Home » 22nd Lola M. Parker Luncheon

(L to R) Honorees and MC: Akiba Bradford, Captain Valerie Matthews, Aisha Lusk, Valerie St. John, MC. Standing. Cara Brown, Chapter Pres., Felisia Thibodeaux, Toni Ratcliff – Powell, Pamela Ellison, Lakisha Mitchell – Keith, Deloris Bethea’

22nd Lola M. Parker Luncheon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lillian Anderson
Tel: 650-355-4130
Email: cander8433@aol.com

Iota Honors Business and Professional Women

San Francisco, CA, April 2018 —Across the nation Iota Phi Lambda Sorority’s Business Month which focuses on empowering Business and Professional Women is being celebrated with diverse events throughout the month of April. Iota Phi Lambda is a nonprofit organization of business and professional women dedicated to community service. The theme is “Business and Professional Women: Furthering the Dream of Economic Independence”.

On April 7, MC Valerie St. John introduced eight women selected by Gamma Nu Chapter to the community at its 22nd Annual Lola M. Parker Luncheon held at the Patio Espanol, 2850 Alemany Blvd. in San Francisco, CA. She is the Chief Marketing Officer at DISCERN Investment Analytics, a cutting edge data driven research firm which helps institutional investors make more informed decisions. She is also an Honorary Member of Gamma Nu Chapter.

(L to R) Honorees and MC: Akiba Bradford, Captain Valerie Matthews, Aisha Lusk, Valerie St. John, MC. Standing. Cara Brown, Chapter Pres., Felisia Thibodeaux, Toni Ratcliff – Powell, Pamela Ellison, Lakisha Mitchell – Keith, Deloris Bethea’

The Business and Professional Women honored included: Deloris Bethea’, a Certified Foster Parent since 2004 with the SF Department of Human Services, who has fostered over 37 children; Akiba Bradford, a Juvenile Justice and Criminal Justice Researcher and Advocate who is a Board Member and Vice Chair of the City of Oakland’s Community Policing Advisory Board which advises the Chief of Police, City Council and the Community on fostering better community-police relations; Pamela Ellison, Chief Digital Officer and Corporate Advisor who sits on the board of advisors for select brands and consults with CEOs on their digital business growth plans; Aisha Lusk, a MSW Protective Services Supervisor for the City & County of San Francisco’s Human Services Commission as a Protective Services Worker for the past ten years; Captain Valerie Matthews, who came into the San Francisco Police Department in 1991, has been an exemplary officer and role model with the Police Dept. progressively moving through the ranks to her current role as Captain in October 2017. She is currently in charge of the Major Crimes Unit which includes Homicide, Robbery, and Gang Task Force; Lakisha Mitchell-Keith, a criminal justice administrator and former Homeland Security supervisor where she created several policies and procedures which were awarded the National Best Practices by the Agency’s Executive Director. She was invited to headquarters to launch her program nationwide. In 2017, she received a full scholarship to Golden Gate University’s School of Law where her goal is to help to those in need; Toni Ratcliff-Powell, an employee of the S.F. Juvenile Probation Dept. in diverse roles bridging outreach to the community since 1987. Upon resuming Supervisory Probation Officer duties over the Dept.’s Court Office Unit, she oversaw General and Serious Offender Units and in 2016 began leading one of the Intake Units.; and Felisia Thibodeaux, CEO/Founder of At Your Service Professional Service serving the public for over 25 years. The majority of this time spent in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Property Management and Housing Development arena. She is the Founder of You Go Girl, Youth Leadership Academy, a program to help intercity girls develop and realize their own potential, foster leadership and create community stewards.

(L to R) Scholarship Recipients with Joanne Early, Scholarship Committee Chair. Denaysia Rabb, Lauren McCoy, and Saira Brown representing her sister Gabriella Brown.
(L to R) Gamma Nu Chapter. Johnnie Evans, 2nd Vice Pres.; Myrtle Smith, Treasurer ; Karen Smith, Event Chr.; Adrienne Anderson, Web Master/Program Design; Cara Brown, President;
Valerie St. John, MC/Honorary Member; Lillian Anderson, Dean of Intake ; Joanne Early, 1st Vice Pres.; and Linda Dillard, Journalist. Not pictured: Collette Evans – Brown, Delphine Metcalf-Foster, Emogene Singleton and Beatrice Smith. ***

This Luncheon is Gamma Nu Chapter’s major Scholarship Fundraiser. Scholarships of $1,000 each were presented to three graduating high school seniors: Gabriella Brown, Piedmont H.S., Piedmont, CA plans to attend Western Washington University with a focus in Computer Science; Lauren McCoy, Mission High School, San Francisco, CA plans to attend Dillard University to pursue Nursing; and Denaysia Rabb, Mission High School, San Francisco, CA plans to attend Clark Atlanta University with a focus on Business Management.

The chapter also administers the Helen M. Johnson and John Q. Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund which targets single mothers with minor children who are pursuing their goal of higher education.

 

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