BROTHER DR. CHARLES O. DILLARD HONORED AMONG GREAT LIVING CINCINNATIANS

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber has named Brother Dr. Charles O. Dillard among new 2021 Class of Great Living Cincinnatians at its annual dinner in February 2022.

Selected by the chamber’s Senior Council, Great Living Cincinnatians are recognized for service to the community; business and civic attainment on a local, state, national, or international level; leadership; awareness of the needs of others; and distinctive accomplishments that have brought favorable attention to their community, institution, or organization. Over the last 50 years, the Great Living Cincinnatians program has honored more than 160 individuals, spanning the business, nonprofit, entrepreneurial, medical, and commerce sectors.

“In medicine, I’ve always advocated that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege,” says Brother Dr. Dillard. “I just felt that the poor and disadvantaged need quality healthcare and unfortunately, to those without the means, it’s rationed. Money talks and buys the best healthcare. I was instrumental in setting up a neighborhood health center where we didn’t turn away the people without health insurance of other resources.”

A Fisk University graduate and Meharry Medical College, he became one of the first African American medical officers in the country to attain the rank of brigadier general. Through his work with caring Partners international, both as a doctor and as a board member, Brother Dillard serves as a medical missionary and collects much-needed medical supplies.

In 1980, he purchased a building and transformed it into a medical center, which eventually became the community and business center – the Charles E. Dillard Memorial Building named for his father.

He also remains active with A few Good Men, a 100-year-old organization that helps the poor in the city, serves as a backup physician for the Clermont County Board of Development Disabilities center in Batavia. He is also an active member of the Fraternity, the NAACP, the Zion Baptist Church, and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. S

ALPHA BROTHERS HOLMES AND THOMPSON RECEIVE $1 MILLION GOOGLE GRANT TO SUPPORT NONPROFIT

Encouraging Black And Latinx Students To Pursue Stem Careers

CodeHouse, a nonprofit founded by Alpha Brothers Ernest Holmes and Tavis Thompson to encourage Black and Latinx students to pursue careers in STEM, was recently awarded a $1 million grant from Google.org.

The funding will enable the nonprofit to expand its initiatives to students attending historically Black college and universities (HBCUs) in Washington, D.C., and North Carolina over the next two years. It also will allow the Atlanta-based CodeHouse to further its reach and strengthen its mission to build a diverse tech workforce in the U.S. The grant enables the nonprofit to grow CodeHouse Scholars Initiative (CHSI), its four-year mentorship and scholarship program.

“Since CodeHouse’s founding, we’ve been able to reach thousands of students of color in the Atlanta area and equip them with the tools they need to successfully pursue careers in tech,” says Brother Holmes, CodeHouse’s president and co-founder, in a published report. “With this grant from Google.org, we’re able to take our efforts to the next level and impact the lives of thousands more.”

While STEM fields are projected to experience the highest growth in job numbers between now and 2030, only 28% of the STEM workforce is female, and just 7 % is Black, and 6% is Latinx/Hispanic. The STEM workforce has also reportedly risen in recent decades. Yet, Black, and Hispanic workers remain underrepresented in STEM jobs versus their share of the U.S. workforce, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of federal data.

“As a Morehouse College graduate and current Google software engineer, securing this funding from Google.org means the world,” Brother Holmes continues. “ Not only does this grant help CodeHouse support even more HBCU students throughout their tech journeys, but it also reaffirms that my employer is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry. To find synergies like these between your personal and professional endeavors is truly what it’s all about.” S