Board of Directors

Kezia Williams - Chair

Kezia M. Williams is a community leader, young philanthropist, and social entrepreneur, who has experience working in the fields of nonprofit management and organizational development. She has used her skills to benefit local and national nonprofit organizations to include companies in major cities such as: the District of Columbia, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.

Currently, Ms. Williams serves as Chair of Chair of Capital Cause, which is a DC-based nonprofit dedicated to getting young professionals involved in giving back to their communities. Her work with this organization has included growing the organization from five vested members to over 3,000 young professionals influenced by the Capital Cause message of employing young philanthropy to affect real change. Through managing and working with a team of ten committed volunteers, Williams has oversaw the planning of successful events that yielded grants for local nonprofits, worked collaboratively to increase membership by over 50%, and directed efforts to continuously brand Capital Cause as a nonprofit of choice for young professionals searching for a creative ways to invest in their communities.

Ms. Williams’ achievements have been recognized by Envest Foundation who selected her as one of the 2010 National Capitol Region’s Top 40 Under 40 Young Professionals. She was also featured as a speaker for the One National Rally and delivered remarks about public service to nearly 250,000 people.

From 2005 – 2008, she served as the youngest member on the City of Alexandria’s Human Rights Commission, and from 2005 – 2007, she served as the first Director of Political Engagement for the Northern Virginia Urban League, Young Professionals Network. In 2008, she raised $250,000 through grassroots organization efforts to support a 2008 presidential campaign. She did this in less than ninety days and starting with a zero dollar budget.

Ms. Williams is proud alum of Christopher Newport University, and is a native of Richmond, Virginia.

Follow Her: @keziamw

Jubria Lewis - Vice Chair

A humanitarian through service, advocacy, and education, Mr. Jubria A. Lewis believes in the empowerment of greater humanity.   A native of Jeanerette, Louisiana, Mr. Lewis is an educational advocate, and has committed himself to K-12 education for the past several years.  Mr. Lewis career in education and advocacy began as a corps members of the DC Region of Teach For America where he served as a 5th grade teacher at James G. Birney Elementary in SE Washington, DC.  This experience was transformational, and led him to continue working the educational field.  Currently, Mr. Lewis serves as principal of Mary McLeaod Day Academy Public Charter School, a high performing school in Washington, DC. 

In addition to educating students in the DC area, Mr. Lewis also immerses himself in serving the Greater Metro area through work with the HBCU Council of Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, the Talented Tenth Society, and Phi Delta Kappa International. Supporting initiatives that build a community of productive citizens, Mr. Lewis also serves as a Board member of Mentoring BELLA, a high impact program that cultivates young girls into ladies of culture, community, consciousness, and civility.

Mr. Lewis is the recipient of the 2009 Capital Region College Summit Educator of the Year Award, and is currently pursuing a doctorate of education in Educational Leadership and Policy at Howard University.

 

Britney Whaley - Treasurer

A native of Las Vegas, Britney Whaley received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Howard University in 2007. She made a conscious decision after witnessing disparities among people of African descent, women, and children to dedicate her life and career to progressive social and political change. While attending Howard University she published an award-winning article on the ideological foundation of black politics and cultivated her interest in policy, research, and black diaspora politics.

Believing in the power of collective action, Ms. Whaley works diligently through various organizations to promot postive change in the lives of minority communities.  She currently serves as the Regional Representative for the National Black Graduation Student Association where she is responsible for producing a regional research conference, managing the organization's Northeast State Representatives and increasing membership in 11 states as well as the District of Columbia.  She was former president for the George Mason University Graduate Student Association Project. She also served as a coordination for the Greater DC Cares and vollunteer for Women for Women International.

Ms. Whaley loves to travel and learn about different cultures. She has traveled to Argentina to research political and social movements in the Afro-Argentinean community and participated a study abroad program where she attended the University of Pretoria and University of Cape Town to learn about political, social, economic, and security challenges in South Africa.  Ms. Whaley received her Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University.

Yair Inspektor - Parliamentarian  (Bio Coming Soon)

 

Waikinya Clanton - Secretary

Miss Waikinya J.S. Clanton is a native of Canton, Mississippi and cum laude graduate of TougalooCollege in Tougaloo, MS where she obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis in Pre-Law. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Small Business and Global Management at the University of Phoenix in Washington, DC. She is currently manages constituent services as Staff Assistant/Legislative Correspondent for Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-2), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

During her matriculation at TougalooCollege, Miss Clanton was active in a multitude of organization where she served in leadership positions with the NAACP, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Gamma Psi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta and the National Panhellenic Council. Miss Clanton was also former 1st runner up for MissTougalooCollege (2007-2008).  Miss Clanton has continued to show her commitment to community advancement through her efforts of services rendered to the Capitol Street Boys and Girls Club of MS, CARES of MS as well as the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Service (VITA) program. Miss Clanton is professionally affiliated with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Alumni Association, Congressional Black Associates, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s Political Boot Camp Graduate program, a member of the Young Non-Profit Professional Network (YNPN), the Washington Area Tougaloo Alumni Chapter (WATAC).

Miss Clanton was selected as a 2009 CBC Emerging Leader during the 39th Annual Legislative Conference. Miss Clanton hopes that through her life’s achievements she inspires others to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them and is committed to educating and cultivating Mississippi’s next generation of leaders.

Darla Bunting - Capital Director

Hailing from small-town Bridgeton, NJ, Darla Bunting always felt a calling on her spirit to inspire youth and help others.  Darla describes Bridgeton as a “small town with big city problems.”  Growing up in a city with a median family income of $30,000, and where poverty, teenage pregnancy, and violence serve as cripples to progress to this day, Darla became aware early on that in America where a child is born has great influence on his/her life outcomes.  These life experiences led Darla to commit her life to helping people growing up in poor and under-resourced communities.

Darla attended the University of Maryland-College Park and was involved in several organizations including: Black Student Union, Residence Hall Association, Kids2College, and the Theta Nu Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc.  Darla graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors of Art degree in Sociology with numerous accolades including induction into the Maryland Medallion Society for the campus’ top 20 student leaders, and the recipient of the prestigious John B. Slaughter Outstanding Senior, Sally S. Byrd Citizenship, and Nyumburu Cultural Center Student Leader of the Year awards.   

Prior to relocating to Washington, D.C., Darla taught at a K-8 charter school as part of Teach For America in New Orleans, Louisiana.  While teaching, Darla also served as Secretary of First Book-Greater New Orleans--a national non-profit raising funds and providing book grants to educators and programs serving children in need. After her corps commitment, Darla became employed as a Founding Teacher at DC Scholars Stanton Elementary where she teaches third grade literacy.   Darla is also an Auxiliary Board member of The Generation Project—a non-profit focused on harnessing the ideas of donors to expand opportunities for high-need K-12 students .  She also co-chairs the effort to re-establish the District’s First Book Advisory Board.  Darla is a passionate public servant and eager to engage young professionals in the wonderful world of philanthropy.

Madeline Mitchell - Events Director

Madeline T. Mitchell is a native of St. Louis, MO, the "show me" state. Ms. Mitchell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, with a double major in Communication and Spanish – a language she immersed herself in while studying abroad in Granada, Spain. Ms. Mitchell earned her Master of Tourism Administration degree in 2008 with a concentration in Events and Meetings Management at the George Washington University.  In July 2010, she earned her Certified Meeting Professional certificate.  

Currently, Ms. Mitchell is a Senior Meeting Professional at EDJ Associates, Inc. with six years of experience. With EDJ Associates, she provides full-cycle management of client meetings of various sizes and complexity, which includes developing overall event plans and conference costs while managing events within budget. For the majority of her professional career, Ms. Mitchell has worked on government contracts in event management. She has been responsible for providing event support and execution to National Institutes of Health, SAMHSA’s FASD Center for Excellence and their various meetings. Also, she has coordinated events with the Office of Minority Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Healthy Native Babies Work Group, and the Northern Virginia Urban League to name a few.

Throughout her career, Ms. Mitchell has volunteered her talents to assist in producing different events in various capacities for organizations such as International Special Events Society, Tyson’s Tunnel Project, National Organization Caring for Kids, Coast Guard Foundation and The Green Festival (Washington, DC). Ms. Mitchell is also a member of Society of Meeting Professionals and Society of Government Meeting Professionals. 

Tiffany Robinson - Membership Director

Tiffany Robinson is a Washington, DC area native who grew up in the neighboring city of Fort Washington, Maryland. She graduated in 2007 from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelors of Science degree in both Marketing and Supply Chain Management. At Maryland, she became a member of the co-ed business fraternity Phi Chi Theta, where she served as the Webmaster for the organization.

After graduating, Tiffany worked as a consultant with Accenture in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Delaware. For three years, she worked with federal government clients on systems implementation projects and business process design initiatives. However, in 2010, Tiffany joined 11 other sector switchers in a fellowship program with ProInspire, a company that transitions young business professionals into the nonprofit sector. As a ProInspire Fellow, she worked with Eagle Academy Public Charter School in Washington, DC as a project manager. In this role, she developed and designed data management processes and procedures for the student information system, Powerschool. Tiffany continues to work at Eagle Academy in a new role as a Data Manager, organizing, analyzing and reporting student achievement data.

Her work in the nonprofit sector continuously reaffirms her passion and dedication to urban education reform and the advancement of early childhood education. She fully believes that every child is entitled to an equal start and a superior educational experience.

Tiffany currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband and beloved puppy Lola. In her spare time she’s spending time with family and friends and exploring all that the DC metro area has to offer.

Crystal Marie Grant - PR Outreach Director

Crystal Marie Grant is an Account Executive with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Co. After graduating from Howard University and serving as a teacher for Americorps in Los Angeles, Crystal Marie spent several years working in development and operations in the non-profit sector, most notably with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. There, she developed a passion for developing relationships between corporations and progressive youth development programs seeking both financial and programmatic support from the private sector.

Capital Cause represents a perfect intersection between Crystal Marie’s dedication to at-risk youth and her marketing and corporate philanthropy experience; moreover, she is excited to be part of a foundation dedicated to having a significant positive impact on the future of our nation’s capital – it’s youth! In her spare time she is active in the NAACP, Alfred Street Baptist Church, AWordorThree.com, and is a passionate patron of the local arts community.

Charles Anamalechi - Corporate Outreach Director (Bio Coming Soon)

Abenaa Addei - Cause Director

Abenaa Addei grew up in the Washington DC Area. Ms. Addei  is an alum of Rochester Institute of Technology, where she majored in Management Information Systems with minors in Minority Relations and Management Development and graduated with Deans List honors. She was the first African American to receive the RIT Distinguished Public Service Award for creating service projects engaging RIT with the Rochester community. Abenaa lives by the words "Serve someone other than yourself, something bigger than yourself."

After graduating from RIT, Ms. Addei began a career as a Systems Engineer. Her most notable systems design includes creating the design for the President Inauguration Committee Network of the 44th President Barack Obama. She continued to serve the DC community, being involved in local projects with Greater DC Cares, Breast Cancer Walks, and Marine Corps Toys for Tots.

She has been a supporter of Capital Cause since 2009, and has served as Membership Director, and now Cause Director.
 
Currently she is concluding her Johns Hopkins Carey Business School MBA with an emphasis on Marketing and Management where she is a recognized JHU Leadership Development Program Alumni. Also while pursuing her MBA she is working full time as a Collaboration Partner Development Manager where she uses her expertise in business applications to create successful partnerships that grow businesses and exceed customer expectations.
 
In her free time, Ms. Addei enjoys international travel, playing the guitar, and yoga.