Board of Directors
Lonnie G. Bunch is the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. He was previously the president of the Chicago Historical Society, associate director for curatorial affairs for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and curator of history and program manager at the California Afro-American Museum in Los Angeles.
Cris Ros Dukler is chief operating officer for Public Allies, where she is responsible for administration and personnel management. She previously served as chief operating officer for a regional nonprofit with an $11 million budget in the field of foster care; and led state regulatory departments in Texas and Wisconsin. Her experience in the for-profit arena includes being a partner in a venture involving electronic benefit transfer cards for distributing government benefits, and working at UPC Health Network directing an $80 million business. She has served as the vice chair for the Wisconsin Aids Resource Center and on several advisory boards. She graduated from Philippine Normal College in Manila, and has a master’s in educational psychology from the University of Hawai’i.
Jo Ann Bradley Jones is the deputy director of the Office of Housing and Community Development for the City of Philadelphia. She has previously served as general counsel of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, general counsel of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, assistant general counsel for Drexel University, and in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Jones has served on the boards of directors of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Awbury Arboretum Association, and is a member of the standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Ms. Jones has a B.A. from Swarthmore and a J.D. from the University of Maryland.
Ambassador James A. Joseph is professor in the practice of public policy and executive director of the United States – Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values at Duke University. He served as U.S. ambassador to South Africa during the Clinton administration. His past positions include president and CEO of the Council on Foundations; undersecretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior; vice president of Cummins Engine Company and president of the Cummins Engine Foundation. His board positions have included being a founding director of the Points of Light Foundation and founding board chair of the Corporation for National Service, as well as a board member of the Brookings Institution, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and other non-profit organizations. He is an ordained minister in the UCC and is a graduate of Southern University and Yale Divinity School.
Dedrick Muhammad is senior director for economic programs for the NAACP. He was previously an analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies and coordinator of the Racial Wealth Divide Project at United for a Fair Economy. Dedrick has a B.A. from Williams College.
Dawn Newton is a partner at the law firm of Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley in Oakland, Calif. Her practice focuses on intellectual property and franchise matters. She advises clients on trademark and copyright issues, including international expansion and new media matters. She has extensive experience advising both start-ups and established franchise systems in business matters and representing them in litigation. B.A., Univ. of California Berkeley, 1996, and J.D., Univ. of Calif. Hastings, 2000.
