CSM Board of Trustees Reappoints Jay Webster as Board Chair and Shawn Coates as Vice Chair
CSM Board of Trustees Reappoints Jay Webster as Board Chair and Shawn Coates as Vice Chair
The beginning of the new fiscal year in July brings the confirmation of leadership roles within the College of Southern Maryland's (CSM) Board of Trustees. Officers re-appointed this month to serve CSM’s Board of Trustees over the next year are Jay W. Webster of Calvert County as chair and Shawn B. Coates of Charles County as vice chair.
Webster was appointed to the board in 2016, served as vice chair starting July 1, 2019 and became chair July 1, 2020. He is vice president and part owner of Marrick Properties, Inc., providing oversight to senior management, and developing and implementing creative strategic development for the homebuilders since 1984. Previously he was affiliated with Century 21 as Jay Webster & Associates Real Estate Sales in Upper Marlboro.
Webster has achieved notable recognition, including being named Realtor of the Year in Prince George’s County and 40 Under 40 by the Washington Business Journal. He has served as president of the Rotary Club of Upper Marlboro, president of the Rotary Club of Southern Prince George’s County, president of the Prince George’s County Association of Realtors, chair of the Arbitration Committee for the Prince George’s Association of Realtors, and as regional vice president and as a member of the executive committee for the Maryland Association of Realtors. Webster has achieved Golden “R” and Life Member RPAC with the National Association of Realtors.
Webster’s community involvement has included serving on the Calvert County Hospice board of directors, including as president and he chaired the steering committee for the Burnett Calvert Hospice House which began accepting patients in 2010. Known as the “house that love built,” it is a six-bed residential home in Prince Frederick designed for Calvert County residents in hospice care who require more skilled care than those at home can provide.
A senior leader in the United States government with more than 20 years of experience, Coates has served in leadership and management roles at numerous government agencies. Coates was appointed to serve as a trustee from July 1, 2018 through 2023. He was first appointed vice chair July 1, 2020.
At the time of his appointment to vice chair, Coates shared that he “proudly follows in his grandmother’s footsteps,” as CSM Trustee Emeritus Veronica Coates played a significant role in helping to guide this college when serving as a trustee from 1976 to 1993, including her five years as vice chair and two years as chair.
Coates, of White Plains, serves as the scholarship chair for Morgan State University Southern Maryland Alumni Chapter; is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; and participates with the Black Executive Exchange Program.
A frequent speaker on topics of diversity, hiring, development and retention, Coates has presented at the Blacks in Government Conference and served as a panelist for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Scholarship Conference.
He is involved with Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society, National Society of Black Engineers, Golden Key International Honor Society, National Black MBA Association, Blacks in Government Association and African American Federal Executive Association.
Webster and Coates serve with fellow trustees Kenneth W. Abell, Sonja M. Cox, Jose M. Gonzalez, Samuel C. Jones, Christy Lombardi, Cordelia S. Postell and Dr. John W. Roache.