Born in St. Augustine, Cerita Jackson Battles, SAHS Class of 1986, is the daughter of Thomas and Barbara Jackson. Mrs. Battles considers herself a product of after school activities and the education she received while growing up in St. Augustine. Mrs. Battles is the eldest of four children, sisters Celina and Katie and brother TJ who passed away from cancer in 2007. Her childhood activities included the Brownies, Girls Scouts, Young Life and participating in summer recreational leagues. While at SAHS she lettered in volleyball, basketball, track and played clarinet with the band for two years. She was co-captain of the volleyball team as well as voted most improved and most outstanding senior in volleyball, most improved basketball and best athlete in track and field.

After attending college for a few years, she became a bank teller at the downtown Barnett Bank in 1989. Mrs. Battles then worked in the mortgage loan industry for various companies such as Merrill Lynch Credit Corp, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. Mrs. Battles completed her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management at the University of Phoenix in year 2000. She joined Wells Fargo in 2011 and is currently the Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. She and her team are responsible for establishing strategic planning and lending goals to increase and enable sustainable homeownerships among low-to-moderate income homebuyers and communities as well as ethnic minority homebuyers across the United States.

She is an active member various mortgage industry boards such as chairwoman for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. She serves on the advisory board of the Fort Mose Historical Society as well as a lifetime member, a charter member and treasurer of First Coast Chapter of the Charmettes, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization focused on cancer awareness and research and a minister at St. Paul A.M.E. Church. In 2012, Mrs. Battles was recognized by the Florida Diversity Council as one of the most powerful and influential women in the state of Florida. Mrs. Battles and husband Ronald Battles have been married for 23 years and have a 14 year old daughter, Myka.