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.

Ms. Valerie Patton

Vice President

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.

Mr. Harlan B. Hodge

Board Secretary/Treasurer

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. 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. Anthony Neal

Director

A resident of the Normandy Schools Collaborative community, Anthony Neal is the president/CEO and senior partner of St. Louis-based Educational Equity Consultants (EEC). He has been an active member of multiple organizations and community boards in the St. Louis area including the St. Louis Royal Vagabonds, 100 Black Men of St. Louis, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Neal also works as an adjunct professor at Webster University and earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. He also holds a master’s degree in minority mental health from Washington University in St. Louis, and co-authored the book, Becoming a Social Justice Leader: Using Head, Heart and Hands to Dismantle Oppression. Neal is a 2000 graduate of the FOCUS St. Louis Leadership program, a 2003 graduate of the Harvard University Urban Principals’ Institute, a 2006 graduate of the Vanderbilt University/Peabody College Summer Fellows program, and a 2007 graduate of the National School Leaders Network Facilitator’s training at Wellesley College. Mr. Neal was appointed to the JEGB in July 2019.

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.