Our Board
Our Chair
Dr. Sylvia Gist
Dr. Sylvia Reedy Gist is a highly-motivated, capable visionary who holds a track record for effecting change and maintaining quality and accountability in organizational operations. She holds a Doctor ofPhilosophy Degree in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the University of Chicago, a Master of Science Degree in Technology Education, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Education, both from Chicago State University. Her work experience includes, but is not limited to, serving as Dean of the College of Education, Chair of the Department of Technology and Education, and a full Professor of Education at Chicago State University. She taught at Alcorn State University, Bessemer Technical College (AL), and Clemente High School (Chicago, IL). Dr. Gist is most known for successfully increasing academic achievement among students of diverse heritage and backgrounds, improving performance of educators, and elevating effectiveness in organizational operations.
Our Vice Chair
Mr. Earsie L. Simpson
Mr. Earsie L. Simpson is a Retired Veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served 22 years. While in the service, Mr. Simpson held the role of Supervisor of Purchasing, and the Director of Health Care Management. He was challenged to lead and direct medical material handling efforts requiring planning, coordinating, and reviewing daily work activities of 100 employees including six supervisors. Mr. Simpson is an active member of the Holmes County community. He is a member of the Holmes County Democratic Black Caucus and a former elected member of the Holmes County Consolidated School District’s Board. He is an active representative of the Mississippi Coalition for a Smoke-Free Mississippi, covering Holmes, Madison and Yazoo counties. He is a former PTA President of Holmes Central High School in Lexington, MS, where he worked closely with the lead person who administers the program, Jobs For Mississippi Graduates. Mr. Simpson is a native of Pickens, MS, and he is an Associate Minister of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of Pickens, MS. His hobbies are reading and traveling.
Our Treasurer
Ms. Tiara Wright
Tiara Wright – Ms. Wright is a native of Lexington, Mississippi. As a young child, she always had a heart to help people. And as she journeyed through the levels of the Holmes County School System, she knew that when she graduated that she would be involved in the lives of youth, teens, and young adults. Ms. Wright attended J.J. McClain High Schoolin Lexington, Mississippi, and graduated in 2009. She is an alumnus of Holmes County Community College, and Mississippi State University, where she majored in Biology, with a minor in Early Childhood Education/Childcare Development. Ms. Wright has been a mentor for seven years, with the local non-profit P.E.A.R.L.S., where she mentors young girls with all the fundamentals of becoming respectable young ladies. She was awarded Mentor of the Year in 2020. Ms. Wright has been volunteering with DATCC since our inception in 2016. And when DATCC needed a Treasurer, she did not hesitate to accept the position. Ms. Wright states, “As a Mentor and a Mom, I love being a part of developing our youth.” And she also states, “Wherever Life Plants You, Bloom With Grace,” which is her favorite saying. She further states and believes that “Helping others is the Secret Sauce of a Fruitful Life.”
Our Secretary
Mrs. Rosalind D. Wiley
As a native of New Orleans, LA, Rosalind (Roz) attended Booker T. Washington High School and graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. Majoring in Education allowed her to work with children at the Y.M.C.A. in New Orleans. Later in life, she relocated to Gary, IN, and worked part-time as a lifeguard and taught swimming to children and adults. A job opportunity became available in Milwaukee, Wiscousin, and she worked full-time as the Girls Coordinator at the Hillside Boys and Girls club for two years.Married to her husband James T. Wiley, Sr., was the key factor that brought her back to Gary. After two years of being a housewife only, she knew that it was time to go back to work. She applied for a position at the Gary Boys andGirls Club, and was hired as Guidance Director. A few years later, she was promoted to Program Director. Retirement came about for both her and her husband, and eventually they moved to his hometown of Durant, Mississippi.Roz hobbies are designing greeting cards, working on the computer, working with crafts, watching television and studying the Word.
Our Seargent-at-Arms
Representative Bryant W. Clark
Mr. Bryant W. Clark is an American Politician from the State of Mississippi. A member of the Democratic Party, Clark is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, and represents the 47th District. He has served in the Mississippi House since 2004. He is married to the former Sentral Brown. Clark is a lifelong resident of Ebenezer, located in southern Holmes County. He is a 1993 graduate of McClain High School in Lexington. After completing high school, he attended Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi, where he received his Associate of Arts degree in 1995. He then attended Mississippi Valley State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He graduated Magna Cum Laude. During his undergraduate career, he studied at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL, and the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. He is the past Vice President and 2nd Congressional District Coordinator of the Young Democrats of Mississippi. In 2004, he was elected to both the Holmes County Democratic Executive Committee, and State Democratic Executive Committee. For four years, he served as the Secretary of the State Democratic Executive Committee. In 2002, he was awarded the Distinguished Young Democrat Award by the state party.
