lobbyist, longtime community activist and former board member of several local organizations. He currently serves on the boards of Take Stock in Children, the Sanderlin Community Center and St. Petersburg College.
Gibbons has a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, a master's from the University of South Florida and a law degree and master's in business administration from Florida A&M University.
Email: deveron.gibbons@revenuebasedfinancecoalition.com
Term: March 29, 2023 - January 6, 2028
Kelvin Lawson is a national client service director with Acosta Sales and Marketing. In this role, he provides cross-functional leadership, direction and strategic planning to select clients to ensure maximum business results. He has managed the corporate relationships with large multinational organizations such as Kraft Foods, Starbucks and Diamond Foods. Prior to joining Acosta, he spent 17 years at Johnson and Johnson. During his tenure at Johnson and Johnson, he held positions of increasing responsibility including director of customer development and director of national accounts dealing with large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, and Lenscrafters. Lawson is an active member of the Jacksonville (Fla.) community and serves on the board of a local non-profit as vice president of fundraising. Recently, he was appointed to the board of the Hubbard House of Jacksonville, Fla. He is a Florida A&M University graduate of the School of Business and Industry. He resides in Jacksonville, Fla.
Email: kelvin.lawson@famu.edu
May has previously served as the 53rd Student Senate President for the Florida A&M University Student Government Association. During her first semester, her peers elected her to serve as a Freshman Senator in the 51st Student Senate, where she was then elected Vice-Chairwoman of the Student Relations Committee. As a sophomore in the 52nd Student Senate, Loryn was appointed chairwoman of the Elections and Appointments Committee. She was tasked with duties such as revising election codes, overseeing campus elections, and bringing voter awareness to the student body. Loryn was awarded Vice-Chair of the Year for the 2021-2022 academic year and Sophomore Senator of the Year as well as Committee of the Year for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Apart from participating in student government, she is very involved on campus. Loryn is a Spring 2024 initiate of the Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. May is also a Phi Delta Kappa International member. She
served as the 2022-2023 Miss Gold for the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and a resident assistant for University Housing. Loryn is also a member of FAMU Elite Dance Squad. She lives by Psalm 46:5 “God is within her,
she will not fall: God will help her at break of day."
Email: loryn1.may@famu.edu | sga.president@famu.edu
Term: May 2024 - May 2025
Belvin Perry, Jr., is currently a personal injury attorney with the law firm of Morgan & Morgan. Prior to joining the Morgan Law Firm he was the Chief Judge of 9th Judicial Circuit for nearly eighteen years and a circuit judge for nearly twenty-four years before retiring in August of 2014. He has also served as President of the National Conference of Metropolitan Courts and the first African-American Chair of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges. He served as Chair of the Trial Court Budget Commission for four years and Chair of the Florida Innocence Commission. In 2009 he was selected as the FLABOTA Jurist of the Year by the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a member of 100 Black Men of Orlando. Mr. Perry received his B. S. and M. Ed. from Tuskegee University and Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. He is also member of Florida Bar and Texas Bar. Mr. Perry has received numerous awards and honors such as 2014 Historical Society of Central Florida - John Young History Maker, YMCA of Central Florida & South West Orlando Jaycees 2014 Arthur "Pappy" Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award and 2012 Judge William M. Hoeveler Judicial Award for Professionalism by the Florida Bar. Mr. Perry resides in Orlando, Florida.
Email: belvin.perry@famu.edu
Term: March 24, 2016 - January 6, 2021
Craig Reed is Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer for Thermo Fisher Scientific. In this role he has global responsibility for the sourcing and supplier management of all spend for goods and services in support of the company. This includes strategies that support Thermo Fisher's sustainability efforts as well as supplier diversity.
A proven leader in the supply chain and sourcing area, Reed has more than 27 years of global experience in multinational corporations, including Corteva Agriscience, DuPont Corporation, Eaton PLC, Delta Air Lines, Deere & Company, BMW Manufacturing, and Honda of America Manufacturing.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Florida A&M University (FAMU) and a past member of the Board of Directors for the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). He is a former Board Chair for the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Craig holds a BS in Economics from Florida A&M University and an MBA with a concentration in Supply Management from Arizona State University.
Email: craig.reed@famu.edu
Term: January 7, 2021 - January 6, 2026
Kenward Stone is co-chief executive officer of Broughton Pharmaceuticals. He is also co-founder
and managing partner of SL Group Investors, where he raised capital to acquire a business
with enterprise value greater than $10 million. Trustee Stone's experience in the
financial sector includes serving as chief operating officer for Stone Financial Retirement
Planning, associate and analyst for Barclays Bank PLC, and analyst for CITIGROUP.
Trustee Stone graduated from the Florida A&M University School of Business & Industry
(SBI) with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2009. He later completed
an MBA at Harvard University. Trustee Stone serves as a motivational speaker and mentor
to junior investment bankers, MBA candidates, and entrepreneurs.
Email: kenward.stone@famu.edu
Term: October 27, 2020 - January 6, 2025
Nicole Washington, Principal, Washington Education Strategies is a national education policy advisor, based in Miami Beach, focused on integrating work and education to build a stronger talent pipeline in Florida and improving postsecondary education opportunities for all students. She served as the Vice-chair for the Education Subcommittee of the 2017-18 Constitution Revision Commission, sponsoring a successful Amendment 7 that increases college access and affordability for Florida's students.
Nicole provides advocacy and strategic policy support for national and state higher education organizations including Lumina Foundation and Florida College Access Network. She works with state and local organizations to create a more focused, comprehensive education policy and advocacy environment. Nicole has been committed to improving higher education in Florida for many years, serving in roles including the University of South Florida Consolidation Taskforce and Associate Director of Governmental Relations for the State University System Board of Governors. Nicole earned her B.A. from Princeton University and M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Email: nicole@wesgroup.com
Term: January 6, 2020 - January 6, 2025
Michael White is Co-Founder and President of Business Development at Indelible Management Solutions, Inc. (Indelible), one of the fastest growing minority-owned management consulting firms in the country. Indelible generated over $70M in revenue in 2022, while expanding into 6 additional states and serving as a sub-contractor to the federal government.
Michael contributes to business segment strategy development, creating new business opportunities, and overseeing the implementation of strategic market initiatives. He leads team members who are not only diverse in culture but in their professional backgrounds, including emergency managers, audit and compliance professionals, public health experts, and information technology subject matter experts.
Michael is known as an innovative leader and out-of-the-box thinker able to support governmental programs and initiatives at the state, local and federal level. Mike helped drive outstanding business growth and has a reputation for delivering exceptional client service since the firm’s inception in 2018. Working with his co-founder, Joshua Hay, Mike identified opportunities to assist government agencies and leaders in focusing their efforts, in particular grants, towards under-served communities and communities in need.
Email: mwhite@indelible-solutions.com
Term: July 21, 2023 - January 6, 2028