Five Women Who Have Been Appointed to University Administrative Posts

Damara Hightower Mitchell has been appointed chief executive officer of the Center of Excellence for Educator Preparation and Innovation at Voorhees University in South Carolina. With over three decades of education, public service, and non-profit experience, she currently serves as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Voorhees University. She will step down from her current role to focus full-time on the center’s operations.

Dr. Hightower Mitchell is a graduate of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, where she majored in English education. She holds a master of education degree in K-12 educational leadership and supervision from the University of Southern Mississippi and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina.

Tamara K. Taylor has been appointed director of the Career and Professional Development Center at Florida A&M University. She recently served as director of career coaching and senior associate director for career coaching and student belonging at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Taylor is an alumna of Florida A&M University where she received her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. She holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Miami.

Jenna Curtis-Swafford has been named the permanent vice chancellor for university advancement at the University of Tennessee Martin, after holding the position on an interim basis for the past five months. Earlier, she served as the associate vice chancellor for university advancement.

Curtis-Swafford holds a master’s degree in strategic communication from the University of Tennessee Martin.

Tangelia Kelly has been named interim executive director of university communications at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has 16 years of experience in higher education marketing and has been serving as Jackson State University’s director of marketing.

Dr. Kelly is a two-time graduate of Jackson State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in marketing and a Ph.D. in educational administration and supervision. She earned an MBA from Belhaven University in Mississippi.

Charlotte Pera has been appointed executive director of the Sustainability Accelerator at the Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. Most recently, she served as vice president and deputy chief executive officer for the Bezos Earth Fund. She previously spent 10 years as president and chief executive officer of the ClimateWorks Foundation.

Pera received her bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.