Marcus Taylor

During his distinguished tenure in the military, Major Frank Branch notably served in many state-side assignments, plus Korea and Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Storm. Upon retiring from the U.S. Army in 1995 after 19 years of service as a Supply Materiel Management and Army Acquisition Corps Officer, Major Branch was hired as the Senior Army Instructor (SAI) for Jim Hill High School’s Army JROTC Battalion. In 2016, he became the academic advisor/tutor for the school. Major Branch has been serving an instrumental role in helping students achieve success in the classroom through college preparation classes, ACT prep workshops, and scholarship opportunities.

Charles Edward Christian is a retired Human Resource and Organizational Development Leader. Employment included Ford Motor Company (Dearborn, Michigan), Scott Paper Company (Philadelphia, PA), Frito Lay (Dallas, Texas), Verizon (NY) Consulting for Pierce College (Philadelphia, PA), and Lextron Visteon Corporation (Jackson, MS).

Dr. Alfred Rankins, Jr. was appointed commissioner of higher education by the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) and began serving in this role in July 2018. As commissioner, Dr. Rankins advises the IHL Board on all matters pertaining to governing Mississippi's eight public universities and academic medical center. Dr. Rankins also supervises and evaluates the chancellor and presidents of the universities within the IHL system.

Representative Clarke is affiliated with Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alcorn Alumni, Jack & Jill of America, Inc., the MS Public Health Association, the Regional Association of Drug-Free Schools and Communities, and the State PTA.