In 1969, only 136 of the nation’s 100,000 certified public accountants were African-American. In response to that dismal lack of representation, nine African-American accountants met in New York to discuss the quandary faced in their profession. They formed the National …

Lillie A. Estes first got involved in efforts to improve the community as a high school student in Newport News. Friends urged her to join the NAACP Youth Council.

Brandi M. Daniels serves on the front lines for the most vulnerable in the East End as the executive director of the East District Family Resource Center.

Robert N. Barnette Jr. says he was inspired to accept the position as board chairman of the Richmond-based Virginia Alliance Against Mass Incarceration after reading “Billion Dollar Divide,” a report by the Justice Policy Institute in April 2014. “I wanted …

“Equal access is paramount,” declares Richmond Realtor Bruce S. Richardson Sr. of providing access to homeownership to all people.

“To inspire men to a higher moral, intellectual, civic and social standing” through activities that build a better community and promote racial equality.

Altamese R. Johnson first met the late Elvira B. Shaw in the early 1990s, when the two attended an AARP meeting with Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of Newport News. The two became fast friends, advocating for issues important to …

Dr. Karen Faison says she gains deep satisfaction as a professor in the Virginia State University Department of Nursing when “the light comes on” for her students “when information is mastered for patient-centered care.”

James A. McCain says being a firefighter with the Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services is a dream come true. “I wanted to become a physical therapist when I graduated from Hampton University in 2003,” he recalls. “But I …

Reading is important because it opens the door to limitless possibilities.

Elijah Coles-Brown is a young man who has something to say and when he opens his mouth, he says it well.

Christie W. Rasberry comes from a family of educators

Zakia K. McKensey says she is taking her life-saving message of HIV prevention, cancer awareness and a healthier lifestyle “to the streets.”

Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler says three things “get me up in the morning to come in to work.” “The first is my intense curiosity about how the mind and brain of human beings work,” says the director at Virginia Commonwealth …

Marie Drexler Kolendo knows first hand the devastating toll that Alzheimer’s disease takes on afflicted individuals and their loved ones.