Rev. Nelson D. Taylor, Esq. – Chairman

A native of Baton Rouge, Rev. Taylor attended Scotlandville High School and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree. He went on to attend Boston University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts where he earned his Juris Doctor Degree. He was admitted to the Louisiana Bar on October 2, 1974. He was ordained as in Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1978.

Rev. Nelson D. Taylor currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of J. K. Haynes Charter Schools, Inc., Director/Counsel of the J.K. Haynes Legal Defense Fund and Pastor of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Atty. Gail Horne Ray – Vice Chairman

Attorney Gail Horne Ray is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from The University of Alabama with a degree in Political Science. She graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in 1977 and was sworn into the Louisiana Bar in 1978. She is currently the principal owner of the Law Office of Gail Horne Ray in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Attorney Ray is a member of the Louis A. Martinet Society, The Baton Rouge Bar Association, The Louisiana State Bar Association, and The Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She is a Silver Life Member of The NAACP.

Carrell Black – Secretary

Ms. Carrell Black is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. She received her Master’s Degree from Texas Southern University where she majored in Early Childhood Education. She began her career as a Speech Therapist but later decided to expand her horizons by teaching Kindergarten.

Anita Anderson Harrell – Board Member

Anita Anderson Harrell is a graduate of Southern University and A & M College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and a Master of Arts Degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. She is currently employed with The Office of Community Development as a Housing Specialist. Mrs. Anderson is a member of the Mewelde Moore Knowledge First Foundation, the Louisiana Center for Health Equity, the Daughters of Destiny Mentoring Program and the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Charitable Foundation.

Atty. Niles B. Haymer – Board Member

Attorney Niles B. Haymer earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Southern University Law Center in 2003 and his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Southern University in 2000, graduating with the highest GPA in the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy all while serving as Student Government Association President.

Niles has been recognized by the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL) as a Blackstone Order Award recipient for his work in juvenile court and voted to the Southern University Alumni Top Forty Under 40 List. Niles is a past instructor for the Legal Seminar Series for the East Baton Rouge Parish Council on Aging, past President of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Parish Council and The Baton Rouge Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children and Baptist Builders International, Inc.

Sherrie Clark – Board Member

Sherrie Clark is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended St. Raymond Elementary and St. Mary’s High School. After completion of high school, she went on to earning her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.

Over the last 24 years she has dedicated her time in educating the youth of her community both in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Clark has served twelve of those years at J.K. Haynes Elementary Charter School. Presently Clark is serving as the Education T.V. Specialist for the Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB).

Clark is married to Dr. Gary Clark. She has two children and two grandchildren.