Eleversity

Karen King Ph.D. serves in a dual leadership role as the Commissioner of Public Advocacy for Erie County and as the Executive Director of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women.
The Department of Public advocacy oversees the Division Consumer Protection, the Bureau of Weights and Measures, and the Commission on the Status of Women.
The Division of Consumer Protection was created to ensure that Erie County's residents have access to education, information, and resources regarding consumer protection. The office investigates and mediates consumer complaints through voluntary mediation and educates Erie County consumers on policies, best practices and their rights and responsibilities as consumers.
The Bureau of Weights and Measures is tasked with assuring that all devices used commercially within the county are accurate and are constructed in a manner to prevent fraud. It is also responsible for compliance with the local item pricing/scanner accuracy law.
As the Executive Director of the Commission on the Status of Women, Dr. King is responsible for creating programs, informational reports and developing collaborative relationships with government and community partners that work to provide resources to the women and girls of Erie County, to ensure that they participate fully in matters that have an impact on their lives and toward the elimination of all gender-based discrimination and the promotion of women’s economic, societal and political empowerment.
Prior to joining Erie County, Dr. King served at the University of Buffalo in several capacities including, the Educational Services Coordinator for Intercultural and Diversity Center and as the Grant Project Manager for a National Science Foundation grant: the Interdisciplinary Engineering and Science Partnership (ISEP) in partnership with the Buffalo Public School District.
Dr. King has served as an adjunct graduate faculty member at Buffalo State College and in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo. Additionally, she has developed and taught courses and conducted numerous workshops on popular media culture, social justice advocacy and anti-racist feminist theory.
She has served on the New York State Council for Women and Girls, the Executive Committee of the University at Buffalo Gender Institute, The Family Justice Center of Erie County, and currently serves on the boards of the YWCA of WNY, the Erie County Minority, Women Business Enterprise Utilization Advisory Board and PowHer NY.
Prior to her careers in higher education and public service, Dr. King worked in the television and commercial production business in New York.
She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ithaca College, her Master of Science degree from Bufalo State College and her Doctoral degree from the University at Buffalo.

Angela M. Douglas serves as a passionate nonprofit leader, social entrepreneur, and advocate promoting personal and professional development for maximum impact. Turbulent times call for calm, strategic leadership that identifies necessary investments and resources that reduce ineffectiveness and system pain points. After more than 30 years of professional experience, she finds the collision of the pandemic and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery has set revolution in motion. Systems as previously understood and operated have been required to pivot. No longer could equity and justice be separated from work life and career building.

Douglas is the Chief Catalyst with Luo Sky Consulting Group, LLC, a boutique firm working with business and not-for-profit leaders to build capacity, strategy, and equity. As a highly sought-after speaker, facilitator, and consultant, Angela can take the complex and make it digestible and applicable with humor and ease. Her engaging style grows and develops teams to tackle the greatest challenges for increased impact. Angela’s diverse career experience in education, juvenile justice, alternative dispute resolution, research and evaluation, and curricula design has set her apart. Holding several training certifications, she has committed to creating brave spaces for learning by using her masterful skill set. Thriving through systemic racism, childhood sexual abuse, generational domestic violence, and breast cancer, Angela has had several media interviews most notably “How the Adultification Of Black Girls Allowed R. Kelly’s Decades of Abuse,” HuffPost. Awards include: Executive of the Year, CNY Business Journal, 2021 and Catalyst to End Racism, InterfaithWorks, Duck Race to End Racism, 2022

Tamika, a resilient multipreneur, author, equity warrior, and atmosphere shifter, draws strength from her profound devotion to supporting the healing of individuals grappling with grief. Tamika's cumulative personal and professional journey, enriched by her divine gifts, uniquely qualifies her to usher in healing for those who are lost, hurting, and grieving. Her mission extends beyond personal triumphs, as she endeavors to empower people to live their best lives. Among the myriad of enterprises she has contributed to, Tamika holds a special place for KABOD Consulting Group LLC, the consulting firm she founded. This full-service agency adopts a holistic approach to organizational consultation and training, covering diverse areas such as DEIB, Trauma Informed Practice, Emotional Intelligence, and Human-Centered Approach.

With over two decades of experience in project management and the application of DEI and trauma-informed practices, Tamika has left an indelible mark within government, corporate, and nonprofit entities. Specializing in identifying gaps that perpetuate inequities within organizations, she transforms these spaces through a lens of equity and inclusion. Currently serving as the Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations Officer for KeyBank’s Central NY and Capital Region markets, Tamika continues to contribute to positive change.

Tamika's journey is not just a testament to personal resilience but a beacon of hope and empowerment for those she touches. Through her unique blend of personal experiences, professional expertise, and spiritual gifts, Tamika is an inspirational force, dedicated to fostering healing, equity, and transformative change in the lives of individuals and communities alike.

Taren Greenidge is a Partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP, a national law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in every aspect of labor and employment law. Taren has extensive knowledge in labor and employment laws that she has developed while representing a wide range of clients from locally-owned small businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Taren defends employers in a broad facet of employment matters including harassment, discrimination, wage and hour claims, workers’ compensation, handbook policy creation, and client counseling for compliance with federal, state, and local laws. She has quickly established herself as an expert in the area of labor and employment law.

Taren is not only a passionate defender in the courtroom, she also has a passion for her community. In 2012, Taren founded the Rochester Black Young Professionals (BYP), an auxiliary of the Urban League of Rochester, to create a forum for young professionals of color to socialize, network and serve their community. She also serves on the boards of several organizations including: the Urban League Of Rochester, Dress for Success Rochester, the Sisters of St. Joseph Foundation Board, and the Rochester Chamber of Commerce Women’s Council Board.

In her free time, Taren works with high school students going through the college application process to assist them in preparing all necessary materials and documentation to increase their chances in pursuing a college education. She mentors these students while they transition to college and continue to work towards attaining their professional and academic goals.

Taren’s hard work and leadership has been noted in all of the Rochester, New York newspapers and she has also been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including: The Daily Record’s Up & Coming Attorney Award, Top Women in Law Award and Top Leader in Law Awards, the Rochester Black Bar Association’s Excellence in Leadership Award, the inaugural IGNITE Future Leader’s Award from the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Rochester Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Award, the New York Law Journal’s Rising Star Award, and most recently RBJ’s Women of Excellence Award. She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers Magazine as One to Watch.

Taren is a Rochester native and graduated cum laude from Spelman College with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science in 2007 and also obtained her J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 2010.

Practicing attorney and longtime public servant, Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion professional with experience in local government, higher education and healthcare industries. As Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, she leads ongoing efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and access within the cancer center and throughout the communities it serves.

A Buffalo native and proud resident, Rodriguez-Dabney joined Roswell Park in June 2023 after serving as First Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff for the City of Buffalo, and previously served in Mayor Byron Brown’s administration from 2007 to 2018. She was Chief Diversity Officer and Chief of Staff at SUNY Buffalo State University from 2018 to 2022 under the leadership of Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner.

Rodriguez-Dabney, who holds an advanced certificate from Cornell University in Diversity and Inclusion and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education, helped steer the City of Buffalo’s successful efforts to engage and support richly diverse communities and organizations and played a central role in the community’s response to the May 14, 2022, racially targeted mass shooting on Buffalo’s East Side. She developed the City’s Opportunity Pledge and spearheaded Mayor Brown’s Opportunity Agenda as the City’s first Chief Diversity Officer, and as one of the first Chief Diversity Officers in the nation serving a large municipality. At Buffalo State, she assisted the college in eliminating barriers by driving intentional, productive guidelines and policies, helping create a resource center to address the needs of historically underrepresented students, working with stakeholders to advance an anti-racist culture, helping to coach faculty, and establishing meaningful connections with diverse alumni.

Rodriguez-Dabney earned a BA in social sciences from California State University San Marcos (2003) and a JD (2006) and LLM (2007) from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. She proudly serves on boards and councils for Read to Succeed, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, WNY Women’s Foundation, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s Community Advisory Board, American Cancer Society’s Diversity Roundtable and is proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Shalon M. Jones is a Global Medical Affairs leader specializing in hematology/ oncology drug research and development. Dr. Jones has in-depth expertise in global public health and the pharmaceutical industry. In her current role, she travels worldwide collaborating on disease strategy and tactics for pre, peri and post drug launch phases to help address unmet medical needs for patients. Dr. Jones provides guidance for investigator-initiated trials. She also supports compassionate use or other early (expanded) access programs which allow new, unapproved drugs to treat seriously ill patients when no other treatments are available. She holds a Bachelor of Science in pharmaceutical marketing from Saint Joseph’s University, a Master of Public Health from LIU Brooklyn, and a Doctor of Pharmacy from Touro College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Jamie Smith is Chief Academic Officer, Associate Director of Education and Dean of the Roswell Park Graduate Division of the University at Buffalo. Dr. Smith previously served as Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Initiatives at Erie Community College (ECC). In those roles, Dr. Smith worked to develop curriculum in ECC’s more than 80 approved programs, reviewing more than 100 approved courses, administering numerous grants, and addressing a variety of educational and community needs through her policy work.
Dr. Smith earned her Doctor of Education degree from St. John Fisher College’s Ralph C. Wilson School of Education after completing a Master of Library Sciences degree from the University at Buffalo. She serves on the New York State Board of Regents State Library Advisory Board and on the Health Sciences Charter School and Elmwood Village Charter Schools boards of trustees, in addition to her service on behalf of several community, educational and civic organizations in Buffalo.

Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts is an active living, health equity, and truth telling scholar who draws on history to expose, understand and dismantle the health disparities and social injustices that marginalized populations and communities of color endured over generations.

Her lived experience and observation of racialization have embodied and informed her approach to scientific discovery and ultimately to her quest for an antiracist society where the basic human rights of health, equity, and justice are no longer denied.

I am an executive with over thirty years of health, behavioral health, governmental, academic and managerial leadership. I've been a hospital CEO, Commissioner of Mental Health, other management positions. As an author, my book, The Female worker's Fourteen Commandments for Powering Up your Career has been helpful to many. I serve on the national advisory board of the Black Women's Health study- the largest national health research study for Black women's health. I started a not for profit organization about 8 yrs. ago- WOMEN WHO LEAD( WWL), a women's mentoring program for those in middle level and up positions and or women who want to change careers. I also started a small scholarship program for 7th & 8th grade girls (DivHERsity). It is for girls who were "C" students who overcame and progressed academically & were kind and supportive of other students. The three schools I choose select the awardees. I continue to volunteer in other local organizations included the Women's Foundation of WNY; this one an emeritus member, COMPEER for those with mental health issues.

Jennifer Williams is a graduate from Pennsylvania State University and native of Philadelphia. Jennifer is an accomplished, self-published author and mental health educator. She currently works for GP Strategies consulting firm supporting Goldman Sachs.

Melissa Mueller – Douglas has a passion for ingenuity and attract people and companies who share this value. My specific expertise advances wellness in the workplace, increases focus and resilience and drives personal and professional growth. As founder and CEO of MYRetreat, I work as a catalyst to create the environment for genuine team building through chocolate rather than “trust falls.” I am on a mission to impact 1 million professionals with Chocolate Mindfulness.

Carlette Bradley is the owner/C.E.O. of The Masterpiece Project, LLC; a professional and personal development consulting firm that equips purpose believers to pursue what makes them uncomfortable; the place where growth happens. Additionally, she is an Employee Experience for Univera Healthcare. Carlette is an author, a certified executive coach and trainer, a sought-after speaker and mentor to many. She is the founder of The Well Retreat for women, the Refiners Virtual Bible Study for women and the co-founder of the G.I.R.L.S. Sports Foundation, Inc. Carlette enjoys challenging individuals of all ages to disrupt old mindsets and to accept the truth about who they are destined to be, Masterpieces!

Cheryl Hayward is the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Manager for Monroe County's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, charged with investigating and addressing discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation issues. In her position, Cheryl provides DEI training and guidance to the workforce to support equity and access in all processes, procedures, and services.
Cheryl holds a Master's degree in Strategic Leadership, is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP®).

Alia Henton-Williams has over 30 years of experience serving communities locally and nationally. Acts of violence and family tragedies launched Alia’s career in advocacy on behalf of victims and their families as well as working with youth. Her servitude has been in various roles including youth and family services, program coordination and planning, education, training and development and public speaking. Alia is the Manager of the Crisis Intervention Services Unit with the City of Rochester and provides direct oversight for the Person In Crisis (PIC) Team, the Homicide Response Team, the Community Support Team and all crisis intervention.

DiMario Bell is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC-P) with 22 years of experience in mental health. He has a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Executive Leadership and Change. DiMario is currently working as a clinical director overseeing a residential facility serving at-risk teenagers who have been removed from their home, he facilitates monthly trainings for the department of social services, teaching children services workers, child protective workers, and other clinicians in areas of mental health and community safety. He also has a private practice.

Kelly Dumas is a licensed clinical social worker and serves as the founder of Dumas R.I.S.E., LLC (Restoration In Sound Environments). She recently opened her private practice Kelly Dumas, LCSW, PLLC and holds over 20 years of experience in behavioral health and nonprofit. A subject matter expert in community Black mental health, Kelly has traveled abroad to learn about indigenous mental health practices that can be incorporated into the work she does within the community. Kelly is also an adjunct professor at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work.