Corey Lombard Sr. is a proud graduate of St. John’s High School in Gulfport, Mississippi, earning his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Xavier University of New Orleans in 1995. As part of his education journey, he engaged in graduate work at Columbia University’s Teachers College through the Southern Education Foundation’s 1991 Summer Scholars Program.

During his undergraduate years, Lombard made history as the first undergraduate student  to be selected for an internship at Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia in 1993. This experience allowed him to delve into the rich philanthropic history of the Pew family, review proposals for innovative educational programs, audit program efficiency, and work hands-on in the field.

With over 25 years of diverse teaching and coaching experience, Corey was chosen for the Teachers as Leaders Initiative at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in 1998. Throughout his career, he’s taught various subjects, created educational materials, and developed curricula for programs such as the Mississippi Department of Education’s Technology Foundations class. Additionally, he’s crafted programs like Character Education, an ACT Prep after-school initiative, and academic summer camps for organizations like the MS Aviation Heritage Museum and the Police Athletic League.

Passionate about education, Corey has presented at teacher staff development workshops within the Gulfport School District and the Mississippi Educational Computing Association conference. Early in his career, he recognized the importance of exposing students to possibilities beyond their immediate surroundings. To address this, he collaborated with fellow educators to organize transformative experiences, including college tours, sporting events, and research opportunities, aiming to broaden students’ horizons.

Melanie Davis holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education and has taught for the past 17 years in the elementary and middle schools. She is a transplant to the Gulf Coast with her fathers retirement from the military. Currently a Gifted Teacher, Mrs. Davis focuses on teaching local history through primary source research.

Additionally, Mrs. Davis is a National Geographic Certified and Geo-Inquiry Certified Educator.

Mrs. Davis’ work with Mississippi Geography Association focuses on the giant map program and Geo-Inquiry – programs which bring mapping skills to elementary and middle schools and the community at-large. She is also a board member of the Educational Visions Organization.

An award winning educator, Mrs. Davis received myriad of fellowships, travel grants, and teaching awards which include:

• 2016 MGA Geospatial Technology Fellowships to attend ESRI T3G – Redlands, CA
• 2018 MGA Advisory Council Travel Fellowship to participate in educational travel to Iceland
• 2018 K-12 Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award for Excellence in Geography Teaching – National Council for Geography Education – Quebec, Canada
• 2020 Sons of the American Revolution Dr. Tom and Betty Lawrence American History Teacher Award
• 2022 100 Successful Women to Know on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

When asked about her passion for geographic education, Mrs. Davis replied, “I’m a huge advocate of community geography, where students are encouraged to get out of the classroom and into the community to learn about their local history. This creates intergenerational friendships as the elders in the community become mentors and share the local history to the next generation.”

Erwin Gilliam is an elementary school principal with a background in counseling and a passion for seeking positive results. He is excited to see people and organizations flourish. His goal is to help transform negative behaviors into positive ones and turn bad situations into good ones. These things are possible through constant collaboration and learning, motivational coaching, and the leadership qualities that he is continuously tweaking. With passion, consistency, and the collective effort of others, great things can happen for the students and adults that we serve in our communities.

Martha Mais is a retired teacher, and holds BS in Business Management & Accounting from the University of Maryland. She also has a Masters in Education from William Carey.

Hakim McClellan is the athletic director of Mississippi Valley State University, and has an extensive background in collegiate athletic administration. His new position at MVSU is a return home for the former MVSU student-athlete who also earned his bachelor’s in business administration from MVSU in 2010 and his master’s in business administration, also from MVSU.

In addition, McClellan also worked on the compliance staff at MVSU. He was responsible for various duties, including coordinating with the coaching staff to verify compliance with student athletic eligibility standards.

McClellan recently worked at Jackson State University, where he served as the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance. McClellan has also worked at Prairie View A&M and worked as the Athletic Academic Advisor for the men’s baseball, women’s basketball, soccer, and track & field teams. In July of 2016, he was named as PVAMU’s first Certification Officer in the Office of the Registrar.

Rhonda Addison is a paralegal at the Hendren Law Firm in Ocean Springs, MS.