MEET THE SPEAKER & HONOREES
A Virtual Interactive Event
The Black History Virtual
Empowerment Recognition Breakfast
Thursday, March 14, 2024
FREE & OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WORLDWIDE
1pm GMT • 9am EST • 8am CST • 7am MST • 6am PST
BLACK BRILLIANCE: CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY
with UNAPOLOGETIC PRIDE
DISTINGUISHED KEYNOTE SPEAKER
MELINDA WEEKES-LAIDLOW
|
Weekes In Advance Enterprises LLC is an organizational development firm offering facilitation, meeting design, change consulting, equity and inclusion, collaborative skills, and capacity-building services to the arts and entertainment, non-profit, and social innovation sectors. Social change architect Melinda Weekes-Laidlow is the Principal Consultant and President. She is also the Founder/CEO of Beautiful Ventures, a creative social enterprise that influences popular culture, disrupts anti-blackness, and elevates perceptions of Black humanity.
Previously, Melinda was the Managing Director at Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, Senior Consultant at the Interaction Institute for Social Change, and for 10 years, practiced law representing artists, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations in New York City. In 2015, leading social impact fund Echoing Green named Melinda its first-ever Social Entrepreneur in Residence. One of Melinda's great loves is teaching. Melinda has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on entertainment law, racial justice, design thinking, and leadership. She gives back to institutions that have shaped her -- as a member of Wesleyan University's Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Board and as Co-Chair of the Wesleyan Black Alumni Council. Melinda currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Interaction Institute for Social Change and the Advisory Board of The Alliance Theater at Atlanta's Woodruff Center for the Arts. She loves fitness, good music, plant-based food, oceans, and quality time with friends and family. A native New Yorker born in The Bronx, Melinda is also a proud "Georgia Apple". She now makes home and community in the dynamic city of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, actor Sekou Laidlow. Melinda is a graduate of Wesleyan University, studied at Spelman College, and holds degrees from New York University School of Law, and Harvard Divinity School. |
DISTINGUISHED HONOREES
De'SHAWN WASHINGTON
|
De'Shawn C. Washington is the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. He has been teaching fourth grade at Maria Hastings Elementary School in Lexington, MA, for seven years. In addition to teaching, De'Shawn is also a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University, studying K-12 Educational Leadership and Policy.
De'Shawn is also passionate about equipping teachers of color with the tools they need to become licensed educators. He leads the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) workshops for aspiring teachers. He leads workshops in various MTEL tests, including Communication and Literacy, Foundations of Reading, and General Curriculum: Multi-Subject and Mathematics subtests. De'Shawn recently started his own consulting firm, Cultivating Changemakers. The firm's mission is to cultivate a community of empowered changemakers through transformative education by fostering individuals who will collectively impact society and drive innovation and social justice. Above all, De'Shawn is a servant of the Lord. He devotes his time to prayer, meditation, and studying the Word of God independently and in various Bible Study groups. De'Shawn firmly believes his current role as an ambassador of public education is a ministry to highlight God's work through education to the world at large. |
JEANNETTE BUNTIN
|
Jeannette Buntin is a highly skilled management and experienced development professional with over 20 years of experience successfully developing and implementing strategies to achieve established objectives and goals. She currently serves as the Assistant Vice Present of Student Engagement & Diversity at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.
As a first-generation college student, Jeannette grew up in Boston (Mattapan). She earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Southeastern Massachusetts University and a master's in education with a concentration in student personnel development and counseling from Northeastern University. Jeannette is a graduate Fellow of the Partnership Inc. Leadership Development Program. She has spent her 20+ year career immersed in higher education, management, and non-profit organizations. She has done consulting, training, and advocacy work in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, campus/community development, and student services development. Throughout her career, Jeannette has held various managerial roles for organizations such as Boston University, Suffolk University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Bentley University, and Mount Ida College. Jeannette is a founding member and past member of the African American Women in Higher Education Association New England board. She holds professional memberships with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, the National Association of Black Accountants, the Massachusetts Association of Women in Education, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Jeannette has been a National Black MBA Association member for over ten years, holding positions in the Boston Chapter on its leadership board. She is an active mentor with the National Black MBA Leaders of Tomorrow Program and a former Trustee of the Mission Grammar School in Boston's historic South End. Jeannette currently sits on the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts board and co-chairs its Board Nominating Committee. When she is not busy working and mentoring, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 18 years, Andrew. She is a proud mother and grandmother to three and currently resides in Stoughton, Massachusetts. |
MARILYN ANDERSON CHASE
|
Marilyn Anderson Chase retired as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2011 after over 40 years of distinguished service in human services administration, philanthropy, and government. As Executive Director of Roxbury Multi-Service Center, she initiated the first community mental health clinic in Roxbury and opened the first Women and Children's Shelter in that community. As Executive Director of Central Boston Elder Services, she provided strategic guidance to the largest home care agency in Boston, allowing thousands of frail elders to remain independent in their own homes.
At the United Way of Mass Bay, she spearheaded the United Way's transition to investing with an emphasis on community impact as Senior Vice President of Community Investments and, in collaboration with other senior management staff, facilitated the expansion of the United Way to including the Merrimack Valley and opened opportunities for local faith-based organizations to receive financial support from private philanthropic organizations. She was privileged to work in the administrations of two Governors, Governor Michael Dukakis and Governor Deval Patrick were Chief of Staff to Kitty Dukakis in Governor Dukakis' presidential campaign. Under Governor Patrick, she designed and implemented a strategy for addressing youth violence in Massachusetts, the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative, which continues in operation today. Her professional experience has included direct service, program and public policy design and implementation, advocacy, and philanthropy. She has been a Sportsmen's Tennis and Enrichment Center member for over 40 years and is privileged to serve as Board co-chair. Though raised Catholic, Ms Anderson Chase joined the AME church in 1980. In 1990, she joined Bethel AME, Boston, where she has served as a Steward, is a member of the Prayer Ministry, coordinates the church's Mission Fund, and has provided leadership for Bethel's efforts to protect and support immigrants at risk of deportation and those seeking to become positive, contributing citizens of the United States. As a consultant, she has provided strategic guidance for The Church Home Society and Boston's Black Ministerial Alliance. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms Anderson Chase received degrees in Social Work from the University of Detroit and the University of Michigan. She has resided in Boston since 1972 and has been married for 44 years to award-winning news videographer Richard Chase. |
MARC GERMAIN & KEEANA SAXON
MARC GERMAIN
|
Marc H. Germain is a highly accomplished professional with a diverse background in international and community development, public policy, and philanthropy. Throughout his career, Marc has been instrumental in shaping and executing impactful urban planning, community development, and civic engagement strategies for governmental, non-governmental, and private sector stakeholders.
Currently serving as the Country Program Manager representing the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Togo, Marc also holds the role of Country Coordinator for the US Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability in Lomé. In this capacity, he collaborates across the Department of State, USAID, and the Department of Defense interagency to foster peace and long-term stability through integrated diplomacy, development, and security-sector engagement. Marc's work involves facilitating bilateral and multilateral engagement, working with civil society and private sector partners, and addressing emerging challenges in Togo in collaboration with partners across Coastal West Africa. Prior to his current role, Marc served as a Senior Program Manager at DAI Global, both at headquarters and overseas, where he managed projects in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. He supported government initiatives spanning water and sanitation services, agricultural value chain development, trade, and economic development for various donor and multilateral organizations. In the U.S., Marc has held significant positions with local and regional organizations, including serving as the director of the Office of Grants and Research for the Commonwealth Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. At The Boston Foundation, he led the Youth Policy Initiative, empowering youth-serving networks to engage in meaningful public policy action. Additionally, Marc has worked at the DuBois Institute at Harvard University and the Interaction Institute for Social Change. Most recently, Marc led Bethel AME Church's Migrant Neighbor Initiative, funded by the City of Boston. This initiative aimed to develop a regional model of action for faith-based and civic organizations supporting newly arrived immigrant families. A graduate of Morehouse College, Marc is the husband of Keeana Saxon and the father of one daughter. |
KEEANA SAXON
|
Keeana Saxon was born in Washington DC, raised in Newton, Massachusetts, and now resides in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (Boston) with her husband Marc Germain and daughter. After graduating from Spelman College with a BA in Classical Piano Performance ('99) and Western New England University School of Law ('03), she practiced law in the private and public sectors (in CT and MA). She was then appointed a Commissioner on the Boston Licensing Board in 2014, where she remains.
Keeana teaches 13 students classical piano on a weekly basis. She chairs the OrigiNation Cultural Art Center's Board of Directors. Keeana is also the Founder and CEO of Kidogo Productions, a children's media company centering on and celebrating the African Diaspora in its videos, games, and live events for preschoolers. Keeana started Kidogo after seeing how mainstream children's media negatively impacted her daughter. She delivered a TEDx Talk, "A Mother's Mission Against Anti-Black Bias in Children's Media." Keeana loves to read, walk, and chat about politics. |
Thursday March 14, 2024
FREE & OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WORLDWIDE
1pm GMT • 9am EST • 8am CST • 7am MST • 6am PST
