KEY NOTE SPEAKERS

Molefi Asante

Dr. Molefi Kete Asante is Professor, Department of African American Studies at Temple University. Considered by his peers to be one of the most distinguished contemporary scholars, Asante has published 61 books, among the most recent are Encyclopedia of Black Studies, (2004), co-edited with Ama Mazama, Race, Rhetoric, and Identity: The Architecton of Soul, Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation, (2003), Ancient Egyptian Philosophers (2003), Scattered to the Wind, Custom and Culture of Egypt, and 100 Greatest African Americans. In addition, Black Issues in Higher Education recognized him as one of the most infl uential leaders in the last 15 years. At Temple University he created the first Ph.D. Program in African American Studies in 1987. He has directed more than 125 Ph.D. dissertations. Dr. Asante is the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies (1969), and he has written more than 300 articles for journals and magazines and is the founder of the theory of Afrocentricity. The Utne Reader called him one of the “100 Leading Thinkers” in America and Asante was recommended in a survey as one of the 25 infl uential African male leaders of the last two hundred years. In 2002 he received the distinguished Douglas Ehninger Award for Rhetorical Scholarship from the National Communication Association. The African Union cited him as one of the twelve top scholars of African descent when it invited him to give one of the keynote addresses at the Conference of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora in Dakar in 2004. He was inducted into the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent at the Gwendolyn Brooks Center at Chicago State University in 2004. In 1995 he was made a traditional king, Nana Okru Asante Peasah, Kyldomhene of Tafo, Akyem, Ghana. Dr. Asante is a consultant for a dozen school districts. An activist scholar, he believes it is not enough to know, one must act to humanize the world.

Howard Dodson

DR. HOWARD DODSON, Chief of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library since 1984, is a specialist in African- American history and a noted lecturer, educator and consultant. Prior to assuming his position at the Schomburg Center, Dodson served as a consultant in the Offi ce of the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. (1979-82). Under Mr. Dodson’s leadership, the Schomburg Center has developed into the world’s most comprehensive public research library devoted exclusively to documenting and interpreting African diasporan and African history and culture. During his tenure, the Center’s collections have more than doubled, totaling over 10 million items. Users have increased from 40,000 to over 125,000 annually. Recently, he
completed a $25 million 75th Anniversary Capital Campaign raising $26.2 million. He also completed another major renovation program adding a new scholars’ center and exhibition gallery, redesigning the building façade, and upgrading the Center’s technology infrastructure. Dodson established a Scholars-in-Residence program, which has provided six-month and one-year fellowships for the more than 108 scholars who have been funded over the last twenty years. His aggressive educational and cultural programming agenda produces and presents 50 to 75 events annually as well as four to six exhibitions. Dodson has published five books as well as articles and essays in newspapers, exhibition catalogs and professional journals. Most recently, he conceived, organized and directed the development of a major website entitled In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience. Comprised of over 25,000 pages of texts and images, the site documents the migrations of people of African descent to, within and out of the United States from the era of the transatlantic slave trade to the present. Dodson served as Chair of the Federal Steering Committee on the African Burial Ground. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, serving on its executive committee and as Chair of its Cultural Arts Committee. He was director of the research study to establish The New York State Freedom Trail. He also was a member of the President’s Commission on the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Apollo Theater and serves on the Scientifi c and Technical Committee of the UNESCO Slave Route Project.

Shirley Franklin

In 2001 the people of Atlanta elected Shirley Franklin, a first time candidate for public office, to serve as the 58th Mayor of the City of Atlanta. She also became the first female mayor and the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major southern city. Since her inauguration in 2002, Mayor Franklin has worked to build a “Best in Class” managed city by strengthening existing frameworks, implementing progressive changes and making the tough decisions necessary to make Atlanta better. She returned accountability to city government, worked to
increase effectiveness and efficiency in government operations and to strengthen private and non-profit partnerships in the city and metropolitan Atlanta region. Mayor Franklin is currently one of the co-chairs of the 2008 National Democratic Convention; she is also the former Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Georgia and former president for the Conference National Democratic Mayors. She has held leadership roles in the US Conference of Mayors as the chair of the Women’s Caucus, co-chair of the Tourism Task Force and a member of the environmental Committee. She serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR, Chair of Atlanta Development Authority, Chair of the Board of Trustees of CIFAL-Atlanta, a CARE USA ambassador and Mayors of the National Conference of Black Mayor’s Business Council. She is secretary of the Board of the Atlanta Regional Commission and serves as Chair of its Ethics Committee. She previously served as the Founding Vice President of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRETA). Mayor Franklin earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Howard University in Washington, DC and was awarded her Masters of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. She has received honorary degrees from Howard University, the Atlanta College of Art, Cambridge College, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, Tuskegee University, Oglethorpe University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Hon. Shamsa S. Mwangunga, MP

The Hon. Shamsa Selengia Mwangunga was appointed the new Minister of Natural Resources & Tourism for the United Republic of Tanzania in February 2008. Prior to this post, Mwangunga served as Deputy Minister of Water for two years, and has been a Member of Parliament, Special Seat, from 2000-2008. Earlier, she held various posts within the public and private sector of Tanzania, including Tanzania-Swiss Trust Fund Executive Secretary, Business Care Services Projects Manager and Small Industries Development Organization-SIDO Manager Coordinator. The Hon. Minister began her career as a teacher, and later was acknowledged for her highly successful roles as an engineer, champion of women’s rights and Member of Parliament.Hon.

Mwangunga has an extensive and impressive educational background spanning the globe. She attained her first college diploma in Education and her initial graduate degree in Business Communication in Tanzania; a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Management from Delft University in Holland, and another post graduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Dar es Salaam Technical College. Mwangunga also has a Diploma in Education with option in Mathematics and Physics, took part in Executive Training in AOTS Tokyo, Japan, and trained in Electrical and Measuring Instruments in St. Albans-Marconi Industries, U.K.

Hon. Vincent Vanderpool Wallace

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace was recently appointed Minister of Tourism and Aviation for The Bahamas. Prior to his appointment, he was to Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, after serving as Director General of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism for 12 years.
Born in Nassau, Bahamas, Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree cum laude from Harvard University, and an MBA degree from the University of Miami. Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace began his full-time employment at the Bahamas Ministry of Education and Culture before joining the Ministry of Tourism where he served from 1978 –1982 and again from 1993 to 2005. In the interim, he spent 11 years at Resorts International Bahamas and held various managerial positions there, rising ultimately to the position of Senior Vice President. Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace has received several honours throughout his career including the Albert E Koehl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Advertising by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and the Atlas Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Association of Travel Marketing Executives International. In March 2002, he was recognized by Fast Company magazine as one of the Fast 50 global champions of innovation from among 1650 entries and at the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, he was recognized as one of fi fty people who contributed most to Caribbean Tourism in the past fi fty years. Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace has also been active in other areas of his country’s development, serving as Chairman of the Management Committee of the Bahamas Tourism Training Centre, Director of both the Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Bank of The Bahamas and Chairman of the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas where he participated in the privatization of eight government owned hotels.

Andrew Young

Ambassador Young is a founding principal and Chairman of GoodWorks International.  He has brought his long-held mission of facilitating economic development in the Caribbean and in Africa to an active role in GoodWorks.  Ambassador Young has held a wide variety of leadership positions over the past several decades.  Beginning his career as an ordained minister and top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement, he went on to be elected to three terms as a United State Congressman before being appointed as the United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations.  Subsequently, he served two terms as the Mayor of Atlanta and assumed a leadership position as Co-Chairman of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Ambassador Young as Chairman of the $100 million Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund.Ambassador Young remains active in community matters.  He often sets time aside to talk to various schools and universities on a range of issues.  He participates in events that foster sound public policy, economic development, human rights and education. Ambassador Young travels extensively to meet with officials and other individuals interested in improving the economic situation in Africa and the Caribbean.  He has headed numerous missions to the continent of Africa and continues to use his extensive network to facilitate new business developments.  His interest in international affairs is not limited to Africa and the Caribbean.  He speaks and attends conferences focusing on global affairs. Ambassador Young serves as member of the Board of Directors of numerous businesses and organizations, including Atlanta Market Center, Atlanta Falcons, Diversapack, Council on Foreign Relations, Barrick Gold, The Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Independent News and Media, Leon H. Sullivan Foundation and The United Nations Foundation.  He serves on the Advisory Board of Delta Airlines.