Women's History Month Forum

Dr. Aminta H. Breaux has served as the visionary 10th president of Bowie State University since July 2017, bringing more than 35 years of diverse higher education leadership experience to the position. As president, she is committed to ensuring that every student at Bowie State University develops an entrepreneurial mindset to achieve success in the rapidly changing workplace and communities. Dr. Breaux initiated a university-wide focus to infuse entrepreneurship education across the disciplines which led to the opening of an Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community in fall 2021. She is dedicated to building on the legacy and rich history of Maryland’s oldest historically Black university with a strategic focus on ensuring the long-term viability of the institution.

Dr. Breaux is a leading voice in 21st century education, and because of her extensive knowledge and expertise, she has been tapped to serve in multiple leadership roles. She was appointed to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Governor Moore’s Service Year Advisory Board. She is past chair for the Board of Directors for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and serves as the Chair for the USM Council of University System Presidents.

She has also been recognized with the Educator of the Year Award from the National Council of Negro Women. She received the Trailblazer Award from the Bowie Business Innovation Center (BIC), the business accelerator located at Bowie State, in conjunction with Capital One, and the Capital City Chapter Links Inc. Leadership Award.

Throughout her career, Dr. Breaux has demonstrated a passion for ensuring student development and success. Prior to joining Bowie State, Dr. Breaux served as vice president for advancement for Millersville University, where she oversaw fundraising, alumni engagement, event management, and external relations. Before that, she was vice president for student affairs at Millersville University.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Temple University, a master’s degree in psychological services in education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Temple University. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Executive Management and the American Association for State Colleges and Universities Millennium Leadership Institute.

Dr. Breaux and her husband, Melvin – a former partner of Drinker Biddle & Reath – have three daughters and four grandchildren.

As president of UMBC since August 2022, Valerie Sheares Ashby is inspired to lead the community toward a shared vision for its future, one in which UMBC realizes its ambition to “redefine excellence in higher education through an inclusive culture that connects innovative teaching and learning, research across disciplines, and civic engagement.”

Together with the entire UMBC community, Sheares Ashby is steadfastly focused on UMBC’s core purposes as a public research institution: to transform individual lives, to create knowledge and advance innovation, and to serve the state of Maryland and society broadly through its research, teaching, and community engagement.

Designated as a Research 1 institution in 2022—a classification that was reaffirmed in 2025—UMBC has continued to strengthen and grow its research enterprise under Sheares Ashby’s leadership. In Fiscal Year 2025, the university’s research expenditures reached an all-time high, exceeding $185 million. The university recently launched the Institute of Politics, building on research strengths in civic participation and democratic governance, and the Center for Ethics and Values, which hosts forums on ethical issues in contemporary society. UMBC’s Center for Artificial Intelligence (established in 2024), Cybersecurity Institute, and Quantum Science Institute are among the university’s growing investments in interdisciplinary scholarship addressing some of the most pressing questions in digital evolution and innovation and developing a workforce for the future. UMBC is celebrating its strengths in creative arts and research through a year-long Arts+ initiative in 2025-26.

In spring 2025, UMBC graduated its 100,000th student, and in the fall, it welcomed its largest-ever incoming class, with significant increases in transfer students and students from Baltimore City, thanks in part to new initiatives that offer guaranteed admission to more than 300 Baltimore City students each year and that provide additional financial support to Baltimore City students with family incomes of less than $80,000.

The sixth president of UMBC—and the first woman to serve in the role—Sheares Ashby holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

She joined UMBC after serving for seven years as dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. Her leadership at Duke followed 12 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)—her undergraduate and graduate alma mater—as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and its chair from 2012 to 2015.

She began her academic career in 1996 as an assistant professor of chemistry at Iowa State University and was promoted to associate professor in 2002 before returning to UNC (and her home state of North Carolina) in 2003. Throughout her career, Sheares Ashby has consistently advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion as imperative to excellence in teaching and research. Her work to advance inclusive excellence includes serving as a mentor for the Iowa State University Program for Women in Science & Engineering and directing the UNC National Science Foundation Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate. She was instrumental in launching the Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program at UNC, which was one of the first replication programs by a research university of UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

EDUCATION

• National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, NATO Postdoctoral Fellow, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Institute for Organic Chemistry
• Ph.D., chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• B.A., chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Dr. Annesa Payne Cheek became the 11th president of Frederick Community College (FCC) on July 1, 2022. She brings extensive leadership experience, a passion for education and equity, and a teamwork approach to the efforts of creating the right conditions for employee and student success alike.

Prior to FCC, Dr. Cheek served four years as president of St. Cloud Technical & Community College in Minnesota, and over 12 years in various leadership positions at Sinclair Community College in Ohio.

Evident is her laser focus on enhancing student outcomes through commitment to future-forward institutional transformations that optimize the student and employee experience, and reinforcing relationships that foster transparent and strategic dialogue.

With a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University, an MBA from the University of Dayton, and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Cheek was chosen by the Aspen Institute for its inaugural Presidential Fellowship, is a member of the Governor’s Workforce Development Board and shares her community spirit as a member of Rotary.

The experience of the community’s resounding hospitality is reflected in her frequent remark and t-shirt donning the phrase, “#everydayifindanewreasontofallinlovewithfrederick.

16th President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
8th National President and Chair, National Council of Negro Women, Inc
Director, Women In NAACP (2000-2025)

Dr. Thelma Thomas Daley is a recognized Counselor-Educator, organizational leader, college professor, and activist. She has devoted her career to empowering others through her professional, charitable, and public service endeavors. February 2023, The Baltimore Sun recognized her and four others as Living Civil Rights Legends. In 2020, she was inducted into the BGE and Baltimore Sun’s Business & Civic Hall of Fame. She was Bowie State University’s 2023 Distinguished Alumna. April 2024, the American Counseling Association at its National Convention unveiled the “Thelma Thomas Daley Advocacy and Equity Award”. She is an American Counseling Association Fellow. She is and has served as Commissioner on the Baltimore Architectural and Engineering Commission for 26 years. The Mayor awarded her a citation November, 2025, to mark her continuous service to Baltimore.

She is a graduate of Bowie State University, New York University, and George Washington University; she pursued additional studies at Catholic University and American University; and advanced clinical studies at the University of Maryland and New York University.

She has served as president of five national organizations. In January 2023, she completed a phenomenally successful term as the 8th President/Chair of the National Council of Negro Women.

She broke the racial presidential barriers in the American Counseling Association, the largest counseling association in the world; she also broke the racial barriers as she served as president of the American School Counselor Association.  She served as president of Women In Community Services (WICS): a coalition of the National Council of Jewish Women, The National Council of Negro Women, The National Council of Catholic Women, Church Women United, and the Hispanic Women. WICS focused on girls in need and worked closely with the National Job Corps. She had a long professorial tenure with Loyola in its Graduate School Counseling Program as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of clinical experiences. Other professorial roles have included her Alma Mater, George Washington University, and The Harvard University Summer Institute for Counselors. She directed the school counseling program for the then 163 schools in Baltimore County.

She has served on several local and national boards, including Saint Agnes Hospital; The Good Shepherd Center for adolescents; the Carrollton Bank, (now WesBanco); Education Testing Service( ETS); College Board; the National Board for Certified Counselors; the State Council on Vocational-Technical Education; the National Boards of The Links, Incorporated and The National Coalition of 100 Black Women. She currently serves on the National Board for the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. In September,2023, the Secretary of the United States Department of Interior appointed her to the National Historic Site Advisory Commission for the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology awarded her the Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, in October 2023. Earlier, she received an appointment to the National Career Education Advisory Council that operated in the Office of the Secretary of Education and emerged to become the first woman to chair the Council. This appointment was supported by the two Maryland US Senators. She has served the National Council of Negro Women in many roles and worked closely with Dorothy I. Height; directed The Dorothy I. Height Leadership Institute and currently Chairs the NCNW Affiliate Organizations. In Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, she has served in many roles, including chapter president, collegiate adviser, National Treasurer, interim Regional Director, as well as Vice President and National President. In Delta she charted the first European Chapter; Commissioned the statue “FORTITUDE” on Howard University’s campus and established the Distinguished Professor Endowed Chair that has enabled more than 25 HBCU’s to develop a new program, have a visiting professor, or allow a professor to undertake valuable research to benefit the university.

She served as Delta’s lead representative for the Turning Point Suffrage Memorial that opened May 2021 in Lorton, Virginia as the only National Memorial commemorating the Suffrage Movement. Mrs. Patricia Wirth served as the Chief Executive Officer for the mammoth project. Now under the Executive Leadership of Anna Laymon, Daley has been named an ambassador for the only Women’s Suffrage Statue to be erected in the nation’s capital.

She has conducted workshops and/ or given speeches in the U.S., in Africa, Europe, and Asia. She has touched the lives of many through her counseling, mentoring, and organizational leadership and remains a strong advocate for equity and social justice. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Mary Church Terrell Award, the Urban League Whitney Young Award, Delta’s Fortitude Award, and the Who’s Who in Black Baltimore Lifetime Achievement Award.  As a professional, she continues to enhance the lives of people of all ages through her mentoring, teachings, consultations, writing, and counseling and advocacy for women and girls.

Tisa Silver Canady, EdD, MBA, is a renowned collegiate financial wellness expert and author specializing in student loan debt. She has advised families on over $150 million in loan repayments and helped public servants eliminate more than $20 million in federal debt since 2022.

As the former Director of Financial Education and Wellness at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Dr. Silver Canady has extensive experience as an administrator, researcher, and award-winning faculty member. Since 2012, she has trained financial aid administrators through the DE-DC-MD Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

A prominent voice in personal finance, her insights have been featured in Forbes, TIME, USA Today, and FOX Business. In 2020, she authored Borrowing While Black, addressing how the student loan crisis affects the Black community’s wealth gap. Her 2018 research on Maryland’s campus-based financial education earned an endorsement from the state’s Financial Education and Capability Commission.

In 2021, she launched the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness to empower students with essential life skills. A double graduate of the University of Delaware, she earned her doctorate in higher education administration from Morgan State University.

Linda Day Clark is a internationally acclaimed visual artist and scholar. Committed to social change, she uses her camera to get closer, to touch, relate and inform.

Ms. Day Clark earned an A.A. from Howard Community College, a B.F.A. from Maryland Institute College of Art, and a Masters of Fine Art from University of Delaware. Recently retired, she served as professor of fine art at Coppin State University for twenty-seven years.

Her current project, The Gee's Bend Photographs, has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Walters Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. Throughout Day Clark's career, her work has been exhibited in many prestigious museums and galleries and featured in newspapers from the Baltimore Sun to the New York Times. Ms. Day Clark's work is also accessible in important photography books, including MacArthur award winning Deborah Willis' Reflections in Black: A History of African American Photography 1840-1999, the Brooklyn Museum of Arts Committed to the Image: A Half Century of Black Photographers in America, and The Spirit of Family by Al and Tipper Gore. Ms. Day Clark's creations are in many private collections and institutions such as the Baltimore Museum of Art, The James E. Lewis Museum of Art, The Maryland Historical Society, The Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, the Smithsonian, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Crystal Forman is the CEO and Lead Educator of Holistic Wellness and Health, an organization dedicated to making healthy living easy, nutritious, delicious, and fun. With a whole-person approach rooted in plant-based nutrition and mindfulness, Crystal helps youth, families, seniors, and communities build healthier, more vibrant lives—one meal and one mindful moment at a time.

Crystal holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Master of Health Administration (MHA), and her credentials go well beyond the classroom. She is a certified Permaculture Designer, a Master Gardener, and a certified Produce Safety Educator—a combination that reflects her deep commitment to sustainable food systems and equitable food access. Her work at the intersection of personal wellness and food justice is both practical and deeply purposeful.

With a specialty in plant-based living and women's hormone health, Crystal brings a unique and empowering perspective to the stage. She understands firsthand how the right foods can transform energy, longevity, and overall well-being—and she has dedicated her career to making that knowledge accessible to everyone, regardless of background or circumstance.

In her workshop, Plate to Purpose: Nourishing Our Bodies, Crystal will guide participants through the powerful connection between everyday food choices and lasting wellness. Expect real talk, a live cooking demo, and practical tools you can bring straight to your kitchen.

Follow Crystal and Holistic Wellness and Health on social media @holisticwellnessandhealth to stay connected and continue your wellness journey beyond the event.

Frances Murphy Draper’s career path mirrors that of her maternal grandfather, Carl J. Murphy, who began as a foreign language educator at Howard University before becoming publisher of The AFRO-American Newspaper. Draper followed in his footsteps, first teaching foreign languages in Baltimore City Public Schools before assuming leadership of the family’s historic publication. Since February 2018, she has served as the fourth-generation publisher of The Afro-American Newspapers (dba AFRO News), the nation’s longest-running family-owned Black newspaper.

Affectionately known as “Toni,” Draper is a distinguished academic and lifelong learner. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish language education from Morgan State University, where she served on the Board of Regents for 25 years, stepping down as vice chair in 2020. Her educational credentials also include master’s degrees in education (Johns Hopkins University), business administration (University of Baltimore), and pastoral counseling (Loyola University Maryland), as well as a doctorate in leadership from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

A highly regarded leader in the Black press, Draper was elected first vice chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) in 2023 and serves as board chair of Word In Black, a digital public benefit corporation and news collaborative founded by ten of the nation’s most influential Black newspaper publishers.

In addition to her leadership in journalism, Draper is a sought-after speaker and author. Her published works include No Ordinary Hook-Up: The Courtship of Vashti Turley and Carl Murphy, Life Happens: But You Can Finish (co-authored with Dr. Pamela Love), and her latest book, Prayer and Pen: The Prayers and Legacy of Carl Murphy, Publisher of the Afro-American Newspaper (1922–1967), released in January 2025.

Draper’s contributions extend beyond publishing and academia. She serves on the board of Associated Black Charities and is a member of the Executive Alliance and the Baltimore Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Her exceptional leadership has earned numerous accolades, including the Local Media Association’s “Content and Audience Innovator of the Year,” the NNPA’s “Publisher of the Year” award, the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s “Industrialist of the Year” honor, recognition as one of the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2023 Power 10 CEOs, and the State of Maryland’s 2024 “First Citizen” award. In August 2024, she was also honored with the Featherstone Foundation’s Changemaker Award.

Draper faithfully served as senior pastor of Freedom Temple AME Zion Church in Baltimore for 20 years before retiring in 2022. She and her husband of 51 years, Andre Draper, are proud parents of four children, 12 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

Dr. Vonnya Pettigrew, HonD, is the CEO, founder, and visionary behind the Root Branch conglomerate. This expansive organization includes The RBMG Building, Root Branch Office Solutions, Root Branch Press Coffee & Co., the 501(c)3 Root Branch Arts and Outreach Institute Inc., and the award-winning Root Branch Media Group, headquartered along the Baltimore waterfront in Canton Harbor.

In February 2024, Dr. Pettigrew made history at the start of Black History Month. She was recognized by elected officials from the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland as the first African American woman in Maryland to purchase a block along Baltimore’s waterfront.

For Dr. Pettigrew, this acquisition represents more than a real estate transaction; it is a media hub designed to foster jobs, creativity, and economic impact for the community. Regarding her vision for the project, she shared: "I want us to be remembered as an anchor institution—not only making up part of the skyline of Baltimore, like Domino Sugar and other iconic landmarks. I want the legacy of the work that was done here to be remembered, to ripple across the harbor, and to resonate for generations to come."

Denise Saulsbury is a distinguished career educational leader, business owner, and proud alumna of Coppin State University. With nearly three decades of experience in the field of education, Ms. Saulsbury has dedicated her career to the art of teaching and leadership, specifically the ability to translate complex, high-level concepts into accessible, actionable ideas for diverse learners.

A lifelong learner and advocate for excellence, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Education from Coppin State University. Her leadership extends beyond the classroom and the boardroom into her community; she is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.® and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, organizations that mirror her commitment to service and empowerment.

Currently, Ms. Saulsbury is channeling her decades of pedagogical expertise into the world of Artificial Intelligence. As a business owner and educator, she is passionate about demystifying AI, moving past the technical jargon to help others embrace it as a tool for equity and innovation. She is most proud of her role as a mother to two adult daughters, whose future world drives her commitment to ensuring the next generation is tech-fluent and future-ready.

WombWork Productions, Inc. is a Baltimore-based, women-led, intergenerational social justice performing arts organization whose mission is to heal and empower youth, families, and communities through culturally rooted theatre, movement, voice, and restorative practices. For more than two decades, WombWork has worked with schools, universities, community institutions, and public agencies to create healing-centered spaces where participants transform grief, lived experiences, and social challenges into resilience, advocacy, leadership, and collective joy. Our work is grounded in performance traditions that sustain culture, honor ancestry, and amplify the narratives of Black women and girls.