Vivian Johnson, Ph.D., Co-Chairperson

Associate Professor Emeritus (School of Education) at Boston University, Johnson pioneered innovative and successful educational development programs for urban youth and their communities. Working along with her husband of fifty years, she has assisted black communities and nations internationally in improving their education and social productivity while deepening their cultural grounding.

Kafi Meadows, Ph.D., Co-Chairperson

Meadows is a Global Product Manager in the Science and Lab Solutions Biology business at MilliporeSigma.  She is also the niece of the late Elma Lewis, Founder and Artistic Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Melissa Nobles, Ph.D., Treasurer

Nobles is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Ma. She has authored two books, Shades of Citizenship: Race and the Census in Modern Politics, and The Politics of Official Apologies. Acting Manager.

Margaret Burnham, Esq.

Distinguished lawyer and civil rights activist, Burnham is an Associate Professor of Law at Northeastern University, where she established the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project.  First African American woman to serve in the Massachusetts judiciary and formerly a principal of Burnham and Hines, Attorneys-at-Law, She is internationally known for her contributions to the struggle for human rights and justice.

Clifford Harrison

A new addition to our Board of Directors, Harrison works for MassBio, a non-profit leader in the Life Sciences industry improving patient lives. Always interested in giving back, Clifford remains active in his community. In additional to the NCAAA, he sits on the Board of Trustees for Nativity Preparatory School, a tuition-free, Jesuit middle school serving boys of all faiths from low-income families residing in Boston. Clifford resides in Roxbury with his wife and three kids.

Denzil D. McKenzie, Esq

McKenzie is Managing Director, McKenzie & Associates, PC, Jamaican Honorary Consul to Massachusetts, and Vice President, Executive Committee of the Boston University School of Law Alumni Association.

Axel Starke

A new addition to our Board of Directors, Starke is a Strategic Sales Planning and Enablement leader skillful at building nimble and cross-functional teams that are revenue focused, results oriented and solutions driven.

Sharra Owens-Schwartz

A new addition to our Board of Directors, Owens-Schwartz is a social impact leader and a mission-driven change agent with experience across sectors and industries. She is experienced in creating business strategy in global and local environments, executing change management and building new partnerships.

The Honorable Milton L. Wright, Jr.

Milton Wright is retired First Justice of the Roxbury District Court in Boston.  He is a Commissioner of the City of Boston Licensing Board. A gifted singer and writer of a musical productions as well as a lawyer, Judge Wright is Musical Director for adults in Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity as produced by the National Center of Afro-American Artists, and Co-founder of the Butterfly Project.