ABOUT US
CEO - Founding Board Member
Alphonso Wallace
Alphonso M. Wallace is the CEO and Founder of Vestco Management LLC, is a successful property management and construction company in Metro Detroit. He also serves as CEO and Chairman for Midwest Resource Development Agency, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and promoting public welfare within the community by administering programs that address poverty and unemployment in the Metro Detroit area.
Vice President - Founding Board Member
Dr. Teresa Smith
Teresa Snyder is currently the Business Development Manager for Toledo Lucas County Port Authority where she is responsible for leading and growing Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s economic development financing portfolio including Revenue Bonds, SBA 504, Regional 166 and BetterBuilding/PACE Energy Efficiency Financing throughout Ohio.
secretary
Att. Dorian Tyus
Dorian Tyus has significant experience in practicing law, nonprofit management, and developing business enterprises. Prior to joining The Allen Law Group P.C., Mr. Tyus served as a Vice President at a Detroit-based nonprofit. As an attorney at the Allen Law Group, P.C., Mr. Tyus legal practice includes labor and employment, education law, real estate transactions, board governance, and commercial and civil litigation.
Advisory Board Member
Judge David Perkins
Judge David A. Perkins elected by the citizens of Wayne County to the Wayne County Probate Court Bench in November of 2018. Prior to this election he was appointed to 36 th District Court in January 2014 and elected by the people of Detroit in November 2014 and then re-elected by the people in 2016. Judge Perkins served as a Wayne County Juvenile Court Referee for 17 years, Magistrate for the 30 th District Court, Assistant Corporation Counsel for Wayne County, and Judge Advocate for the Michigan National Guard. Judge Perkins earned his Juris Doctorate from Howard University and a Bachelor of Arts, Biological Sciences from Rutgers University. Judge Perkins Chaired:The Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice of the American Bar Association (ABA); Chaired the Michigan Young Lawyers and served on various Committees of both the ABA and State Bar of Michigan He has been a Past President of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan and The D. Augustus Straker Bar Association. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, a member of the Detroit Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. He presently serves as Board of Directors for the Black United Fund, the Reggie McKenzie Foundation and as a lay minister in his church. He has been actively involved with many community and labor groups. While a Referee he volunteered as a jurist for a teen-court program and presided over Juvenile Drug Court. He currently works as an adjunct professor at WCCCD. Judge Perkins has been given numerous awards for his community work. He often mentors at risk youth. Judge Perkins believes that all young voices, shall have a forum for their voices to be heard. He strives to help make a better way for our young people and all citizens of Wayne County and the City of Detroit.
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Jacquelyn Taylor
Dr. Jacquelyn PhD, RN, PNP-BC, FAHA, FAAN Taylor is the Helen F. Petit Professor of Nursing Professor and Director of the Center for Research on People of Color at the Columbia University School of Nursing. Her research focuses on the interaction of omics and social factors that contribute to health disparities for common chronic conditions among underrepresented minority populations in the United States and vulnerable populations abroad. Her R01 "Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure" examined the gene-environment and DNAm-environment interactions of perceived racism and discrimination, parenting stress, and maternal mental health on blood pressure among African American mothers and their young children. Taylor was also honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Barack Obama in 2017, the highest honor awarded by the federal government to scientists and engineers. With her PECASE project she is examining next-generation sequencing-environment interactions on blood pressure among African Americans. Additionally, Taylor was co-PI and co-director of the administrative core of a NINR-funded P20 Exploratory Center on Precision Health in Diverse Populations at NYU until March 2020. Dr. Taylor is currently MPI of a 5-year NHLBI funded R25: Research Education in Cardiovascular Conditions.
Taylor was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019, with new members being elected based on the recognition that these scientists have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. Her long-term goals are to develop nursing interventions to prevent omic-environment risks associated with health disparities in diverse populations across the lifespan.
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Zafar Shamoon
Zafar Shamoon, DO, FACOEP, is a 2003 graduate from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his Emergency Medicine residency in Detroit. Dr. Shamoon is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine, chief of Emergency Services Beaumont Dearborn. He is an assistant Emergency Residency Director at Beaumount Trenton/Dearborn and serves as a clinical assistant professor at MSUCOM. Previously, he was the Adult Emergency Director of Rochester General Hospital in the state of New York, one of the busiest emergency rooms in the country.
Advisory Board Member
Chief Robert B. Dunlap
Chief Robert Dunlap is a law enforcement executive with more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. He currently serves at Chief of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in Detroit, Michigan, where he is responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of more than 1000 employees spread across five division which includes jails, courts and patrol operations. Prior to his appointment to the rank of Chief in September of 2015, Dunlap held several other key positions within the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office which includes, Director of Jail Classification and Lead Project Consultant for the New Consolidated Wayne County Jail Project.
Advisory Board Member, Mayor Pro-Tem
Carlton D. Clyburn Jr.
Carlton D. Clyburn Jr. is a project manager and Founder & CEO of CLY Services, a Metro-Detroit based company that provides strategic marketing and comprehensive business services. He is currently the City Council President, Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of Highland Park, MI and serves on the Board of Directors for the Highland Park Business Association (HPBA), George Washington Carver Academy, The Avalon Village, and served seven years as a board member of Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency (WMCAA). Carlton, who was raised in Highland Park, is a life-long learner who holds Master’s Degrees in Project Management and in Business Administration (Marketing), as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from Michigan Technological University, where he did his undergrad as a student athlete. Additionally, Carlton has professional certification as a Life Skills Coach and Career Counseling Coach; he is currently working on his certification as a Project Management Professional and as a licensed Residential Builder. Carlton brings a multitude of educational accomplishments, business development expertise and community organizing/activism to the table.
Advisory Board Member
Floretta L. McNeil-Marino
Floretta L. McNeil-Marino is currently the Principal of Romulus High School in Romulus, MI. She is responsible for ensuring that a rigorous curriculum using data driven strategies and best practices is being delivered to more than 800 students daily. She monitors and evaluates over 60 teachers, counselors and support staff. Floretta earned her undergraduate and master degrees in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Studies with a concentration in urban education.