NABS Board of Directors
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Linda Goss, Co-Founder
Baltimore, MD
[email protected]
Bio
Favorite Spiritual: "This Little Light of Mine, I'm gonna' let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine." ~ Traditional
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Kay Merrill , President
Baltimore, MD
[email protected]
Education: M.A. Notre Dame of Maryland University, B.A. Purdue University
Past President of the Griots’ Circle of Maryland.
Developed a stronger partnership with Hampton Historic Site (National Park) which provided additional income for the organization, increased the revenue growth from our annual Love Stories Fundraiser; Increased visibility in the community, wrote a quarterly Newsletter called “In the Tradition”, initiated the development of a new Website, Women’s History Program promo on Channel 2 Television, Griots Circle Picture and articles in the Baltimore Times Newspaper, P.R. announcements and interviews on WEAA and WOLB radio. became a Life Member of the Griots’ Circle of Maryland.
Previous positions held: Chairperson Black History Program, Women’s History Program, Jubilee Day Celebration and Previous Office held: Financial Secretary.
Previously served as Secretary of the NABS National Board, worked on various National Committees and was inducted into the Brother Blue Circle of Elders in 2018.
My personal motto: “Do everything in decency and in order”.
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Chetter Galloway, President Elect
Chetter Galloway grew up hearing his father tell stories on Sunday Road trips. One of his favorites was The Talking Skull, a West African cautionary tale where a man loses his head! Chetter graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Master of Arts degree in Storytelling and often includes African drumming with his performances. He is a member of Toastmasters International, the Georgia Storytelling Network, and serves on the Board of Directors for Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia. In his spare time, Chetter is an avid runner who enjoys creating stories while he’s running. Engaging and entertaining, he invites listeners to Feel the Rhythm and Live the Story!
Favorite Proverb: The teeth are smiling, but is the heart?
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REGINA HOLMES, Secretary
Beaumont, Texas
Regina Holmes is a life-long citizen of Beaumont, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from Lamar University. Regina is a retired educator from Beaumont ISD. Ms. Holmes became a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated in 1971, as a charter member of Epsilon Delta Chapter at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. She served her sorority in many local, regional and national positions including State Director, Regional Director and National Life Members Director just to name a few. Today she is known as a Zeta Crystal Dove (50+ years of membership).
Regina Holmes is a member of the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. where she is a 1990 charter member of Epsilon Theta Chapter in Beaumont. She served that chapter as president and secretary. In 2015, she became a Life Member of the NAACP.
Her passion these days is storytelling. Her storytelling memberships are in the Tejas Storytelling Association, Houston Storytellers Guild and the National Association of Black Storytellers.
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Patricia Gaye Smart is a life member of the Griots Circle of Maryland (past Recording Secretary), Inc. and a proud member of NABS. She is a happily retired educator having worked as a teacher, staff development trainer, District-wide Reading Specialist, school administrator and Librarian in Ohio (hometown of Akron), Texas, Minnesota, Virginia and Maryland. Her last job was as a prison librarian at Roxbury Correctional Facility (RCF – is an all adult male, medium security prison in Hagerstown, MD.). She is active in her church, Ebenezer AME, Hagerstown, MD. and serves as a choir member and as its Steward Pro-tem.
Patricia is an avid reader, author (senior editor or The Griots Storybook) and of several Children’s books (Me-Momma Tales). She resides in Western Maryland and her first love is as an advocate and presenter of her original stories and Black Folk Tales. She started the organization of Black Storytellers Of Western Maryland (BSOWM) “SOW” (long O) (est. 3.8.2023) on International Woman’s Day) at the urging of Mama Linda and Edna Williams, in order to fill an historical learning gap. We are “Sowing our seeds of Black Storytelling throughout Western Maryland and the Diaspora”. We hope BSOWN will become a NABS affiliate in the future.
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Dr. David Fakunle, Immediate Past President
Baltimore, MD
[email protected]
David Olawuyi Fakunle, Ph.D. is a self-described “mercenary for change,” willing to employ any talent and occupy any space in the effort to elevate people of African descent and anyone who feels divested from their truest self. As an artist, David has utilized vocal and theater performance, African storytelling and African drumming in the proclamation of truth for over 20 years. His endeavors have afforded him opportunities to perform with companies such as the Sankofa Dance Theater, Musuyide Bi Nka Bi Collective, the Washington Revels’ Jubilee Voices and WombWork Productions, among others. His affiliations include The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, the National Association of Black Storytellers and the Griots’ Circle of Maryland. David has had the distinct honor of performing at Light City Baltimore, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, the World Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. among numerous performances both domestically and internationally. In appreciation of his work, David has been recognized as a Young Cultural Innovator by the Salzburg Global Seminar, an Emerging Nonprofit Leader by the Aspen Institute, and was awarded a 2016 Master/Apprenticeship Fellowship in Storytelling from the Maryland State Arts Council to work with Mama Linda Goss. Recently David co-founded DiscoverME/RecoverME, an organization that utilizes the African oral tradition to encourages the claiming of one’s narrative for personal and organizational growth.
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