Meet Bennett College’s newest Board members

Under the leadership of Chairwoman Gladys A. Robinson, Bennett College has added four new members to its Board of Trustees.

“We have strengthened our Board with people who have strong ties to the Greensboro community,” said Robinson, Deputy Minority Leader in the N.C. Legislature. “I am confident each of the new Board members will join me, the rest of the Board and our President, Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, in raising money and helping to move Bennett College forward. I have appreciated their input and work thus far and look for it to continue.”

The new BOT members are Charles E. Coote, Jr., Michael Godette, Dr. Prenard R. Mickens, Kimberly Jessup Ripberger and Jacqueline T. “Jackie” Wieland.

Dawkins said she looks forward to working with the new members and the entire Board, including returning Board member Rick Anicetti, to ensure Bennett continues educating young women of color. “I am fortunate to have the backing of such a strong Board comprised of very talented and well-connected individuals,” Dawkins said. “Together I know we can build upon the legacy that has been established at Bennett College and improve the institution for our current students and future students. I am excited about working with the Board during the 2017-2018 academic year, my inaugural year as president, and beyond.”

Charles E. Coote, Jr.

Charles E. Coote, Jr., owner and manager of Perry J. Brown Funeral Home, is a longtime Greensboro resident with strong community ties. He began as an apprentice at the funeral home in 2004 and became owner and manager of it in 2006. Coote is a member of several boards and organizations, including the American Red Cross, the Funeral Directors and Morticians Association of North Carolina (Central District), the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the Greensboro Men’s Club, the Hayes-Taylor YMCA (Vice Chairman), Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Life Member), the North Carolina Guardsmen and Providence Baptist Church, where he is a Trustee. He is also a 33rd Degree Masonry of Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

Coote earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1976 and his Diploma in Funeral Services from Fayetteville Technical Community College in Fayetteville, N.C., in 2007. He is married to Pamela Williams-Coote, and they have two daughters, Ashley Coote Jones and Kyndal Coote.

Michael Godette

Michael Godette is an accomplished information technology and management consulting services leader with over 21 years of professional services experience. He has sold and managed multi-million dollar professional service engagements for clients throughout the United States and Europe, in a variety of industries. He has an excellent track record of optimizing client performance through the strategic transformational services, operational improvements and information technology solutions in both private and public sectors.

Since February 2015, he has worked as Director, SAP Consulting and Solutions for VirtusaPolaris Consultants in New York City. From October 2005 to February 2015, he was a Senior Manager for Deloitte Consulting. Godette earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 1993 and a Master of Science in Software Engineering in 1996, both from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He is married to Ivan Godette and they have three children, a daughter, Mileah, and two sons, Michael II and Maddex.

Dr. Prenard R. Mickens

Dr. Prenard R. Mickens, a Winston-Salem native, is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Endodontics at UNC Chapel Hill School of Dentistry and New York University College of Dentistry and has a practice in Greensboro. Dr. Mickens is a member of the American Dental Association, American Association of Endodontists, North Carolina Dental Society, Tar Heel Endodontic Association, Guilford County Dental Society, Rockingham County Dental Society, Old North State Dental Society and Greensboro Medical Society.

Dr. Mickens received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating from dental school, he did two years of General Practice Residency at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in Bronx, New York. Before enrolling in dental school, he received a Bachelor of Science from Morehouse College in Atlanta. In his spare time, Dr. Mickens enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading and playing soccer and golf.

Kimberly Jessup Ripberger

Kimberly Jessup Ripberger has more than 13 years of audit experience and is a senior manager with Bernard Robinson & Company, L.L.P. in Greensboro, where she works in the audit and accounting area. Ripberger works extensively with clients in the non-profit, affordable housing and governmental industries and has been able to assist them with performance and review of financial statement audits, compliance audits associated with various federal and state grants and analyzing accounting and internal control systems to identify weaknesses, among other things.

Ripberger earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1990 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Science in Accounting from UNC Greensboro in 2003. She is the North Carolina membership chair for the Southeastern Affordable Housing Management Association (SAHMA) and also works on the Education and Formation Ministry Area and serves as a Preschool Sunday School Teacher at Christ United Methodist Church in Greensboro. She is married to Carl Ripberger and they have two sons, Hunter and Chris.