Stephanie D. Nellons-Paige

Regent Stephanie D. Nellons-Paige was appointed to the Texas Southern University (TSU) Board of Regents by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in October of 2020. A lifelong servant leader and philanthropist, her career has spanned the public and private sectors and focused on improving outcomes for cities through infrastructure building and partnership development. Regent Nellons-Paige has more than 30 years of senior executive experience leading business and strategic partnership development with Fortune 500 companies in public transportation, fleet and facilities maintenance and food services management. She is adept at working with diverse constituencies and exhibits refined and transformative leadership that moves the pendulum toward success on complex projects.

She is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Vice Chair of the Nellons Paige Group, Inc. (NPG), a strategic consulting firm, which she co-founded with her husband, Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education (2001-2005). The firm provides business development expertise to the private sector, infrastructure investment entities, foundations, school districts and higher education institutions and cities, and also advises clients on diversity and economic inclusion. NPG has helped clients in the transportation, food service and facilities maintenance industries generate nearly $1 billion in revenue and residuals.

Regent Nellons-Paige believes public transportation spurs the economic vitality of cities. Recently, her service as a Managing Director for Texas Central Railroad led to the development and implementation of a business and workforce opportunity policy to ensure economic inclusion of small, rural, women-minority, and veteran-owned companies on the nation’s first high-speed rail project. Additionally, she collaborated with international partners to design and execute a workforce development plan to prepare 17,000 people to build and operate the $25 billion railway.

Regent Nellons-Paige is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She now makes her home in Houston and is a member of the Brentwood Baptist Church. She comes from a family of proud Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) graduates. Her husband Rod Paige graduated from Jackson State University, Jackson MS; her daughter Danielle graduated from Spelman College, Atlanta GA; and Regent Nellons-Paige holds Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies and Master of Science in Transportation Management degrees from Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland.