MU LAMBDA FOUNDATION INCORPORATED - Key Persons

Horace Greeley Dawson, Jr. has had and continues to have a distinguished career in education, government, and diplomatic service. In the diplomatic service, he rose to the highest rank - Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary - the position he held as Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana under two U.S. presidents. Ambassador Dawson attended Lincoln University before being drafted into the U.S. Army during his freshman year, serving a two-year tour of duty in Europe and the Philippines. Brother Dawson returned to Lincoln University to finish his studies, earning his A.B. (with honors), and went on to study English and comparative literature at Columbia University and received his M.A. the following year. Ambassador Dawson began his professional career as an instructor in English at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he remained three years before joining the faculty at North Carolina Central University, where he worked as an associate professor of English and director of public relations, when he resigned in 1963 to join the Foreign Service. He also earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1961 and holds honorary degrees from Lincoln and Howard University, the latter awarded on the recent commencement program with President Barack Obama and Cicely Tyson. Ambassador Dawson entered the Foreign Service, working as a cultural affairs officer in Uganda and Nigeria, and then as the United States Information Agency Director in Liberia. From 1973 to 1977, he held a prominent position as the director of American information and cultural programs in Africa. Subsequently, he became the counselor of embassy for public affairs and the director of American information and cultural programs in the Philippines, where he remained until 1979. That year, he was named ambassador to Botswana by President Jimmy Carter. As ambassador, he worked to end apartheid in South Africa. Returning to the United States in 1983, he remained with the State Department until his retirement in 1989. He then joined the faculty at Howard University and was appointed director of the public affairs program. In 1993, Brother Dawson established the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard by writing and securing a $3 million program grant, and in 1997 became the director of that program as well. Ambassador Dawson is a former member of the Peace Corps Advisory Board, Chairman of the Selection Committee for the Franklin H. Williams Memorial Internship Program of the Council on Foreign Relations, formerly chairman of the Association of Black American Ambassadors, and Chairman Emeritus of the Senior Board Stewards, Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, D.C. He is listed in Who's Who in America and several other such publications. He has written extensively on the topics of mass media and international affairs. In all of the positions he has held, Ambassador Dawson is recognized as a strong advocate for diversity, especially in public service and in international affairs. It is in his role as "a mentor to young men and women of color," that the University of Iowa recently honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service. Iowa cited as one example, his recruitment for a State Department internship of a young college student named Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Executive Member of Forbes Communications Council

Mr. Jones II is an executive member of Forbes Communications Council, a lecturer at Harvard University, and an Emerging Markets Institute Fellow at Cornell University. He is a devoted jazz fan, art and horology enthusiast, budding gastronome and avid world traveler.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Treasurer of the Board of Directors

Director Young is a repeat graduate of the Howard University School of Business, earning his Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting, (2011); he continued his matriculation to complete his MBA in 2012. Chatman began his Howard journey in 2007, earning an Athletic Scholarship as member of the Football Team. He started on the Offensive Line for most of his academic years and is still very grateful for the brotherhood and family that heavily influenced his life to Today. Upon graduating, He began working at Fannie Mae, joining their Finance Associates Program, where he rotated various accounting and finance roles throughout the company. In his second year, Chatman was placed in the Multifamily Asset Management division. There he continued his development, becoming an Asset Manager of Affordable Housing Funds, including Lower Income Housing Tax Credit properties. In March 2019, Chatman transitioned to Commercial Real Estate, taking a position at Starbucks, within their Store Development group. He currently supports the growth of company-operated stores for DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Job Titles:

• Adjunct Professor
• Member of the Board of Directors

Dr. Albert C. Cheek, Jr., comes from a family that practices, achieves and believes strongly in academics. The son of a radiologist and nephew of two honorable Historical Black College University Presidents, he was predestined to chart his future. As long as he can remember he wanted to be a dentist. While most may assume that such a desire for Albert Cheek may have come easy, it was not. Achieving such requires that you make the grade and accomplish each task by your own merit. Motivated by circumstance and obstacles, instead of excuses, and with the persistent support of his scholar driven Mother he finally earned in May of 1999, at the age of 39, a doctoral degree in dentistry from Howard University, where 13 years prior he received his undergraduate degree. Dr. Cheek is an adjunct professor, OD & R/ Emergency at Howard University College of Dentistry. He is also owner of Cheek-To-Cheek Dental, PC in Washington DC specializing in Family, Cosmetic and Preventive Dentistry. Additionally, he is on the medical team for the Maryland Correctional Institutions in Prince Georges, Anne Arundel and Howard Counties where over 50 inmates may require his specialized attention on a weekly basis. Never short on giving his time, he enthusiastically frequents elementary schools, non-profit groups and mentoring programs sharing "his story" and expert advice on the importance of proper oral hygiene. His commitment to serving the underserved began at Howard's Dental Clinic as a student and continued fresh out of dental school when DC Parks contracted him and Recreation to join a summer enrichment program designed to nurture and educate inner city youth. Dr. Cheek was commissioned to teach oral hygiene to more than 1,500 youth in citywide recreation centers in the span of three months. For over five years he has volunteered his dental services at SOME (So Others Might Eat), a Washington, DC based facility for the homeless and poor citizens, because he believes they deserve courteous expert treatment. He has partnered with WHUR Howard University Radio mentoring 100+ males for the Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation in Dallas Texas for Steve's Annual Father's Day Mentoring Weekend.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Member of Sigma Xi

Dr. George D. Mc Neal, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and currently reside in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife (Angie) of 44 years. They have a daughter, son, and four grandchildren. He is a 1970 graduate of A. H. Parker High School, Birmingham, Alabama, where he was a member of the concert band, and Head Drum Major of the marching band from 1968 - 1970. Dr. Mc Neal's academic background is in mathematics. He is a 1974 graduate of Knoxville College with a B.S. in Mathematics. His graduate studies included a M.S. in Numerical Analysis, The John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, a M.S. degree in Mathematical Statistics, The American University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Howard University. While attending Knoxville College, George became one of five students to become a Co-Operative Education student in the college's first work-study program. He was assigned to the David Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center, in Annapolis Maryland, where he worked in the field of Electro Magnetics. His federal career extended over a period thirty seven (37) years, with employment at the Naval Intelligence Support Center, as a Non-Acoustic Anti-Submarine Warfare Analyst, The Naval Research Laboratory in High Frequency Over the Horizon Radar Systems, and the Office of Naval Research as a Program Officer in Remote Sensing. Dr. Mc Neal retired in 2009 from The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC as a Research Mathematician. From 2009 to 2018, he was appointed as a full time Lecture in the Department of Mathematics, Howard University. Dr. Mc Neal is a member of Sigma Xi, National Research Honor Society, National Association of Parliamentarians, and serves several organizations as a Registered Parliamentarian.

Job Titles:

• Professor James Joseph

Dr. William Anthony Hawkins, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C.. His father, William Anthony Hawkins, Sr., was a postal worker; his mother, Amanda L. Hawkins, a dental hygienist. After graduating from Archbishop Carroll High School in 1964. Dr. Hawkins briefly attended Merrimack College before transferring to Howard University. While at Howard, he studied under Dr. Louise Raphael, Professor James Joseph, and Dr. Arthur Thorpe (physics) and went on to graduate with his B.S. degree in mathematics in 1968. In 1970, he received his M.S. degree in physics from Howard University and his M.A. degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan. He was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship while attending the University of Michigan where he studied under Dr. James S. Milne and graduated from there with his Ph.D. degree in mathematics in 1982. Dr. Hawkins has dedicated over 43 years to the education of minority students. In 1968, Hawkins was hired as a teacher at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C., soon discovering his passion for teaching. In 1970, he was appointed as an instructor at Federal City College, now the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). He went on to serve as chair of the mathematics department of UDC for five years. In 1990, Dr. Hawkins took leave from his position as associate professor at UDC and became director of the Strengthening Underrepresented Minority Mathematics Achievement (SUMMA) Program at the Mathematical Association of America. SUMMA has raised more than $4 million to increase the representation of minorities in mathematics, science, and engineering and to improve the mathematics education of minorities. In 1995, Hawkins returned to UDC as an associate professor in the mathematics department while simultaneously directing the SUMMA program. Hawkins authored Attracting Minorities into Teaching Mathematics 1994, and Constructing a Secure Pipeline for Minority Students 1995. Hawkins is a member of the Mathematical Association of America, and the National Association of Mathematicians. He received the 2006 Benjamin Banneker Legacy Award from the Banneker Institute of Science & Technology, and the 2013 Gung and Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America. On June 17, 2013, Dr. Hawkins, Jr. was interviewed by The History Makers.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Professor

Dr. Ryle A. Bell is a Professor Emeritus and retired Associate Dean in the College of Dentistry at Howard University. He is Barbados' first awardee of the National Development Scholarship in Dentistry and a 1973 graduate of Howard University's College of Dentistry. The son of the late Mr. & Mrs. H. Irvin Bell of Tudor Bridge, St. Michael, received his early childhood education in Barbados at St. Giles' elementary school. He also attended Harrison's College completing his high school studies there in 1962. While at Harrison's College, he represented the school in basketball, football, cricket and track. He was also an officer in the cadet corps and a boy scout troop leader. After completing his high school studies, he began his teaching career by serving on the faculty at Combermere High School a school for boys, where he taught for two years. He migrated to the United States in 1964, attending college in New York City, where he lettered in fencing and track. After receiving a BS degree from Long Island University in 1969, he went on to the Howard University College of Dentistry. Upon graduating, he was elected to membership in Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the National Dental Honor Society and joined the faculty in the Department of Removable Prosthodontics. After one year he was awarded a Louise Ball Fellowship to pursue postgraduate training and attended the Ohio State University where he studied under Dr. Carl Boucher one of the world's most eminent Prosthodontists. He received a certificate of specialty and a Master of Science degree in Prosthodontics. In 1976 Dr. Bell returned to Howard University and rejoined the faculty, serving in several academic positions and chairing many intra and extramural committees until retiring after forty years of service to the university. To date, he is the only member of the dental faculty to serve as an Associate Dean in two areas, Academic Affairs and Clinical Affairs. On many occasions he was selected as an outstanding Instructor by the students in the College of Dentistry and has also had the distinction of being selected by his peers on the faculty as an Outstanding Teacher and an Outstanding Alumnus. He was also selected for membership in Sigma Xi, the National Research Honor Society and awarded Fellowship into the American College of Dentists. Dr. Bell has published numerous articles in dental journals and has lectured extensively through the United States and the Caribbean. His commitment to his native land and the Caribbean is demonstrated by his involvement in dental health and education in the region. He has served on the Board of the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Medicine and other Health Professions and has been an external examiner to the dental school at Mount Hope in Trinidad as well as a member of several site visit teams evaluating the standard of education at The University of the West Indies' Schools of Dentistry at the St. Augustine and Mona campuses. Dr. Bell is also an author and poet. He has published several articles in dental journals related to his area of specialty as well as a volume of poetry and read his works on WHUR's radio station in Washington, DC. In conjunction with two other dental colleagues he contributed his works in a volume of poetry to help raise funds for the Howard University Dental Alumni Association. In addition to his literary skills, Brother Bell plays saxophone with two concert bands in the Washington, DC area and is a founding member of the East State Jazz band. He is married to Carley Springer of Welchman Hall, St.Thomas, Barbados and is the father of three daughters.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Jamison B. Taylor is an exceptional attorney based in Washington, DC. Born in Brooklyn, New York he went on to study Industrial Engineering at Northwestern University. After obtaining his engineering degree, he worked as an engineer and general manager for a Fortune 500 company for several years before enrolling at the University of Chicago for business and law school. In addition to his legal experience, Jamison is an entrepreneur by nature having owned, developed and/or operated several properties and small businesses. This entrepreneurial experience, when combined with his finance background and extensive legal experience led him to create and operate RISM LLC, a real estate law firm and brokerage based in the District of Columbia Jamison is married with two children and has resided in the District of Columbia for over two decades.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Member of the Executive Board

John Wilson is 1987 graduate of the Howard University School of Business earning his degree in Business Administration, specializing in the field of Computer Based Information Systems. He is a founding member and the first president of another 501(c)(3) public charity. The public charity's mission is to support Howard University and specific Howard University students. Mr. Wilson is also an executive board member of the Mu Lambda Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. John is a Lead Project Manager with the Cerner Corporation, servicing the Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Vice President of the Board of Directors

Director Juan Powell is a highly accomplished real estate developer. He currently serves as the Director of Development, Mid-Atlantic Region for The Community Builders, Inc (TCB). TCB is one of the largest affordable housing developers in the country. Previously, he was a Principal and Chief Operating Officer for the Neighborhood Development Company, a highly recognized Washington, DC-based developer. Mr. Powell was also a Vice President with CarrAmerica Development. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CarrAmerica was formerly one of the largest office developers in the country. Director Powell holds an MBA from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. He also holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Howard University. He serves on the Board of the Mu Lambda Foundation, the board of the National Center and Caucus on Black Aging, and the Executive Board of the Beta Chapter Alumni Association. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, The Engineering Honor Society. He proudly serves as a Deacon at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. He also has coached AAU youth basketball for over a decade. He has been married to Eugenia Powell for over 30 years and is the father of two adult sons.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Kenneth Holbert was born December 13, 1924 in Dallas, Texas. He received his early education through the Dallas, Texas school system. His degrees were conferred in 1948 from the University of Denver and Texas Southern College of Law in 1951, and admitted the Texas Bar the same year. Mr. Holbert is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of United States. His work career started at the Texas Commission on Race Relations. He was then an apprentice for W.J. Durham, Esquire, who argued the Heman Marion Sweatt case which preceded Brown v. Board of Education. He left Mr. Durham to start his own firm in 1953, Office of Kenneth F. Holbert, until 1961. He departed Dallas, Texas in 1961 to become an attorney advisor to the Solicitor for the United States Department of Labor in Washington, DC. In 1965, he went to work at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as the Deputy Director for the Office of Conciliation. He also served as the Director of Compliance; Acting General Counsel, filing the first amicus brief for EEOC; and departed in 1969 as the Chief of Conciliation. Kenneth then joined the Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) to administer the new Fair Housing Act as the Director of Office of Fair Housing until 1979. He remains at HUD as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Mr. Holbert has served under every Secretary of HUD since its inception. He has received many awards with the most memorable as follows: OPM award for Outstanding Official for HUD; Jack Olender Foundation award for Outstanding career civil servant ($25,000 cash prize award); and The George Washington College of Law Outstanding career civil servant award Worthy of honorable mention is that the $25,000 cash award was donated equally to the Mu Lambda Foundation and another 501(c)(3) organization serving citizens of the District of Columbia.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Director of the Office of Communications

Director Kent A. Benjamin is the Director of the Office of Communications, Partnerships and Analysis (OCPA) in the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Kent manages a diverse staff of senior analysts, stakeholder program coordinators and communications professionals. His office provides advice and support to Assistant Administrator in OLEM on matters ranging from Data and Evidence Evaluation to Environmental Justice and Tribal issues to Social Media strategies. Immediately prior to his current position, Kent served as Director of the Innovations, Partnership and Communications office. Before returning to OLEM he was an Associate Director, in the EPA Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). Previously, Kent managed the EPA Office of Environmental Justice's efforts in support of community-based projects, through outreach, communications and financial management. He worked closely with EPA's regional offices in support of their EJ functions and approaches. Earlier, he served as Environmental Justice Coordinator and State Liaison for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). In that role, he co-chaired EPA's Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program where he worked with a multi-disciplinary, national, inter-agency team. Kent co-chaired an EPA workgroup which developed evaluation protocols for the agency's EJ programs. Throughout his career, he has worked on an extensive range of issues including Brownfields Redevelopment, Waste Transfer Stations, Asbestos Rulemaking, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Kent is trained in Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and has facilitated community-based meetings, environmental panels and environmental justice discussions in communities nationwide and in Brasil and China. He joined EPA in 1990 as a Regulatory Impacts Analyst. Kent holds a Master of Science degree in Public Management and Policy (MS PMP), from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics, from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Job Titles:

• President
• President of the Board of Directors

LeRoy Lowery, III was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Educated in the public school system in cities across the country, he graduated from Lima (Ohio) Senior High School. He earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University and a MS degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. After graduation from Howard, he spent 2 years as an officer in the US Army. His work experience after leaving the military was mostly with the federal government - the General Services Administration, Navy Department, NASA, Department of Energy, United States Information Agency (USIA), and the State Department. He held various positions including Aerospace Engineer, Inspector, Spacelab Program Manager, and Assistant Inspector General. At NASA he was designated Manager, Spacelab-Mir Mission. In this capacity he worked with Russian and American scientists, engineers, cosmonauts and astronauts in planning the first flight of the Shuttle to Russia's Mir space station. As Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Inspections, he was the only African-American male member of the Senior Executive Service in the Department of State. In this position he supervised an office of 54 persons, including Ambassadors and Senior Foreign Service personnel, in the conduct of inspections of all 256 of the US embassies and missions abroad. In USIA and State, he met with and briefed inspection report findings to Ambassadors and Assistant Secretaries of State, U.S. Senators and Representatives, as well as heads of other federal agencies. His duties have taken him to Japan, Russia, Iceland, France, Haiti, Latvia, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Kenya, Slovakia, Eritrea, Namibia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, South Africa, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Mexico, and England. From January 2002 through August 2004, Lowery served as the vice-president and chief operating officer of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, Inc.

Job Titles:

• Branch Chief for the Food & Drug Administration

Rylan Rudolph Harris is a native Washingtonian. He is the son of the late Drs. Rudolph Harris, Branch Chief for the Food & Drug Administration, & Janette Hoston Harris, Civil Rights Activist, Entrepreneur, Author, Painter, Founder of the Washington DC Hall of Fame, & the first and only Historian for Washington DC serving under 6 of the 7 District of Columbia Mayors. Rylan received his private elementary and high school education from the Potomac School in McLean Va, and Gonzaga College High School in Washington where he won Local, Regional and National Sales contest & Business Awards from Junior Achievement. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Hampton University where he participated in ROTC, Student Government and Yearbook which helped develop his passion and professional skills as a photojournalist. Rylan started his career as a staff photographer with the D.C. Department of Recreation, and the Washington Star Tennis Tournament. He worked in various industries including five years with Citibank, opening new branch offices in Washington and Maryland. He worked in marketing for Encore Temporaries and The Rouse Company before moving into IT and Communications Technology where he spent 28 years designing and managing enterprise communication systems for PageMart, Inter-Tel Technologies, Mitel, & Vertical Communications. His design portfolio included local, regional, national and international solutions for MedStar Health, Hamilton Bank, K12 Inc, The Washington Capitals & Washington Mystics, National 4H Council, Maximus, Taconic Biosciences, Beretta USA, U.S. Department of HUD, Global Communities, ACDI/VOCA, the Association of American Railroads, and the American Psychological Association. His memberships have included The Washington D.C. Board of Trade, The Washington D.C. Chamber of Commerce, and The Fairfax Country Chamber of Commerce. Industry specific memberships included the Washington DC Vmug VMware user Group, Mitel Professional Services, Sales and Marketing Executives International, Commercial sUAS Remote Pilots Group, and Cannon Professional Services. His community activities include Food & Friends, The Washington D.C. Hall of Fame Society, The Jack Oleander Foundation Leadership Academy, The NAACP Image Awards Committee, Co-founder of The Henry Arthur Callis Beautillion, Board member and past President of the Dakota Crossing Homeowners Association, and board member of District Consortium Foundation. Rylan is an art collector and golfer. He owns a photography business and commercial drone business. He is an avid traveler, last count 20 countries visited with a full bucket list to go. He is a hometown sports fan. His wife Beverly is from St Thomas USVI, they have three adult children, and are members of FBCG.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors