On Saturday, October 5, 2024 the Theta Omicron Foundation held its sixth Annual Meeting in Durham, North Carolina.
On Saturday, October 5, 2024 the Theta Omicron Foundation held its sixth Annual Meeting in Durham, North Carolina.
President
Kevin Mason is a native of Lexington, N.C. He is currently a Vice President of Sales with L’Oreal USA, the largest cosmetics and haircare company in the world. Prior to joining L’Oreal, Kevin spent 20 successful years at Kraft Foods and nearly three years at ConAgra Foods, both in leadership positions across various geographies in the U.S.
At UNC Kevin was a member of the 1984-1986 UNC Junior Varsity basketball team, a Fall 1985 initiate of the Theta Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and a participant in the UNC Year at Seville (Spain) Study Abroad Program, 1987-1988.
Kevin is a member of the UNC-Chapel Hill General Alumni Association and the National Black MBA Association. Kevin received his MBA – Marketing/e-Commerce from Johns Hopkins University.
Kevin currently resides in Westchester County, New York.
Vice President
Elbert L. Avery has spent most of his Life in the state of North Carolina; however, as a son of a military family, has also lived years in Omaha, Nebraska; Fairbanks, Alaska; Fairfield, Rapid City, South Dakota; Fairfield, California, Anchorage, Alaska, and Fayetteville, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy Analysis and followed up with a Master of Business Administration degree, double majoring in Marketing and International Business.
Elbert worked thirty years in the private sector for IBM. Currently he works as the Business Services Manager in a Finance function for the City of Durham’s Community Development.
He currently serves on the boards of Cary Academy, Self Help Ventures Fund, and is a member of the Kappas of Durham Foundation. Elbert is also a member of Saint Joseph AME Church in Durham, North Carolina. He is also a former board member and is a Life Member of the General Alumni Association at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Elbert is both a current board member and Founding Member of the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship.
With respect to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, Elbert is a 1979 initiate of the Theta Omicron Chapter. He served eight years as an Alumni Board Member of the Middle Eastern Province. Elbert is a former Kappa Man of the Year for the Durham Alumni Chapter and has been the Chair of the Little Brothers Program at R.N. Harris Elementary School. He is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Elbert and his wife Katrina have one son, Jonathan. The empty nesters currently reside in Durham, North Carolina.
Director
Derrick S. Boone, Sr. is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wake Forest University School of Business. He earned his BA in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (’81), his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University (’89), and his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University (’97).
Prior to Wake Forest, Derrick worked in sales and marketing for Merck Pharmaceutical
Company and taught courses in marketing and entrepreneurship at Duke University. He also served 26 years of combined active and reserve military service as a naval flight officer and surface warfare officer and holds the rank of Captain (O-6), United States Navy (Retired). Derrick was born in Ahoskie, NC, grew up in Greensboro, NC, and currently resides in Clemmons, NC.
At Wake Forest, Derrick has served as an associate dean and president of the university senate. His research and teaching interests focus on multivariate statistical analysis and behavioral decision theory, for which he has received five teaching awards. He has also consulted for national and international corporations and has served as an expert legal witness.
Derrick is a Fall 1977 initiate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chapter, the Theta Omicron of Kappa Alpha Psi. He is a life member of the fraternity, UNC General Alumni Association (GAA), and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA). He has served as polemarch, vice polemarch, and keeper of the exchequer for the Winston-Salem (NC) Alumni Chapter, and as president of the board for three non-profit organizations.
He and his wife Patricia have three adult children.
Treasurer
Kelvin M. Anthony is a native of West, Texas. He is the Director of Accounting and Finance at the Atlantic Coast Conference. He began his professional career at Ernst & Young, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was a member of the firm’s Assurance practice. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
During his tenure at The University North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was a Fall 2011 Initiate of the Theta Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He served as Polemarch and Vice-Polemarch for the chapter, and Vice-President of External Affairs for the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Additionally, he was a student manager for the UNC Football team. He was honored as a 2010 National Coca-Cola Scholar.
He currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Secretary
Terry L. Wallace is a native of Martin County, North Carolina, which is located between Raleigh and the Outer Banks. He is a partner with the law firm Wallace Childers PLLC, located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Terry graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. At UNC, he was a Fall 1993 initiate of the Theta Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., serving as Keeper of Records. He also served as Vice-President of the UNC National Pan-Hellenic Council. Terry is a life member of the UNC General Alumni Association (GAA).
Following college, he attended North Carolina Central University School of Law, graduating with the degree of Juris Doctor in 1999. While in law school, Terry was a member of the Law Review and the Moot Court Board.
Following admission to the North Carolina bar in 1999, Terry served a one-year judicial
clerkship for the Honorable Henry E. Frye, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North
Carolina. After his clerkship, he joined a regional law firm in Charlotte, where he focused his practice on civil litigation and workers’ compensation defense. Terry later joined the litigation practice group at Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein, LLP, and later served as Associate General Counsel for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Terry resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Director
Hugh A. Holston is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Following college, Hugh embarked upon a successful 30-year professional career in financial services, telecommunications, and operations. He served in executive and leadership roles with Wells Fargo, AT&T, and Lincoln Financial Group.
From a community perspective, Hugh currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina School of Science and Math based in Durham, NC. Previously, he led the Board of Directors of Communities in Schools of Greensboro and the African American Leadership Group of the United Way of Greater Greensboro. Hugh is both a Founding Member of the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship and a Life Member of the General Alumni Association at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Fraternally, Hugh is a 1979 initiate of the Theta Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He served as Chairman of the Beautillion Militaire Scholarship Program for the Greensboro Alumni Chapter. Hugh was named Kappa Man of the Year by the Greensboro Alumni Chapter. He is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
Hugh and his wife reside in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Director
Louis A. Newsome is a native of Ahoskie, North Carolina and graduated from the UNC School of Pharmacy in 1977. He is a licensed pharmacist and is employed as a Regional Pharmacy Executive for UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
At UNC, he was a member of the ’72-’73 Tar Heel football team; charter member of the
University of North Carolina Chapter; the Theta Omicron of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Fall 1975); charter member of the UNC School of Pharmacy Chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA); served as National Vice-President of SNPhA; and was inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma, Pharmacy Leadership Society.
He is a member of the Raleigh Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi and has served as chapter Polemarch (1992-1994 and 2009-2011). He also served as a member of the Middle Eastern Province Board of Directors (1996-2001). He is currently a member of the Board of Visitors of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a past member of the UNC Board of Visitors (2010-14). He recently accepted an appointment to the Board of Directors for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation. He holds life memberships for Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the UNC General Alumni Association.
He and his wife Leadon reside in Apex, North Carolina and are the parents of two adult children.