Members of the Spartan Community –
Mr. Devon M. Henry currently serves the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors as our Rector. Henry is CEO and President of Team Henry Enterprises LLC, an award-winning multidisciplinary contracting firm that specializes in construction management, environmental, marine and emergency response services. The company is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, with satellite offices in Raleigh, NC, Richmond, Virginia, and Miami, Florida. Henry, a 2000 graduate of Norfolk State University, was named one of the university’s Distinguished Alumni in 2013. He received his Bachelor of Science from Norfolk State University, where he created an endowment to provide scholarships to Virginia high school students planning to attend NSU and major in a STEM related focus. Henry has been recognized as The Entrepreneur of the Year by The Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, American Express Government Contractor of the Year, and most recently as the 2020 Master Entrepreneur of the Year by The Metropolitan Business League. Henry is also a sought-after board member in both the not-for-profit and corporate sectors.
Ms. Mary L. Blunt currently serves as Vice Rector of the BOV. She brings more than 40 years of senior executive management experience in the healthcare sector to the NSU Board of Visitors. As Senior Corporate Vice President for Sentara Healthcare’s Hampton Roads Region, Blunt serves as the regional executive responsible for strategic and operational oversight for seven of Sentara’s hospitals, the Post-Acute Division including, Home Health, Hospice, ten Long-term Care facilities and two PACE programs. Blunt is also responsible for oversight of supply chain management and three system service lines. Prior to assuming her current role, Blunt held the following positions at Sentara: Corporate Vice President, Peninsula Region; Corporate Vice President, Administrator, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital; President Operations, Sentara Life Care Corporation and Rehabilitation; Vice President Operations, Southside Hospitals; and Vice President Operations, Sentara Bayside. Blunt received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Illinois Medical Center in 1978 and Master’s in Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in 1987.
Bishop Kim W. Brown is serving the BOV as Secretary and he is no stranger to NSU, having graduated from the University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. He went on to receive a Master’s in Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry from Virginia Union University. Since 1990, Brown has served as the senior pastor of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, also known as The Mount. Under his leadership, the church’s membership has grown from 75 to more than 13,000. Brown brings strong higher education governance experience to NSU, having previously served as Board Member and Chair of the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees from 2015-2019. Brown is a steadfast advocate for his alma mater, and recently served as a member of the University’s Presidential Search Committee. Because of his outstanding professional accomplishments and strong support of the University, Brown was inducted into the NSU 2019 Class of Distinguished Alumni.
On Monday, June 11, 2021, Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam M.D. announced the following new appointments and reappointments to the NSU Board of Visitors.
- Ms. Heidi W. Abbott of Richmond
- The Honorable James W. Dyke* of Reston
- Delbert Parks of Herndon
- Dr. Harold (Harry) L. Watkins, II* of Richmond
- Ms. Joan G. Wilmer* of Hanover
Ms. Heidi W. Abbott is a new appointment to the NSU BOV and serves as Counsel at Hunton Andrews, Kurth LLP. She is well versed in civic engagement, government relations and external affairs. Abbott represents business and industry at the local, state and federal levels on a variety of legislative matters, including the passage of legislation regarding insurance, housing policy, taxation, privacy, technology, and health care issues. Her work includes drafting legislation, testifying before legislative committees and subcommittees, lobbying, monitoring legislation, the implementation of legislative strategies, and the administration of clients' political action committees and campaign contributions, and providing advice and strategy for public officials and political candidates.
The Honorable James W. Dyke was re-appointed to the board. He serves as a senior advisor for Virginia Government Relations at McGuire Woods Consulting in Tysons, Virginia. Dyke previously served as Virginia’s Secretary of Education under former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and as domestic policy advisor to former Vice President Walter Mondale. He also served as a senior advisor to the BOV from 2013–14. He is an active leader in the Northern Virginia business community and has served or is serving on several state commissions and committees. He has also served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia. Dyke has also been named to several power and influencer listings in Virginia and Washington, D.C. He is an alumnus of Howard University where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees.
Mr. Delbert Parks is a new appointment to the board. He is the vice president and site executive of Micron Technology Virginia. Micron is a premier 300mm high-tech manufacturing facility for leading DRAM, NAND and NOR memory products. Park’s career started at Philips Electronics, where he managed both engineering and manufacturing teams. In 2004, he moved to Texas Instruments, where he started the new 200mm/300mm bump facility and later took on increasing leadership responsibilities including site manager over multiple factories. He holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Stephen F. Austin State University. Outside of work, he is passionate about volunteering and youth work. He is a board member of the North Dallas Adventist Academy.
Dr. Harold L. Watkins II was re-appointed by the governor. He brings 30 years of policy, management and social service experience to the NSU Board of Visitors. Watkins currently serves as Principal of HarryCo LLC, a diversified social services consultancy, which provides evidenced based case management, crisis intervention and therapeutic counseling services to individuals and families. He previously served as President of Renaissance Inc., which operated residential programs for 900 at-risk youth and families across Virginia. Watkins’ public policy experience includes tenure as a Senior Research and Policy Analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. and service as a legislative staffer for Virginia State Senator Henry Marsh and Delegate Betsy Carr. Watkins received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1998, Master of Social Work from Norfolk State University in 2001, Master of Public Administration from Walden University in 2007 and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Political Science from Howard University in 2015.
Ms. Joan G. Wilmer, alumna of NSU Class of 1999 in Social Work, previously served as rector and vice rector for NSU’s BOV and was re-appointed by the governor as a board member. She is currently the vice president of human resources at ViacomCBS, but has more than 20 years of experience partnering with executive decision makers, investors, and functional stakeholders to navigate growth and change across complex, international organizations by implementing strategic programs that strengthen employee engagement, commitment, and performance. Throughout her career, she has developed and delivered proactive HR solutions for identifying, securing, developing, and retaining top talent for new enterprises, struggling ventures, and existing operations that require an injection of efficiency and effectiveness.
You can read the entire press release from the Office of the Governor here. https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2021/june/headline-897136-en.html