Mr. Yates is a native of Jacksonville’s LaVilla Park Neighborhood. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Florida International University and his Master’s Degree in Urban Studies from Occidental College. He is a Yale University/Ford Foundation Graduate National Urban Fellow. He received national and international acclaim while serving in the U.S. Air Force at the Aeromedical Field Laboratory. Alton’s civilian career path includes the U.S. Postal Service, Executive Director of GJEO Inc., Jacksonville’s Anti-Poverty Agency, and Administrative Aide to Mayor’s Tanzler, Godbold, and Hazouri. He served as Executive Director of the Jacksonville Community Relations Commission, Manager of Administration for the Community Economic Development Center at FCCJ, and Director of the City’s Regulatory and Environmental Services Department. Mr. Yates was appointed to the Florida Education Council by Governor Reubin Askew and as a Trustee of Florida Community College of Jacksonville. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of FCCJ from 1988 through 1990. He is a past President of Leadership Jacksonville, and the Northeast Florida Safety Council. A former member of St. Vincent’s Health System Advisory Board and lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and the NAACP.
