This is the third of a five-part series. Part 1 is available here and part 2 is available here.
Que El-Amin is the Principal of Milwaukee real estate developer Scott Crawford, Inc. and co-founder of the Young Enterprising Society. El-Amin developed a $60 million plan to revitalize vacant industrial space with 190 apartments and a business incubator. His plan is to provide affordable units, priced $350 a month for studios up to $1,000 a month for the four bedrooms. He and his brother Kalif El-Amin co-founded Young Enterprising Society, or YES, a for-profit LLC dedicated to coaxing out the potential in young minds by holding STEAM workshops in local high schools. El-Amin earned a bachelor’s degree from UW-Milwaukee and a master’s degree in geography from Chicago State University, where he was president of the CSU Aquaponics Association, Gama Theta Epsilon Honor Society, CSU Geographical Society.
Rashad J. Cobb is a Community Engagement Program Officer for the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, where he is responsible for facilitating some of the foundation’s grants programs (Women’s Fund, Brown County Crime Prevention Foundation, & R. Bruce & Alyce S. Kopseker Trust). The work affords him an opportunity to contribute to the community while continually building and building upon relationships with community partners that enhance the quality of life for residents in the three counties that the community foundation serves. Cobb is also a board member with Brown County United Way, NeighborWorks Green Bay, and Literacy Green Bay. In addition to his service in these roles, he also supports the work of the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, Green Bay Neighborhood Leadership Council, Green Bay Area Public School District and Downtown Green Bay & Olde Main Business Districts. When he is not involved in these activities Rashad also finds time to mentor a handful of high school students and young professionals in the community. He was named Young Professional of the Year in 2015.
Camille Carter is the Executive Board President of the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce and in her role with Financial Services Group of Wisconsin she helps gives her clients a roadmap of the current financial situations. Carter is a member of the Madison Network of Black Professionals and has been working for over 20 years in business and banking, both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Kimberly Barrett is the vice president for Diversity and Inclusion as well as the Associate Dean of Faculty at Lawrence University in Appleton. She works collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external constituents to advance Lawrence’s commitment to all aspects of diversity and inclusion. She is responsible for developing, facilitating and assessing programs and campus/community-wide initiatives to cultivate a more inclusive campus culture. Additionally, Barrett’s responsibilities include enhancing the diversity of the faculty, faculty development, especially in areas of inclusive pedagogy, and affirming the educational importance of diversity in educational programs. Dr. Barrett has held administrative offices at higher education facilities in both Canada and the United States. Dr. Barrett was the recipient of the DiversityFIRST Award from the National Diversity Council and is on the Board of Directors for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Lavar Charleston is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Engagement at UW Whitewater. Dr. Charleston has been instrumental in collaborating on multimillion-dollar projects with faculty, staff and students from a range of different institutions. Charleston has collaborated on multimillion-dollar projects with diverse faculty, staff, and students from a range of disciplines, departments, and institution types (e.g., HBCUs, PWIs, 2-year institutions) throughout the country and the world. Through this work, he has been instrumental in receiving, facilitating, and/or evaluating research and education grants, projects and awards totaling approximately $8.2 million. Dr. Charleston’s body of work focuses on graduate school preparation and success, with particular expertise in underrepresented student groups’ STEM Identity and development. Moreover, he has a special interest in the academic identity development of student-athletes, particularly Black males, concentrating on their educational and occupational trajectories beyond sports. He is credited with over 45 publications comprised of journal articles, book chapters, scholarly reports, translational media outlets, and a recent book entitled, Advancing Equity and Diversity in Student Affairs (2017) published by Information Age. Dr. Charleston is a board member for the Brothers of the Academy organization and also directs the Graduate School Academy.
Reggie Jackson is an award-winning journalist, a graduate of Concordia University and Head Griot (docent) of America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. He is the 2015 winner of the Eliminating Racism Award from southeast Wisconsin’s YWCA and 2016 Courageous Love Award from the First Unitarian Society. He is the 2017 winner of the Frank P. Zeidler Public Service Award from the City of Milwaukee. He won the first ever MICAH Legacy Award in 2018. In August 2016 he accepted a position as Community Relations Writer for the Milwaukee Independent. Reggie has served as a race relations expert for CNN, Wisconsin Public Radio, National Public Radio, Reuters News Service the BBC and several statewide news channels.
Dr. Keith Posely is superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, where he is responsible for more than 75,000 students in more than 150 schools. He’s worked his way up from the classroom, where he began as an elementary teacher at Benjamin Franklin School in 1990. He later served as assistant principal at Forest Home Avenue Elementary School and, in 1999, was named principal of Clarke Street Elementary School. During his tenure at Clarke Street, the school received a visit from President George W. Bush after Dr. Posley was named one of eight exemplary principals selected by the president that year. Originally from Mantee, Mississippi, Dr. Posley received his bachelor’s degree from Tougaloo College in Mississippi and his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He holds a certificate of advanced studies in administrative leadership and a doctorate in education leadership from National Louis University.
Shannon Simms is an anchor at WTMJ, Milwaukee’s leading news station, where she was promoted after two and a half years as a reporter. She is president of the Wisconsin Black Media Association, an affiliate of the National Association of Black Journalists. She has been an on-air reporter in Cincinnati, Dayton and Norfolk and a production assistant in Spokane. Shannon places a premium on being part of the community she serves. In Dayton, for example, she led a fundraiser to buy the sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade classes at the Dayton Boys Academy brand new ties. She successfully raised the funds for the uniform project, and was also able to gather a group of professional men to spend time with each child, showing them properly how to tie a tie. She was awarded a Black Excellence Award by The Milwaukee Times earlier this year and was nominated for a local Emmy for her coverage of the Sherman Park riots in 2017. She also played a role in the latest election, moderating key debates between Governor Scott Walker and Governor-elect Tony Evers and Senator Tammy Baldwin and challenger Leah Vukmir.
