Dr. Lucenia Williams Dunn
The Honorable Dr. Lucenia Williams Dunn was the first female Mayor for the City of Tuskegee, Alabama.
(the following is an excerpt from the Tuskegee Macon County Community Foundation) The hallmark of the career of Lucenia Williams Dunn, PhD has been the innovation to improve the lives of people. Growing up in historic Tuskegee, Alabama, she learned early that giving back to help improve the lives and conditions of others was not just a cliché, but also an important commitment in one’s life. She is an administrator who is a visionary and often the first in diverse venues. Her venture into the professional world was through the Tuskegee Institute Community Education Program (TICEP) where she learned about the impact of poverty on communities and the education of children. She taught English, Reading and Social Studies to children by day and English to adults by night. This was also her first effort at recruiting and helping enroll students in college from rural communities through a special program directed by Dr. Bert Phillips, Dean of Students at Tuskegee Institute. Through the TICEP experience, she learned about the Black Belt counties of Alabama and the dire need for focused attention on education, community and economics. Dunn served as Program Director of the Center for Educational Action, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, where she managed the development of groundbreaking teacher training programs. She managed also the development of improved curriculum to ensure the success of African American children as well as the inclusion of African American History to make certain all students learned about the countless contributions made by African Americans who made life better for America and the world. At the National Council of Negro Women, Incorporated in Washington, DC, she managed national programs in education, economic development and health education. In her position as Director of the Bethune Education Center, Dunn focused on improving the lives of women through economic and community development projects and programs. This included the management of the Black Family Reunion, a festival held in five major cities that attracted a cumulative of over one million people. Her professional experience in government included organizing the first Office of Public Information for the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and serving as Manager of Operations for the Office of the City Administrator, District of Columbia Government, Washington, DC. In this experience, Dr. Dunn helped to design and implement the “Model for Excellence Program” to improve government operations and services to citizens. To Read More Click Here |
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