Kelvin Clark
Director of Equity Programming
Kelvin started his higher education career in 2010. Over the last 13 years, he served in various academic affairs and student affairs roles at six different institutions: Residence Life Director at Ursinus College, Retention Specialist at Essex County College, Academic Advisor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Coordinator of Student Success at Rider University, Senior Director of Academic Support at Willamette University, and most recently, as Associate Dean of Students at the Pacific Northwest College of Art.
As a first-generation college student and coming from a low income single-parent household, Kelvin was not sure if college was in his future. However, after attending an Open House and feeling the energy on campus he began to think differently about college. He graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina Wesleyan College with an undergraduate degree in history and a minor in psychology. He went on to complete his graduate degree in Liberal Studies and a Graduate Certificate in African & African American Studies from Duke University. Currently, he is working on his dissertation in higher education and student affairs leadership at the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Kelvin is a native of Newark, NJ, but has lived in NC, VA, PA, OR, and now MD (again). In his spare time, he likes to play the guitar, run, and watch anything binge-worthy. Kelvin also loves to drive; he has driven across the United States twice and looks forward to doing it again.
Grace De Oro
Coordinator of The Office of Equity Programming
Grace started her higher education career in 2014 as a Resident Assistant at St.Mary’s College of Maryland. After graduating, she pursued her Masters in Public Policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. While a graduate student, Grace worked in the Division of Student Affairs supporting transfer, commuter, adult learner, and veteran students. Grace’s passion for student advocacy and fostering an overall holistic feeling of belonging have been at the center of her work in higher education for many years.
As a first-generation college student and a child of a low-income, one-parent household, going to college was a must. She wanted to carve out a new path and future for herself and her family but was still determining how that would happen. Through her work experience in higher education, while also pursuing her degrees, she found a passion for student leadership, advocacy, and support for students like herself. Her experience as a De Sousa Brent Scholar has had a lasting impact on her college experience and as a citizen of the world.
Currently, Grace is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, on the Public Management track in the School of Public Policy. Grace’s dissertation research is focused on nonprofit resilience through an organizational management lens. Currently, she is working on a case study about emergency management nonprofits’ experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Grace is an avid animal lover who shares a number of farm animals with her mother at their family’s hobby farm in Woodbine, Maryland. She is looking forward to returning back to Southern Maryland and living on the water.
Tiffanie Holly
Coordinator of DeSousa-Brent Scholars Program
Tiffanie has always wanted to work in the education field. In 2009, she began working in the childcare field. She worked in the childcare field for 11 years. All while earning her Associates of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education from the College of Southern Maryland. She is currently working towards her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Maryland Global Campus. Her major is General Studies with a minor in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship.
Tiffanie began her journey with the DeSousa-Brent Scholars Program in September 2021. Tiffanie cares a great deal for the DeSousa-Brent Scholars Program, and helping the students in any way that she can!
Tiffanie was born and raised here in Southern Maryland. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, baking, crafting, reading, and watching movies.