Executive Director

P: (662) 588- 9652

E: sdavis@deltastate.edu

Sha’Ketta currently serves as the Executive Director for Delta State University’s Mississippi Delta GEAR UP Partnership grant, where she provides strategic oversight for more than $15M and contracts for 10 school districts, 6 partners, and 12 service vendors. Her previous work as the Director of Mental & Behavioral Health Grants, Assistant Director & Compliance Officer for the Early Head Start Child Care Partnership, and Certified Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) Database Administrator for Delta Health Alliance, as well as Lead Case Management Technician for the United States Army have adequately prepared her for her current role.

Associate Director of Finance and Contracts

P: (662) 846-4904

E:

Partneship Coordinator

P: (662) 588-5424

E: rmalone@deltastate.edu

For more than 11 years, Robin has proudly served in public schools across the Mississippi Delta and the Golden Triangle Area. Throughout her career, she has been committed to helping students and families prepare for success by connecting them with meaningful opportunities and resources. In her current role as Partnership Coordinator, Robin works closely with schools, community organizations, and families to build strong partnerships that expand access, strengthen support, and create lasting pathways for student achievement.

Database Administrator

P

E: kforrest@deltastate.edu

Kate Forrest is the Database Administrator for the MS Delta Gear UP Partnership at Delta State University. She has previous date experience working at Indiana University for 15 years. There, she created survey forms, collected data, cleaned data and issued reports. Kate understands the importance of data-driven decision making and strives to report accurate and meaningful. Kate holds an M.S. Informatics. We are so glad to have Kate as an awesome addition to our Gear UP Family!

Associate Director of Programs

P:

E: lperry@deltastate.edu

Program Coordinator

P:

E: crice@deltastate.edu

Carlos Rice is the co-founder and Vice President of Education Programming for The Foundation for Southern Opportunity. Carlos has a background in audio engineering and music industry studies from Delta State University’s Delta Music Institute. Carlos has held roles as a Male Counselor with GEAR UP Summer Camp and served as a student assistant in Delta State’s Student Life organization. An advocate for youth empowerment, he was nominated Youth of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta and continues to drive educational programming initiatives across the region.