Rosalind Brewer, President and CEO of Sam’s Club
Rosalind Brewer is the first woman and African American to hold the CEO position of any Wal-Mart Store division and was ranked by Fortune 500 as the 15th most powerful women. Brewer fosters change by demanding diversity, building strong teams, inspiring mentoring networks, and improving communities. She uses innovative technology to make consumer shopping easier and her stores made $57 billion in revenue for the 2016 fiscal year. As a graduate of Spelman College, she gives back yearly, and serves on its board of trustees. She was initiated into the Mu Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha at her alma mater.
Kamala Harris, 32nd Attorney General of California
Recognized by The Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, Kamala Harris started her career as the Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County, California in 1990. When Harris decided to run for California Attorney General, the first African American to do so, she was immediately backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles. She uses her platform to speak out about truancy, gun control, the death penalty, and civil rights for minorities. Harris was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha by the Alpha Chapter at Howard University.
Monica Pearson, Kiss 104.1 Radio Show Host/ Former WSB-TV Atlanta News Anchor
Monica Pearson’s career in broadcast journalism spans nearly four decades. Pearson became an anchorwoman for WSB-TV in 1975 and was the first woman and minority to cover the 6 p.m. daily news. She was honored by Georgia lawmakers, the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, the National Association of Black Journalists, The Atlanta Press Club, and more for her contribution to the news network and journalism field, and has been inducted into several Hall of Fame’s. Pearson is a proud breast cancer and liver cancer survivor, with a membership in Sisters of Promise of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Bernice King, CEO of The King Center
Bernice King is the youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. King works to preserve her parents’ legacy, and fought to retain The King Center despite internal family conflict to sell the center. She is noted for her oratory skills that mirror her father’s eloquence and she became a minister at the age of 24. King holds a Master’s degree in Divinity and a J.D. from Emory University, and is outspoken about police brutality and youth rights. She also founded Be A King, an organization that works to develop youth who will go on to make a global impact.
Karyn Greer, Investigative Reporter for WBCL/CBS46
Karyn Greer is an Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter who has been awarded by the Atlanta and National Associations for Black Journalists. Honored as an Atlanta Woman of Influence, she also makes sure to give back to her community through arts and science campaigns. Greer serves on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences and past president of the Atlanta Press Club. She has made guest appearances in several films such as Season of Purgatory and The Client. She was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Leah Ward Sears, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia
Leah Ward Sears was the first African American woman to serve as a chief justice in the United States when she was elected to office in 2005. Before this feat, Sears was elected to the superior court seat in Georgia becoming the youngest to do so at the age of 32. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution praised Sears for her “grasp of the law and her practical sense of how to apply it.” She is considered one of 100 Most Influential Georgians, and became the founder of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys providing a network of support for other Black female lawyers.
Toni Morrison, Novelist, Playwright, and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University
Toni Morrison has won a Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize, American Book Award, and almost every other book prize for her renowned literary works that include The Bluest Eye, Beloved, and Song of Solomon. The renowned literary genius incorporates themes of familial pride, racial tension, and sexism in her works and has been a prominent and critical figure in the African American community since the 1940s. Morrison has taught at State University of New York, Rutgers University, and Princeton University challenging young minds to think critically every day. She was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha at her alma mater, Howard University.
Lisa Borders, President of the WNBA
Lisa Borders currently serves as the fourth president of the WNBA as of February 2016. Previously, she was the former president of the Atlanta City Council and former vice president of global community affairs at The Coca-Cola Company. In her role as WNBA president, Borders hopes to close the pay gap between female and male athletes, foster sponsor relations with companies such as Verizon and ESPN, and be a network of support for the well-being and economic sustainability of the female players in the league. She was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha at Duke University.
Vanessa Bell Calloway, Actress and Philanthropist
Vanessa Bell Calloway made her acting debut alongside Eddie Murphy in Coming to America in 1988. Since then, she has gone on to star in the films What’s Love Got to Do with It, Crimson Tide, and Love Don’t Cost a Thing and has been nominated eight times for an NAACP Image Award. She also created the Vanessa Bell Calloway Fund to assist emancipated foster youth and was awarded the Presidential Award from Jackson State University for her efforts. Calloway describes herself as family driven and she and her two daughters, Ashley and Ally, are all members of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Suzanne Malveaux, National Correspondent for CNN
Suzanne Malveaux is an Emmy award-winning journalist that covers national news and international events for CNN. She covered the White House for 10 years interviewing the last five living presidents. She was also recognized by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism for her coverage of President Obama’s campaign in 2008. Additionally, Malveaux has international experience covering the Rwandan Genocide, Nelson Mandela’s apartheid involvement, attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, and the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. Malveaux has won CNN a Peabody Award, a DuPont Award, and Essence magazine’s “2009 Journalist of the Year” Award.
–tiffany pennamon
