The Clayton State University Foundation has announced Gayle Cabrera, Fred Hicks and Trey Ragsdale as new members to its Board of Trustees. The new members bring valuable experience in community affairs and philanthropy that will increase the university’s efforts to build on its growth in giving to support student achievement and to positively impact the south metro Atlanta region.

“I am extremely excited to add the perspectives and talents of these three dynamic individuals to what has already proved a transformative board.  In the coming year the university will be doubling down on our efforts to impact the quality of life for the citizens of our region; having the combined strengths of Fred, Gayle and Trey to draw upon will no doubt help us advance efforts,” said Chase Moore, vice president of University Advancement and External Affairs.

 

The new trustee members will begin their three-year tenure in fiscal year 2021.

 

 

 

Gayle Cabrera is the business banking leader for the northern Georgia region of Truist Financial Corporation. She began her career in 2007 with BB&T, now Truist, in its Leadership Development Program gaining experience in different Commercial Lending roles throughout her career. Cabrera currently leads Business Banking efforts for the region and is responsible for growing the $334 million loan portfolio and $226 million deposit portfolio while managing appropriate risk and coaching over 14 bankers to be consultative trusted advisors to clients.

 

Cabrera is active in the metropolitan Atlanta community serving as the immediate past chair of Cole Women United for United Way of Greater Atlanta. Under her leadership, the organization launched the Women’s Initiative Fund which directs donations in the agency’s General Impact Fund to specifically aid efforts that enrich the lives of women and children in our community.

 

Cabrera is currently a board member for the Coralwood Foundation which supports the Coralwood School, the only inclusion school in the DeKalb County School District for preschool through kindergarten. She has also served on the Big Kidz Foundation Board of Directors. The foundation’s mission is to provide cultural experiences in art and music for underprivileged children.

 

Born and raised in Riverdale, Georgia, Cabrera is the daughter of first generation to the U.S. immigrant parents. 

Fred Hicks

 

Fredrick Hicks is the founder and president of the Hicks Evaluation Group, a consulting firm that specializes in candidate and issue campaigns, consulting and public affairs. Hicks’s individual clients include candidates for school board, city council, city council president, mayor, county commission and district attorney, among others.

 

Hicks has been featured on television and radio including Politico, the Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, Foxnews.com, Nbcnews.com and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution as a regular commentator on political issues. In 2015 he was named to the prestigious Top 40 Under 40 and in 2019 was named Top Political Strategist in Georgia as well as “Top 25 Extraordinary Atlantans.”

 

In addition to his career, Fredrick dedicates his time in service to several organizations. He currently serves as chair of the Clayton State College of Arts & Sciences Advisory Board; maintains a scholarship at Clayton State University; and serves on the board of the Rena Carter Foundation, which is dedicated to disrupting generational poverty by providing financial literacy and support to first generation students.

 

Hicks received his bachelor’s from Clayton State University in 1999, where he served as the first African-American president of the Student Government Association.

 

 

 

Trey Ragsdale manages external relations for Kaiser Permanente in Georgia. In this role, Ragsdale is responsible for securing government and community support for Kaiser Permanente’s healthcare initiatives throughout the state. Prior to his current role, Ragsdale held leadership positions at MARTA, the United States Senate, the White House, King & Spalding law firm and the Coca-Coca Company.

 

Ragsdale has been very active over the past two decades across the region including the South metro region. Trey has served on the boards of the Fayette, Rockdale, DeKalb and Henry Chambers of Commerce and chaired a committee or board in each of the southern regional counties. He is also a member of several other organizations including the Atlanta Regional Commission Workforce Development Board, The High Impact Network of Responsible Innovators, Partnership Gwinnett Board, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, Cherokee Focus, Communities in Schools Georgia, Young Life, Chattahoochee Technical College, Reinhardt University and others.

 

Ragsdale was honored when Georgia Trend magazine named him as one of the Top 40 rising Business Leaders under the Age of 40 in the State of Georgia and the Atlanta Business Chronicle selected him as one of the top 50 rising Business Leaders under the Age of 40 in the metropolitan Atlanta region. In 2008, Jezebel Magazine named him as one of the Top 25 Most Beautiful Citizens in Atlanta.