Margaret Wilson was born and raised in the Aberdeen Gardens area of Hampton. She graduated for Phenix High School in 1957 and continued her education at Cortez Peters College in Washington, DC. Margaret traveled extensively abroad and in the States as a military wife and mother of two sons. While abroad she became very active with military families who were in need of medical treatment, food,and child care. Margaret helped start an International Wives Club and assisted several foreign born wives in receiving US citizenship. Returning to the United States Margaret was appointed Black Employment Manager for the Air Force Civilian Personnel at the Pentagon. She was later hired as the Special Emphasis Program Manager for the 11th Wing Headquarters Air Force where she was responsible for ensuring that minorities were treated equally and fairly for job promotions. She also served as the Disability Coordinator for Air Force civilian personnel at the Pentagon. After returning to Hampton, she became actively involved in the Aberdeen Gardens Historic and Civic Association. She became chairperson of the Aberdeen Gardens Annual Heritage Day and later became Vice-President and President of the Historical Foundation of Aberdeen Gardens, Inc. Board of Directors. Margaret is currently the chairperson of the Hampton Electoral Board, a Tax Aide for AARP,and a dedicated member of Ivy Baptist Church.
Dr. Smith is a 1962 honor graduate of George P. Phenix High School. She was President of the Student Council and the Girls Athletic Association, and a member of the National Society. Dr. Smith was also a member of the varsity co-ed tennis team and several other organizations. Dr. Smith received her BS degree from Norfolk State University in 1966, MS from Eastern Michigan University in 1970, and her PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1981 in the field of Kinesiology with Cognates in Social Psychology,Educational Psychology, and Sociology. From 1983 -1990 she taught at Grambling State University, College of Education program first as an Assistant and later being promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Teacher Education. In 1990 she began working at Michigan State as Professor of Kinesiology. Dr. Smith would later retire from Michigan State University as an Associate Dean of the Graduate School, African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American Office for Student Affairs, and tenured Professor of Kinesiology. Dr. Smith’s research in her academic discipline of Kinesiology has focused on the sociology, social psychology, and social historical influences on African American women in sport. She has presented over eighty national and state scholarly research presentations and many of her articles have been published in national scholarly journals such as “Quest”, Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and North American Society for Sociology and Sport, just to name a few.
Born and raised in Elizabeth City County (Hampton,VA), she graduated from George P. Phenix School, on the campus of Hampton Institute (Hampton University) in 1954. She followed her pursuit for a college degree and graduated with a LPN in 1965, associate degree (RN) in 1973, and a Bachelors Degree in 1976 with honors. She received her Masters of Science with a major in Nursing and a minor in education, which was very unique at the time, in 1982 from the Medical College of Virginia/VCU with honors. She entered the Veterans Administration, now the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Hampton, atthe lowest level (gs-1) and worked her way up to Assistant Chief Nurse in 1984. She left the VA system as Interim Chief Nurse in 1984. At each level of her career she has been the recipient of numerous honors for superior service. Sheearned Who’s Who in Executive Women and Recognition for playing a major role in bringing first time Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, DC Jail. Other recognition's include those from the Clinton and Obama president administrations, and the Democratic National Committee.
