Virginia NBSN Member Shirley George's  son cast as Dr. Ben Warren on Grey's Anatomy!

Help me congratulate NBSN member, Shirley George (VA), for her son's recent accomplishment.  Some of you may know that Shirley is mother of film actor, Jason George, who was one of the co-stars of the hit program "Eve".  Well, Jason will be doing an open-ended recurring role as Dr. Ben Warren, a love interest for Chandra Wilson's character Dr. Miranda Bailey on GREY'S ANATOMY.

The first episode airs this Thursday, Feb.4th at 9 PM EST on your local ABC station.  Previous recurring actors include Eric Dane, aka McSteamy, Kevin McKidd as Owen, the Iraq war veteran doctor, or Jessica Capshaw as Arizona, the lesbian pediatric surgeon.  It's a chance but recurring
roles can occasionally become series regulars. 

Please watch or TiVo the episode then and if you get a chance and are so moved, give a shout out for Jason on any or all of these chat rooms. 
   
The forum/chat room that the ABC brass look at most is http;//www.abc.com.  If you only have time to hit one site make it this one:  http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/discuss

Here are some other forums/chat rooms that may have influence in the GREY'S world:

http://www.tvfanatic.com/forum/greys-anatomy/
http://www.fanforum.com/f210/
http://www.tv.com/greys-anatomy/show/24440/forums.html

Let's support Jason in this endeavor.  Kudos to Shirley and her entire family for this great news.

Call For Applications!

The Institute for Responsible Citizenship is currently accepting applications for its summer leadership program in Washington, DC. The Institute provides America’s best and brightest African American male college students with unparalleled networking opportunities, leadership development, and life-long mentorship. The application deadline is January 29, 2010. Read more...

"A Program Evaluation of the NEA Affirmative Action UniServ Intern Program; A Mixed Method Evaluation."

Help me congratulate Dr. Felecia Lee (GA) who recently graduated from Argosy University School of Business with a Doctorate of Education degree in Organizational Leadership. Her dissertation title was "A Program Evaluation of the NEA Affirmative Action UniServ Intern Program; A Mixed Method  Evaluation."

Felecia, a 2000 graduate of the NEA UniServ Intern Program, has served in several roles with the Georgia Association of Educators including UniServ Director, and Professional Teaching and Learning Specialist. Under her leadership, she has been instrumental with the Student Program, implementing professional workshop credit for members, hosting state conferences and bringing the best educational minds to the state of Georgia.

Please help me congratulate NBSN member, Dr. John Leeke (MD) and the recent good news about his daughter. 

Madelyn just recently had her second book published. "That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman's Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery" by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke can be purchased at Amazon.com. It is also available at iuniverse.com. We are extremely proud of her and hope you find this second publication as powerful if not more powerful than her first book, Love's Troubadours".

Congratulations to the following NBSN members on their various promotions, assignments and accomplishments.

Michele Boyd (DC) recently was assigned to the Senior Program Assistant’s position with the Executive Office of Governance & Policy. This position is a Professional Development Opportunity which will ultimately lead to a higher rank position within the department.  Michele has worked as Senior Program Assistant with NEA’s Northeast Regional Office. Her new position calls for her to provide high-level technical, program, financial and administration support to the Executive Office of Governance & Policy logistics and scheduling office.   She is also responsible for coordinating engagements and invitations for Executive Committee members and providing consultation, advice and professional expertise in the area of scheduling engagement and logistics to NEA Officers, Executive Committee members, state affiliates and external organizations.

Dennis Slaughter (DC) and Juaney Lynn- Rigsby (GA) recently received their doctoral degrees in Law and Policy (LP.D) from Northeastern University.

Dennis currently works as an Organizational Specialist in the NEA Affiliate Learning and Effectiveness (ALE) Department.  Prior to this assignment, Dennis worked on the Northeast Regional Office Field Team. In ALE, he works with the Training Cadre and provides essential training for both the UniServ Pre-Employment  Development and the UniServ Intern Programs.  Dennis  has certifications in Organizational Development (NTL), Northern Virginia Mediation Services, Meyers Briggs Personality Type and is a graduate of the prestigious Harvard Trade Union Program.

Juaney has served as an NEA Organizational Specialist for several years working with a number of regional offices and various state affiliates ranging from Interim Executive Director to UniServ Manager.  Her thesis  was entitled "Nine Suburban/Urban School Board Members:  Why Did They Seek Election?".   Juaney is also certified in Organizational Development (NTL).  In her current work with the National Membership Strategy Department, she working on an ESP project in Tennessee.  She was appointed to the Commissioner’s Safety Task Force and is currently the Secretary of the International Association of Law and Policy.  

Tamara S. Hamilton (DC) received her certification in Executive Leadership from Georgetown University. In addition, last week, Tamara won the Table Topics competition at her local chapter of Toastmasters International. She moves to the district competition on October 14th.

Edwin Horsley (DC) was appointed Senior Policy Analyst in NEA’s Human and Civil Rights Department.  Edwin has served as an NEA Organizational Specialist and UniServ Director for both the Virginia Education Association and the Florida Education Association. Edwin, a graduate of the NEA UniServ Intern Program, has training and design responsibilities for the support and development of the Minority Leadership Training cadres. 

Kudos to all of these individuals for their stellar work.

Dr. Al-Tony Gilmore (DC) publishes All the People: NEA's Legacy of Inclusion and Its Minority Presidents

Please help me congratulate and acknowledge NBSN member Dr. Al-Tony Gilmore (DC). Recently he published a book called All the People: NEA's Legacy of Inclusion and Its Minority Presidents.  All the People chronicles NEA's steadfast commitment to realizing true social justice for Blacks and other minorities. By tracing the lives, accomplishments, and contributions of NEA's five minority presidents-Braulio Alonso (1967-68) Elizabeth Koontz (1968-69), James Harris (1974-75), Mary Hatwood Futrell (1983-1989), and Reginald ("Reg") Weaver (2002-08)-within the context of important historic moments, Dr. Gilmore unravels the rich story behind NEA's rise to becoming the nation's leading racially inclusive organization.  The book is available at NEA Headquarters' gift store, as well as online at www.nea.org.

The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy at Jackson State University and the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement have announced the establishment of the Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Lecture Series. The Lecture Series is one of the many cooperative projects between the Hamer Institute and the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.  The series will honor two icons of the Civil Rights Movement--Medgar Wiley Evers and Ella Baker, who were pioneers in effectuating social change, not only in Mississippi, but across the nation.

Al-Tony has been invited to be the featured panelist for this lecture at this historic event on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at Milsaps College in Jackson, MS.  The discussion for this day will be "National Education Association (NEA) and Civil Rights".  Many of you know Al-Tony and I share this with you because this event provides an opportunity to share research to broader audiences about Black and minority involvement in NEA.  It is certainly history deserving to be recognized.

Da'aiyah Bilal-Threats (DC) hired as the new NEA Director of Governance and Policy

Congratulations to NBSN member Da’aiyah Bilal-Threats (DC) for being hired as the new NEA Director of Governance and Policy effective April 20, 2009. 

Da’aiyah currently works in the Department of Collective Bargaining and Member Advocacy in the area of salary and benefits and previously worked in Governance and Policy from 2000-2005.  During that time, she assisted the Resolutions Committee, staffed the work on 3-1 (g), served as policy advisor to the Task Force on Sexual Orientation, and supported the Elections Committee at the RA.  She has a great understanding of the work of the department.  She has a wonderful knowledge of technology and has had much success in using it for business applications.  

Da’aiyah holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Policy from American University.