THE FUTURE FORCE GROUP
Successful social change movements are grounded in networks of like-minded people. Thus we gather as a group of experienced investors who clearly understand the economics of education, with financial wisdom, and who are committed to improving academic achievement and economic opportunity.
click on the team member names to learn more about them.
- Cynthia Newell- Director/Founder - FL
- Cynthia Y. Newell is Founder and President of the Neighborhood Leadership Initiative, Inc., (NLI) based in Bradenton, Florida. As such, she is working to facilitate community-based training to mobilize citizens to engage in dialogue and action to enhance the economic viability of distressed neighborhoods. Cynthia graduated from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Public Administration, Cambridge, MA and Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Georgia. She is a Group XII Kellogg National Fellow of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
Cynthia has a proven track record in managing processes of change, as well as the ability to identify problems, resolve complex issues and mobilize resources toward solutions. Her professional relationships include local citizens, community based organizations, corporations, universities and human service organizations in the United States and abroad. - Kia Taylor-Lee - Verizon Business Analyst - GA
- Kia Taylor-Lee is currently serving as a Business Analyst for Verizon Business in Alpharetta, Georgia. Ms. Taylor-Lee has a strong background in project management and planning in the telecommunications industry. Her professional portfolio includes experience in capital planning, organizational design and process redesign.
Kia earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics with a minor in Finance from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She is pursuing studies at the Keller Graduate School in Business Administration in Georgia. She and her husband have a 4 year old son. - Dr. Renee Rodriquez - VA
- Dr. Eleanor Renee Rodriguez is the co-author of the thought provoking book, What Is It About Me You Can't Teach? and Valuing Diversity in the School System. Her research and teaching experiences emphasize factors that influence the achievement of students less likely to be successful in the traditional classroom. Dr. Rodriguez is nationally and internationally recognized for her strategies for improving the performance of diverse learners. She is an experienced teacher and administrator. She has held positions at the university level and presently consults with school districts and education organization nationally and internationally.
Dr. Rodriguez earned her doctorate degree in Education Administration at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds masters and specialist degrees in Elementary and Special Education. In addition, she holds a bachelors degree in Elementary and Special Education from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She has worked and lived in California, Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Texas. She currently resides in Norfolk, Virginia.
You can learn more about her work at www.rodriguezeducates.com. - Karen Dorsey – Educator, Board Member NLI- OH
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Karen Denise Dorsey currently runs her own business enterprise as a Senior Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics. In this position she manages more than 100 Mary Kay Consultants with sales that exceed close to a half-million million dollars annually and growing. Karen is working to build the capacity for many young women with limited skills and training to become financially self-sufficient through her weekly training programs that embrace the importance of financial literacy for success. Karen is developing an entrepreneur program for girls providing them with basic entrepreneur skills that with help them in their classroom work at school.
Mrs. Dorsey is a former classroom teacher in Columbus, Ohio’s public schools for sixteen years where she taught Family and Consumer Science to middle and high school students.
Karen graduated from Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA with a Bachelors of Science degree in Education. - Dr. Shelia Yvette Smalley - President L. P. Richardson Family Literacy Center - FL
- Dr. Shelia Yvette Smalley is currently the President of the L. P. Richardson Family Literacy Center in Leesburg, FL. This faith-based initiative is working to improve social and academic achievements of families in the Carver Heights neighborhood where she also serves as Assistant Pastor at Macedonia Church of the Living God. Her literary and faith-based efforts are deeply rooted in the black church experience historically and contemporaneous. She is a former Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, and Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator Special Education and Elementary Education, Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, FL.
Dr. Smalley has held numerous positions in K-12 education. She has worked as a Training Specialist for Orange County Schools. She has served Orange County as an elementary school principal and assistant elementary school principal. She has held numerous positions in Head Start and kindergarten programs, teaching at the Yonge Laboratory at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Dr. Smalley has published a number of resources that deal with culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional students and their parents. She has developed a nationally recognized model for parent involvement in their child’s school. This model has evolved into a family literacy effort in an economically distressed neighborhood in Orlando, FL. A partnership she began during her tenure at UCF continues to receive raving reviews and requests for technical assistance. This partnership was funded by an Orlando entrepreneur and its impact continues to be evaluated as students and their parents complete their high school and/or college studies. She travels nationally and internationally presenting her research and experiences.
Dr. Smalley graduated from high school at the age of 16 and completed her college degree with a major in Psychology from Bethune-Cookman College. She completed her Masters in Education with a concentration in early childhood and elementary education, and her Doctorate with a major in Special Education and a minor in Educational Leadership at the University of Florida. - Patricia J. Williams - Education Consultant - VA
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Patricia J. Williams is a former director of admission and financial aid, and has served on admission committees for several selective private and state colleges and universities. Ms. Williams has also worked for many years at the College Board, test makers of the AP® and SAT® exams. She is currently a lead consultant for an education technology company in Fairfax, VA, and is a scholarship read facilitator for the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholars Program. In August 2006, Ms. Williams started TheCollegePlanner™ a college coaching and education consulting group in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
In her spare time, Patricia is an active participant and consultant for the Scholarship and Standards Committee for the Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is a part-time news reporter and segment producer for Pacifica Radio WPFW 89.3FM and is the former voice of the midday on WYCB 1340AM. Ms. Williams is a member of Unity of Washington, D.C. and collaborates with church and community-based education organizations that share her interest in expanding access to higher education for all of America’s young people.
Ms. Williams is a recognized expert in strategic enrollment management, college coaching, student retention, education trend analysis, scholarship administration, and project management. Ms. Williams is developing school and corporate partnerships to tackle the issues of the disappearance of black men in secondary and postsecondary education, and the growing academic achievement gap.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ms. Williams graduated from Westtown School, the oldest co-educational Quaker boarding school in the country. Ms. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Temple University and a Master of Arts degree in education from the University of Maryland, College Park. Ms. Williams lives in the Shepherd Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
website: www.thecollegeplanner.org. - Darrell Washington - Technology Consultant - GA
- Darrell Washington has more than 13 years in the IT industry. He has extensive experience in Project Management. He is presently a partner with Major League Computer Consultants, Inc. Darrell brings a wealth of IT and project management experience to the Future Group and is providing hosting services for the Future Force website.
- George Gadson - Artists - FL
- George Gadson, self-taught artist, understands the role art plays in
providing quality of life and vitality to a community. Gadson works
bring back to life their forgotten history and capture civic memories
through creative designs. Such efforts aid in rebuilding the tangible
and intangible characters of the community, bring disparate groups
together, create safer neighborhoods, and promote a greater sense of
belonging. He seeks inspiration by studying both people and nature and
is well known for his powerful sculptures, his poignant depiction of
the lives and telling faces of people, and moments in time through
photography.
Gadson has gained recognition for his realistic portraits and commemorative sculptures. He has been commissioned to create a bronze portrait relief of the late Bill Darden, founder of Darden Restaurants, Inc., owners of Red Lobster and Olive Gardens. He has created bronze sculptures for JM Family Enterprises, the Jim Moran Foundation, a 12-foot bronze monument for the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the Dan Marino Foundation, Florida Memorial University's Lou Rawls Performing Art Center. He was commissioned to create two limited edition commemorative sculptures, The Kicker and The Quarterback , for the 1995 South Florida Super Bowl XXIX and the 1999 Super Bowl XXXIII. The South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee presented these sculptures to each owner of the National Football League team and VIP's. In 2003, Gadson was commissioned by the C. Spencer Pompey Committee to create a life size bronze bust of C. Spencer Pompey, which is permanently displayed in the commission chambers of the City of Delray Beach. He was also commissioned by the Ely Education Foundation to create a bronze bust of Dr. Blanche Ely, for the Blanche Ely Education Museum in Pompano Beach, Florida. He created a bas relief of entrepreneur Jim Moran for the Jim Moran School of Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University and the Jim Moran Foundation.
George graduated from Duke University. Learn more about his work at www.georgegadson.com - India White, Graduate Student- University of Florida - FL
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Meet Future Force Group Member Willie Mae "India" White,
Class of 2007
India was raised in public housing in Venice, FL. She often studied by candlelight because the utility bills were not paid. Her mother led a troubled life. India was on her own at the age of 16 and doing her pre-calculus homework in a youth shelter in Sarasota, FL while completing her high school studies. Through grit and perseverance she graduated from Sarasota High School in 2003 with honors.
She met a Future Force mentor while folding towels at the local YMCA. India joined our efforts and Neighborhood Leadership Initiative nominated her for the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholars Program. India will graduate from the University of Florida with a degree in Mathematics in May 2007.
India's scholarship will pay for her studies through her doctorate. She will continue on after graduation to pursue her Masters in Math Education. She wants to encourage more African Americans to release their potential and make good grades in Math.
"Igniting the power of human capital" - Chanell Newell, College Student Bethune Cookman College- FL
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Chanell Newell is one of the original founders of Neighborhood Leadership Initiative. She is a 2004 graduate of King High School, Tampa, FL. While attending school Chanell became involved as a volunteer in the many family literacy initiatives. She served as mentor, teacher’s assistant and friend to children living in abject poverty and not achieving at their potential. Her experiences changed her career interest from becoming a Psychologist to pursuing a teaching career.
Chanell used her volunteer and leadership experiences at NLI to prepare an application to the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. She was awarded a scholarship in 2004. She is presently completing her junior year at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL. She is working with a school in Daytona serving low-income minority students and is excited that her volunteer efforts are transforming the lives of her students.
Chanell’s scholarship will pay for her studies through her doctorate. Upon graduation from Bethune-Cookman University, she plans to pursue her Masters in Elementary Education and explore where she complete her doctoral studies.
She will be the first in her family to complete college. She has reversed the achievement standard in her family. Her brother, also a NLI program participant will graduate this year in the top of his graduating class and has been accepted by two prestigious universities to complete his college studies.—The Future Force
Erica Stanley- Social Services- New Haven, CT
Brian Bray- Career Development Consultant/Mentor- Atlanta, GA
Kimberly Gardner- Mentor- Atlanta, GA
Alana Tyler- Engineer- Boston, MA
Reginald Hart- Technology Consultant- GA