Diversity Dialogue Task Force
Reverend Dr. Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.
Chair of the Diversity Dialogue Task Force
Dr. Hamlin is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He came to Washington, D.C. to attend Howard University and further his education. Since coming to Washington, D.C., God has directed and guided Dr. Hamlin’s footsteps every step of the way.
After arriving in Washington, D.C., Dr. Hamlin united with the Corinthian Baptist Church and also served the Saint Paul Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., as an Associate. In July 1996, Dr. Hamlin received the call as Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church of Arlington, Virginia. God has blessed the fellowship to strengthen from 200 to over 1500 members. The ministry has grown from one to two Sunday Worship Services, 07:45 am and 10:45 am. Additional Bible Study and Discipleship classes have been instituted. Worship has also reached many through the “Care of the Soul”; television ministry. Over thirty ministries have been organized to meet the needs of the congregants, Discipleship Classes have grown from one class per week to six classes and in addition, one Old Testament Class meets weekly. Plans are currently underway for the construction and renovation of a new sanctuary and administration facilities. In addition, God has been blessing Dr. Hamlin and the congregation through spiritual and numerical growth. Some improvements to the church edifice have been realized through God’s anointing. In addition to these improvements, the church has purchased properties of which three of the four sites are currently being used for additional meeting spaces and classrooms.
Dr. Hamlin has been twice selected as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America. He has served as a Ford Foundation Research Fellow and was recipient of the Benjamin E. Mays Scholarship for Education and commitment to the ministry.
Dr. Hamlin has affiliations with the National Association of Black Seminarians, Howard University Alumni Association, N.A.A.C.P., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Hampton Minister’s Conference (Executive Board Member), Baptist General Convention of Virginia, NorthStar Church Network, Interdenominational Black Pastor’s Council of Arlington, Virginia (Former President), Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
Dr. Hamlin received his Bachelor’s of Business Administration Degree from the Howard University of Business in 1983, Master of Divinity Degree from the Howard University School of Divinity in 1993 and a Doctor of Ministry Degree in May 1996. He is a graduate of the 2001 class of Leadership Arlington and April 2005 selected as an honored member of The Heritage Registry of Who’s Who 2008-2009 edition. Also, April 2005, Dr. Hamlin attended the Summer Leadership Institute of the Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Hamlin accepted Governor Kaine’s invitation to serve as a Chaplain on the Virginia Fire Services Board effective March 23, 2006 - June 30, 2009.
Dr. Hamlin is married to Machell Nicholson Hamlin, Esquire, and is the proud father of one son, Leonard L. Hamlin, Jr., a 2006 honor graduate of DeMatha High School, Hyattsville, Maryland, and now a Junior at Saint John’s University, Queens, New York.
Ms. Raina Rose Tagle, Vice Chair
Raina Rose Tagle has been an Arlington resident for nearly 15 years. She is a skilled meeting facilitator who has worked with small and large groups to explore challenging issues and build consensus. Raina previously served on the working group that advised Chairman Tejada on the formation of the Arlington Nonprofit Center.
Raina is a partner with Beers + Cutler, an accounting and consulting firm based in the Washington, DC, area. She leads Beers + Cutler's risk advisory services practice, providing services in the areas of organizational governance, internal audit, financial and operational risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, fraud investigation, and technology risk consulting. Raina serves on the Board of Directors of Doorways for Women and Families.
Dr. Rosa Briceño
Rosa Briceño has many years of experience working with programs to strengthen school-family connections, promote parent engagement, develop resident leadership, and foster civic participation in racially and culturally diverse settings. In 2007 she returned to Arlington Public Schools to run an exemplary project focusing on building community, Project Interaction, which has been operating at Barrett Elementary since 1996. She was responsible for designing and implementing many of the project’s strategies for engaging a highly diverse group of families to support student success. In 2002, she joined the Center for the Study of Social Policy, where she was part of the technical assistance team for Making Connections, a national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation that seeks to improve results for children and families living in tough neighborhoods. In the early 1990s, as senior program associate with Women, Law and Development International, she was actively involved in the international movement for women’s human rights and the Women’s World Conference in Beijing. Throughout her career, she has designed multiple projects and strategies involving immigrant parents, neighborhood residents and staff from organizations working to achieve social change. She has a doctorate degree in International Development Education from Stanford University. Dr. Briceño was born in Chile, grew up in Colombia, and has resided in Arlington, Virginia with her husband and teenage son since 1993.
Ms. Andrea Brickhouse
Andrea Brickhouse is an educator in Arlington Public Schools and has taught social studies at the high school level for the past 8 years. She teaches Leadership and Diversity Training, a course that increases student awareness of social issues and cultivates their leadership skills in order to take action and provide service in their community.
She currently serves on the Arlington Public School Council for Cultural Competence which develops systemic cultural competence and diversity initiatives for the school system. Andrea serves as a facilitator for diversity dialogues that are a part of Arlington Public Schools sustained professional development on issues of diversity, cultural competence, inclusion and equitable education.
Ms. Brickhouse received her Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, in Arlington, Virginia, her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She studied in Ghana, West Africa as a Fullbright scholar, trained as facilitator for Help Increase the Peace - a youth empowerment program by American Friends Society, and for the National S.E.E.D. project on Inclusive curriculum (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity).
Ms. Leni González
Appointed by Governor Timothy M. Kaine in 2006, Ms. Leni Gonzalez serves as the Northern Virginia Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Previously she was appointed to serve in various capacities by Governor Mark R. Warner.
She is member of the Board of Directors of The Shirlington Employment and Education Center Inc., the Board of Trustees of the Arlington Community Foundation, and the Board of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations. She also serves as the President of LULAC COUNCIL 4609 in Arlington and was recently elected as the LULAC of Virginia State Director. She is a founding member of the Democratic Latino Organization of Virginia. She was the chair of the Virginia Latino Advisory Board in 2005-2007. Ms. Gonzalez served in the 2003-2005 Advisory Council of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad. She has been very active in her community, working as a volunteer in several non-profits.
In 1997, Ms. Gonzalez was recognized by the Mexican Government for her community contributions and was awarded the prestigious Ohtli medal.
In 2005, Ms. Gonzalez was recognized by the Hispanic Committee of Virginia as the Community Leader of the Year.
Ms. Gonzalez came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar and received her Masters in Education at Catholic University of America. She is an alumna of Leadership Arlington, Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at University of Virginia, the National Hispana Leadership Institute, and LEAD VA.
Ms. Krysta Jones
Krysta Jones has over 10 years of political organizing, training; lobbying and grassroots experience both internationally and domestically, and is well-respected in the political community.
Ms. Jones is founder and chair of the Virginia Leadership Institute, Inc., an organization that aims to increase the number of black elected officials in Virginia through training, mentoring and networking, and is active with the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC).
Ms. Jones served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, South America from 2000-2002 as a municipal services development consultant, where she procured $10,000 in grants from AOL and the Peace Corps, helped form student governments, conducted civic education training, and strengthened internal operations for a community radio station.
Ms. Jones received her Master's degree in Legislative Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington DC, her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Florida, and is a 2006 graduate of the Sorensen Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia.
Mr. Stanley G. Karson
For more than two decades, until the mid '90s, Stanley G. Karson headed the Center for Corporate Public Involvement in Washington, supported by the life and health insurance business. It was the only industry-wide corporate social responsibility program in the nation. He worked directly with the CEOs and other officers of over 600 companies to focus on such social and community issues as the elderly, education, job creation, health and wellness, affordable housing, the homeless and AIDS.
A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration, Mr. Karson was legislative assistant to a United States Senator for six years and worked on the campaign staff of a presidential candidate before joining the life insurance trade association.
In 1979, on his initiative, the Center created the Advisory Council on Health Promotion, composed of leading health promotion advocates. It prompted the life and health insurance industry to take the lead in significant programs, including smoking prevention and cessation and the INSURE project in the '80s, a seven-year demonstration study to determine the feasibility of preventive care for patients in the primary care setting.
Over the years, Mr. Karson has spoken extensively on corporate public involvement in the nation and abroad, has been featured in major U.S. dailies and has written numerous articles on business-community partnerships. He is a founding board member of Partnership for Prevention and of CDC's Business Responds to AIDS, has also served on the boards of Volunteers of America, Wellness Councils of America, and Corporate Philanthropy Reports, and was cofounder of the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS. He is a member of AMA's National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse.
After his national leadership in corporate social responsibility, he immersed myself in civic enterprises. Since 1999, he has served as president of the Radnor/Ft.Myer Heights Civic Association (RAFOM), one of the largest and most active civic associations in Arlington. He also serves on the board of an Arlington homeless shelter, is a County appointee on the Rosslyn BID Board and was elected vice president of the Arlington County Civic Federation in June.
He received an honorary doctorate from Benedict College, Columbia, SC, for his leadership in promoting corporate social responsibility activities, particularly the College Endowment Funding Plan, which leveraged over $120 million for traditionally Black colleges. He is also founding board member of The Mongolian School of the National Capital Area.
Ms. Kris McLaughlin
Kris McLaughlin has enjoyed living in Arlington (Crystal City and Maywood neighborhoods) since February 2002. Before that, she lived, studied, and worked in Indonesia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Turkey.
Her community service volunteer work in Arlington has been with the nonpartisan Arlington Gay & Lesbian Alliance (AGLA board member and president), Equality Virginia (co-founder of NOVA Stand Up for Equality); Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry (fundraiser); and WETA and Whitman Walker Clinic/NOVA (community advisory board member for both). In 2006, she was selected as a Capital Pride Hero, a once in a lifetime honor.
In her professional career, she has worked for companies, such as General Dynamics, General Electric, IBM, and Lockheed Martin. During the past 25+ years, she specialized in community relations, government relations, labor relations, and media relations, as well as employee communications – with a focus on transformational change (currently she is helping Federal agencies deliver information technology better).
Ms. Melinda Patrician
Melinda Patrician is the Executive Director of the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau. She was one of the co-founders and lead organizer for the Arlington Forum, which in 2003 published “Arlington’s Changing Story: Civic Engagement in Arlington, Virginia” for Arlington County, developed a parent advocacy curriculum for Arlington Public Schools Office of Minority Achievement, and published a guide to civic engagement through a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
She has 30 years of experience in media and public relations for public interest organizations. Patrician worked as a newspaper reporter and communications director before opening her own public relations firm in 1983. She joined the Washington, DC company of Fenton Communications in 1987 and subsequently worked as an independent consultant to a variety of civic and public interest organizations.
She is active in her church and her children’s school. She is married to Bob Patrician, a research economist for the Communications Workers of America, and has two children, Molly, 19, and Joe, 15.
Ms. Hoang K. Taing
Hoang Taing’s life in America has been one brilliant success. College graduate, honors student, White House intern, Regional Finalist for the White House Fellowship, Fulbright Fellow, Washington, D.C. Teaching Fellow, The Delta Kappa Gamma Scholar, and now Commissioner for the Status on Women in Arlington County, Virginia: all these things are a part of the life she has made in this country.
Hoang has traveled to all 50 States throughout the U.S., and has been to over 25 countries in all seven continents including Antarctica, motivating and educating people from all walks of life about the importance of education, self-esteem, and resiliency. She has appeared in panel discussions with many prominent figures which included Senator and now Presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona, Secretary of Health & Human Service Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of States Colin Powell, Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, author Jack Canfield, Astronaut Alan Bean, Actor Andrew Shue, and Reporter Jonathan Karol of CNN.
Hoang Taing has been a vivid embodiment of the American dream and an inspiration to countless Americans. Over a decade ago, she walked out of the “Killing Fields” in Cambodia after the brutal murder of her loved ones by the Khmer Rouge. Since arriving in America, she has succeeded in overcoming a series of obstacles to achieve an honored place in American society and civic life.
Arriving in America not knowing a word of English, Hoang persevered to graduate third in her high school class, and was voted by her classmates as “Most Likely to Succeed," and San Antonio Express News dubbed her as “One of the Top Ten Outstanding Teens” of Bear County in Texas.
From an early age, Hoang’s parents instilled in her the Chinese appreciation for Confucius’ teaching, the importance of education, and respecting others. As a memorial to their admonition to maintain a positive attitude, even in the worst of circumstances, Hoang made positive thinking the primary theme in her life.
Hoang’s life story has appeared in numerous newspaper articles, and magazines which including San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Chronicle, The Patriot, Runner’s World, and Counseling Today. She was the subject of several television news stories on ABC, CBS, NBC affiliated stations, and National Public Radio entitled Hoang’s Story and CBS with Charles Osgood radio show called The Osgood File. She inspires large groups of audiences from the business world of Fortune 500 companies to college students throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Tsehaye Teferra
A native of Ethiopia, Dr. Tsehaye Teferra received his undergraduate degree from Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa. He received an M.S. in Applied Linguistics and a Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he also served as a Research Associate in the School of Languages and Linguistics. Dr. Teferra was an instructor at The Catholic University of America and the Foreign Service Institute and was an Assistant Professor in the African Studies and Research Center at Howard University. He served as a cross-cultural instructor in the Peace Corps’ in-country training program and taught at several institutions of higher learning in Ethiopia before coming to the United States as a UNESCO Fellow in 1972.
Dr. Teferra is founder and president of the Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc. (ECDC), which was established in 1983 to serve a growing Ethiopian refugee community and assist other refugees and immigrants from diverse cultural backgrounds as they began new lives in the United States. Under his leadership and vision, ECDC has gone from a start-up agency with a first-year budget of $85,000 to a major community-based organization with an annual budget of over $10 million that offers a wide range of cultural, economic, educational, and social services at the local and national levels through its headquarters operations and ECDC African Community Center branch offices in Denver, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Nevada, and Arlington, Virginia.
Widely recognized as an effective national voice for the nation’s African refugee community, ECDC’s African Resource Network program has been providing leadership and community development training and technical assistance to a network of over 60 African CBOs in the U.S. as well as increasing public awareness about African refugee and immigrant issues to the general public since 1991. Over the past 25 years, ECDC has assisted more than 150,000 refugee and immigrant newcomers as they seek to become self-sufficient, productive members of their new homeland. Since October 1990, ECDC and its Resettlement Affiliate Network have resettled 15,520 refugees in partnership with the Department of State. The ECDC Enterprise Development Group (EDG) began in 1992 as a micro-enterprise development project and was incorporated in 2001 as a non-profit subsidiary. Today, EDG offers business loans technical assistance, training, and asset-building opportunities for low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs and minorities.
While meeting the many challenges of running a multifaceted organization, Dr. Teferra is also active in civic, professional, and local community affairs. He frequently lectures locally and nationally on African issues and cross-cultural studies and has testified before Congress. Dr. Teferra serves as a member of the Board of InterAction; and has served as Chair of the Resettlement Committee of Refugee Council USA and as a member of its Finance Committee; Vice Chair and Chairman of the Virginia State Refugee Advisory Council. He was appointed by the Arlington County Board to serve as a founding member of the Arlington County, Virginia, Multicultural Commission; as well as a member of the County’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Task Force for Arlington’s Future. He currently serves on the Board of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization in Arlington, Virginia.
Recognition and Awards
- Recognized in 1991 for outstanding contributions to the country by then Ambassador at Large and U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious.
- Recognized in 1991by former President George H.W. Bush for outstanding record of community service.
- Honored by the City Council of the City of Los Angeles in 2005 with an Award of Appreciation for his contributions to improving the lives of refugee and immigrant newcomers to the United States.
- Honored by Bank of America in 2006 with a Local Hero Award of Excellence for contributions as president of ECDC and the Enterprise Development Group through support to low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs.
Ms. Wuiping Yap
Wuiping Yap is the consultant for global development at International Advisory Services Group. Her expertise is in international development, negotiation and facilitation, cross-cultural communications, import/export management, international manufacturing & investment sourcing and event management. She is currently focusing on facilitating Asia-US trade missions & exchanges, client specific trading projects, investment & manufacturing sourcing and commercial transactions. Some of her most recent projects involved planning & executing a 3 week overseas sourcing mission that covers 12 cities and 25 companies as well as successfully assist European Clients import automobiles directly from China.
Ms. Yap has conceived, marketed and organized multiple trade and study missions for government, corporate, and commercial clients, both to and from Asia. She has negotiated and developed target specific mission programs directly with various corporate & industry clients. She regularly facilitates and interprets for cross-cultural business and industry level meetings. Ms. Yap maintains a close ties to many manufacturing and financial contacts through regular contacts and consultation.
Ms. Yap earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in International Relations from St. Cloud State University in 1999 and a M.A. magna cum laude in Political Science and International Relations, from University of Delaware in 2001. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay and is proficient in Bahasa Indonesia and Hakka.
Ms. Yap is actively involved in multiple civic, cultural arts and community organizations in the tri-state area. She is the Executive Director/co-founder of Asia Heritage Foundation which promotes the diversity of Asian heritage and culture in the Washington metropolitan area. She organizes an annual month-long celebration entitled National Asian Heritage Festival –Fiesta Asia, which includes the largest Asian Street Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue during May every year since 2006.
Ms. Yap regularly serves as event producer, consultant, coordinator, and performer for multiple art programs & festivals including: 2007 National Cherry Blossom Parade Finale (First Asian Grand Finale with 100 performer); Asia Society's Spices & Rices Fundraising Gala (04,05,06); Dance Asia Showcase (04, 05, 06, 07); 2007 DC Meets Delhi Festival; Arlington County Taste of The Pike Festival(07); Frederick County Lunar NY program (06,07,08), Intl Ode to Peace Youth Festival (03,04,05), National Zoo Panda Naming Ceremony (06), DC Mayor’s Arts Award (06) and many more.
Ms. Yap is also the founder of Dance Asia Alliance (Asian Fusion Dance Ensemble) & Sutera Malaysia (Malaysian cultural dance group) She started dancing at a very young age and now dances & performs across various dance disciplines & styles including Asian, Latin, Middle Eastern and many more. She is the founder and producer of Dance Asia - an Annual Asian Dance Showcase in DC since 2004 (Part of Dance DC Festival for the past 3 yrs).
Ms. Yap currently serves on the board of National Association of Asian American Professionals and the DC Asian Pacific Film Festival. She is also the vice chair of the Arlington County Multicultural Advisory Commission. She has served as a panelist for Dance DC Festival (04, 05, 06, 07) & DC folk & traditional arts Grant. As the chief organizer for Asian Fortune (Asian Newspaper in the region) Tsunami Relief Effort, she help raised $80,000 for the victims of the Tsunami. In 2005, she received the Steel Manufacturers Association Community Involvement Award.
