Captain Lisa Forrest may be small in stature, but over the course of her nearly 17-year career in the Philadelphia Fire Department, she has achieved some big accomplishments: Forrest is the first African-American female fire captain in the history of the Department. She is President, The Club Valiants, Inc., an association for Black Fire Fighters in Philadelphia.
Yolanda Wisher is a multidisciplinary poet, educator and currently the third Poet Laureate of the City of Philadelphia. Wisher is a Hedgebrook Writer-in-Residence (2016), Pew Fellow (2015), Catalyst Initiative Grantee (2015), Leeway Art & Change Grantee (2008), Cave Canem Fellow (1999-2000), and the first Montgomery County Pennsylvania Poet Laureate (1999).
Tina Sloan Green M.Ed., Professor Emerita Temple University; President/Co-Founder, Black Women in Sports Foundation (BWSF). When you think about the real trailblazers for Black women in sports, she is at the top of the list. She went from a college lacrosse walk-on to one of the most decorated coaches in Temple athletics history.
Melony Roy is director of social media for KYW Newsradio 1060, supervising the station’s interactive media branding efforts. A native of Camden, NJ, Roy is President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (PABJ), and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
Longtime entrepreneur Charita Powell started Amazulu Collections in 1985, best known for its retail operation in Philadelphia’s historic Reading Terminal Market. Today, Powell travels the world and collaborates with artists on the one-of-akind offerings that fashion-forward Philadelphians know they can only acquire at Amazulu, including its latest outlet, The Amazulu Living Room in South Philadelphia
Joanne Jones, is committed to family and community, evident through the activities she supports but her role as National Communications Director of The Mothers of Professional Basketball Players. Founded in 1994, the organization was developed to reach out to professional basketball players in time of need. She is mother of Dahntay Jones, Guard with the Cleveland Cavaliers, 2016 Champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and a proud grandmother.
Sekela Coles, PhD, Professor of Business, Harcum College and Delaware County Community College; elected Councilwoman, 7th District of Upper Darby, November 2013. She was raised in West Philadelphia by two hardworking parents, Pattison and Jacqueline Pierce- Mungai, who instilled in her the importance of education and community. Dr. Coles has stayed active in numerous community endeavors since moving to the Upper Darby community in 2003.
Sheila Woods-Skipper, The President Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, the region’s busiest and most prestigious criminal and civil courtrooms. She also cochairs the system’s administrative governing board which pulls together leaders from its branches—Common Pleas Court, Municipal Court, Orphans Court, and Family Court.
Donna L. Allie, PhD, launched the Team Clean, Inc. company in the mid-1980s as the solopreneur president/CEO; she has grown the company to over seven hundred employees. As company president, Allie’s client list includes government, education, industry, professional offices, and sports, events, and entertainment venues such as Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kilimandjaro owner Youma Bah hails from Senegal, West Africa. Her restaurant offers delicious food at very reasonable prices and was lauded by Philadelphia magazine at ”one of the best in town.”
