Agnes Scott College Elects New Members to its Board of Trustees

DECATUR, Ga. —Agnes Scott College announced that two newly elected members will join its Board of Trustees. James M. (Jay) Bailey and Julia A. Houston will begin their respective tenures on July 1 with each serving a four-year term. Also beginning her first elected term on the board is Whitney M. Ott ’03, who has served on the board for the past four years, representing the Agnes Scott Alumnae Association.

“We are delighted to welcome the newest members of our Board of Trustees,” said President Leocadia I. Zak. “Our trustees are instrumental in our ability to fulfill our mission and to empower diverse women of every identity to claim their place as leaders in our communities, workplaces and world.” 

Bailey is president and CEO of the H.J. Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), where he leads the world’s largest entrepreneurial hub dedicated to developing, growing and scaling empowering Black businesses. Under his leadership, in just four years, RICE has grown to support more than 500 entrepreneurs full-time, sustaining 2,153 jobs in the community and sparking $478 million of new economic impact in the metro Atlanta area.

Houston serves as chief strategy and marketing officer at Equifax while also overseeing communications, compliance, privacy and enterprise risk. She joined Equifax in 2013 and previously served as both chief transformation officer and senior vice president, U.S. legal. Before joining Equifax, Houston was general counsel and corporate secretary at Convergys Corporation, as well as general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Mirant Corporation. 

Ott is a partner at Jackson Spalding, one of the largest independent, integrated PR and marketing firms in the Southeast. As a strategic partner and member of the executive team, she helps run the agency and oversees projects for high-profile clients, including The Coca-Cola Company, as well as leads client messaging, coaching and facilitation sessions. 

Also joining the board is the newly elected president of the Agnes Scott Alumnae Association, Tiffany M. Nuriddin ’07.  Nuriddin is a partner at Harrison LLP, where she serves on the Executive Committee. A Fellow with the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, she consults on estate planning and administration, family wealth transfer tax planning, succession planning and fiduciary litigation.

The board honored four trustees whose service on the board concluded on June 30:  Adrian J. Cronje, Quinton R. Martin, Deborah H. Painter ’75 and Elizabeth A. Shiroishi ’97. In addition, former trustees Elizabeth R. Jones ’73, Phil Noble and E. Jenner Wood III have been named trustees emerita/us of the college.