Meet Our New Trustees

The Museum’s Board of Trustees welcomed three new members at the annual meeting in May for their first term of three years. They bring expertise and talent that will greatly aid our organization.

DIONNE ROSSER-MIMS

Dionne Rosser-Mims, Ph.D., became Vice Chancellor of Troy University’s Phenix City Campus on October 1, 2020 after serving as the Dean of the College of Education since 2018. Dr. Rosser-Mims joined the faculty at Troy University in 2005 and was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Education in 2016. She also served as Site Director and District Director for Troy University sites in Georgia and as Associate Director of Academics for the University’s Southeast Region during her time at Troy. Dr. Rosser-Mims was Leadership Development Associate for the Fanning Institute of Technology and was research coordinator at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, both at the University of Georgia.

Rosser-Mims has written four books and published numerous articles and book chapters, as well as delivering conference presentations at the regional, national, and international levels. She is the co-founder and former co-editor in chief of Dialogues in Social Justice: An Adult Education Journal, a peer-reviewed open-access journal. She received Troy University’s Wallace D. Malone, Jr. Distinguished Faculty Award in 2013 and TROY’s Global Campus World Class Leader Award in 2010. Rosser-Mims holds a doctorate in adult education and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Georgia, and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics, psychology and sociology from Piedmont College. She completed Harvard’s Women in Educational Leadership Institute and is a 2016 Chancellor’s Fellow and past president of Troy University’s Faculty Senate. She maintains membership and serves in leadership positions in several professional organizations, including Piedmont College Board of Trustees, AAUW of Alabama College/University Relations Chair, the Alabama School Readiness Alliance board of directors, and advisory board member for the City of Troy, Alabama Boys and Girls Club. Dr. Rosser-Mims is a founding board member and vice president of Steps of Love, Inc., a nonprofit organization that collects clothing items for those in need, and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

JAVONNE STEWART

Originally from New Rochelle, New York, Javonne Stewart is a recent transplant to the Chattahoochee Valley. Stewart and her family moved to Columbus in 2019, and Stewart became the Head of the Intermediate School at Brookstone School. This fall, she will take on a new role as both the Head of the Intermediate School, and Interim Head of the Lower School.

Stewart has a B.A. in Afro-American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, a M.A. in African American and African Studies and Political Science from The Ohio State University, and a M.Ed. from Columbia University, Teacher’s College. Stewart taught through Teach for America in her early career before teaching middle school for Atlanta Public Schools. She later taught 6th grade at Trinity School in Atlanta, and became the school’s Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

She is married to Ryan Stewart, a proud Georgia Tech alumnus, and they have three children: Myles (11), Mason (10), and Morgan (6). The Stewarts also have a family dog, Sparky, and a hamster, Hammie. During her free time, she runs with groups like BlackGirlsRun, supports local races, reads books, and spends time with family. In joining The Columbus Museum’s Board of Trustees, she hopes to help the Museum expand its reach to students in the area, and she is excited about new classroom opportunities with the Virtual Museum as well as a return to in-person programming.

JACK SCHLEY

Born and raised in Columbus, Jack graduated from Brookstone School in 2011. After graduating from Furman University with a B.A. in History in 2015, Jack returned home and was involved in various fields of work including sustainable agriculture, local history and preservation, and numismatics. He later completed his law degree at Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law. Today, he practices law at Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford, P.C. specializing in civil litigation.

In addition to his legal profession, Jack is regularly engaged in his passion for history as a contributing writer for Southern Views Magazine and through his involvement with local organizations focused on history and historic preservation. He has also been a registered Coin Dealer for 11 years and has a strong background in historic objects including maps and local collections. In fact, he appeared as the expert appraiser for a small coin collection featured in season 2 of the BRAVO television series Untying the Knot. Jack lives in Columbus where he enjoys being part of a large family with a long history in the Chattahoochee Valley. Mr. Schley joins the Museum and loves that the collection is diverse enough that objects of local history can be found, not just in the history gallery, but throughout the various art galleries as well. He comes with prior museum experience as he worked as an intern at the History Museum of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, where he was responsible for exhibit building, research, collection cataloging, and community outreach.