Dr. Emma Banks to present the 2018 Ann Roberts Scholarships

Presenting the awards for the club will be our featured speaker, Inlet Grove Community High School CEO Dr. Emma Banks.

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Dr. Banks, CEO of the Inlet Grove Community High School (Charter School), developed and implemented the first successful Mentor’s Program for teen parent students in the PBC school system. At Inlet Grove under her tutelage, 99% of students get into college or the service industry upon graduation.

As a TV producer, she is working on the documentary “Street Talk”, which provides insight to the needs of the youth who have dropped out and have committed crimes. She is also responsible for “Reality High” a real life drama show, and the children’s teen talk show “Our Future Generation” which was the number one children’s show n the Nielson ratings.

The only child of Jennie Miller and born in the small town in Monticello, Florida, she began her education at Delaware State where she received her Bachelors Degree in Distributive Education, her master’s degree in Administration and her doctorate in Organizational Leadership. She began working for the State Department of Education in Florida in 1978 then she moved to West Palm Beach and began working at an adult vocational school in 1987 as an Assistant Principal. In 2004, the adult vocational school became a charter high school and Dr. Banks became Principal of the 700-student facility. She is now the President / CEO of Inlet Grove.

CIA Stories

Our May lunch featured former CIA agent Michelle Rigby Assad, author of “Breaking Cover, My Secret Life in the CIA and What It Taught Me about What’s Worth Fighting For.”

Telling several stories from her book, Michelle related the management of an Iraqi insurgent source during the “surge” (2006) when “nobody wanted to be in Iraq”. She and her husband, also a clandestine agent, were sent there “against their will”. The intelligence she gathered through the trust she engendered with the asset was significant, as women are not treated seriously in Iraqi militant culture.

Women are not treated very seriously in the CIA either apparently, as the one of the main takeaways from her talk was the gender bias she experienced throughout her career there, and she does not think it is any better today.

She was successful in spite of this challenge though, and she pointed out that there are 50 to 180 thousand applicants each year and just becoming an agent is significant, man or woman.

“The CIA is in need of fundamental changes,” she said, and it “has been successful in spite of itself”. Asked whether the appointment and confirmation of Gina Haspel to lead the agency showed improvement, Michelle was not particularly impressed. “Gina” she said, “is a headquarters person”, (not a field agent) and more of a “keep it together” executive than a visionary.

After leaving the CIA, she and her husband worked with producer Mark Burnett to help Iraqi Christians escape persecution. They were able to airlift 149 to Slovakia over a period of 4-1/2 months.

Also at the meeting was Agriculture Commissioner candidate Denise Grimsley. Denise touted her lifelong experience as a farmer, but also as an executive and finance professional.

Please join us next month for our annual scholarship meeting where the club will announce the awards for the 2018-19 school year. Inlet Grove Charter School CEO/President Dr. Emma Banks will be our speaker.