A native of Newport News, Virginia, Krystal Andrews holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a minor in African American Studies, and a Master of Science in Education in Higher Education Leadership from Old Dominion University. Currently, she is the director of student success in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University and is a fourth year as a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . As a practitioner, she has six years of experience in student success and retention programs at both predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that fuels her passion for helping students envision their own success. As a scholar practitioner, she is a member of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). She has also been a member of the Pan African Network directorate board in various positions since 2013, and currently serves as the chair-elect of the network. Her other professional organization memberships include the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC). Her research interests center on the experiences of Black women graduate students at HBCUs and the persistence of Black student populations across institutional types.
Dr. Akpovo is the Senior research scientist at the laser remote sensing laboratory at Florida A&M university. His expertise is in laser-produced plasmas utilizing fast and ultra-fast high power laser beams. In his current position, Dr. Akpovo conducts and coordinate the research activities for the Consortium for Laser-Based Analysis of Nuclear and Environmental Materials (LANEM), an NNSA grant.
Alexis Brame is an effective communicator with over eight years of experience working in both corporate, retail, and start up environments. Her skill lies in her strategic thinking and ability to creatively resolve issues in fast-paced atmospheres.
She is currently a Human Resources Manager for a young startup that specializes in healthcare and clinical services. In her role she manages a team of five and leads her department in achieving key performance indicators regarding recruitment, onboarding, retention for over 100 employees. Prior to this role, Alexis worked for Target. She began as an Executive Team Lead and over the course of six years, was promoted to General Merchandise and Food Sales Leader. During her time at Target, Alexis oversaw the daily operations for a high-volume Target store that grossed over $80 million in annual sales and managed over 200 team members. She was directly responsible for coordinating internal and external tasks to ensure materials and resources were accurately delivered.
Alexis earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from James Madison University and her Master’s in Business Administration and Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She resides in Virginia with her husband and their three dogs.
Mary is an executive with 20+ years’ experience working with high level executives in higher education. She is skilled in Talent Management, Training & Development, Instructional Design, Planning & Analysis, Design & Development, and Implementation & Management. Mary has worked with several organizations as a principal consultant to implement and improve their processes and systems and has a passion for using information to answer questions about projects, policies, and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency.
Mary has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Occupational and Technical Studies, focused on Business and Industry Training from Old Dominion University. She enjoys exercising and teaching group exercise classes.