Health & Human Services

A ‘visionary’ has been defined as a person with a clear, distinctive and specific vision of the future; a person with unusual foresight.  Dr. Janet Simmons Rami is an example of a true visionary in the field of nursing and health care.  In less than 20 years, Dr. Rami has taken a School of Nursing from a diagram on paper to what is now,  a multi-million dollar state of the art College of Nursing offering three degrees in nursing:  the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN); the Master’s of Science in Nursing with a specialty in Family Health Nursing (MSN) and the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD), the only PhD in Nursing Program currently offered in the state of Louisiana.

Dr. Rami has dedicated 40 years of her life to the profession of nursing.  Her academic preparation in nursing began in 1970 when she received her undergraduate degree from Dillard University.  She went on to pursue her Master’s Degree in Cross-Cultural Nursing from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1979, and in 1992, she received her PhD from LSU in Research Methodology. Further studies were done at Harvard University in 1998 in Education Administration.

On August 31, 2005 amidst an unprecedented natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, the Southern University School of Nursing, under the leadership of Dr. Rami, demonstrated exceptional capability in rapidly mobilizing resources needed for the efficient opening and on-going operation of the temporary shelter which was housed on the Southern University Campus in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.  When Hurricane Katrina evacuees were being placed in transitional trailer sites, Dr. Rami recognized an opportunity for the School of Nursing to provide an immediate infrastructure through which primary healthcare would be coordinated and delivered to hurricane evacuees.  This was the first step in Dr. Rami’s vision for the School of Nursing to adopt Renaissance Village, one of the largest trailer villages housing hurricane evacuees.
 
Dr. Rami had received numerous awards for her work and community service.  In 2007, Dr. Rami was inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame by the Louisiana State Nurses Association and the Louisiana State Nurses Foundation. She also received the National Nurse Hero award by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing

Currently, Dr. Rami is serving as the Interim Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor at Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Of all of her accomplishments, she is proudest of being the mother of three children: Cathy, Chad and Cheryl, and the grandmother of nine.

The Arts

Mezzo-Soprano, Dr. Kyla Dean Pitcher, is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, currently residing in New York City.  Dr. Pitcher initially moved to New York to study voice privately with retired Juilliard professor Charles Kellis, and for two years she taught English as a Second Language with the New York City Public School System.  Currently, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at York College / City University of New York, and runs her own private voice studio.  

Dr. Pitcher earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Howard University in Washington, DC, a Master of Music degree in Opera Theatre from the University of South Carolina, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University.  

Dr. Pitcher  has a broad range of recital repertoire with pieces that span from the Baroque to the contemporary periods, and some of her operatic roles include Dorabella, from Cosi Fan Tutte; the Sorceress from Dido and Aeneas; Dorinetta from Li Sposi Per Accidenti (Studio Lirico – Cortona, Italy); and Annie from Porgy and Bess (Pensacola Opera, Pensacola, Florida).  

Currently, Dr. Pitcher is in negotiations with Durant Publishing Company to publish a biography on Lenora Lafayette, an opera singer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who overcame social and racial barriers to become the first African American to sing at Covent Garden in London, England.

More recently, Dr. Pitcher was appointed to a dual position of Director of the Honors Center and Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual, Performing, and Communication Arts at Alabama A & M University in Huntsville.

The Arts

Master percussionist, Herman Jackson is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who  received his education in the public school system of Baton Rouge.  Mr. Jackson continued his education at Southern University majoring in Jazz Studies under the direction of Mr. Alvin Batiste and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music.

Jackson has performed and/or recorded with Clark Terry (formerly of the Tonight Show Band and the Count Basie Big Band), Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderly, Red Norvo, Al Green, Ronnie Foster, Henry Butler, Alvin Batiste, Ellis Marsalis, Joe Tex, Johnnie Adams, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, B. B. King, Joe Sample, Kent Jordan, Weldon Felder, David T. Walker, Stanley Clark, Willie Nelson, Branford Marsalis, Professor Longhair, Rufus Reid, Chuck Berry, Marlena Shaw, Kate Webster, Eartha Kitt, Mark Whitfield, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis and the News, Dave Holand, Nancy Wilson, Percy Sledge, Wynton Marsalis, and many others.

Mr. Jackson has performed in Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Mali, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, the Cameroons, Zaire, Ireland, Helsinki, London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Tel Aviv.  Jackson’s performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, the Royal Festival Hall in London, England, the Playboy Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival.   In South America Jackson performed in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  During a trip to Japan, Herman played at locations in Tokyo and Osaka. His work in Canada has included stops in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.  Jackson’s annual trip to Europe includes appearances at renowned festivals like the Berlin, Pori (Finland), Montreaux, Perugia, Nice and North Sea Jazz Festivals. Jackson with the Herman Jackson Ensemble is also a regular at the  New Orleans Jazz Festival.

In 1972 and 1973, Jackson was voted most outstanding collegiate drummer at the National Jazz Festival held in Mobile, Alabama.  He was also a member of the jazz trio voted most outstanding at the National Jazz Festival held in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center.  The National Endowment for the Arts awarded him three travel study grants to further his professional career and perfect his craft.  The grant allowed Jackson to study at Berkeley School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts with noted jazz great Alan Dawson and in New York with Mel Lewis of the famous Thad Jones – Mel Lewis Big Band.

Jackson’s television appearances include appearances on Treme, Austin City Limits, Berlin Jazz Festival, the Lou Rawls Telethon (Las Vegas), the Conan O’Brien Show and many others.

Services to Youth

Leroy Hollins consistently demonstrates compassion toward at-risk youth.  His drive to serve has spanned more than 10 years through his Louisiana Youth Sport Network, an umbrella organization of twelve programs providing academic, health and wellness, behavior modification and athletic programming for both boys and girls.  

Hollins is a founding board member of the Louisiana Youth Coaches Alliance.  He is also a founding board member and former president of Louisiana Youth Cheerleading and the Greater King David Crusaders Track Club.  Hollins is a founding board member and former treasurer of the Scotlandville Sports Academy.   Other memberships include the New Orleans Saints Youth Task Force, the National Football League (NFL) Junior Player Development (JPD) Program and the National Football League (NFL) High School Player Development (HSPD) Program.  

Hollins, a native of Scotlandville and a 1992 cum laude graduate of Southern University, can be found most afternoons at the BREC Park on 72nd Street along with his volunteers working with youngsters.  Hollins’ programs teach the fundamentals of each sport offered, and more importantly, focus on educational excellence and behavior management as requirements for participation.  He ensures all children participate regardless of their parent’s ability to pay.  Hollins contends that engaging youth in structured activities keeps them healthy, positive and safe.  

Mr. Hollins has received numerous honors and awards, including the New Orleans Saints Community Quarterback Award (two-time recipient), the IBM Watson Trophy, the IBM Peer Recognition Award (three-time recipient), and the Family Road Home Illumination Award.  Hollins has also received academic honors including the National Dean’s List and Chancellor Scholar award, the Matthew Crawford / Kappa Alpha Psi Mathematics Scholarship, the Dow Chemical Mathematics Scholarship and the Southern University Baton Rouge Board of Supervisors’ Scholarship.

In addition to his commitment to working with youth, Mr. Hollins has been employed by the Louisiana Racing Commission (LRC) as their Information Technology Director for the past 11 years.  

In service to his church, Greater Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Mr. Hollins has served as Financial Secretary, Brotherhood Member and Treasurer.  

Mr. Hollins is married to Tressa Hollins and they have one child, Leroy Hollins, III (Trey).