Dr. Rosie L. T. Pridgen, a Jackson State University alumna, is the new Chairman of the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) Board of Commissioners.
Pridgen said, “The Board of Commissioners, under the leadership of Chairman LaWanda Harris and Co-Chairman Vernon Hartley, had a very productive 2014-2015 year. . . . I look forward to working with fellow commissioners, CEO Newman, JMAA staff, the community, and other partners to help ensure that we strategically plan and work to make Hawkins Field and Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers international Airport key players in community and economic development.”
JMAA chief executive officer Carl D. Newman, A.A.E., said, “Dr. Pridgen is a proactive results oriented member of the JMAA Board of Commissioners. Chairman Pridgen has a depth of experience in management and planning for large public organizations and is well-suited to the role of Chairman, providing governance and direction for JMAA.”
Pridgen is a native Mississippian, and a resident of Jackson since 1970. She holds Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Educational Specialist, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Jackson State University; and a Masters of Education degree in Blind Rehabilitation, with an emphasis in Orientation and Mobility for the Blind from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In 2013, she retired from the position of Superintendent of the Mississippi School for the Blind, a position she had held for 15 years, while concurrently serving as Superintendent of the Mississippi School for the Deaf for thirty months. She is also a graduate of Leadership Greater Jackson, and a member of Mt. Carmel Ministries. She has a blended family of four children and eleven grandchildren.