Take Notes

NOTES

Calinda Lee, C’92, has been named head of programs and exhibitions at National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Lee, who previously served as chief historian, will oversee NCCHR’s education, training, exhibitions and programmatic initiatives teams.

Eriqah Vincent, C’2010, was named the new network engagement director at the Power Shift Network. She leads PSN’s central staff effort on network engagement, including recruitment, collaboration and leadership development with network members.

Chloe A. Mondesir, MSOL, C’2016, has launched A Writer’s Worth, a company that assists people with writing essays, applications, resumes/cover letters, LinkedIn revamps and more. She also penned a new children’s book titled Take Opportunity.

Leah Beverly, C’2008, a chief deputy district attorney in Las Vegas, has launched a new blog and website, themommycounsel.com and @Themommycounsel on Instagram, both focusing on providing support and tips for new parents.

Marian Mereba, C’2011, a rising star in the music world, was nominated for her first Grammy as a part of J. Cole’s “Dreamville” collective. Erica L. Taylor, C’98, a documentary producer and director of “Unsung,” “Unsung Hollywood” and “The Invisible Vegan,” was named the National Brand Ambassador for USA Fibroid Centers. Currently, she is in production for “Red Alert: The Fight Against Fibroids,” an independent documentary slated for release later this year.

Courtney Stewart, C’2013, recently launched lipstick line LipRevolt.

Nani Edwards, C’2015, was featured in the Nike Air Shop “Yardrunners” campaign.

Precious Williams, C’2001, won the 2020 Silver Medal for “Maverick of the Year” from the Stevie Awards, a national business award for women entrepreneurs. Her book, Bad Bitches and Power Pitches, is a finalist for the Wishing Shelf Nonfiction Adult Book of the Year 2020. Also, Williams is featured in the new MasterCard campaign for “Priceless,” and in the live TV interview as a keynote speaker for the Dress for Success Summit. Jayne Morgan, C’84, was featured in a news interview about COVID-19 clinical trials and vaccinations in relation to minority populations.

Kenya McNeal-Trice, C’97, professor of pediatrics, director of the Pediatrics Residency Program and vice chair of education in the Department of Pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine, has been named chief graduate medical education officer/ ACGME designated institutional official at UNC Hospitals and the senior associate dean for graduate medical education at the UNC School of Medicine.

Brandi C. Brimmer, C’95, has been named a Residential Fellow at the National Humanities Center for the 2020-21 academic year. She also published Claiming Union Widowhood: Race, Respectability, and Poverty in the PostEmancipation South.

Bernice King, C’85, was featured in a British Vogue September 2020 cover story of 20 Remarkable Activists Ready To Change The World.

Donnica Hawes-Saunders, C’2008, wrote the article, “Maximizing Our Potential” for the 2021 spring issue of Black EOE Journal.

Nicole Venable, C’91, has been named a 2020 Top Lobbyist by the National Institute of Ethics and Lobbying.

Sheila L. Chamberlain, C’81, has recently been appointed president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

NOTES

Ruha Benjamin, C’2001, an associate professor of African American studies at Princeton University, has been named among the first cohort of Freedom Scholars, an initiative supporting progressive academics who are at the forefront of movements for economic and social justice.

Subriana McFadden Pierce, C’88, was featured in the June issue of Insights Success, a national business magazine. She also was featured in Black Enterprise for launching a foundation along with her husband to help Black-owned businesses in consumer-packaged goods land in grocery stores.

Emily Nichols-Mitchell, C’89, was recently awarded the Coach of the Year Silver Stevie Award for Women in Business.

Jessica Brown, C’2006, was featured by Fannie Mae in a video titled Jessica Brown: The Future of Real Estate Appraisal. She is a success story of the Appraisal Diversity Pipeline Program.

ShaMiracle Johnson Rankin, C’2006, was named president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys.

Nicole LaBeach, C’93, is the show host for Will Packer’s unscripted relationship series, “Put A Ring On It,” which premiered in October 2020 on OWN. Marsha E. Francis, C’2006, received a national education award, Leaders to Learn From, from Education Week. She was recognized for a student-teacher program that supports teacher interns from six colleges and universities, including Spelman College. She is the youngest Black woman to receive this national award.

Candis Jones Smith, C’2006, was named president of the Gate City Bar Association.

Calida Garcia Rawles, C’98, was profiled in Artnews for her art that will be featured in the film adaptation of Water Dancer, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt.

Candis Jones

Smith, C’2006 was installed as president of the Gate City Bar Association on January 19, 2021.

Sydney Diavua, C’2008, was awarded the Federal Reserve’s Janet L. Yellen Award for Excellence in Community Development for her founding of the Federal Reserve System’s Racial Equity Learning Community. Janinah Burnett, C’2000, released her debut album, Love the Color of Your Butterfly.

Belinda Daughrity, C’2006, was recently appointed chair of the content advisory board committee for the California Speech Language Hearing Association. She will help guide brand content and marketing in an effort to increase association membership and engagement.

Nicole Hargons, C’2005, has been elected to the American Psychological Association’s board of directors.

Lisa D. Cook, Ph.D., C’86, is featured in The New York Times article, “Here Are the Policy Advisers Who Have Joe Biden’s Ear.” She was appointed to the Federal Reserve Agency Review Team of the Biden-Harris administration.

Jamilah Pitts, C’2012, presented at the International Baccalaureate Virtual Conference as a topic expert on the relationship between radical self-care and caring radically for humanity.

Wuleta Lemma, C’89, was honored with the $1 million Jack Ma Foundation Award for her work in health care. She developed a crucial digital health records collection system for many countries in Africa.

Erin Tolefree, C’2001, was recently named president of Baldwin Richardson Foods, a leading manufacturer of custom food and beverage ingredients and one of the largest African American-family owned and operated businesses in the food industry. Tolefree joins the 3% of Black women at the C-suite level and 20% of female C-suite executives in the food and beverage industry.

Leigh Davenport, C’2005, wrote “Wendy Williams: The Movie,” which aired on Lifetime.

Sonya Winton-Odamtten, C’96, is a co-executive producer for the American horror drama “Lovecraft Country,” starring Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors and Courtney B. Vance.

Nandi A. Marshall, C’2004, was recently elected to serve on the executive board of the American Public Health Association and on the board of the Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition. Kiesha Garrison, C’2002, Microsoft director of Communications & Culture Programs, AI Platform, now emcees global events for the multinational technology company. She recently interviewed Lenny Kravitz on the release of his memoir, Let Love Rule.

Janelle Farris, C’83, the first African American to run one of Brooklyn’s oldest and largest nonprofits, was featured on News12Brooklyn.

Theodora Lee, C’84, was recently selected for the National Black Lawyers “Top 100” for California by Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management.

Ada Johnson, C’2000, was featured in the cover story of Austin Woman magazine’s December 2020 issue.

Khalia Murray, C’2015, established Ms. Murray’s Corner, a virtual tutoring company for pre-kindergarten through second-grade students. She was featured in the October edition of VoyageATL. Jade Lockard, C’2020, was featured on hypepotamus.com to discuss her new role as program manager for Nex Cubed’s HBCU Founders Program. Nex Cubed is an investor and innovation partner that invests in, accelerates and scales frontier tech companies and HBCUs.

Chyree Batton, C’2009, discussed the influential relationship with her Spelman professor and adviser, Leyte Winfield, in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) magazine.

Brieonna Johnson, C’2015, was featured in an episode of CNBC’s “Millennial Money Make It” discussing the budget breakdown of a nanny earning a six-figure salary.