2020 VISION:
WHITTIER COLLEGE BLACK ALUMNI ASSOCATION
Since 1896, Black students from around the nation and world have selected Whittier College to start, shape, and support their paths and journeys as lifelong learners. As a long-established private liberal arts college in the most diverse and globally impactful state in the nation, Whittier College continues to evolve as a uniquely qualified community that keenly prepares its students to contribute as competitively valued, distinguished leaders and innovators in education, business, non-profits, the arts, government, politics, life sciences, technology or any career endeavor they seek to pursue—and to excel. Whittier College takes pride in its generations of diverse alumni who have gone on to contribute and progress as local, state, national and even globally recognized leaders. Black alumni are certainly amongst Poet alumni of notable contribution, success, and resource as chief executives, artists, elected officials, business leaders, scholars, and Rhodes Scholars. This summer, several Black alumni, including business leaders, public officials, and educators, reached out to recent graduates and current students to learn more of their experiences at the College, and to explore ways in which alumni might better support, enhance, and guide Black student experiences while on campus and as graduates. Encouraged by the shared experiences and the growing network of Black alumni, we are proud to announce the formation of the Whittier College Black Alumni Association or WCBAA. The WCBAA will be the first formalized Black alumni association since the College’s founding in 1887. The purpose of the WCBAA is to support Whittier College in its efforts to recruit and ensure the successful matriculation of Black students; to foster and maintain positive relationships between Black students, alumni, and the College; and, develop and provide scholarship assistance, career mentoring, and cultural advocacy through alumni networking, volunteer involvement, philanthropy, and social enterprise. WCBAA aims to enable the most ethnically diverse and inclusive experience for Whittier College students, alumni, and supporters through leadership, networking, and shared values—and to honor the rich legacy, contributions, and participation of Black Poets on campus and in alumni communities. An advisory group of alumni and students has formed to develop and initiate the association. The advisory group includes: Harold Allen ’84 B.A., political science. College affiliations: chairman, Whittier College Hall of Fame committee. Professional: Orkin Pest Control, Harold Allen Insurance Services. Kourtney Brodnax ’17 B.A., Whittier Scholars Program—Critical Studies in Media Marketing. College activities: BSU president and vice president, student ambassador, student overnight host, student-athlete peer mentor, Poet Student-Athlete Leadership Academy, Whittier College Sports Network, and student commencement speaker. Marc Brodnax ’86, P’17 B.A., business administration. College affiliations: Whittier College President’s Executive Advisory Council. Professional: Wealth Manager at Cornerstone Tax Group/MHB Sports and Entertainment. Erle Collins ’82 B.A., business administration. College affiliations: SCIAC Football Championship (1981). Professional: Real Estate Appraiser; SRA Designated Member of the Appraisal Institute.
David Moss ’83 B.A., political science. College affiliations: Black Student Union and resident advisor. Professional: Chief Management Analyst for the City of Los Angeles, retired. Armilla Staley Ngomo ’03 B.A., political science and Spanish. College activities: academic distinction and honors (magna cum laude) in both majors, Athenian Society, Pi Sigma Alpha: National Political Science Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi: National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Bill Gates Millennium Scholar, and Ben G. Burnett Political Science Award. Member, Whittier College’s Presidential Executive Advisory Committee. Professional: trial attorney, Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.; treasurer, Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association, the Black lawyers bar association in San Diego; and JD, UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. Andrea Shorter ’88 B.A., sociology. College affiliations: former president, WC Black Collegiate Association; co-founder WC LGBTQI student association; resident advisor; study abroad in Denmark; former member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Professional: Political strategist, organizational development consultant, commissioner—City and County of San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. Raye Thomas ’08 B.A., political science. College activities: John Greenleaf Whittier Society, Philadelphian, Alumni Association Board of Directors, Alumni Advisor to the Lancer Society. Professional: Personal Banker II, Wells Fargo.
Working with the offices of Alumni Relations, Admission, Development, and the President, the advisory group is working to establish the WCBAA as an independent partner of Whittier College, and developing appropriate governance for the alumni organization’s mission, partnerships, and financial decisions. To connect with and support the Whittier College Black Alumni Association email wcbaa@alumni.whittier.edu or go online.
WCBAA on Social Media
****UPDATE****
The WCBAA has been meeting regularly since the summer and has hosted monthly virtual workshops for students. Join the BAA, wcbaa@alumni.whittier.edu, in developing more programs for Whittier students and alumni.
