Shawneequa Callier
Chair
Shawneequa Callier, an Associate Professor of medical ethics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is a long time resident of Washington, D.C. with various volunteer commitments to the community here and in her hometown of Queens, New York.
Kamal Ali
Vice-Chair
Kamal was born on July 29, 1962 at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC. He attended Shepherd Elementary School, Georgetown Day School and the University of Pennsylvania. He grew up working at his family’s business, Ben’s Chili Bowl, as a teenager. He has been married 22 years to Sonya Jamil Ali.
Rachel Kronowitz
Vice-Chair
Rachel Kronowitz is a Founding Partner of the law firm, Gilbert LLP. She has been honored by the Washington Business Journal as a Woman Who Means Business and by Business Insurance as a Woman to Watch.
Sonya Ali
Treasurer
Sonya Ali is a family member and Co-Owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl and Ben’s Next Door restaurants where she oversees the company’s human resources department, menu development, and numerous day to day operations.
Raj Aggarwal
Raj Aggarwal founded Provoc in 1999 and serves as President and Lead Strategist. He has worked with over 450 nonprofits and social responsible businesses on a variety of projects including internal and external branding, marketing and stakeholder engagement.
Nizam Ali
A Washington, DC native, Nizam has been working in his family’s historic restaurant, Ben’s Chili Bowl, since he was a child. It was there that he learned basic fundamental business principles including customer service, business and work ethics, and giving back to the community.
Sage Ali
Sage Ali was born Haidar Ben Ali, and he was later given the nickname “Sage” by a close friend and mentor at his martial arts academy. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Sage is the firstborn son of Ben and Virginia Ali, founders of the iconic Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Vida Ali
Vida Ali was born in Trinidad & Tobago, where her parents raised her with the philosophy that “it takes a village” and “always treat everyone as family.” In her own words, “We never closed our doors. As little as we had, we always shared.”
Michael Akin
Michael is the President of LINK Strategic Partners. His community activities include serving as Chairman Emeritus of the Greater Washington Urban League board of directors, and Chairman of the American Experience Foundation. Michael has an MBA from The George Washington University, where he also graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political communications.
Carl Blake
Carl, a Washington, DC resident for nearly two decades believes that people of all economic backgrounds should be afforded the opportunity to discover their God given talents and allowed to realize their full potential.
Dr. Bernard Demczuk
Bernard Demczuk, Ph.D. is a 40-year+ DC resident living in the Shaw community where he has been active in community, corporate, academic, labor and government relations. He is currently the Assistant VP for DC government relations at the George Washington University where he has represented the university for 18 years. He is the university’s chief government liaison on all things DC.
Winona Lake
Secretary
Winona Lake has over 20 years of experience in leadership at federal, state, and local levels in civil rights, employment and equal opportunity law, training and development, policy, strategic planning, budgeting, communications, and compliance.
Stanley Mayes
Mayes was born in Washington, DC, a product of DC Public Schools and he received a B. B. A. from Howard University. He earned a M. A. in Public Policy Analysis from Rutgers University in and his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law – Newark.
Sheila Pradia-Williams R.Ph., M.B.A.
Sheila Pradia-Williams is a native of New Iberia, Louisiana however, she has called the DMV home for 34 years. Ms. Pradia Williams is a public health senior executive in the Federal sector, with over 29 years of experience mostly dedicated to improving access to quality healthcare in underserved communities nationally. Currently, she is responsible for advancing health equity through $2 billion in workforce development grant funds and a staff of over 500 civil servants and public health service officers.
Brian Summers
Brian Summers, a native of North Carolina, has been on the political circuit for 26 years, and his career has been accentuated by numerous significant events, including working as a political analyst for the Republican Senatorial Committee, Summers is a former presidential appointee for George W. Bush.
Fredric Walls
Fred is Managing Director and Banker Team Lead in the Washington, DC office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Fred leads a group of professionals and specialists to offer comprehensive and sophisticated wealth management strategies that help clients pursue their financial goals. Raised in a family that values service to society, Fred has held leadership positions with several not for profit organizations.
Board Members not pictured:
Yinka Akingbade
Jessica Tirado