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There’s a quote from Marvel’s Black Panther that has stuck with Valencia Gallon-Stubbs since she saw the movie. A fierce general of the special forces in the fictional land of Wakanda is asked by the man she loves if she would kill him for the sake of her country. Her response?
“For Wakanda? Without question.”
That level of dedication mirrors Gallon-Stubbs’s commitment to her role as general counsel for Bethune-Cookman University, a private historically Black university in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“Without question, I give my best to serve this institution prudently yet aggressively,” the general counsel says. “That way, we continue to maintain our resources for future generations so that this university, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary, outlives us all.”
Gallon-Stubbs’s devotion to both her employer and her city is undeniable. Raised in Daytona Beach, she sends both her sons to the same school that she graduated from, although Gallon-Stubbs jokes she can barely recognize the campus as it looks now. Gallon-Stubbs earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida and her JD from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. She spent over a decade away, building out her practice and her life, but she says God brought her back to Daytona Beach just in time.
Gallon-Stubbs accepted her initial role with B-CU in 2018 just as her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The silver lining of the diagnosis was that Gallon-Stubbs could be there for her mom, a strong woman who beat back her diagnosis for five years before passing away in January 2024.
“God always has a way of ordering my steps,” Gallon-Stubbs says. “It was time that my dad and I were caretakers for our anchor. I’m grateful for that.”
Both Gallon-Stubbs’s mother and father—a former teacher and a high school principal who devoted forty years to his craft—watched their daughter blossom as a lawyer. She worked in private practice, as a staff attorney at the Fourth District Court, as an assistant city attorney for the city of Riviera Beach, and as a managing attorney for Florida Rural Legal Services, an organization that provides free legal assistance across Florida. Attorney Gallon-Stubbs has litigated matters through Florida’s state appellate courts, written countless legal memoranda and briefs, and forged meaningful connections with dozens of trailblazing Black attorneys in the Sunshine State.
The GC role at B-CU puts Gallon-Stubbs’s legal expertise to the test. A smattering of her wide variety of responsibilities includes university, trustee, faculty, student, staff, and administrator legal matters; labor and employment litigation; civil litigation; construction, real estate, and economic development issues; and trademark and IP matters. She has also found time to conduct in-service workshops on hot-button legal issues. Most recently, the GC assumed oversight of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance, which includes general liability and insurance for the university.
All this work requires an unprecedented amount of time management, task switching, and multitasking. Gallon-Stubbs says a handful of prayers every day don’t hurt, either.
“I couldn’t do this without the support of my staff, colleagues, and administration,” Gallon-Stubbs says. “They trust me, and I hope I’ve earned that trust. They know I try to do the right thing for the right reason.”
“The right thing for the right reason” is a mantra for Gallon-Stubbs. Though mistakes are inevitable, if people make them in service of this mission, everything winds up OK. And for the general counsel, doing the right thing extends well beyond the workday.
Gallon-Stubbs is an active member of both her legal community and Daytona Beach. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Futures Foundation, an organization that supports the Volusia County School System, and the Space Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross. She’s also a member of the Arete-Executive Women of Influence.
While it’s been a tough year for the GC with the passing of her mother, Gallon-Stubbs is clearly content to be home. She’s happy to be raising her sons in her old stomping grounds, and there’s no doubt she will continue adding civic organizations to her dance card. Gallon-Stubbs was blessed to have been raised in the City of Daytona Beach, and she’s repaying her community tenfold for her joyful upbringing and the opportunities it gave her.
“We have worked with Valencia on a broad range of issues. She is always responsive, thorough, and highly practical. She is also a pleasure to deal with on a personal level, which makes difficult situations easier to navigate.”
–I. William Spivey II and Gregory W. Herbert, Shareholders
