Black History Month: 25 leaders to know

By REGINALD ALCEUS
Outlook Staff Writer

ESTRELITTA REDMON

Physician

Estrelitta Redmon. M.D., is the medical director and vice president of the Staff Model for Capital Health Plan.  Married to Gregory S. Redmon, Esq., she is the mother to Victor and Carissa Redmon.

She graduated from Florida High (now the Florida State University School) in June 1978. She then attended Florida A&M University; there, she received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy (summa cum laude). Redmon obtained a medical degree in 1986 from the University of Florida College of Medicine. Redmon interned and completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia Affiliated Hospital. In 2008, she earned an MBA at Florida.

Redmon belongs to the FAMU National Alumni Association, the Rattler Boosters and Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. She has served on the board of governors for the Capital Medical Society and the board of directors for the American Cancer Society. Redmon said of her life’s most notable achievements, having a successful marriage and loving, responsible children rank first in her mind.

That Capital Health Plan was ranked No. 1 in the nation for Colorectal Cancer Screening holds special significance for her. Her father, Edward Howard, suffered from colon cancer at the age of 42 and was successfully treated for years, thanks to early detection.

Lastly, her 2009 Gallery of Distinction Award from FAMU’s College of Pharmacy “was beyond my expectations and one that I will always cherish.” Above all, Redmon operates her professional and personal life by a credo she has followed since high school: “Do your best and God will do the rest.”

OSIEFIELD ANDERSON

Educator

Osiefield Anderson, a mathematics professor at Florida A&M University for more than four decades, was born in in the Pineview region of Georgia’s Wilcox County.

He is married to Vestella P. Anderson with whom he has one son, writer, producer and director Gregory Ramon Anderson, who wrote “Pandora’s Box,” “Motives” and “Stomp the Yard.”

Anderson received his undergraduate degree from Fort Valley State College and his master’s degree from Clark Atlanta University; it was at Ohio State University that he earned his doctorate.

He served as chairman of FAMU’s math department for 21 years. He taught graduate courses in mathematics for more than 25 years at no cost to the university. Anderson also did extensive work with workshops in “new math” throughout Florida and wrote the mathematics curriculum for a program at Ohio State University called “New Dimensions.”

Anderson is a member of Bethel Baptist Church and serves on its trustee board and finance committee. Other affiliations include Omega Psi Phi, Inc., Alpha Kappa Mu Inc. and Beta Chi National Honor Society. In addition, he is a 33-degree Mason, and holds the title Honorary Grand Master. Anderson is a six-time “Famu Teacher of the Year.” Twice, he has been selected as the winner of the ROTC Favorite Male Faculty. He has also been honored as Professor Emeritus of FAMU’S mathematics department.

“The tragedy in life is not that we set our goals too high and fail to reach them, but that we set them too low and reach them,“ Anderson said of his life philosophy. “The rung on the ladder of life on which one stands today should be above the one on which he stood yesterday, but considerably below the one on which he will stand tomorrow.”

ALTHEMESE BARNES

Curator

Althemese Barnes was born and continues to reside in Leon County, where she serves as the executive director of the John Gilmore Riley Museum and Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network.

Her family includes her loving husband Calvin and daughter Denise Williams. She also has two granddaughters, Adrianna and Brianna Williams.

Barnes received her education from Florida A&M University, where she obtained an undergraduate and graduate degree. Later, she received a degree in Museum Management Studies at Florida State University.

JOSEPH WEBSTER

Physician

Joseph Webster, M.D., is the founder, president and chief executive officer of the Webster Medical Center. He is the senior physician, specializing in gastroenterology and internal medicine.

Webster has a record of more than 30 years of experience and dedication to the field of medicine. Webster has devoted himself to such research medical interests as childhood obesity and diabetes, ethnically sensitive and culturally appropriate care, cancer in minority populations and, spirituality and health, to name a few.

To that end, he founded the Institute for African American Health, Inc. to “address health care disparities in the minority population of Florida and the nation.” Webster worked with the late Gov. Lawton Chiles to help win a $700- million tobacco settlement through the Concerned Citizens Political Action Committee and the IAAH. He is also responsible for developing Florida’s first statewide summit on issues for health and education in the black community.

Webster attended Jefferson County High School in Monticello, where he graduated in 1966 with honors. He graduated from Florida A&M University in 1971, with a Bachelors of Science from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Webster graduated in 1975 from the University in Miami Medical School. Afterward, he pursued a residency in internal medicine in the UCLA San Fernando Valley Medical Program in Sepulveda, Ca., eventually becoming chief medical resident and completing a fellowship in gastroenterology. Webster later became the founder, president and chief executive officer of the Comprehensive Clinic for Digestive Disorders in Tallahassee. He also serves as president of the Institute for African-American Health, Inc.

He has an extensive collection of scholastic and professional honors: the NAACP Community Service Award, the Tallahassee Urban League Century Award, the Florida P h a r m a c e u t i c a l Association Award and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s Outstanding Service Award. FAMU has recognized him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Most of all, he has been recognized as a good and caring father to three children, Patrick, Gail, and Joseph II.

JASPER WATKINS

Pharmacist

Jasper Watkins , Chief of the Bureau of Statewide Pharmaceutical Services for the Florida Department of Health, is originally a native of Fort Jackson, South Carolina, now a resident of Southwood, Tallahassee FL & Grayson, Ga. He is also married with three children and one grandchild.

Watkins received his M.S. of Science in Health Services Administration from Central Michigan University. Also a graduate of Florida A&M University‘s School of Pharmacy, he obtained a B.S. in Pharmacy.

Watkins is a member of several widely recognized organizations and associations, including the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist, the Association of Black Health-System Pharmacist for which he was the past president and the American Pharmacist Association. He is also affiliated with the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the Advisory Board Member of the 45 State Group Purchasing Organization and the Minnesota Multi-State Contracting Alliance for Pharmacy.

Watkins’ service to the community incorporates his knowledge and skill in the practice of pharmaceutical medicine. His works include his involvement as a clinical assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences for FAMU. His contributions also encompass his role as clinical assistant professor for the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Florida.

Watkins also has a broad list of achievements. He is the First African- American in the State of Florida and the Armed Forces to have completed an ASHP Nuclear Pharmacy Residency Program and hold Certification and Licensure in Nuclear Pharmacy. He is credited with the implementation of approved USP Pharmacopoeia Cold- Chain Management principles for shipping Anthrax vaccine and various biologicals.

Watkins was also instrumental in the implementation of a broad array of patient safe initiatives related to medication-use safety, quality improvement and best practice standards as the Deputy Pharmacy Consultant to the Army Surgeon General and Coordinator for Medication-Use Safety and Error reporting within the Army’s Medical Patient Safety Program.

WiILLIAM RAVENELL

Attorney

A native of Boston Massachusetts, Attorney William H. Ravenell is has been a professor of Business Law at Florida A& University since 1985. Ravenell’s son, William Jr., is a professor of law at Temple University in Philadelphia and his daughter Teresa is a law professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Ravenell’s professional experience ranges from teacher to lawyer to administrator. He is most noted for being the second African American to serve as Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, guiding the Department as Florida through an unprecedented period of growth.

Ravenell possesses a B.A. degree from Lincoln University and a J.D. degree from Howard University. He has been a member of the Florida Bar Association for more than three decades and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Mock Trial Association.

In addition to being chief counsel for the Federal Highway Administration, he serves as the attorney coach of the university’s national award-winning Mock Trial team, and has been honored for his efforts by receiving the school’s “Most Outstanding Professor” Award on four occasions.

Ravenell has contributed to the community through his dedication to serving the people of Florida as an assistant Attorney General. Ravenell was also appointed to lead the Department of Community Affairs by Gov. Reubin Askew. During his tenure as Secretary from 1975 to 1979, Florida’s population surged with more than 1 million new residents.

He also significantly established Florida’s Human Relations Council, as well as major legislation that addressed the need for affordable housing throughout the state. Ravenell has been a dedicated member of Bethel Baptist Church for more than 35 years and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity for 50 years. He lives by the time-tested life credo “Knowledge is power.”

SHARON JEFFERSON

Administrator

Sharon Jefferson, an Indianapolis, Indiana native, has served as Tallahassee Community College’s Florida Vice President for Student Affairs since 2004. For 28 years, she has been married to her husband William Jefferson. They have two daughters, Ashanti and Aria Jefferson.

Jefferson graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in 1973 and received her M.S. in 1975. She is a member of the Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church and Chairman of the Trustee Board. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., where she serves as the chairman of the Nominating Committee; she is also affiliated with the Florida Association of Community Colleges for Florida State College.

Jefferson is a current board member of the Tallahassee Girls Choir of Choice and a volunteer for Hope Community. She is also involved with Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and the Black Family Organization for families with children, ages 2 to 18 years; she has been an active member for 19 consecutive years, serving as chapter president for two terms.

Jefferson’s other affiliations include her role as president and national vice president of the National Hook-up of Black Women. Jefferson has been a volunteer for the Telephone Counseling Referral Service, Ronald McDonald Service, the Sickle Cell Run, and Relay for Life. She is recognized in the community for her involvement as chairperson for the 2000 NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet and the Black Achievers Recognition for Tallahassee Community College.