AEI Executive Staff

Mr. Rodney Chambers is a native of Morehead City, North Carolina.  He began his career in music in the Carteret County School System where he was percussion section leader of the Award Winning West Carteret High School Marching Patriots.  Upon graduation from high school he attended North Carolina A&T State University where he received a BA in Music.
Mr. Chambers has worked with several notable marching bands throughout the United States.  He has also been an instructor at Mid Atlantic Band Front Camps, an adjudicator for the Carolina Color Guard Circuit and several marching band events on both the collegiate and high school level.

His teaching career began in Kenly, North Carolina at North Johnston High School and Richmond, Virginia at Thomas Jefferson High School.  Under his direction, both programs excelled in the marching band arena by earning superior ratings in regional and national contest.

In 1998, Mr. Chambers took on the corporate arena where he joined the ranks of US Airways as an Account Executive.  Utilizing his knowledge of both the music and corporate environment, he formed Asymmetrix Entertainment Inc. In the year of 2002, he created the ultimate competition, The National High School High Stepping Marching Band Championship.  This along with several other adjudicated events where formed to promote music excellence and higher education.

Mr. James E. Carver Jr., better known as “Jimmy C”, is a native of Portsmouth, Virginia.  His involvement with bands and orchestra began early in life during his academic studies in middle school and continued through college. In college he was director of the ROTC Marching and Concert Band. His unit performed at Carnegie Hall under his direction for the National ROTC Band Competition in 1969.

During the early 1970s, Mr. Carver played with the professional group “The Positive Sounds” and worked in venues such as the Apollo and Studio 54. His band traveled across the United States and performed with legendary artist’s Al Green, Stylistics, Isley Brothers, Kool & the Gang, Temptations, Manhattans and a host of other great artists from the 1970s. Mr. Carver obtained his B.S. Degree in Music Education from Norfolk State University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Regency University.

Mr. Carver served as band director in the state of Virginia at Smithfield High School, Woodrow Wilson High School, Thomas Jefferson High School and Huguenot High School. His high school band’s won numerous awards in competition and performed at noteworthy events like the World’s Fair, Indianapolis 500, Miss America Pageant, Gimbals Thanksgiving Day Parade, New Orleans Mardi Gras, professional football halftime events and competitions from Florida to Canada.

Mr. Carver currently serves as Department Chairman for the music program at the Appomattox Regional Governors School for Art and Technology. His goals for music education are to empower students to experience music as a source of personal enrichment, use as a vehicle for the constructive expression of human emotions, and learn a unique intellectual discipline.

Deardrian B. Carver – Director of Public Relations
dbenford1@hotmail.com

Ms. Carver is a native of Hartford Connecticut and  has been in various executive level management positions in both the private and public sector for over 25 years.  Ms. Carver has been in both mid and senior level management positions with major organizations since 1973.  She received her B.S. Degree in Organizational Management and Development from Bluefield College and her MBA from Averett University. 

Ms. Carver serves as a part-time adjunct professor at Bluefield College for their Adult Education Program. She currently serves in an executive level position with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Retirement System where she oversees their customer service center and the education and training division. Ms. Carver has dedicated her career to the field of education for both the young and oldeer adults.