National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. Elects New National President

WASHINGTON, August 14, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., (NANBPWC) elected Terri O'Neal Ford, Ph.D., as their 25^th National President at the 84^th National Convention in Aurora, CO.  Dr. Ford hails from Dallas, Texas, and is a native Texan.

A member of NANBPWC for 25 years, Dr. Ford's home club is the South Dallas Business and Professional Women's Club. She is the immediate-past District Governor of the South-Central District (SCD), serving as one of six Governors in the Association. Her governance covered seven states (Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). 

In her professional capacity, Dr. Ford serves as Assistant to the President at Tarrant County College - Northeast Campus in Hurst, Texas, since April 2022. She formerly served as Director of Grants Compliance. As a compliance professional, she worked as the Federal Compliance Coordinator at Stephen F. Austin State University, the Compliance Manager at the University of Dallas, and a Compliance Analyst at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Before her compliance work, Dr. Ford was an employment law paralegal for over 25 years and instructed at Kaplan College's ABA-approved paralegal program.

Academically, she earned a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at Arlington, an M.A. degree in Counseling from Prairie View A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Family Studies from Texas Woman's University. Research interests include African American men 60 and older aging successfully. Dr. Ford's overall research findings were presented recently at the American Society on Aging's National Conference for Aging in America in 2023 (AiA) in Atlanta, GA. Factors Leading to Successful Aging Among African American Men (SAAAAM) was presented in Atlanta, GA, during the AiA23 National Conference.

Dr. Ford's success is built on the shoulders of our Founding Mothers. Eighty-nine years ago in 1934, Emma Odessa Young, a realtor in New York City and a member of the New York Club of Business and Professional Women, desired to establish a national organization throughout the United States. In July 1935, Ollie Chinn Porter, president of the New York Club, extended an invitation to local clubs organized as Business and Professional Women's Clubs to form a national organization. The fact that these Black women had the courage to found such an optimistic organization is astounding and a lasting testimony to the faith they had in themselves, their people, and the future.

With the mission stated in four parts, NANBPWC is committed to promoting and protecting the interest of African American business and professional women, to serving as a bridge for young people seeking to enter business and the professions, improving the quality of life in the local and global communities, and to foster good fellowship.

We congratulate Dr. Terri O'Neal Ford and look forward to her trailblazing a bright future.

Source: National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc.