Black Achievers in Industry Awards Will Honor 23
Twenty-three Western New Yorkers will be honored at the 33rd Annual Black Achievers in Industry Awards Dinner at 7 tonight in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.
The speaker will be actor and songwriter Clifton Davis, an ordained minister who starred in the TV sitcoms “That’s My Mama” and “Amen” and composed the song “Never Can Say Goodbye” for the Jackson Five.
This year’s recipients, selected by their employers or other sponsors, are:
Sharon M. Brooks, founder of Brooks Learning Center on Jefferson Avenue. She attended Ohio State University for her master’s in educational administration and received her doctorate from the University at Buffalo in educational administration. She opened the center to prove that all children are capable of learning if properly taught.
Gregory L. Brown, a 10-year assistant United States attorney. He began his career with the New York State Division for Youth, now known as the Department of Child and Family Services. He left the division in 1984 and attended Law School at the University at Buffalo and later joined the Buffalo corporation counsel’s office as deputy corporation counsel and helped negotiate the building of HSBC Arena.
Marcus O. Brown Sr., a Buffalo Public Schools teacher for 30 years before retiring in 2002. He has been the promoter of the New York State Drill Team Championships for more than 30 years and is the president of Juneteenth Festival. He has received awards from the Mad Dads and NICYO for outstanding leadership, and an award from the Buffalo Common Council for his community contributions.
Ruth D. Bryant, chairwoman of the University at Buffalo’s Minority Faculty and Staff Association. In 1982, she was appointed assistant dean in the School of Architecture and Planning. In 1988, she was the first African-American to be elected head of the Professional Staff Senate, the governing body for professionals at the university. She is also chairwoman of the Willert Park Village Community Association in a neighborhood that has won national awards for its redevelopment.
Maryann Copeland, operations manager for nonperishable goods at the Niagara Falls Boulevard Tops International in Niagara Falls, where she oversees four departments. She joined the Wilson Farms Division of Tops Markets in 1999 as a management trainee and soon was promoted to assistant store manager. In 2000, she transferred to Tops as bulk food manager.
Jerry F. Daniels Sr., an entrepreneur and barber at Carl-Jeff Barber Shop on Jefferson Avenue. He serves on the trustees board, in mission and prison ministry and in the senior choir at First Shiloh Baptist Church. Daniels also received the NAACP Businessman of the Year Award in 1996.
Elnora Degraffenried, assistant director of nursing at Grace Manor Health Care Facility. She attended Erie Community College, where she became a registered nurse. During her career, she has specialized in fields such as pediatrics, geriatrics, employee health, in-service education, cancer treatment, clinical nursing and wound care.
Fatimah Dixie, an employee of Univera Healthcare for the past eight years. She supervises a team of eight “facilitated enrollers,” serving as liaison to community agencies such as the Erie County Department of Social Services and the state Department of Health. She also volunteers for the International League of Muslim Women and the National Conference for Community and Justice.
Lynette Brown Galloway, a residential program manager at Buffalo Psychiatric Center, where she has worked the past 30 years. She began her career as a youth worker for the Office of Mental Health. She was co-founder and former president of the Greater Buffalo Black Nurses Association. She graduated from D’Youville College with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Debra L. Givens, a Buffalo City Court judge since 2002. She is also an instructor for the People’s Law School; a panelist on the WIVB-TV’s “Ask a Lawyer” program; a speaker before various community groups on legal issues; a participant in the Volunteer Lawyer’s Project; and a lecturer in the Erie County Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education seminars.
Mary Harley Gresham, dean of the Graduate School of Education and vice president for public service and urban affairs at the University at Buffalo. An adjunct professor in the departments of counseling, psychology and African-American studies, Gresham serves on a number of university and community committees and boards, and is an active participant in an array of community activities.
Sylvester Harold, supervisor of maintenance inspections and assessment at Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., where he has worked since 1983. He assumed his current position in March and has created a new department to provide a centralized testing and inspections group. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Canisius College in 2002.
Jean Hill, a vice president of corporate communications at M&T Bank and prior to that a news anchorwoman at WKBW-TV for 12 years. She taught journalism at Ohio State University and, as an adjunct professor, taught broadcast copy writing at Buffalo State College and feature writing at Canisius College. She also writes freelance articles and has contributed to ESPN and Empire Sports Network.
Tracie-Michele Alexandria Lewis, principal of Hamlin Park School 74. She has been employed by the Buffalo Board of Education since 1991. She has a master’s in elementary education from the University at Buffalo and a master’s in school administration and supervision from Canisius College. She also started her own business, LuvMarva’s Things, which she named after a late aunt.
Devon McCarley, service operations manager for Tops Markets’ University Plaza store, where she oversees five departments. She joined the Tops family in 2001 as an Inroads Intern and has continued her growth through the company. She is enrolled at Medaille College, where she is pursuing a master’s in business administration.
Fred Mills, area supervisor for Try-it Distributing, who has worked for the company for 17 years. He received a degree in human resources from Buffalo State College. During his career, Mills also has worked as a youth director for the Community Action Organization and as a substitute math teacher for the Buffalo Public Schools.
Donna Mostiller, assistant director of human resources with People Inc. She is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and the Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association. She has served as co-chairwoman of the YWCA of Western New York Racial Justice Committee, as a member of the diversity committee of the Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association and on the planning committee of Buffalo’s annual Race and Reconciliation Conference.
Solanda A. Slaughter, logistics manager for General Mills. She started with the company in Vallejo, Calif., in 2000 and has been an active member of its African-American networking organization, the Black Champions Network. She is a member of the logistics recruiting team for North Carolina A&T State University and the National Society of Black Engineers.
Pamela J. Smith, adjunct professor in Medaille College’s Accelerated Graduate Program. She joined Tops Markets as manager of organization effectiveness and diversity in 1998 and manages its college internship program. She completed her doctorate in human resource development at George Washington University and is a life member of the National Black MBA Association.
Antoine M. Thompson, Masten District Common Council member, who serves on the Legislation, Community Development and Minority Business Enterprise committees. A graduate of Brockport State College, with a degree in history, he studied government and social change at the University of Ghana in West Africa in 1994. A former executive director of the Office of Urban Initiatives, he also was an Electoral College participant in the 2004 presidential election.
Otis C. Tillman, founder of Bible Chapel on Northland Avenue, which grew out of a children’s Bible class he began in his home. He also is founder and president of Gospel Expansion Foundation. Locally, he is heard on WUFO and WDCX radio stations and on shortwave radio in Tennessee and Africa. He became the first African- American to sit on the board of the City Mission and eventually became its president.
Jerome Williams, a 14-year employee of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority who is now its customer appreciation program facilitator as well as a rail operator. He’s also a Marine Corps veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm in a Reserve unit that helped liberate Kuwait. He also has been a volunteer in anti- crime efforts in the Schiller Park area.
Fred D. Young, a captain in the Buffalo Police Department’s E District at Bailey Avenue and Langfield Street, where he shares command of more than 100 officers and civilian employees. He is the department’s only African-American captain and one of only five African-American command officers. The Navy and Army National Guard veteran joined the Police Department in 1982.