Altonique Binion joined the RCU in 2021 as a project manager under Mississippi State University’s GEAR UP grant program. In her role, Binion works with the Greenville, McComb, and Meridian school districts in preparing low-income students for success in postsecondary education. After beginning her education career at the elementary level, she worked as an English instructor and a school counselor for 19 years. Binion also coordinated curriculum for the Creating Empowerment Through Autonomy (CETA) Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on breaking through generational setbacks in economically challenged communities. She assisted CETA in developing an after-school program targeting health, wellness, character building, technology, and education as part of the foundation’s partnership with Atlanta’s former Mayor Kasim Reed and Centers of Hope. Binion earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi before received postgraduate degrees in curriculum and technology from the University of Phoenix and school counseling from the University of West Alabama.