Rooted in Tradition, Ascending in Excellence

Leslie D. Hale, elected to the Board of Trustees in 2013 and vice chair since 2021, was appointed chair on June 6, 2025. She is president and chief executive officer of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ), a leading hotel REIT that owns 96 U.S. hotels totaling approximately 21,200 rooms. Since joining RLJ in 2005, Hale has helped shape and execute the company’s strategy through successive leadership roles—CFO (2007), COO (2016), and CEO (2018)—and led milestone transactions including RLJ’s 2011 IPO and the hospitality sector’s first REIT-to-REIT merger in 2017; she also serves on RLJ’s Board of Directors. Hale sits on the Board of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL), is a Trustee of Howard University, and serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Baltimore Branch board; her industry affiliations include the MINA Advisory Board, NAREIT Advisory Board of Governors, AHLA Executive Board, IREFAC, and the Real Estate Roundtable. Earlier in her career, she held senior roles at GE (Commercial Finance M&A and Real Estate Strategic Capital) and was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Hale earned a BBA, summa cum laude, from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Goldman Sachs and Toigo Fellow.

Dr. Barron Harvey is Associate Provost for Academic Innovation and Strategic Initiatives at Howard University (appointed July 1, 2020), overseeing new program approval, online strategy, and strategic partnerships. A tenured professor of accounting and dean of the Howard University School of Business for 26 years, he was the School’s first Frank Ross/KPMG Endowed Professor, a two-time NABA “Educator of the Year,” and the architect of key AACSB milestones—including the D.C. region’s first separate accreditation for Accounting and multiple reaffirmations. During his deanship, the School earned sustained national recognition, including Princeton Review’s No. 1 “Best Opportunity for Minority Students” for 14 consecutive years and top-50 Bloomberg Businessweek rankings. His professional service spans leadership roles with the AICPA, AACSB, the American Accounting Association, and the D.C. Board of Accountancy. He previously held academic appointments at the University of Nebraska, the University of Miami, and Georgetown University, and founded the National HBCU Business Deans Roundtable.

Howard University School of Business: Board of Visitor

For 55 years, the Howard University School of Business has been a catalyst for opportunity—empowering generations of students to rise as innovators, leaders, and changemakers. The School’s unwavering commitment to excellence and its ability to connect education with real-world impact has created pathways that not only transform careers but also strengthen industries and communities across the globe.

Howard University School of Business: Board of Visitor, Vice Chairperson

Howard University’s School of Business gave me more than an education—it gave me the confidence, resilience, and network to thrive as an executive. Every success I have achieved is rooted in the foundation built here. As we mark 55 years of excellence, I believe it is our responsibility as alumni to reinvest in this institution, ensuring that its infrastructure, resources, and opportunities match the boundless potential of the next generation of Bison leaders.