Throughout its history, Talladega graduates have gone on to improve their nation, state, and local community. A few examples of stellar service include Chairman of the Talladega Board of Trustees, Mr. Isaiah Hugley ’79, who was the first African American city manager for the City of Columbus, Georgia. Another trustee, Ms. Essye Miller ’85, served as Principal Deputy, Department of Defense Chief Information Officer. Both Ms. Miller and trustee Mrs. Rica Lewis-Payton ’81, were members of the elite federal Senior Executive Services Corps (SES). Mrs. Lewis-Payton committed her career to the Veterans Administration, where she was the first female and first African American to serve as CEO of the Veterans Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
The service of Mr. Hugley, Ms. Miller, and Mrs. Lewis-Payton as members on the Board of Trustees is to be commended as well. Ms. Miller, who has served on numerous corporate boards, recently mentioned in an interview that she had been asked to serve on the board of another HBCU but felt compelled to answer the call to serve at Talladega. “It is an honor to do so,” she said.
Our board members aren’t the only alumni who have excelled as servant leaders. Dr. Autumm Jeter, ’01, is the former superintendent of Bessemer School District and currently assistant superintendent with the Alabama State Board of Education. Dr. Cynthia Anthony, ’84, is one of 22 alumni who have gone on to become college presidents. She serves as the president of Lawson State University. Seddrick Hill, ’06, is city manager of the City of Talladega.
Other young alumni like The Honorable Nikema Williams, 2000, have gone on to public service, too. Ms. Williams was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Georgia’s 5th Congressional District in 2021. Prior to that, she served in the Georgia State Senate and was chair of the Georgia Democratic Party.
Dr. Joe Lott, ’98, is an associate professor and founding director of the Brotherhood Initiative at University of Washington. Dr. Alvin Smith, ’01, has become the manager of the Planetary Protection Center of Excellence at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab at California Institute of Technology and a technical lead for the Mars Sample Return project. In a NASA online article, Dr. Smith cites Dr. Ronald McNair as an inspiration. As a McNair Scholar at Talladega, he says, “I received funding to pursue my scientific dreams based on a scholarship in his name. Now, I have an opportunity to be that light to other people.”
