Category: Black Excellence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944)^[2] is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awarded for her novel The Color Purple.^[3][4] Over the span of her career, Walker has published seventeen novels and short story collections, twelve non-fiction works, and collections of essays and poetry.

https://www.maryelizabethwilliams.com

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a native of Philadelphia. Her career has taken her all over the globe in a careening zig-zag pattern—and she is grateful for every moment. Not long after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Luther College in Iowa, she began her first professional singing engagement with the national Broadway tour of SHOWBOAT, which toured 9 U.S. cities in 12 months. She began her operatic career after completing young artist contracts at both Seattle Opera and the Opéra National de Paris, quickly making a name for herself in spinto soprano repertoire like TOSCA, AIDA, and Leonora in IL TROVATORE.

https://events.ncchc.org/national-conference/speaker/1417735/kenya-key

Dr. Kenya Key is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. Dr. Key has extensive experience in correctional mental health having worked in various roles and settings. She is currently the Deputy Director of Health Services for the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the juvenile justice agency for the District of Columbia.

New Members Welcomed to NCCHC Board

NCCHC welcomes three new members to its multidisciplinary Board of Representatives.

Clinical psychologist Kenya Key, PsyD, CCHP-MH, joined the board as the American Psychological Association liaison. As deputy director of health services for the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, she oversees behavioral health and restorative justice programs. Previously, she served as chief psychologist for Cermak Health Services at Cook County Jail in Chicago. Dr. Key is the recipient of the 2023 NCCHC Edward A. Harrison Excellence in Correctional Health Care Leadership Award, presented each year to an outstanding leader who inspires others, leads by example, and is committed to quality improvement in correctional health care.

https://events.ncchc.org/national-conference/speaker/1333202/latoya-duckworth

Ms. LaToya Duckworth is a Nurse Administrator for Kansas University Medical Center which ensures that quality healthcare services are provided to the prison population under the Kansas Department of Corrections jurisdiction. Ms. Duckworth’s passion for the multifaceted field of nursing led her to a career that she describes as the most self-fulfilling journey she has ever embarked upon.

New Members Welcomed to NCCHC Board

NCCHC welcomes three new members to its multidisciplinary Board of Representatives.

LaToya Duckworth, MHA, BSN, CCHP, is the newly appointed board liaison for the American Nurses Association. She is the nurse administrator for the Kansas Department of Corrections where she assures health care compliance through contract monitoring and serves as risk coordinator. Previously she was assistant division director for medical services with the Missouri Department of Corrections. She replaces Mary Muse, MSN, RN, CCHP-RN, CCHP-A, who represented the ANA for 10 years.

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1077362195/without-inventor-james-west-this-interview-might-not-have-been-possible

James West has been a curious tinkerer since he was a child, always wondering how things worked. Throughout his long career in STEM, he’s also been an advocate for diversity and inclusion — from co-founding the Association for Black Laboratory Employees in 1970 to his work today with The Ingenuity Project, a non-profit that cultivates math and science skills in middle and high school students in Baltimore public schools.

James West is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering.

He is known worldwide as the co-inventor of the foil electret microphone. This is a type of condenser microphone upon which 90 percent of all microphones used today are based (such as telephones, sound and music recording equipment, and hearing aids). West developed the invention with his research partner Gerhard Sessler in 1962 while both were scientists at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hills, NJ.

https://www.joshuaconyers.com/about.html

Grammy-nominated Baritone Joshua Conyers has been singled out by Opera News for his “deliciously honeyed baritone that would seduce anyone” by The New York Times as having “a sonorous baritone” that “wheedled and seduced” and by The Washington Post for have a “show stealing” performance. A native of Bronx, NY, he has been hailed by critics for his performances of new and standard operatic works, as well as on concert stages in North America and internationally.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Price

Morgan Price (born June 28, 2005) is an American artistic gymnast for Fisk University.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Maclin

Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin (born November 29, 1966)^[1] is an American actor, youth counselor, creative arts specialist, and gang intervention specialist. He portrayed a fictionalized version of himself in the 2023 film Sing Sing. His performance earned him nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Awards, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Gotham Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards. Additionally, Maclin is nominated for the 2025 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Reid

Joy-Ann M. Lomena-Reid (née Lomena; born December 8, 1968) is an American political commentator and television host.^[3][4] She was a national correspondent for MSNBC^[5] and is best known for hosting the political commentary program The ReidOut from 2020 to 2025. Her previous anchoring credits include The Reid Report (2014–2015) and AM Joy (2016–2020).^[6]

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/27/1152155481/meal-prep-made-easy

When Kevin Curry was growing up, he never had to think about cooking meals for himself. His parents were in charge of dinner.

As he got older, he realized, “Whoa. I have to feed myself. How do I do that?” he says. What’s more, he wanted to eat healthy food without spending hundreds of dollars a month eating out.

So Curry turned to meal prepping as a solution. It’s the concept of cooking food ahead of time to eat later. That can mean making meals on Sunday and eating the leftovers all week or prepping ingredients and freezing them to eat sometime in the future.

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