Joint Executive Governing Board

Mr. Ronald L. Roberts

Board President

Ronald L. Roberts of Pasadena Hills is a managing principal with Ridge Graves, LLC, a real estate development and investment enterprise in St. Louis. During his 20-year career in real estate development and finance, Roberts has been involved in the underwriting, financing, planning, developing and constructing thousands of homes across the United States and in Kenya, Africa. 

Prior to creating Ridge Graves, LLC, Roberts was a development manager with a tax credit equity syndication firm and a senior project developer with a national real estate development firm. In 1995, he received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He joined the JEGB in July 2020.

Mr. Harlan B. Hodge

Vice President

Harlan B. Hodge of Pasadena Hills currently works with BJC Healthcare as the Senior Manager of Diversity and Inclusion. Mr. Hodge has a master’s degree in social work from Washington University. Over the past 25 years, Harlan has given himself in service to the St. Louis Region, where he has served his community in a variety of roles: community workshop facilitator for workshops for adults and student, volunteer chess coach and  consultant for non‐profits and schools working with at‐risk youth. Mr. Hodge and his family relocated to the Normandy footprint to be of service to the 24:1 community rebuilding initiative. Mr. Hodge believes the key to a sustainable and thriving community lies in our ability to make meaningful personal connections. 

Mr. Hodge was elected to the JEGB in April 2022.

Ms. Violet Taylor

Board Secretary/Treasurer

Elected in April 2023, Violet Taylor has been a resident of the Normandy footprint for 25 years. A retiree from AT&T after 20 years of service, Taylor works with Deer Valley Home Health. This mother of four and grandmother of seven is active in her church. When asked why she is running for a spot on the NSC Joint Executive Governing Board, Taylor said, "I believe that if we are aware of the problems and issues that argue them, we can and will be more effective in providing the tools necessary to ensure that our children will be successful not only in the classroom but in their lives as well."

Ms. Valerie Patton

Director

Valerie E. Patton was appointed to the Normandy JEGB by the state Board of Education in October 2021. She previously served as Senior Vice President, Economic Inclusion and Executive Director of the Saint Louis Business Diversity Initiative. She leads Greater St. Louis, Inc.’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and programs as well as its foundation, which will be responsible for charitable revenue and an endowment. Ms. Patton founded the Business Diversity Initiative’s Fellows Program (a yearlong leadership development experience for professionals of color), and Gateway Connections (a welcoming orientation for professionals of color.) Both of these are now programs of GSL.

Actively involved throughout the community, Ms. Patton has served as an adjunct professor and instructor at Washington University in St. Louis, Harris Stowe State University and St. Louis Community College, and has held board and trustee positions with organizations including the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Fontbonne University, and Howard University School of Business. In 2018, Ms. Patton was awarded the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Metropolitan St. Louis Chapter’s award for Visionary Community Leadership. Patton is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Ms. Patton holds master's degrees from Washington University in St. Louis George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Webster University and a bachelor's degree from Howard University. She has also completed post-graduate studies in business management. Ms. Patton was appointed to the JEGB in 2021.

Ms. Sheila Grimes Williams

Director

Ms. Williams spent more than 30 years as a teacher, reading and math specialist, and program administrator with St. Louis Public Schools. She also served as Executive Director of School Programs and elected board member for the Normandy School District. Her experience also includes serving as Training Academy Director for the Efficacy Institute of Waltham, Mass., where Ms. Williams was responsible for assisting schools, school districts and community agencies in implementing efficacy initiatives in eight states and the District of Columbia. Ms. Williams was elected to the Normandy School District Board of Education in 2009. In 2014, she was appointed to the Joint Executive Governing Board for the Normandy Schools Collaborative and previously served as its secretary/treasurer and vice president. She is also assistant secretary for the Kiwanis Club of Normandy/24:1, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Normandy School District Scholarship Foundation. Ms. Williams is also a member of the Midwest Bank Centre Community Council.

Mr. William Humphrey

Director

Humphrey is a retired district executive with the Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. A resident of the district, Humphrey previously served for seven years as an elected member of the board of education in Normandy, and his two children are Normandy graduates. He has been an active member of multiple organizations and boards in the area, with a commitment to youth development in his community. He was appointed to the JEGB in 2021, and elected in April, 2023.

Theresa Pearson, elected in April 2023, has been a resident of the Normandy footprint her entire life. An alumnus of Normandy, current parent of Normandy Schools Collaborative students, and a long-time resident of Velda City, Pearson currently works as Operations Manager at Shaeffer Logistics. When asked why she is running for a spot on the NSC Joint Executive Governing Board, Pearson said, "I am a parent, and as a parent, I see what the school district is missing and needing at the moment. I believe that I can bring that to the board. I have been working with the community in conjunction with Beyond Housing and have heard what the community and parents need from the school district. I can be the voice of the parents, community, and school board. Teamwork for a better future, for our future, the students."