North Carolina A&T Names Inaugural Class for Advisory Council on Alumni Relations

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University announced today the inaugural members of the Advisory Council on Alumni Relations, a non-fiduciary, non-governing group that works with the Office of Alumni Relations by providing feedback that enhances programming for alumni engagement.

The council consists of up to 15 members appointed by the chancellor. Each member will serve for two years with term appointments starting Aug. 1 of each cycle. Also, a board of trustees’ member will be appointed bi-annually to serve as council chair.

University leaders announced intentions to create the council earlier this year along with additional plans to change the ways that N.C. A&T engages alumni and manages alumni relations. The council replaces the previous Alumni Association as part of the reimagining of the university’s organized interactions with its alumni, who according to a 2019 survey from the Gallup organization have among the highest affinity levels of any university alumni in America.  

“With the establishment of this new Advisory Council on Alumni Relations, I am excited about the opportunities that will arise from this group’s leadership,” said Teresa Davis, associate vice chancellor for alumni relations. “Our goal is to continue to build stronger relationships with alumni and to implement new programs that are beneficial to our Aggie family.”

Alumni who serve on the advisory council will act as brand ambassadors representing A&T and will share the mission and goals of the university with other alumni, friends and donors.

Members of the Advisory Council on Alumni Relations are:

Chair – Kimberly Gatling ’96 | Greensboro, North Carolina

N.C. A&T Board of Trustees member

• Gatling is a U.S. Registered Patent Attorney and North Carolina Board Certified Trademark Specialist with the firm of Fox Rothschild LLP in Greensboro, where she practices in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, software and related licensing and litigation matters. 

Arthur Burson ’80 | Flemington, New Jersey

• Burson is a retired senior pharmaceutical manufacturing executive of Merck & Co. He is also treasurer of the New Jersey Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University and a former member of the N.C. A&T Board of Visitors.

Ulysses Cozart Jr. ’77 | Greensboro, North Carolina

• Cozart is retired and owner of FosCo Resources, a strategic business development consulting agency. He is a former board member of the North Carolina A&T Alumni Association Inc. serving as a regional director for the state of North Carolina. Also, he is an active volunteer for Boy Scouts of America, the Old North State Council and United Way of Greater Greensboro.

Toriano Franklin ’02 | Cincinnati, Ohio

• Franklin is director of key accounts for Berry Global Inc. in Mason, Ohio. He is also president of the Cincinnati Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University.

Crystal Garris ’96 | Charlotte, North Carolina

• Garris is the owner of and a learning and development consultant for Speaking Confidently Consulting with more than 20 years of experience as a workshop facilitator, trainer, instructional designer and public speaker.

Natalie Gwishiri ’09 | Winston-Salem, North Carolina

• Gwishiri is an educator for Central High School and a former member of the N.C. A&T State University Alumni Association Inc.

Traci Hatch ’97 | Washington, D.C.

• Hatch is a corporate accounting manager for Urban One Inc. in Silver Springs, Maryland. She is also the former president of NPR Radio Speakers’ Toastmasters Club and a member of the Washington, D.C., Alumni Chapter ofNorth Carolina A&T State University.

Diane Frost Hill ’77 | Charlotte, North Carolina

• Hill is a security events manager for IBM North America. She is also an active member of the Queen City Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University, an Aggie Certified Alumni Recruiter and an alumni mentor for the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics.

Ashley Hoover ’91 | Washington, D.C.

• Hoover is a development engineer for Strategic Systems Programs in Washington, D.C. He has been an active member of the Washington, D.C., Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University for more than 20 years. In 2003, he received the N.C. A&T Alumni Association’s Velma R. Speight Young Alumni Award.

Arlene Maclin, Ph.D. ’67 | Washington, D.C.

• Maclin is program director for Howard University Partnership for Design and Development and the president of Technical Consulting Company. She is known for being the first female physicist at A&T and continues to mentor young women to pursue careers in STEM.

Shannon McKnight ’18 | Charlotte, North Carolina

• McKnight is the chief consultant of Next Level Nonprofits LLC. She is an active member of the Queen City Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University and an Aggie Certified Alumni Recruiter.

Rama Sharma, Ph.D. ’17 |Hillsboro, Oregon

• Sharma is a process support engineer for Applied Materials in Oregon.

Claudette Smith, Ph.D., ’77 | Greensboro, North Carolina

• Smith is associate administrator for the N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension and a lifetime member of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association.

Darryl Towns ’90 | Brooklyn, New York

• Towns is regional director of governmental affairs for American Airlines in New York. He is president of the New York City Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University and a former member of the N.C. A&T Board of Visitors. In 2015, he received the N.C. A&T Alumni Association’s Howard C. Barnhill Distinguished Service Award.

Lillie Gaynor-Vessels ’97 | Columbia, Maryland

• Gaynor-Vessels is an educator for Prince George’s County Public Schools and an active member of the Washington, D.C., Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University.

Andre Winstead ‘93, ’99 | Raleigh, North Carolina

• Winstead is a supervisor of technical support management for Verizon and former president of the N.C. A&T Alumni Band.