Celebrating 40 years of Friendship and Service in the East Bay

Who We Are

About The Links, Incorporated

The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 17,000 professional women of African descent in 304 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. For more information, visit our national website at www.linksinc.org.

About the Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated

The Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated is comprised of women of color residing in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The chapter is informally referred to as “ACCL,” an acronym for Alameda Contra Costa Links. ACCL was chartered in 1985 and supports local service agencies serving primarily low-income, inner-city youth and their families through volunteer and fundraising efforts.

ACCL member Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris served as the 16th National President of The Links, Incorporated. To read more about Dr. Newell-Harris click here.

Learn More About ACCL

WELCOME!

Ingrid Moore
President, Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter

Welcome! Whether you're a longtime friend of our chapter or discovering us for the first time, we invite you to explore this site and learn more about the initiatives and programs that define who we are and the communities we are honored to serve.

For more than 40 years, the Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated has been grounded in the twin principles of friendship and service values that unite our membership and guide every program we deliver. We align our goals and objectives with those of our National organization, and our work is powered by dynamic, dedicated members who bring vision, expertise, and heart to everything we do. Today, our members carry that legacy forward.

During our 2024–2026 program cycle, we served nearly 2,000 individuals and 380 families. We awarded scholarships and delivered global, cultural, and STEAM learning to students through Passports to Purpose, cultivating global citizenship. Through Dr. Me!, one of our STEM initiatives, third graders at Saint Leo the Great School studied the human body guided by physicians, culminating in a white-coat graduation. Students also visited the Lawrence Hall of Science for a planetarium presentation on sickle cell disease and emerging treatment technology.

We provided culturally tailored food baskets throughout the years, supporting more than 2,200 families since our Food Insecurity Task Force began in 2020, and continue our decade-long partnerships with Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary and Saint Leo the Great School.

Our work matters because the need is real: 57% of Black families in Alameda County face food insecurity; only 40.3% of Black students met English proficiency standards on the 2024 CAASPP compared to 74.9% of White students; and a 15-year life expectancy gap persists between Black and White residents in our region.

We are committed to continuing our outreach, knowing that this would not be possible without the dedication of our members and the generosity of our supporters.

We invite you to join us through a donation, a partnership, or simply by learning more about the programs featured throughout this site. Every contribution, large or small, helps us expand our reach and deepen our impact.

With gratitude,

Ingrid M. Moore, President,

Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter

The Links, Incorporated

OUR PROGRAMS

Delivering Impactful and Sustaining Programs in Service to Our Community

In the 2024–2026 program cycle, the Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated (ACCL) served approximately 2,000 individuals and 380 families, and awarded $2,500 in scholarships. Our work is guided by our 2025–2030 strategic plan theme: improving the lives of Black women, their children, and families through STEM and literacy.

The Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area include 33 cities and over 2.7 million people. ACCL supports communities throughout Oakland and the youth who live there as its community service program area. A needs assessment conducted in 2011 showed significant disparities in high school graduation rates among African American boys and girls, low test scores in science, math, health, and technology, and an obesity rate of almost 30% among elementary school children. That finding set our five facets on a shared focus on STEAM education, which continues today.

Current data confirms the need. In Alameda County, 57% of Black families struggle with food insecurity. In the 2024 CAASPP results, 40.3% of Black students met or exceeded the English standard, compared to 74.9% of White students, and roughly 25% of Black students are proficient in reading and math. Black residents also face a life expectancy gap of about 15 years compared with White residents.

Our programs are sustained by our institutional leadership affiliations and relations. Each year, our chapter's strategic planning process aligns our objectives with the needs of our community and with our national initiatives. We use a service delivery model to build a comprehensive approach to each need, and we organize our work around four principles:

• Engagement and alignment: Every program connects to STEM and to national Links priorities, with a focus on our partner schools, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary and Saint Leo the Great.

• Efficiency: Facets combine into integrated, single-track programs so volunteer hours go further.

• Effectiveness: Every program uses pre- and post-surveys, tracks participation data, and gathers testimonials.

• Experience: We make realistic commitments, train our members, and offer weekend volunteer opportunities.

ACCL has also established two signature community service efforts: the Respect Yourself Youth Symposium and the Food Insecurity Taskforce (see Spotlights below).

Learn more about our National Programs here.

Our community partners include:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in West Oakland, a public school serving kindergarten through 5th grade students. The school's population is 60% African American, and 82% of students are eligible for the free lunch program. MLK has been a community partner since 2014.

• Saint Leo the Great School, a pre-kindergarten to 8th grade school where 20% of families live below the poverty line and many children require tuition assistance. Saint Leo the Great has been a community partner for more than a decade.

• Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco connects our students with artists, workshop educators, and art tools, and supports our Poster Arts Competition.

• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) helps shape our STEM workshop curriculum and our path toward an NSBE Jr. chapter for our students.

• Colgate-Palmolive and the National Dental Association support our oral health education and hygiene kits through the Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program.

• Kaiser Permanente and the Kaiser Community Foundation provide health resources, youth empowerment sessions, and grant funding.

• Alameda County Community Food Bank supports nutrition education and food equity for our school families.

• Dress for Success and the Oakland Housing Authority's Family Self-Sufficiency program partner with us on Dressing HER from the Inside Out, our workforce readiness program for women.

• The Berkeley Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated assists with our annual Respect Yourself Youth Symposium.

• The East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC), an award-winning nonprofit youth center established in 1978, hosts our Reading Links to Living girls' book club and serves more than 2,000 youth and young adults.

• Fellow Links chapters: The Boston Chapter adopted our South Africa curriculum, and the San Francisco Chapter is co-developing a Liberia curriculum with us.

The Arts

Objective: Increase and expand art activities throughout our communities, including creating and supporting programs that enrich the quality of life of our youth and communities through educational and engaging art experiences.

ACCL leads workshops for the biennial National Poster Arts Competition at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School and Saint Leo the Great School. The 2025–2026 national theme, "Unity Through the Arts," explores how art has strengthened communities and bridged political, social, and economic divides.

This year, two certified art educators each led five workshops: John Broussard at Saint Leo the Great and Nichole Talbott at MLK. At Saint Leo, 15 students in grades 3–7 met on five Saturdays from January through March, starting each session with a healthy breakfast. At MLK, 16 fifth graders met on five Thursdays in the afterschool program. Each school closed with an art showcase where every student presented their work, explained how it reflected the theme, and received a certificate and an art kit.

The Arts facet partners with International Trends and Services throughout the year, so students' artwork connects to the countries they study. In past years, the facet has also partnered with the Oakland Ballet on "Discover Dance" performances and led vision journal workshops. Art activities build social skills, emotional regulation, and creative problem-solving, and help students see the world in new ways.

National Trends and Services

Objective: Effectively empower the communities and families with whom we work and eliminate disparities by reducing barriers to services through advocacy, education, and service. The program emphasis has evolved over the years, but the goal of creating and supporting environments that empower African American families has remained constant.

After the pandemic, many East Bay women are navigating a difficult job market. In response, ACCL launched Dressing HER from the Inside Out.

Dressing HER from the Inside Out, a national Links initiative delivered in partnership with Dress for Success and the Oakland Housing Authority's Family Self-Sufficiency program. The program supports 20–30 women as they re-enter the workforce and work toward stability and independence.

Through a series of mini-workshops beginning in June 2026, participants explore job applications and resume building, interview preparation, financial literacy, homeownership and long-term planning, and wellness and self-care. The program also includes interview-readiness clinics and a curated professional attire collection. In prior years, NTS led financial literacy and anti-bullying workshops for students at our partner schools.

Health and Human Services

ACCL's Health and Human Services (HHS) Facet advances health awareness, education, and wellness in our community through impactful programming and outreach.

A cornerstone of our work is Dr. Me!, a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) enrichment program that exposes elementary schoolers to careers in healthcare. Now in our third year, the program engages third-grade students at St Leo the Great School in interactive, hands-on experiences that introduce them to the human body, health sciences, and medical careers. Through exposure to healthcare professionals and engaging educational activities, Dr. Me! encourages students to explore STEM fields and envision futures in healthcare. During the 2025–2026 program year, our Dr. Me! students showed growing interest in healthcare careers, with the number of students who expressed a desire to become doctors increasing from just 2 of 18 at the start of the program to 6 of 18 by the end.

Our chapter also participates in the national organization's Walk for Healthy Living, an annual community event that recently celebrated its 31st year. The walk promotes heart health, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle choices while bringing community members together around the importance of cardiovascular wellness.

Our HHS Facet is committed to empowering the next generation with health knowledge, inspiring future healthcare leaders, and promoting healthier communities.

Services to Youth

Objective: Use an integrated approach to prepare young people to succeed as healthy citizens in the global workforce and to promote healthy lifestyles within families and communities. The facet focuses on closing the achievement gap from pre-K through college, developing mentoring modules, expanding STEM education, and supporting historically Black colleges and universities.

In fall 2026, STY launched Set Theory, a six-week afterschool program at MLK that uses the art of DJing to teach STEM. Students connect real DJ skills, such as reading BPM, navigating the Camelot Wheel, and mapping song structure, to math, physics, and engineering. The program introduces NSBE Jr. content and STEM career paths, and serves as a bridge to an NSBE Jr. chapter for our students.

STY also leads the Respect Yourself Youth Symposium (see Spotlights below), which in 2026 delivered four expert-led STEM sessions for 5th–8th graders. For more than 20 years, ACCL has led the monthly Reading Links to Living book club for girls ages 8–12 at the East Oakland Youth Development Center, where girls build a love of reading, writing, journaling, and public speaking, meet local authors, and take field trips to museums and libraries.

International Trends and Services

Objective: Preserve the culture and improve the economic plight of people in African countries and the wider diaspora. ITS develops programs that provide humanitarian outreach related to education, healthcare, advocacy, and basic human needs for people of African descent in developing nations, and promotes global awareness among the youth we mentor.

Through the national Education Across the Miles signature program, ITS led monthly global citizenship sessions for 51 fourth graders at Saint Leo the Great and MLK in 2025–2026. Each session is a travel simulation, with passport applications, boarding passes, continent mapping, flags, music, and tastings of authentic foods. Students apply for their own passports, then "travel" through units such as:

• South Africa: Nelson Mandela and the global freedom movement, geography and topography, flag art, and a currency lesson.

• Jamaica: Bob Marley and poetry, flag art, the Caribbean's place in North America, geography, and trade.

• Our World, Our Passport and Africa Was Never Small! (fall 2026): New opening sessions on world geography and the true scale and diversity of the African continent.

In 2026, ITS is launching a pen pal exchange with students in Jamaica and Liberia. The facet works closely with The Arts and MoAD to connect each country unit to students' artwork, and these sessions form the core of our Passports to Purpose integrated program (see below).

SPOTLIGHTS

Food Insecurity Taskforce (FIT)

Now in its sixth year, ACCL FIT has served more than 2,200 families at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary and Saint Leo the Great, funded through grants and fundraising. FIT began when COVID-19 closed our partner schools, and students lost access to free school breakfasts. The ITS facet stepped in to meet that need at MLK, and the effort has grown since.

The need remains urgent: 57% of Black families in Alameda County face food insecurity, West Oakland is a food desert, and rising food costs strain families, including those receiving tuition assistance at Saint Leo. FIT now serves a target community of 378 families across both schools.

Each month, volunteers pack nutritious food bags and deliver them in the morning to Saint Leo and in the afternoon to MLK's after-school program. Each delivery includes menus for healthy meal preparation, nutrition resources, and a Safeway gift card for fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit. During the 2024–2026 cycle, FIT delivered more than 180 culturally tailored food baskets each school year, aligned with the countries students were studying, and 100% of surveyed families reported satisfaction. Seasonal Harvest Drops from November through January reach an additional 42 families.

Our Groceries Delivery Toolkit provides a guideline for purchasing and delivering nutritious groceries to community groups, giving consistency in objectives and metrics across participating Links chapters.

Passports to Purpose

Award-winning programming

Passports to Purpose, our 2024–2026 integrated program, engaged 290 third- through fifth-grade students at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary and Saint Leo the Great Catholic School in more than 40 hours of global, cultural, health, and STEAM learning. Led by the International Trends and Services facet with The Arts, Health and Human Services, and Services to Youth, the program aligns with The Links' national Education Across the Miles signature program. Thirty-three of our 44 chapter members took part.

The need: Our students are bright, capable, and full of potential, but many face barriers rooted in systemic inequities of race, income, health, and food access. They have few opportunities for culturally relevant, global-facing curriculum that connects them to the African diaspora, for experiential learning in geography and culture, for STEAM enrichment, or for dialogue about identity and global citizenship.

The program: Passports to Purpose follows students across three critical years of literacy, STEM, and self-development:

3rd grade, Dr. Me! (HHS): Hands-on health and STEM career modules taught by African American medical professionals, with oral health lessons and hygiene kits supported by Colgate-Palmolive and the Kaiser Community Foundation.
4th–5th grade, Global Passport (ITS and The Arts): Monthly travel simulations, with boarding passes, global snacks, music, flags, and art, through South Africa, Jamaica, Liberia, and Haiti, paired with the National Poster Arts Competition in partnership with MoAD.
5th grade, STEM enrichment (STY): Hands-on labs such as bridge building and circuitry, mentorship, reading support, and a STEM-focused after-school program, shaped with input from NSBE.
Families (FIT): Monthly culturally tailored food baskets, holiday meals, and nutrition resources for families at both schools.

The program grew through Links partnerships: the Boston Chapter adopted our South Africa curriculum, and the San Francisco Chapter is co-developing our Liberia curriculum and connecting students to pen pals. The 2024–2026 cycle closed with a Passport Ceremony celebrating students' global learning with parents, school staff, and community partners.

The program was supported by a $12,750 grant from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation and by chapter funding.

In their words:

"Our partnership with The Links has been transformational. The Global Passport program brings innovation, cultural enrichment, and academic reinforcement to our campus in a way that directly aligns with our equity goals at OUSD." — Principal

"Seeing African American medical professionals in white coats was especially impactful, as students were able to see themselves reflected in these roles." — Teacher, Saint Leo the Great

"I love the Passport because it makes learning fun! We got to learn about Jamaica and even tasted new snacks... Now I want to visit all the places we learned about." — 4th Grader, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary

Looking Ahead

Through 2030, ACCL is building a connected pathway that gets our communities STEM and health ready, following students from 3rd through 8th grade and supporting their families along the way. Our 2025–2027 plan centers Black women, their children in grades 3–8, and their families in Oakland and Alameda, and sets a goal of reaching at least 900 program participants each year.

The plan responds directly to the disparities in our region. Our STEM and literacy focus answers the proficiency gaps shown in the 2024 CAASPP results. Our food security work counters food deserts, as 57% of Alameda County's Black families struggle with food insecurity. And through umbrella integration, we are fusing NSBE Jr., Dr. Me!, and Black family wellness into a single community engine that involves every facet and every member.

A pathway from 3rd to 8th grade:

• 3rd grade: Dr. Me! healthcare and STEM career pipeline (8 sessions) — Health and Human Services

• 4th grade: Education Across the Miles global citizenship curriculum (6–8 sessions) — International Trends and Services and The Arts

• 5th grade: STEM workshops, including AI, building toward a NSBE Jr. chapter — Services to Youth

• 6th–8th grade: Respect Yourself Youth Symposium and STEM workshops, including AI — All facets, led by Services to Youth

• Families: Food Insecurity Taskforce monthly grocery support; Dressing HER from the Inside Out — Food Insecurity Taskforce

Each program year will open with the Walk for Healthy Living in September, run core school programs from October through February, and close with one culminating event in March: the Respect Yourself Youth Symposium combined with a Black Family Wellness Expo for students, parents, and the wider community. Dressing HER from the Inside Out will continue to support women's economic independence alongside this pathway.

What we are building next:

• Deeper global connections: Pen pal exchanges with students in Jamaica and Liberia, named partner schools abroad, ways to measure what students on both sides learn from each other, and a Global Literacy Week during Black History Month spotlighting Black authors and inventors from across the diaspora.

• STEAM through creative paths: Programs like Set Theory, which teaches math and engineering through DJing, will bridge students toward an NSBE Jr. chapter with Saturday activities for 5th–8th graders.

• Mentorship from Link professionals: Members share their own career journeys, such as a pediatrician's path to medicine, so students can see themselves in STEM and healthcare careers.

• Stronger measurement: Every program will use pre- and post-surveys, participant demographics, and testimonials, with a goal that service recipients rate our impact at least 4 out of 5.

• Broader community engagement: We will grow our partnerships, civic engagement through Link Up the Vote, and opportunities for members, families, and friends to serve together, such as volunteering at the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

We invite partners, families, and supporters to join us as we help every child take flight with a passport to purpose.

RESPECT YOURSELF
SYMPOSIUM

The Respect Yourself Symposium (RYS) was developed in 1996 to address rising gun violence in Oakland, California. Recognizing that many factors contributed to the problem, and that violence had been declared a public health issue, we organized a one-day symposium for middle school youth. The first RYS was held on the campus of Laney College in Oakland, and there were approximately 100 students in attendance. Students were invited from public and parochial schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Our inaugural workshops were held in small group settings, led by community leaders, to discuss peer pressure, how to handle being stopped by the police, the challenges of substance abuse, and the value of financial literacy. Over the years, the workshops have evolved to cover topics related to STEAM, including interactive workshops like brain anatomy and DJing with math.

RYS has received national and area recognition from The Links, Incorporated, and school principals and parents have applauded the symposium for creating such a meaningful experience for their children. In keeping with the advancement and development of programming within our national organization, we broadened the one-day symposium over time to engage many of our students all year long, culminating in this annual Saturday event. In more recent years, the event has been in virtual or hybrid formats due to COVID-19. An average of 125 students are typically in attendance.

The Respect Yourself Symposium has hosted a variety of workshops over the past 27 years. Our focus has been on introducing students to topics that are relevant to the times and engaging for students. Below is a list of some of the workshops that participants have experienced since RYS began in 1996:

Science: Brain Anatomy, Heart and Lung Anatomy, Nutrition and the Digestive System
Technology: Coding, Robotics, Storytelling with AI
Engineering: Designing Shoes, Designing Ski Jumps, Robotics Drag Race
Art: Dance, Vision Boarding
Math: DJing with Math, Set Theory
Health and Wellness: Healthy Eating, Mental Health, Conflict Resolution, Sexual Education, Substance Abuse Education
Entrepreneurship: Building a Business Plan, Marketing, Pitching Your Idea
Life Skills: Anti-Bullying; Financial Literacy; Know Your Rights; and How You Show Up in the World, in Your Community, and for Yourself (Contributing to Your Community, Identifying Your Values, Building Your Brand, and Mapping Your Vision)

Our program is sustained by our institutional leadership affiliations and relations. Each year our chapters’ strategic planning process aligns our objectives with the needs of the target audience through a review of both their needs and our national initiatives. This annual exercise allows for integrated involvement, strong partnerships, and focused community service. Our community partners include:

The Berkeley Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated assists with our annual Respect Yourself Youth Symposium.
The East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC), an award-winning 501c3 nonprofit youth center established in 1978, and a community partner for twenty years is the location of our Reading Links to Living Girls book club. This Youth Center provides a safe haven for learning and growth for more than 2,000 youth and young adults.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in West Oakland, a public school serving kindergarten through 5th grade students. This school's population is 60% African American, and 82% of the students are eligible for the free lunch program. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School has been a community partner since 2014.
Money Wise Financial Groups, a financial literacy partnership of Consumer Action and Capital One, assists with our Financial Literacy Program.
Saint Leo the Great School, a pre-kindergarten to 8th grade school serving families of which 20% live below the poverty line and a sizable number of children require tuition assistance. Saint Leo the Great School has been a community partner for a decade.

Respect Yourself 25th Anniversary Commemorative Video (2021)

06_Service Alameda Contra Costa Links (ACCL).JPG

Lena McAfee Young
Program Director

ACCL CHAPTER

Chapter History

ACCL had its beginnings in the early 1980s with a small group of talented entrepreneurial and professional women who formed the core nucleus. In August 1983, the women were invited to develop an official chapter of The Links, Incorporated. The group selected the name “Alameda/Contra Costa Innovators,” because the prospective members resided in the two counties. On Saturday, February 9, 1985, 25 talented women participated in the formal chartering of the chapter. A formal dinner dance was held that evening during which the new Link inductees were presented to the public.

Accl Today

ACCL Today

Each member of ACCL pledges and commits to providing substantial service hours per year through the organization’s programs. This time is spent by women with a “heart for service” who are dedicated and determined to make a difference. These services are implemented with strategic and focused goals in five program areas: The Arts, Services to Youth, National Trends & Services, International Trends & Services, and Health and Human Services. ACCL has contributed more than $250,000 to our community while providing other services to families in crisis, youth in varied situations, welfare-to-work agencies and education and health concerns here and abroad.

Our programs of over twenty-five years include services to middle school youth through our award-winning “Respect Yourself” Youth Symposium held each year. We stand 45 members strong and our Links sisterhood continues to deepen as our membership expands. Our current chapter activities continue to advance community service to the Bay Area at the same levels of excitement, impact, and standards of our earliest days as a chapter. With a strong foundation of more than three decades, the Alameda Contra Costa Links are well poised for many more successful years of service and sisterhood.

Members

Active Members

Myeshia Armstrong

Adimika Meadows Arthur

Stephanie I.H. Baker

Teiahsha Bankhead

Brittany Harris Beauchman

Diana Bell

Erica Bohler

Chanelle Brown

Deirdre Haizlip Celotto

Stephanie Jackson Christmas

Alexandria Cooley

Rozenia Cummings

Christina Deadwiler

Rosalyn Evans

Latondra Goode

Rita Gordon

Minjon LeNoir Hall

Angela Harris

Jacqueline Harrison

Quita Highsmith

Debra Hill-Houston

Shari Hollis-Ross

Ivor Braden Horn

Brandi Howard

Veda Bartlow Hylick

Meryl Johnson Jackson

Alison Williams Jackson

JaMese McGowan

Jennifer Miller

Monica Monroe

Ingrid M. Moore

Glenda Newell-Harris++

Zainabu Oke

Amy Tharpe Peterson

Lauren Pitts

Alana Pitts-McIver

Yvette Radford

Jennifer Madden Ragland

Desiree Rodgers

Sonya Simril

Melissa Brown Sladden

Victoria Barber Spears

Tiffany Stevenson

Farae Strickland

Dawn Sykes

Svonne Underwood

Julie Waters

Kathrina Weekes+

Lena McAfee Young

+ Immediate Past President, Alameda Contra Costa (CA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated

++ 16th National President, The Links, Incorporated

Alumnae Members

Gale Bell

Stalfana Bello

Andrea Breaux

Vianna Briscoe

Doris Britt

Dorothy Bryant

Myrtle Davis

Theresa Handis

Deborah Gould

Beverly Harrison

Myrtle Jones

Saundra Jones

Denise LeNoir

Jacqui Love-Thornell

Joyce Melton

Elaine Needham

Gwen Renshaw-Ovid

Etna Laura Ross

Rose Mary Towns

Robin Watson

Velather Weaver

Lillian White

Elouise Wilson

Charter Members

Tommye Kay Armstong*

Beverly Baker-Kelly

Delores Benton*

Odessa Broussard*

Dorothy Bryant

Ulyssine G. Clift*

Myrtle Davis

Grace Driver*

Nerissa W. Jarrett*

Christine Johnson

Gladys M. Jordan*

Osie Lawrence*

Rochelle Lester*

Ruth Lockhart*

Henriette Major*

Bernice McMillan*

Evelyne H. Myatt*

Glenda Newell-Harris

Eloise Norton

Emma H. Pendergrass*

Etna Laura Ross

Carolyn Bush Stuckey*

Gwendolyn Seay Townsend*

Norma Jean Tucker*

Greta Clarke Wims

*deceased

16th National President

16th National President (2014-2018)

Glenda F. Newell-Harris, M.D., is a respected physician, author and patient advocate with extensive experience in health care leadership and a deep commitment to health equity. She holds a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Tufts University. Her expertise is further enhanced by certification in Physician Leadership and Managing Ambulatory Care from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Most recently, as Regional Medical Director for YesCare, Dr. Newell-Harris demonstrated her capacity for high-level oversight and strategic management, leading multidisciplinary medical teams to deliver quality health care within correctional facilities across multiple states.

In February 2024, former President Joe Biden appointed Dr. Newell-Harris to serve on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee for the Office of Minority Health, where she advocated for the health interests of racial and ethnic minority groups.

Dr. Newell-Harris has a robust history of fiduciary responsibility, evidenced by her leadership roles in various health and medical organizations. She currently serves on the advisory board of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland and the board of the Ethnic Health Institute, where she has been instrumental in shaping policy and contributing to organizational oversight and governance.

Her governance experience is complemented by her work in the community. She previously served as the board chair of Imani Community Church in Oakland and as a trustee at Miss Porter's School in Connecticut. In these roles, she oversaw financial, operational, and ethical integrity, ensuring that all decisions aligned with the mission and financial health of the organizations.

Dr. Newell-Harris is known for her ability to engage in and simplify complex health issues, as well as her commitment to transparency and accountability. Her leadership extends to her role as the 16th National President of The Links, Incorporated and The Links Foundation, Incorporated — one of the nation's oldest and largest volunteer service organizations — where she was the first and only medical doctor to serve in this role, overseeing a $15.5 million budget. Under her leadership, the organization launched a minority women's medical scholarship program to address the shortage of underrepresented physicians in communities nationwide. During her tenure, she also helped raise more than $2 million for The Links Foundation to support its programs and initiatives.

Mentorship has been a longstanding part of Dr. Newell-Harris' service. She mentors pre-medical and medical students and serves as a trusted advisor to young adult women who aspire to leadership. Her global service has also included leading delegations to Jamaica on several trips to enhance the educational development of students.

Her distinguished service has been recognized with numerous honors, including the National Medical Association's Scroll of Merit and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award for Leadership and Global Community Service. Dr. Newell-Harris brings her extensive experience, strategic vision, and commitment to sound governance to her board service, with a focus on organizational outcomes and community impact.

She remains a trusted and influential voice for the community. As co-author of Focus On Your Best Health, she helps health care consumers communicate, navigate, and advocate for themselves within the health care system.

Learn more about Dr. Newell-Harris' speaking, consulting, and other professional work at www.doctorglenda.com.