BOARD of DIRECTORS

Tevya Griffin, born and raised on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, graduated from Northampton High School, received a Bachelor of Arts in Public and Urban Affairs from Virginia Polytechnic and State University and a Master of Arts in Community Planning from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a member of the American Planning Association.  She has served as Director of Development in Hopewell and is presently Director of Planning and Codes Compliance for the City of Williamsburg.  She has served as the Chair of the Steering Committee on the Crater Continuum of Care to end Homelessness, the grant committee for the National League of Cities – Cities of Opportunity Grant, and volunteers within her community. She founded the CCRSRI in 2009.

The Rev. Felton Sessoms was born and raised on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in Nassawadox. He is a former business owner, former Town Councilman and Mayor of Nassawadox, former member of Northampton County Board of Supervisors, and a former EMT and firefighter with the Northampton Fire and Rescue, Inc. He is a veteran of the United States Army, a Vietnam vet, and retired from the Virginia Department of Health where he was a Senior Environmental Health Specialist. He currently serves as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Cape Charles. Rev. Sessoms is a community activist and leader. 

Cheryl Fenderson is well known on Virginia’s Eastern Shore as an exceptional educator who goes above and beyond for the students of Northampton High School. In addition to being an experienced Social Studies teacher, she has been a champion forensics (public speaking) coach for more than 15 years. She is a graduate of Salisbury University and is skilled in historical research, lesson planning, tutoring, educational technology, and instructional design. She has strong ties to her community and church where she serves in numerous capacities. Cheryl was named 2023 Teacher of the Year for Northampton County Public Schools for her long-standing dedication to inspiring and mentoring her students.

Beth Walker grew up in Northampton County and has recently moved back to the area after living in New York, California and Texas where she worked on numerous historic preservation projects both independently and while working for construction management and architectural firms. She studied toward an M.S.A.S. in Historic Preservation at the University of Texas in Austin and holds a B.S. in Wildlife Science from Virginia Tech. She recently completed a 3 ½ year rehabilitation of the Northampton Hotel (c. 1910/1939 addition). She acted as the general contractor, interacting with the architect, town planning and building officials and numerous subcontractors. She now operates the hotel, restaurant and gift shop. She previously served on the Board of the Cape Charles Business Association and is a founding member of the Cape Charles Historic District Civic League.   

Shirley Galloway, a resident of Cape Charles since 1973, has been an employee of the Eastern Shore Health District as an Office Service Specialist for more than 40 years.  She has served as President, Treasurer and Secretary of Post 400 American Legion Auxiliary in Eastville and has been actively involved with Northampton County NAACP for over 20 years. She is a Trustee and active member of First Baptist Church, Cape Charles, a volunteer of Northampton County Medical Reserve Corp, as well as an active member of Concerned Citizens of Cape Charles.  Well known throughout the county as a deeply devoted volunteer and champion of others, Cape Charles-Northampton County Heritage presented her with an award in appreciation of her outstanding commitment and service to the community in July 2022.  She is a founding member of the CCRSRI.

Kim Abod made the Cape Charles Historic District a second home for her family in 2009. Intrigued by the rich history and diverse culture of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, she became acquainted with the former Cape Charles Elementary School and the Washington-Rosenwald legacy. Mindful of some of the unique challenges on this remote penninsula, she was eager to join the initiative in its endeavor to save the school and restore it as a place of empowering members of the community. She holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Maryland and is a retired CPA. She is a member of the National Council of the White House Historical Association, and actively involved with Women Giving Back and the Great Falls Grange Foundation in Northern VA. 

Eyre Baldwin’s family has been an integral part of the history and historic preservation of Virginia’s Eastern Shore for more than 12 generations.  As a local entrepreneur and real estate developer who embraces projects that preserve, protect and revitalize, Eyre brings insightful experience in both historic preservation and economic development initiatives to this board. Eyre was instrumental in the purchase of the Cape Charles Rosenwald School, and he is involved with numerous organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, Preservation Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Eastern Shore Barrier Island Center and the Northampton Preservation Society.

Charles Bell retired from the Northampton County Public School System where he served as an outstanding science teacher for 32 years. He was a member of the Northampton County Board of Supervisors for twelve years and served twice as Chairman. He also served as Chairman of the Accomack-Northampton County District Commission and Northampton-Accomack Chamber of Commerce Board. He is a veteran of the United States Army where he served his country for three years and attained the rank of staff sergeant. He has been honored as an American Legion Post 400 outstanding leader, and a Cape Charles-Northampton Heritage “Hometown Hero”.  He serves as a Deacon at First Baptist Church, Capeville, VA. His wife, Sally, was a teacher at Cape Charles Elementary (Rosenwald School) and he is a founding member of the CCRSRI.

Gerald Boyd, MDiv, is Co-Founder and COO of Peacewerks Center for Well-Being, Executive Director of Eastern Shore Training and Consulting. Gerald has worked in the fields of Applied Sociology, Education, Human Development and Addiction Recovery for more than 40 years. He holds a Master of Divinity and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity in Transpersonal Psychology, is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor II, a Certified Anger Management Specialist, Life Coach, and Mediator. Gerald is a consultant in Diversity and Inclusion, Conflict Resolution, and Personal and Social Transformation. Gerald is Chief of Equity, Healing and Justice for Dry Powder Works/Chromatic Black, Chairman of the Board of the Samuel D. Outlaw Blacksmith Shop Memorial Museum, Board Member of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, 200+ Men of Hampton Roads Member, NAACP of Northampton County VA, Chairman of Criminal Justice Committee, Member, Northampton County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Board of ESVA Literacy Council. 

Dr. Tonja Custis Brickhouse, Salutatorian of her Northampton High School Class, is a retired US Air Force Colonel, and former City of Tampa Director of the Department of Solid Waste & Environmental Program Management.  Her honorable military career included several firsts and numerous prestigious awards. She currently serves as President of the Economic Club of Tampa; Member, Tampa Museum of Art Black/African American Focus Group; and a Member, Artspace Tampa Steering Committee.  She received her BA degree from the University of Virginia; her MS degree from Troy State University; and her Ph.D. from Walden University. She is actively engaged in local and national organizations and has a passion for empowering others through education and economic opportunities. In 2019 she was named Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero. Tonja owns properties in both Northampton and Accomack Counties; and has resided in Tampa since 2008. She is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a public service sorority.

Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter is Senior Advancement Officer at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. She leads the Museum’s Planned Giving efforts and previously served as the Chief Development Officer in the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Prior to that, she served at Africare as Chief Development/External Affairs Officer. Dr. Carter taught at Georgetown University and at The George Washington University, both in Africana Women's Studies. She is a National Geographic author of two books: Freedom in My Heart: Voices from the United States National Slavery Museum (Penguin Random House) and Africana Woman: Her Story Through Time (Simon and Schuster). In addition, she serves on the Fairfax County Park Foundation board, the historic Laurel Grove School and Museum board and is a member of the Old Dominion (VA) Chapter of the Links Incorporated. A graduate of Northampton County schools, Dr. Carter earned a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership/Higher Education Administration and a Master of Arts degree in International Education from The George Washington University. Her undergraduate degree is from Virginia State University.

Dianne Davis is a proud alumnus 

of Cape Charles Elementary School 

where she graduated in 1962.

 She has a B.S. Degree in Business 

Education and a M.S. Degree in Urban

Education with a concentration in

Administration from Norfolk State

University. She worked for the Northampton County Public School System for 32 years as a Business Teacher and an Administrator (Career and Technical Education Coordinator).

 She has served and is currently serving on numerous boards and committees just to name a few: first Historic District Review Board member for the town of Cape Charles, Eastern Shore Community College Foundation Board,

Cape Charles Memorial Library Board, 

Eastern Shore Area Agency on Aging/

Community Action Agency Board, State 

Youth Supervisor for the National 

Federation of Colored Women’s Club, Food Bank Advisory Board, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is also a member of Mt. Sinai Gospel Tabernacle Church. 

Bishop James Davis is an alumnus of Cape Charles Elementary (Rosenwald School), attending from 1939 until graduating in 1946. He attended Northampton County High School from 1946 to 1950. In 1951 he graduated from the Brooklyn High School of Automotive Trade. He was drafted into the US Army, where he served faithfully from April 1953 until July 1956. He trained as a Diesel-Electric Locomotive Repairman at Ft. Eustis November 1953 until July 1956. In 1960 to 1963 attended Manhattan Bible Institute studying General Bible and Evangelism. He served on the Foreign Mission Field in Port-Au Prince from July 1979 until October 1982 as Missionary World Outreach Evangelist and worked in the Military District of Washington from November 1982 until May 1997 when he retired. He then served on the Cape Charles Town Council from 1998 to 2006. He has ministered as a part-time Pastor since February 1969, presently serving Philadelphia Church of Christ Disciples in Cape Charles. He is a founding member of the CCRSRI and formerly served as Vice Chairman.

Valentine Evans is an alumnus of Cape Charles Elementary (Rosenwald School) and an esteemed member of the community.  She joined the school as a 3rd grader in 1955 after her family moved from Hampton to Cape Charles. Enthusiastic and optimistic, she delights in reminiscing of her experience at the school – the heart of her community – where she enjoyed the daily devotions and was actively involved in the school plays. After high school, she was employed as a waitress for the America House Motor Inn in Cape Charles, VA where she met her husband Phillip. She is the mother of four. She also worked for the town of Cape Charles and was a Director for the Northampton-Accomack Housing Redevelopment Corporation for over twenty years. She is a founding member of the CCRSRI. 

Mrs. Mitchell is an alumnus of Cape Charles Elementary (Rosenwald School), having started at the school in the pre-Kindergarten program. She has fond memories of the school and is writing her memoirs to capture her experiences. She worked as a teaching assistant in the Northampton County Public School System where she enjoyed working with children and mentoring them to be the best that they could be. She resides in Cape Charles and is a founding member of the CCRSRI.

Roberta Newman is currently the Consulting Coordinator for Go and Grow Eastern Shore (GAGES VA) and Coordinator of the annual KIDS COUNT ON THE EASTERN SHORE FORUM. She is past President of the Eastern Shore Community College Foundation, a board member of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation, a member of the Fund Development Committee of the Leadership Council of the Virginia Partnership for Out of School Time (VPOST), and Co-Chair of Eastern Shore Healthy Communities, an organization dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of all citizens on the Virginia Eastern Shore.

Mark Usry, born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, made his way ‘home’ to Cape Charles in 1996. Home because Mark is a descendant of the Scarborough family of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Mark majored in marketing at Oklahoma State University, attended law school at the University of Oklahoma (passed the bar and practiced law until he discovered his love for teaching) and later earned a Masters from Thunderbird (American Graduate School of International Management – international marketing emphasis). The last 40 years Mark taught business law at Oklahoma State University, James Madison University and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania earning several awards for innovation and community outreach. During this time he also did consulting with the Princeton Center for Leadership Training, Berlitz International and Dean Foster and Associates (team building, strategic planning, communication, brainstorming and cross-cultural). He is now happily retired. Mark has served on many non-profit boards including: the founding president of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Stillwater (OK), Equality Virginia, The United Way, Equality Pennsylvania, founding president of the Shenandoah Valley International Trade Association, Trustees Board - Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley. Over the years through Mark is credited with helping to raise close to $2 million for political parties and candidates, church, and 501 c 3 organizations. What he is most proud of is his service as the founding president of the Citizens for Central Park here in Cape Charles.

Dr. Walter is the Vice President for Academic, Student, and Workforce Education at Eastern Shore Community College in Melfa, Virginia. Prior to joining the YES! Team at ESCC, Dr. Walter served as the Dean of Business, Industry, and Technology for Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, FL, the Dean of Workforce Education, Transitional Studies, and Continuing Education at Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee, WA and a Program Advisor for the Arkansas Department of Career Education, Adult Education Division in Little Rock, AR.  Dr. Walter’s classroom experience includes adult education, intermediate English Language Learning, professional ethics, and creating and facilitating multiple professional development programs for faculty, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging training. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, and a Specialist degree in Community College Administration from Arkansas State University, a Masters degree in Workforce Development Education, and a Bachelors in Human Resource Development from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Walter has extensive experience in curriculum development, budget management, conflict resolution, team building, increasing morale, leading multiple projects and strategic initiatives, developing relationships with business, industry, and education partners, while utilizing servant and transformative leadership. His current focus includes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, workforce development, student motivation, increasing student success, recruitment, retention, and building relationships among faculty, staff and students.
Publications in progress:

• Let’s Get to Work - A Community College’s Guide to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
• Lose Your Job, Start Your Career: A Guidebook