The State Board completed the appointments yesterday

The Normandy Schools Collaborative officially starts today, and the district’s Joint Executive Governing Board is holding its first meeting at the Normandy central office.

The following is biographical information about each of the members of the Normandy Schools Collaborative Joint Executive Governing Board:

Reginald Dickson

Reginald Dickson, St. Louis, is Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President of BYW Investment Advisors, a multi-cultural, minority-controlled firm. BYW is the second investment firm Dickson has helped launch. In 1995, he co-founded St. Louis’ first minority-owned asset management firm. He is active in community affairs and serves on several boards, including the Board of Regents at Harris-Stowe State University. Dickson has bachelor’s degrees from Harris-Stowe Teachers College and Washington University.

Cedric Portis Sr.

The Reverend Cedric Portis Sr. is a Normandy High School graduate and serves as pastor of Third Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. He is also an adjunct professor of Ethics, Critical Thinking and Organizational Leadership for the University of West Los Angeles. Porter previously served as a project manager for a variety of engineering projects.

Richard Ryffel

Richard Ryffel, St. Louis, is a private banker with J.P. Morgan. He is also on faculty as an adjunct professor at Washington University, Webster University and St. Louis University. Mr. Ryffel is a past board chairman of Beyond Housing, a community development organization that works in defined areas such as Normandy to promote education, housing, health, employment and economic development. 

Sheila Grimes Williams

Sheila Grimes Williams, Pasadena Hills, has many years of experience as an educator and has served as Executive Director of School Programs and board member for the Normandy School District. She previously served as Training Academy Director for the Efficacy Institute of Waltham, Massachusetts, assisting schools, school districts and community agencies in implementing efficacy initiatives in eight states and the District of Columbia. Prior to her work in Massachusetts, Ms. Williams spent more than 30 years as a teacher, reading and math specialist, and program administrator with St. Louis Public Schools.

Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge

Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, Pasadena Hills, is involved in a number of different civic organizations in the St. Louis area including Beyond Housing, The Bridge Outreach and Neighborhood Houses. She has worked for Express Scripts since 2007 and has other business experience with Bank of America and Anheuser Busch. Westbrooks-Hodge is also the founder/author of "The Scholarship Solution," a program designed to help families with the college scholarship process.

Find more information on the Normandy Schools Collaborative on our website at www.dese.mo.gov/Normandy.