Doris brings 20 years of leadership experience in student, academic, judicial, and community affairs to her position at Arise Collective. Her most recent position in higher education was at Edward Waters University, where she served as Associate Vice President for Student Success & Retention. She began her career in higher education at her alma mater, Shaw University, where she served in roles including Coordinator for the Freshman Year Programs, the first female Dean of Students in the history of the university, and more recently, as the Director of Student Retention. She also held several positions at Saint Augustine’s College/University for 14 years of her higher education career.
The recipient of numerous awards, Doris received the Doctor of Education degree in higher education leadership from High Point University in May 2020 after an intense four-year journey. Her dissertation research was “Incarceration and the Impact of Educational Rehabilitation on Recidivism.” She also earned her Associate’s degree in Business Management and Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science/Sociology from Shaw University and an MBA from Strayer University. A 2010 graduate of HERS (Higher Education Resource Services), a leadership development and research organization, she is also a former board member of Arise Collective and a founding member of the Southeast Raleigh Rotary Club, currently serving as chair of the membership committee. A passionate leader, positive student advocate, and a true example of Zig Ziglar’s quote, “It is not where you start, but where you finish that counts,” and Brene Brown’s quote, “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”
Doris lives in Raleigh with her husband Cedric of 20 years.