Leadership

National President & CEO

BEVERLY E. SMITH

Beverly Evans Smith is the 2017-2021 National President & CEO for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., one of the nation’s largest minority female-owned and operated public service non-profits. In this role she has restructured the corporate board and headquarters operation, initiated the documentation of all business operations, added new revenue streams and increased membership. She also served as the organization’s elected National First Vice President, National Secretary and was previously employed as Delta Sigma Theta’s Executive Director leading their headquarters business function.

Smith retired from the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) as the Assistant Commissioner and Georgia State Director for Adult Education and GED Testing in 2018. In this role she provided adult education training programs for an average of 69,000 Georgia citizens annually with a staff of over 1200 educators and support staff at 450 sites across the state. She was also responsible for the administration of all Georgia GED testing and supported local literacy action groups throughout Georgia. In addition, Smith served as 2015-17 Chair of the National Association of State Directors’ of Adult Education and has testified before the U.S. Senate HELP Committee representing the issues faced by adults with literacy challenges.

As an entrepreneur, Smith is also senior vice-president of The HR Group Inc., a management consulting firm she has co-owned with her husband, Stephen, for 30 years. As a corporate manager, Smith spent 18 years in leadership positions with AT&T (Southern Bell) implementing innovative business

National First Vice President/Chair of Scholarships and Standards

CHERYL A. HICKMON

Cheryl A. Hickmon a native of Hartford, Connecticut was re-elected the National First Vice President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated at the 54th National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. Cheryl comes to this position with more than 37 years of committed service to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is a Golden Life Member initiated in the Alpha Xi Chapter at South Carolina State University and is currently a member of the Hartford Alumnae Chapter.

Her service to the sorority has encompassed various elected and appointed positions at the national, regional, and local levels of leadership. Some of the positions in which she has served Delta are: National Secretary, Eastern Regional Director, South Atlantic Regional Representative, Co-Chair of the National Documents Review and Revision Task Force, Co-Chair of the National Leadership Academy, and Chapter President of the Hartford Alumnae and Alpha Xi Chapter.

Professionally Cheryl supervises the In Vitro Fertilization Laboratories for Andrology and Endocrinology at Montefiore’s Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Health a division of the Montefiore Medical Center and a teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Outside of her leadership in Delta, Cheryl has served with the Children’s Defense Fund movement – The Daughters of Tubman Sisters of Truth under the leadership of Children’s Defense Fund Founder, Marian Wright Edelman. Additionally, she is an avid skier and a founding member of the Thrillseekers, Inc. Ski and Adventure Club of New York, and a member of the National Council of Negro Woman, and the NAACP.

Cheryl has received several awards including the “100 Most Influential African Americans in the State of Connecticut” by the Connecticut Chapters of the NAACP, Outstanding Accomplishments and Achievement Award from her Alma Mater South Carolina State University, and the Citizen of the Year Award from Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Tau Iota Chapter).

Cheryl lives her life by the motto … “Don’t measure life by the number of breaths you take but by the number of moments that take your breath away.”

National Second Vice President

DIAMOND COMPTON

Diamond Compton is a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas and a senior mathematics education major with a 3.9 cumulative GPA at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). After her graduation in spring of 2020, Miss Compton intends to enter graduate school for a Master’s degree in Computer Science and a Doctorate degree in Educational Assessment and Measurement. Her long-term goal in life is to become a chancellor of an institution.

During her matriculation at UAPB, she has served as Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society President, Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society of Education Secretary, STEM Scholars Academy Sargent-at-Arms, Carolyn F. Blakely Honors College Chaplain, Student Government Association Freshmen Class President and Sophomore Class Secretary, member of Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, and Alpha Chi Honor Society.

Since her initiation into the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Miss Compton has climbed the ranks of leadership. She has served as Chapter Vice President, Chapter President, Arkansas State Facilitator, and 2018-2019 Leadership DELTA Cohort Member. She is currently the Financial Secretary for her home chapter Delta Eta. As National Second Vice President, Miss Compton works with officers and chapters in stimulating and strengthening collegiate participation in the life of the Sorority, serves as a liaison between collegiate and alumnae chapters to strengthen relationships and understanding, serves as a member of the Scholarship and Standards Committee, and performs all the duties of the office of the National President in the absence, or at the request, of the National President.

National Secretary

ELSIE COOKE-HOLMES

Elsie Cooke-Holmes is principal/owner of Cooke-Holmes, LLC a coaching and HR consulting firm. She specializes in executive, leadership and career coaching, leadership development, facilitation, training and change management.

Elsie’s career in corporate America spans over 30 years. She was employed by Texas Instruments and Andersen Consulting prior to joining PepsiCo. At PepsiCo, she held numerous technical and leadership positions in the company’s Information Technology and Human Resources Departments including her last position, Human Resources Director, Corporate HR and Global Financial Shared Services.

Initially elected in 2017, Elsie was recently re-elected National Secretary of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated for the 2019-2021 biennium. She joined the Sorority at the University of Memphis, was elected National Second Vice President, and has held numerous positions of leadership including Eastern Regional Director; Eastern Region Representative to the National Scholarship and Standards Committee; Co-Chair, National Leadership Academy; Co-Chair, Co-Chair, National HR Committee and past chapter president, Westchester Alumnae Chapter. She is currently a member of the Dallas Alumnae Chapter. Elsie participates in a number of other community activities, including membership in The Links, Inc., NAACP, NCNW and the St. Luke United Methodist Church. She is a member of the WiNGS, Inc. Board of Directors and the Werthing Foundation Board of Directors. She is a recipient of numerous awards for leadership and community service. She is a graduate of the University of Memphis, with a BS in Engineering Technology/Computer Systems Degree, and received her MBA from Columbia University. Elsie is married to Clarence H. Holmes, Jr. and resides in Plano, TX.

National Treasurer

PAMELA R. HILL

Pamela R. Hill has 19 years of tax administration experience with the Alabama Department of Revenue, where she holds the position of Revenue Manager II. She is responsible for vendor compliance in the processing of over $3.8 billion in tax return funds. Most recently, she was responsible for tax legislation and investments, as well as revenue estimates used in the preparation of the state budget. She is also employed as an Adjunct Accounting Instructor and serves as a board member of Alabama State University Foundation, Inc., currently serving as secretary.

She is a graduate of ASU, with both a Bachelor and Master of Accountancy and has a Master of Public Administration from Troy State University. Since 2002, Pamela has held membership with the Association of Government Accountants, having served as a regional vice-president of its Gulf Region and chapter president of the Montgomery Chapter. She is currently the chapter’s elected representative on the National Council of Chapters.

In 2001, Pamela was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. through the Montgomery (AL) Alumnae Chapter, where she has held continuous membership. She is the immediate past president of the chapter, having served on its Executive Committee from 2005-2017 in the additional positions of First Vice President, Second Vice President, Treasurer and Financial Secretary. Pamela served from 2008-2015 as a member of the National Internal Audit Committee and from 2016-2019 as the Southern Region Member of the National Finance Committee. She was also a 2018-2019 cohort member of the National Delta Fellows Program. She is a Membership Intake Trainer, Delta Internal Development Facilitator and served as a Collegiate Advisor from 2007-2016. She has received the chapter’s Woman of the Year and Fortitude awards as well as the Southern Region’s Alumnae Member of the Year award.