You are receiving this newsletter as a member of the United Way African American Partnership.
In this edition
February is Black History Month
Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes
from the teaching of biography and history.
So says Carter G. Woodson, the "father of black history," who started Negro History Week in 1926, which
was later changed to Black History Month. February is the month dedicated to showcasing the chronicle
of black history in America. Remember and celebrate.
New AAP board chair Calvin Ward
Calvin Ward, senior vice president at Wachovia Bank, is the new board chair of United Way of Metropolitan
Atlanta's African American Partnership. His day job is marketing commercial banking products and services
to privately held and public companies and clients with annual revenues up to $500 million. His other day
job is championing the causes of United Way of Metro Atlanta.
For more than 20 years, Ward has worked in the financial services industry and has been a community volunteer.
He came to Atlanta in 2004 from his hometown of Chicago, where he was a vice president at Northern Trust Bank;
he was also a volunteer with United Way. Fortunately, his bent for community service transferred with him to
Atlanta. He is an avid United Way supporter-as a community investment volunteer and as part of the AAP board.
"There are too many people who do not know the true value of United Way," Ward said, adding, "This is an organization
that literally moves people from living on the streets to permanent housing, and gets young children ready to
enter school. I'm glad to support an organization covering 13 counties-that's a lot of people getting help."
Ward is a lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association and has served as chapter president in Chicago
and regional director of the Midwest. He completed United Way's Volunteer Involvement Program in 2006, and was
a 2005 Community Building Fellow. Ward and his wife, Louisa, have one son, William. He succeeds Ed Flowers as
chair of the AAP board.
Five things you should know about African Americans and United Way
- Milton J. Little, Jr., became the first black president of United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta in June 2007.
- There are three African American members of United Way's highest giving society, the Ivan Allen Society ($25,000 or more).
- Of the 1,000 Tocqueville Society members, 50 are African American.
- A few of the United Way funded agencies serving the highest number of African Americans include the Boys & Girls Clubs, Travelers Aid, Communities in Schools and the USO.
- African Americans contributing major gifts starting at $1,000 come from all walks of life including, but not limited to, the post office, school systems, corporate, retirees, small businesses and self-employed.
Black history alive
African Americans are an integral part of every piece of American history. For fun, try to match the names with
the descriptions of some local and national business and community leaders below. Answers at the bottom of the page.
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1. In 1987, this pediatric surgeon successfully separated conjoined twins who shared a portion of the same brain.
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Shirley Bridges
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2. NAACP, National Youth and College division, director, launched the STOP campaign against the entertainment industry's
negative images of African Americans, especially women.
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Olu Brown
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3. He covers a lot of real estate from Georgia to New York as Eastern Banking Group executive for Wachovia Corporation.
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Elizabeth Omalami
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4. Her grandfather was inducted into the 2006 Atlanta Walk of Fame; she started her own "walk" and is now running for mayor.
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Reggie Davis
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5. You might call him the "McPresident" of 13,700 national McDonald's burger franchises.
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Allison Ollivette
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6. She helps keep air traffic safe in her role as CIO for Delta, and president and CEO for Delta Technology.
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Mark Dean
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7. Since 1976, this Spelman graduate has been executive director of the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home, a place she once called home.
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Lisa Borders
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8. She's still feeding the hungry through Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, an organization started by her father.
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Ben Carson
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9. This guru of computer technology and National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee is enabling the masses to have personal computers.
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Stefanie Brown
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10. He makes an impact through Impact to hundreds who flock to hear his message.
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Don Thompson
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Meet United Way's new vice president, Information Technology
Marie Johnson's career spans the gamut from maitre d' to information technology professional. In her sophomore year
of college, she earned a hospitality internship that had her training students for positions in restaurants and hotels.
"There were two things I knew about myself in looking for the right college," Johnson said. "I liked people and I
liked to cook so I pursued a degree in hotel management at Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island."
Following college, she spent the next several years in management positions at such well-known corporations as
Caribou Coffee and Taco Bell. Hardly the educational background you'd expect for someone who is now United Way's
vice president of IT. But her career took a sharp turn when a friend, knowing her business abilities, asked her
to help him in his technology company. She took him up on his offer and soon added to her business acumen the
mastery of technology mechanics. She subsequently began consulting with the Morehouse School of Medicine, eventually
joining the IT department and staying there for 10 years.
"I'm not afraid to delve deep into whatever I'm doing and I worked my way up from land administrator to director of
network operations," Johnson said. "We put in some great technology and were able to broadcast around the world."
Here at United Way Johnson has a full plate. "I am mindful of my role here. We continue to identify new ways to
market our 2-1-1 service because there are so many who need help but don't know where to turn. We're also tracking
how many people are turned away in order to do an analysis by county." Johnson is also working on the plan for
community disaster preparedness.
Johnson, who is a certified project manager and holds an MBA from Mercer University, has lived in several cities,
as her father was in the military. She still likes to cook, but admits that she keeps a laptop at her bedside.
Have you moved or has your contact information changed?
We want to keep in touch with you! Please take a moment and fill out our
web form so we will have your current contact information.
If you have any questions about the United Way African American Partnership,
please contact Nan Thomas at 404.527.7234 or nthomas@unitedwayatlanta.org.
Thank you for your continued support of United Way.
Black history alive answer key:
1. Ben Carson
2. Stefanie Brown
3. Reggie Davis
4. Lisa Borders
5. Don Thompson
6. Shirley Bridges
7. Allison Olivette
8. Elizabeth Omalami
9. Mark Dean
10. Olu Brown
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Board of directors:
Board chair
Calvin Ward
Wachovia Bank
Kendall L. Bailey
CB Richard Ellis
Samuel Bell
Merrill Lynch
Aiko Bethea
City of Atlanta
Kali Wilson Beyah
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
Patricia Budd
Certified Professional Coach
Rich Cockrell
Matria Healthcare
Ed FLowers
DHR International
Cedric Gibson
Penn Mutual/HTK
Ebony Howell
Manheim
Tamara Kimble
The Dawson Company
Arthur J. McClung, Jr.
Georgia Power Co.
Nichole D. Miles
AGL Resources
Albert Smith
Georgia Department of Transportation
Charles Stephens
Skystone Ryan, Inc.
Nicole Washington, Esq
Urban Metropolitan Development
Bernie Lawrence-Watkins, Esq.
B. Lawrence Watkins & Associates, PC
Contact us:
Nan Thomas
404.527.7234 tel
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