Staff & Board
Donyale Reavis, Esq.
Ms. Reavis, Esq. is vice president, wealth management division, at Goldman Sachs. A former executive director of Core Scholars Foundation, Ms. Reavis won several multi-year federal grants for student scholarships including health & human resources, NASA grant, while forging partnerships with area colleges and universities. Her commitment to youth, education, and family wealth building, was fostered after her work as an Ifesh fellow with OIC International in Cote d’Ivoire, Africa. There she taught and raised money for AIDS awareness immediately after graduating from Boston University. After a year in Africa, she worked with Friedman Frank law firm in Washington, D.C., and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and a Master of Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania – Fels Institute of Government. Ms. Reavis was the founder and managing partner for Calyx Advisors, LLC, and founder, managing partner for Reavis & Associates, LLC. She is an IMCA certified public wealth advisor from the University of Chicago (Executive Education), and holds bar in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. – prior to joining Goldman Sachs.
Michael Tucker, President
Michael C. Tucker has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Central State University where he attended on a full four-year football scholarship. He serves as Vice President of Baker & Company, LLC a Management Consulting Firm with practices in a number of functional areas. Currently he is the lead consultant for the Commerce Department’s 52nd Street Development Initiative and AmeriChoice’s Outreach Project. He recently completed ten years as a lead consultant for the EL SEPTA @ WORK project for which he oversaw mitigation and technical assistance for over 500 businesses located in the project area. Over the past twenty years he has held numerous managerial positions with multi-million dollar corporations such as Spartan Industries, McDonalds Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, and Sears & Roebuck for which he has shown an exceptional ability to solve complex problems with precision and accuracy.
Michael also serves as Executive Director and Founder of Steps to Serenity, a drug and alcohol recovery program created in 2000, to serve men and women struggling to overcome addiction. He is the Board Chair of CORE Philly, a Board Member of Carroll Park Community Council, a member of St. Matthew’s AME Church, and serves as a political consultant for democratic candidates throughout the tri-state area. Michael resides in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
John Ron Lay – Emeritus, Treasurer
Mr. Lay is a retired Classroom Teacher of Mathematics and Human Growth, who spent more than thirty-five years with the School District of Philadelphia. Mr. Lay spent a significant portion of his academic career with West Philadelphia schools, including Sayre Junior High, Overbrook High School and West Philadelphia High School. At West, Mr. Lay served as Dean of Students, Dean of Discipline, and Varsity Coach for basketball and football. Mr. Lay is a 1966 graduate of Cheyney State University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education, and a Masters Equivalent Degree in Secondary Education. Mr. Lay has also completed graduate work at LaSalle University, Penn State University, and Temple University. ince 1995.
Joe Foster- Emeritus (Deceased), Secretary
Mr. Foster is a Mathematics Teacher and Principal of the Imhotep Charter School located in Philadelphia, PA. A community organizer and leader for nearly forty years, Mr. Foster has worked tirelessly on behalf of Philadelphia students through organizing small learning communities early in his career, followed by helping to design, fund, and open new charter schools, including Harambee Institute, the city’s earliest charter school, and the school where he currently serves as Principal, Imhotep Charter School. Mr. Foster has been a member of the Problem Solving Standards Team within the School District of Philadelphia helping to establish citywide standards for mathematics literacy since 1995.
William Jordan, Member
Willie Jordan, a Cheyney graduate, is on staff in the Office of Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes (D-Phila). His civic and community involvement includes being a Philadelphia Democratic ward leader, and a member of the Pennsylvania State Committee, a member of the Board of Directors of the Haddington Older Adult Center. Mr. Jordan is also an ordained deacon of ministry.
