Today, we bring you another installment of our Top 5 blog series: 5 Stories of Impact from DiverseForce On Boards (DFOB) leaders. The DiverseForce On Boards program was founded as a partnership between ImpactED and DiverseForce to train professionals of color on board governance and to facilitate their placement on governing boards. In a time of uncertainty and adversity, we are dedicated to empowering leaders to serve their respective communities. Below we’ve highlighted five of our DFOB participants’ impactful leadership moments during the pandemic. We are continually inspired by these leaders and hope you are as well!
- Clinton Johnson. Clinton Johnson, a Solutions Architect, led the charge in integrating equity lenses into his team’s work at Esri. Johnson created a framework for understanding customer needs and crafting equity infused solutions to drive change for Esri’s disaster response efforts. His work provides guidance and solutions that incorporate racial, health, and economic equity to minimize the impact the pandemic and recovery efforts have on people of color. Read more about his work here.
- Donovan West. Donovan West, President & CEO at African-American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ & DE has exemplified impactful leadership in his efforts to promote the African American Chamber of commerce (AACC). In a recent interview, West said, ‘The African-American Chamber is working to build its members’ relationships with banks in the hope that another round of loans for small businesses comes around from the Small Business Administration(SBA).” Click here to learn more about the AACC and their work.
- Pressy Abraham. Pressy Abraham, VP of Operations and Board Member for the Philadelphia Area Great Careers Group (PAGCG), has been working on several projects including a merger with Business Executives Networking Group (BENG). With unemployment at over 23% due to Covid-19, the two organizations decided to combine forces to better serve the community. Daily meetings offer opportunities to network, learn, plan, and grow to create economic stability. Visit their website to learn more about upcoming events.
- Shane Nelson. Shane Nelson, Support Coach at The Community College of Philadelphia, currently supports the members of the Center for Male Engagement (CME) through various online interactions. Nelson uses his influence style (which he learned from the DFOB leadership development curriculum), to understand each student’s specific needs. He uses creative strategies to recruit additional members, facilitate support for current members, and increase the availability of resources for CME programming. Learn more about the Center for Male Engagement here.
- Al Motley. Al Motley is the managing partner at Techademics, a technology company focused on innovation in education, social impact philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Motley’s background and expertise includes online education and developing instructional technology tools. Since the pandemic, he has been working with nonprofits, K-12 schools and universities to ease the transition to online learning and to help them build tech-focused scenarios and systems as schools plan for the fall. Learn more about Techademics here.
As leaders, we each are defined by integrity and adaptability in times of crisis. The DFOB program works diligently to empower professionals of color to serve effectively on boards. As a community, we can draw upon these examples of leadership to encourage others to support those who are most vulnerable during these times.
We will continue to share our Top 5 series, so make sure you are following our Facebook and/or Twitter accounts to stay in the loop. If there have been moments in your organization or community where individuals shined as leaders share them in the comments or tag them on our social media pages.
