Board Members
Monica Coleman
Monica Coleman is a proud graduate of Prairie View A&M University, The University of Texas Medical Branch, and The University of Montana. She is married to her college sweetheart and has two children. She is a physical therapist and owns a private practice that helps seniors maximize their functional independence to remain in their homes as they age. She is very involved in her community where she routinely gives lectures on balance and fall prevention in the aging population, engages area high school students by frequently lecturing to them about the HBCU experience, and by serving as a liaison to connect interested students to additional HBCU resources. She is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated where she currently serves on several committees. Monica is eternally grateful for the countless support that she received on her academic journey and founded this non-profit to invest in the next generation.
Floyd Wolf Jr
Floyd is a Cypress, Texas native, located just outside of Houston, who currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is the Director of Operations for Black Hills Energy an Electric Utility that serves over 100,000 customers in Southern Colorado. He is married to his wife who he met in college at Prairie View A&M University. Floyd earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Prairie View A&M University and worked his way up from an entry level engineer to serving in Senior Engineering, Supervision and Management roles for outfits like Alcoa and GCC of America over what is now a 15-year career. He also earned his M.B.A with an emphasis in Finance from Syracuse University and will be a May ‘22 Graduate. Floyd originally developed his passion for working with youth after a 3-year stint of teaching as a certified Pre-AP Algebra and Geometry teacher and Head Boys Varsity Basketball Coach in the inner city of Houston before stepping into engineering. Floyd recently served on District 11’s Steering Committee in Colorado Springs for their Facilities Master Plan and enjoys speaking to and working with youth from local schools in Colorado Springs and Pueblo while donating to United Way. He is a lifetime member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated and is an avid outdoorsman who loves nature and traveling the globe while seeking the occasional adrenaline rush from things like skydiving and cliff jumping. When Floyd and his wife aren’t traveling behind their two children, they enjoy volunteering their time as a family to nonprofit organizations like The Food Pantry and The Boys and Girls Club. Floyd was inspired to serve on this board to improve representation in underserved communities for youth who aspire to become young engineers and business professionals of tomorrow by investing his time and resources into prospective students.
Byron S Wolf
Byron is the CEO of a biomedical engineering company that he started over a decade ago. He attended Prairie View A&M University until he decided to follow his calling and serve in the United States Air Force. In the Air Force, Byron served as Security Forces and was stationed at Edwards Air Force base in California where he specialized in conducting developmental testing for air, space and cyber systems. After discharging from the armed services, Byron earned a degree in Biomedical Engineering Technologies from Texas State Technical College. He is newly married to the love of his life and has one child. Byron was eager to serve on this board to build on the rich legacy that he inherited from his grandparents.
Sonya Fortune
Sonya is an IRACDA postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan (UM), studying the immune factors contributing to impaired diabetic wound healing to develop novel targets for treatment. She has been married for three years and has a pet cat. As an undergraduate at Prairie View A&M University, she participated in research on campus and did internships, which sparked her interest in biomedical research. After receiving her BS in Biology, she was accepted into the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at the University North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she focused on gene therapy research. In 2014, she joined the Immunology Graduate Program at UM, focusing on immune factors contributing to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, an autoimmune disease. During her scientific career, Sonya authored over 16 publications, secured numerous research grant funds, and taught and gave guest lectures to multiple undergraduate classes. Sonya believes providing an inclusive teaching and mentoring environment to students in the classroom and lab is crucial in encouraging and promoting their continued pursuit of scientific careers. Currently, she enjoys mentoring undergraduate students through UM IRACDA program by participating in workshops at community colleges that have diverse student populations to facilitate exposure to research. Her passion for increasing diversity in science through participating and establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs began as an undergraduate. She feels blessed to serve as a board member with her siblings to establish this non-profit organization to support students in reaching their career goals and creating a diverse STEM community where all are welcomed.