Media Contacts:
Lydia Sermons, 470.898.6451, lydiasermons@spelman.edu
Denise Ward, 770-862.4028, deniseward@spelman.edu
ATLANTA, Ga. - Spelman College President Helene Gayle was recently appointed as one of 12 members of President Joe Biden’s inaugural Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States. The announcement of the Council was first made by Vice President Kamala Harris on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration during 2022 the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.
According to the White House, the Advisory Council “represents the diversity of the African Diaspora from African American communities around the United States and African immigrant communities across the continent and the Caribbean. The Council’s members include individuals who have distinguished themselves in government, sports, creative industries, business, academia, social work, and faith-based activities. They will provide invaluable guidance to reinforce cultural, social, political, and economic ties between the U.S. and Africa, and promote trade, investment, and educational exchanges between the United States and Africa.”
Other members of the Council include Spelman Board Chair Emerita Rosalind Brewer, C’84, Silvester Beaman, the 139th elected and consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and critically revered artist, actress, producer and philanthropist Viola Davis.
Read the full White House announcement.
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About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,300 students. Spelman is the country's leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.Ds. in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.Ds. in economics. New majors and minors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, data science, refugee studies and gaming. Collaborations have been also established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning, among others.
Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, Harvard University professor and former Dean Evelynn Hammonds, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.
To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media.