Today, Christy Jones, chair of the Mississippi Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees, announced 14 new trustees joining the board with a total of 43 members for fiscal year 2022. Jones said, “We are delighted to welcome these dynamic individuals to the Museum’s Board. Each brings an array of expertise and experience across sectors. They enthusiastically embrace our mission to continuously foster meaningful engagements with art among the communities we serve and ensure that a diversity of voices tell Mississippi’s stories. We look forward to working with them and our wonderful Museum staff led by Director Betsy Bradley to support the Museum’s role as a vibrant, inclusive community hub and steadfast partner with other institutions in the state and beyond.” 

The new trustees are as follows:

Leslie Baskin (Jackson, MS) is a Jackson native and owner of Leslie Baskin Designs. She received her BA in art from the University of Mississippi and her MFA in graphic design from Mississippi College. She taught fine art at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Ridgeland, MS for six years and developed a new graphic design program at the school.  Over the last ten years, Baskin has grown her own business which now serves clients across the Southeast and specializes in logo design, branding, print media, and advertising. She continues to explore her practice as she creates handmade paper and fiber artworks inspired by the landscapes of her southern heritage.

Deidra Bell (Jackson, MS) is a certified public accountant and a Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. She received her BBA from the University of Guam and an MBA from University of Tennessee. Bell retired in 2018 after more than 30 years of experience, most recently as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for St. Dominic Health Services, Inc. She has been an active member of many community organizations and professional associations over the years including the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the Mississippi Society of CPAs, Jackson Rotary Club, Community Foundation for Mississippi, and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

Donna Bruce (Jackson, MS) is partner at BKD and a private client services advisor. She provides compliance and consulting services related to income, retirement, estate, and gift tax planning. She also works with tax-exempt organizations and many of Mississippi’s largest hospitals, colleges, universities, and their respective foundations. She has more than 30 years of experience in public accounting and serves as tax director for the Mississippi office of BKD. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Mississippi Children’s Museum and the Eudora Welty Foundation. Bruce received a BA from Mississippi State University, Starkville, in professional accountancy.

Critz Campbell (Starkville, MS) is Head of the Department of Art at Mississippi State University. He earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a two-year CORE Fellowship at Penland School of Craft in Penland, NC, followed by two years studying furniture design at Parnham College in England. Campbell maintains a studio practice in sculptural woodworking. His exhibition record includes the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, MA; and Science Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. Campbell has received numerous awards and fellowships throughout his career including a federal Art in Architecture commission through the General Services Administration. He is a member of the National Association of Arts Administrators and serves on the Board of Trustees at Penland School of Craft.

Roy D. Campbell, III (Jackson, MS) is a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Campbell earned his BA from Davidson College and his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law and has practiced law for 46 years. Campbell has been active in a variety of community organizations and professional associations, a few of which include the Mississippi Bar’s Board of Commissioners, President (2016-17); Mississippi Bicentennial Commission, Judicial Banquet Committee Chair; American College of Trial Lawyers, State Committee; Fondren Renaissance Foundation, Board of Trustees; LGBTQ Fund Advisory Board; Baptist Health Foundation Board; and the MS Commission on Judicial Performance.

Myrna Colley-Lee (Charleston, MS) is an arts advocate, an avid collector, and an artist. She received her BFA at the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studied scene painting at Brooklyn College, and completed her MFA in scenic and costume design at Temple University. Mississippi State University (MSU) awarded her an honorary Doctor of Creative Arts, honoris causa. Credited as one of the foremost costume designers in the Black Theatre Movement, her work has been featured in exhibitions. A permanent collection of her vintage clothing and costumes is held by the MSU library. Colley-Lee serves on several boards including the Southern Literary Trail, the Mississippi Museum of Art Acquisitions and Collections Committee, and the CAPE National Advisory Council. Recipient of numerous honors, she is the longest serving commissioner for the Mississippi Arts Commission.

Nakimuli Davis-Primer (Jackson, MS) is an attorney with Baker Donelson, where she focuses on employment law and commercial litigation. She earned her BS in computer science and engineering magna cum laude from Mississippi State University, and her JD magna cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Prior to joining Baker Donelson, she was a law clerk to the Honorable Leslie H. Southwick of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Davis-Primer currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, teaching employment law.

Cathy May (Jackson, MS) earned her BA from Mississippi State University. Throughout her years in the Jackson-metro area, May has contributed her leadership and volunteer service to several organizations including Jackson Cancer League, Heart of the Home, Women’s Ministry to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Pearl, First Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Day School, Goodwill Industries, and the Junior League of Jackson, among others. She is also passionate about mission work in Peru. In spring of 2021, May was appointed as President of Gallery Guild, a one-year position that includes an ex-officio seat on the Mississippi Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees.

Monique Montgomery (Columbus, MS) is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. She received her JD from Mississippi College School of Law in 1995 and completed a guest student program at Georgia State University School of Law in Atlanta. Prior to attending law school, she served as Contracts Coordinator for CNN International. After law school, she was the Contracts Attorney for Alexander’s Home Health in Columbus, MS, and worked in private practice with Turner and Associates in West Point, MS, and the Colom Law Firm as a litigation attorney. During this time, she also worked as an Adjunct Professor at Mississippi University for Women where she taught contracts, torts, and paralegal studies. In 2008, she opened The Montgomery Law Firm, LLC and has since served on two state boards. Montgomery recently graduated from the Mississippi’s Certified Supervisory Management Program, a nationally recognized leadership development program.

Marc O’Ferrall (Jackson, MS) is CEO of O’Ferrall Management Group. He first built and grew a portfolio of restaurants in Miami, FL, transforming the brand’s reputation, before selling and moving to Mississippi. What started as a single-unit operation has grown to a 16-unit franchise and a key performance leader of the 800-store region. O’Ferrall earned his BS in hotel and restaurant management from Bethune-Cookman University before beginning a career in restaurant management, sales, and marketing with major brands including Walt Disney World, Hilton Worldwide, and Loews Hotels. Formerly, he served as Chairman of the McDonald’s African American Consumer Marketing Committee and an Executive Board Member for the Mississippi/Tennessee Advertising Cooperative and the Jackson Mississippi Ronald McDonald House. He was also Vice President of the National Black McDonald’s Owner Association and President of the North Mississippi Marketing Cooperative.

The First Lady of Mississippi, Elee Williams Reeves (Jackson, MS) grew up in Tylertown and upon graduation from McComb High School, she pursued her degree at Millsaps College where she graduated with honors. She also holds an MA in Business Administration from Millsaps College. Reeves began her career in 2001 and is an investment advisor with Coker & Palmer. She is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Mississippi and the Chartered Financial Institute. Reeves volunteers her time to numerous charitable and civic organizations, including Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi where she has been a troop leader for the past 22 years. She was named the 2005-2006 Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi’s Woman of Distinction. She is also a supporter of the arts and has served as vice chairwoman of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Foundation Board and president of the Jackson Symphony League, as well as the Honorary Chairman of the upcoming 2023 International Ballet Competition. She has been member of the investment committee for the Mississippi Museum of Art Foundation Board and was recently appointed as President of the Mississippi Museum of Art Foundation Board, a position which includes an ex-officio seat on the Mississippi Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. 

Reeves sits on the University of Mississippi Medical Center MIND Center Board and is a sustainer in the Junior League of Jackson. She volunteers with the Kappa Delta National Leadership Team on the Investment Advisory Committee and is a past President of the Jackson Area Alumnae Association. In 2007, she was the recipient of the Kappa Delta Order of the Pearl National Award, and in 2020 the Kappa Delta Woman of Achievement Award.

Joseph K. Sims, Jr. (Kirk) (Jackson, MS) earned his BA in English from the University of Mississippi in 2006. He is the Director of Corporate Affairs at The Yates Companies where he has worked for seven years, and he has spent 15 years in the field. Since 2018, Sims has served as a Capitol Complex Improvement District Commissioner. He was appointed to Chair of the Northminster Baptist Church Board of Deacons in 2020.

Kimberly Noel Sweet (Brandon, MS) is an Emmy-nominated, national award-winning journalist, published author, and businesswoman. She completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA and earned a graduate degree in science from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She was an anchor, investigative reporter, and managing editor at WLBT-TV3. Her work has been honored by the Associated Press, Mississippi Association of Broadcasters, National Association of Television Producers and Editors, and The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, as well as community organizations. Sweet is a freelance writer and producer creating marketing and public relations campaigns and is in the process of producing her first documentary. Her business, Cardan Enterprises, acquires and manages raw land, commercial properties, and vacation rentals. She has also worked as an adjunct professor at Jackson State University and Tougaloo College. Sweet is the National Co-Chair of Communications for The Links, Incorporated and a member of the organization’s local entity, the LeFleur’s Bluff (MS) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She is also a sustaining member of the Junior League of Jackson and a Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.   

Malinda Warren (Jackson, MS) earned a BS from the University of Mississippi in court reporting/business. She worked as a legal assistant in the municipal finance practice area with Vinson & Elkins in Houston, TX. After returning to Jackson, she worked with Watkins Ludlum and Stennis law firm for 12 years followed by 12 more years at Phelps Dunbar law firm. Warren is a civic leader who commits time serving in various capacities with organizations such as: Mississippi Children’s Museum; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as a volunteer board member and gala chair; Goodwill Industries (chair of the Salute Reception and Hospitality Chair); Sustainers Board member of Junior League of Jackson; Galloway United Methodist Church Legacy Committee; and a volunteer for the Jackson Symphony League Ball.

About the Mississippi Museum of Art

Established in 1911, the Mississippi Museum of Art is dedicated to connecting Mississippi to the world and the power of art to the power of community. The Museum’s permanent collection includes paintings, photography, multimedia works, and sculpture by Mississippi, American, and international artists. The largest art museum in the state, the Mississippi Museum of Art offers a vibrant roster of exhibitions, public programs, artistic and community partnerships, educational initiatives, and opportunities for exchange year-round. Programming is developed inclusively with community involvement to ensure a diversity of voices and perspectives are represented. Located at 380 South Lamar Street in downtown Jackson, the Museum is committed to honesty, equity, and inclusion. The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the City of Jackson and Visit Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information, visit msmuseumart.org.