Leadership
We have a very clear vision and mission to help preserve, educate and discover the history of Freedmen’s Town (formerly known as R.B.H.Y. Museum)
Founders
Olee Yates McCullough, M.A., Grand Founder
Honorable Francis Farenthold, Co-Founder
Catherine Roberts, Co-Founder
Amilcar Shabazz, Ph.D, Co-Founder
Demetria Shabazz, Ph.D, Co-Founder
Clare Fleming Sprunt, Co-Founder
Board of Directors
Byron Cobbin
Chair - President - Emeritus
Alfred Henson Ph.D
First Vice Chair
Sarah Trotty Ph.D.
Second Vice Chair - Emeritus
Catherine Roberts
Co-Founder
Arts; Business; Historic Preservation; Past Chair L.I.E- Institute of International Education Fulbright and Business for Russia Programs; ICSEP-International Center Solution of Environmental Problems; Past Pres. Other Directions for Conflict Resolution;
Amigos de las Amigos; Educ. Cleveland Art Institute, U. Arizona, SACI-Firenze Italia
Byron Cobbin MPA MEd
Chairman
Byron Cobbin is a native Houstonian who has been passionate about the preservation of Freedmen’s Town- Fourth Ward and its historical relevance as one of the earliest post slavery African American communities in the greater Houston area since the late 1990’s. This is his second term as chairman. He currently serves as a career and technology educator and founder of his own non-profit. He is noted for creating and building relationships among private sector companies, public sector organizations, and individuals that meet every day societal concerns. Byron is a graduate of Fisk University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. He also holds a Master of Public Administration degree in public policy from Texas Southern University and a Masters of Education degree in educational leadership from University of Houston. He is married and has one son.
Kristan Crapps CPA MBA
First Vice Chair
Kristan Crapps, Senior Advisor to the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer in Chevron’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Ombuds (DIO) Center of Excellence, is responsible for advising Chevron’s CDIO on critical business issues, managing action items for the DIO team, and collaborating with leaders and employees at all levels in the organization. Kristan also manages Chevron’s global employee network (resource groups) program, with memberships of over 17,000 employees across twelve networks globally. Other diversity and inclusion initiatives under Kristan’s leadership include governing Chevron’s Racial Equity Strategy, executing Chevron’s Diversity & Inclusion Awards Program, directing the Camp Chevron summer enrichment program, facilitating the triannual Chairman’s Inclusion Council meetings, and managing social investment partnerships aligned with employee networks. Kristan is active with Houston Black Leadership Institute, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, NABA Houston Advisory Council and is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum, Incorporated. Kristan is the wife of William and mother of Chatman and Hamilton.
Kathy Ploch CPA
Treasurer-Emeritus
Shana Scott
Secretary
Dr. Theo Herrington
Immediate Past Chair & President - Emeritus
Dr Sarah Trotty.
Second Vice Chair
Sarah A. Trotty, PhD is a Retired Associate Professor of Art at Texas Southern University, where she served for over thirty-one years. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Art Education from the University of Houston in 1968, a Master of Education degree, specializing in Art from Texas Southern University in 1974, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Art Education from Purdue University in 1977. She has served over twenty-three years on the Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum Board, which protects the material culture of Houston’s historical Freedman Town’s community, its architecture, and its artifacts. She continues to actively serve with RBHY, currently as its First Vice-President, while participating on several committees. Sarah formerly served on the DAWN board, a cultural organization which conducts research, produces digital records and narratives, and promotes the cultural education and oral histories of Houston’s Third Ward residents.
Sarah believes that the greatest gifts of mankind are those of shared knowledge and encouragement and that knowledge comes from study, investigation and experimentation, which are requirements of creativity and invention, central to success among all people of any age. Her motto is “Keep trying; It is never too late to find your purpose.”
Carolyn Mcdonald-Burnley
Secretary
Kathy Ploch CPA
Treasurer
Catherine Roberts
Co-Founder-Emeritus
Carolyn McDonald-Burnley
Director
Atty Margaret Boulware
Director
Atty Margaret Boulware
Meg Boulware, Managing Partner, Boulware & Valoir
Alfred Henson Ph.D
Theophilus Herrington, Ph.D.
Kristan Crapps CPA MBA
Director
Shana Scott
Shana J. Scott, Vice President of Community Relations and
Executive Director, Smart Financial Foundation at Smart Financial Credit Union, possesses a wealth of financial banking knowledge, economic insight, and financial literacy expertise central to the company’s reputation as a financial institution choosing people over profits.
Shana has over 20 years of experience working in various levels of the banking industry and is a Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor.
She has worked in management roles for companies such as Chase Bank and Wells Fargo using her skills of interviewing and hiring, coaching, and training and development to lead and mentor others. She also implemented and leads the company’s Diversity
and Inclusion Committee where she is currently Chairperson. Shana earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Houston, and she currently serves on the board for Rice University Alumni and, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Shana maintains active membership in the Credit Union National Association and continues to be the spokesperson for Smart Financial Credit Union in the communities it serves.
Crystal Sherrard
Administrator
Debra Blackloc-Sloan
Director of Education and Tours/ Historian
Staff
Debra Blacklock-Sloan
Director of Education and Tours/ Historian
Xavier Neal-Carson
Archaeologist and Archivist Manager
Lue Williams
Historian
Freedmen’s Town Museums Houston
Museum visits are by appointment only 713-739-0163 | information.ftm@gmail.com
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