Advisory Council on Alumni Relations

The North Carolina A&T Advisory Council on Alumni Relations is 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 four years with term appointments starting Aug. 1 of each cycle. Also, a board of trustees member will be appointed to serve as council chair.

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 | term ends 2027

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.

Jasmine Amaniampong ’24 | Charlotte, North Carolina | term ends 2029

  • Amaniampong, who graduated from the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics with a B.S. in economics, is passionate about community engagement, non-profits, philanthropy and higher education. During her time at A&T, she was deeply involved in campus life and held numerous leadership roles. She worked with the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement, the Student Government Association, serving as the 2023-2024 president, the A&T Board of Trustees and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., among other service organizations. These experiences inspired her to pursue a career in university advancement, where she now contributes to student success and institutional growth at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. In her leisure time, she enjoys community engagement and public speaking.

Ulysses Cozart Jr. ’77 | Greensboro, North Carolina | term ends 2026

  • 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.

Lillie Gaynor-Vessels ’97 | Columbia, Maryland | term ends 2026

  • 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.

Keith Graves, Ph.D ‘70 | Burlington, North Carolina | term ends 2028

  • Graves is a full-time instructor of business administration at Alamance Community College, where he also serves on the Faculty Affairs/Senate Committee. He previously held the position of assistant professor of leadership studies at North Carolina A&T State University. A U.S. Army veteran, Graves served as an airborne infantry officer with assignments at Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and with the 59th Aviation Brigade/1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War.

Isiah Guinyard ‘14 | Houston, Texas | term ends 2028

  • Guinyard serves as a program coordinator for the Klein Independent School District in Klein, Texas, where he leads the development and implementation of the district’s mathematics curriculum. He is also a member of the College of Education Grant Advisory Board at North Carolina A&T State University.

Ashley Hoover ’91 | Washington, D.C. | term ends 2026

  • 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.

Waynette Kimball ‘08 & '10 | Raleigh, North Carolina | term ends 2028

  • Kimball is an administrative specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Serving as a liaison between the USDA headquarters and all 100 counties in North Carolina, she oversees key functions including budget management, training and development, purchasing and procurement, contract requisitions, and real property administration. She is an engaged member of the Halifax-Northampton Alumni Chapter of North Carolina A&T State University and actively participates in the Durham Alumni Chapter.

Donovan Kirkland ‘93 | Kennesaw, North Carolina | term ends 2029

  • Kirkland is the vice president of global logistics at The Clorox Company, where he also serves as an advisor to the company’s Black Employee Resource Group and its Supply Chain Leadership Development Program. He leads logistics operations for a diverse portfolio of brands—including Brita, Burt’s Bees, Clorox, Fresh Step, Glad, Hidden Valley Ranch, Kingsford, Neocell, Pine-Sol, Poett, Rainbow Light, and RenewLife—across 23 countries. Kirkland also serves on the boards of The Aggie Gentz Foundation and the Henry Arthur Callis Education Foundation.

Katina Richmond ’96 | Charlotte, North Carolina | term ends 2029

  • Richmond is a seasoned human resources executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience in HR, organizational development, training and process improvement. As vice president of human resources and organizational development at Carolina Biological Supply Co. since 2008, she oversees key HR functions including talent acquisition, performance management and employee engagement. Known for her strategic vision and commitment to excellence, she has led impactful initiatives enhancing organizational effectiveness. She is an active community leader, having served on multiple nonprofit boards and received numerous awards, including the Julia S. Brooks Achievement Award and the Shirley T. Frye YWCA Mentor of the Year Award. She holds a B.S. in marketing from the Deese College and multiple certifications, including PHR®, SHRM-CP, PMP®, and Six Sigma Black Belt, among others. She is a member of the Gate City Alumni Chapter and its immediate past president. A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she and her husband, Michael, share daughter Mikala, an A&T alumna.

Will Saunders ’09 | Brooklyn, New York | term ends 2029

  • Saunders, who graduated from the Deese College with a B.S. in marketing, is a college and career readiness coordinator and CTE teacher at Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in Brooklyn, New York. With 20 years of education experience, he has served in various roles across North Carolina and New York. An active member of the NYC Alumni Chapter, he serves as vice president and is a past chapter treasurer. He received the 2019 Velma Speight Young Alumnus Award and contributed to the best-selling book “The HBCU Experience: The North Carolina A&T State University 3rd Edition.” He enjoys traveling, dining, concerts and spending time with his nephew, a future Aggie born in 2024.

Claudette Smith, Ph.D., ’77 | Greensboro, North Carolina | term ends 2026

  • 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.

Pamlyn Stubbs ’66 | Charlotte, North Carolina | term ends 2029

  • Stubbs is a veteran public servant and political strategist with extensive experience in government and community leadership. She served as district director for Congressman Melvin Watt and managed the successful campaign of N.C. Senator Gladys A. Robinson. An active member of the N.C. Democratic Party State Executive Committee and the Guilford Black and Brown Women Initiative, she remains deeply engaged in civic affairs. A two-time alumna of A&T, she holds a B.S. in biology and M.S. in adult education. A member of the Gate City Alumni Chapter, she has served the former alumni association at all levels. She also was honored with the Howard Barnhill Award for Distinguished Service in 1998. She continues to advocate for equity, education and community empowerment across the state of North Carolina.

Tony Watlington Jr. ‘20 | Washington, D.C | term ends 2028

  • Watlington is the director of government affairs at the Farm Credit Council in Washington, D.C., where he represents the Farm Credit System—the nation’s largest agricultural credit provider. In this role, he is responsible for analyzing policy issues, managing legislative workgroups, and cultivating strategic relationships with members of Congress and their staff. Before joining the Farm Credit Council, he served on the staff of Congresswoman Alma Adams ’68, ’72, Ph.D., where he focused on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and advocating for increased federal funding for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Andre Winstead ‘93, ’99 | Raleigh, North Carolina | term ends 2026

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

 

For any questions about the Advisory Council on Alumni Relations, please email alumni@ncat.edu.