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CEP Graduates Complete Inaugural Program

Seventeen people have become the first to complete the new Community Engagement Program sponsored by United Way of Roanoke Valley.

Designed to promote civic engagement and service among people of color in the Roanoke Valley, the Community Engagement Program (CEP) also aims to cultivate leadership potential for building a better and stronger community. Meeting for 11 weeks, participants attended classes and a day-long retreat, and worked in teams to study local education, economic development and quality of life issues.

Courtney Penn, Special Assistant to the President at Roanoke College, and Susan Lawyer-Willis, principal of William Fleming High School, served as program co-chairs. They joined Marion Vaughn-Howard, Youth Services Division Superintendent for the City of Roanoke, and Karen Grogan, Vice President & Branch Manager for SunTrust Bank, to form the CEP Planning Committee. Nearly a dozen resource people also volunteered their time to mentor CEP participants and share their knowledge on civic engagement by taking part in class sessions.

Thank You to CEP Supporters These local people volunteered their time to “mentor” participants and share their knowledge on civic engagement include:

Paula Wilder
Wilder Consulting
Kathy Stockburger
Kathy Stockburger Consulting
Doris Ennis
   Former Roanoke City
   Schools Superintendent
Dan Russell
   Business & Civic leader
Melody Stovall
   Roanoke Redevelopment
   Housing Authority
Ray Douglas
   MLEP Graduate
Millard Bolden
   City of Roanoke Youth Services
Mac McCadden
   Former Roanoke City Council member
Burr Datz
   Washington and Lee University
Alfred Dowe, Jr.
   Roanoke City Council member

CEP is the latest evolution of United Way’s ongoing efforts to increase minority participation in civic life, especially through volunteer service on nonprofit boards of directors, committees and commissions. To date, more than 300 people have completed the CEP forerunner, Minority Leadership Enhancement Program, which was established in 1992 with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The inaugural CEP graduates include:

Pauline Abraham, Advance Auto Parts

Brenda Allen, Wachovia Bank

Dawn Crutchfield, The Roanoke Times

Michael Flynn, Wachovia Bank

La'Kisha Ford-Jones, Boys & Girls Club

Faye Gilchrist, City of Roanoke

Michael Hamlar, Hamlar-Curtis Funeral Home

David Johnson, Wachovia Bank

David Kamara, Wachovia Bank

Deborah Leftwich, Wachovia Bank

Tina Ragland, Advance Auto Parts Donna Robinson, National College

Patricia Robinson, Bethany Hall Violet Russell, Norfolk Southern Corp.

James Stewart, Jr ., Wachovia Bank Ethelene Stanley, EPS Processing Service

Cassandra Turner, Roanoke Redevelopment Housing Authority

United Way of Roanoke Valley, established in 1924, engages people who desire to strengthen our community by supporting health and human services for citizens of Roanoke, Salem, Vinton and Botetourt, Craig and Roanoke Counties. The United Way Impact Fund is shared among 64 local programs provided by 27 United Way partner agencies throughout the region.