Speaker
Dr. Nicole M. Ford-Francis has served 5 years as the Program Manager for Smart Global Solutions, NASA Research and Education Support Services. She managed the NASA Headquarters Consolidated Contract in Washington, DC and Arlington VA; a $134.9 million, 8(A)/GSA Minority Business Contract to provide scientific and educational technical support to NASA Headquarters Mission Directorates. Projects that she has managed include work on the International Space Station (ISS) Education/Science laboratories), NASA Space Shuttle program, NASA’s Educator Astronaut Program, and in NASA’s Science, Space Technology, Education and Aeronautics and Research Mission Directorates. Dr. Ford-Francis is the current President and CEO of Visionary Policy Institute (VPI) LC, A Think Tank and Business Development Consulting firm specializing in government technical research initiatives, program management, training's and education. She has served as the Interim National Education Director for the NAACP National Headquarters.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award Recipient
Judge Shauna Graves-Robertson sits as a Salt Lake County Justice Court Judge, where she has been for fifteen years. She is the only African American female judge ever appointed or elected to serve in the state of Utah. In a court of limited jurisdiction, she presides over class B & C misdemeanors, violations of county ordinances, infractions and small claims up to ($10,000.00) ten thousand dollars. Judge Robertson’s court is responsible for processing over 11,000 cases a year.
Judge Robertson currently serves as a board member of the National Bar Association’s Judicial Council, and the Utah Supreme Court’s Community Relations Committee. She is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated (AKA). She is the current Far Western Regional Parliamentarian and the Far Western Regional Representative to the International Constitution Committee of AKA. She is a member of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), The Women Lawyers of Utah and the Utah Minority Bar Association.
The Rosa Parks Award Recipient
Gail Miller is the owner and chairman of the board of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. Gail and her late husband, Larry, grew their business into one of the largest privately-owned companies in the United States. Beginning with the purchase of Toyota of Murray (Utah) in 1979, the Larry H. Miller Group is now comprised of more than 80 businesses and properties operating in 46 states and employing more than 11,000 people. Gail is a philanthropist who, along with her husband, founded Larry H. Miller Charities, a nonprofit organization, which focuses its charitable giving on health and education programs that support women and children’s issues, as well as the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, which supports religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational programs. Gail also gives generously of her time and resources to civic endeavors.
Mistress of Ceremonies
Surae Chinn is the co-anchor ABC4Utah News at 4:00PM with Glenn Mills. Prior to joining the Good4Utah news team, Surae was a reporter and fill-in anchor in Washington, D.C.
Surae is an award-winning journalist. She served as the weekend evening anchor at WSET-TV in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she received an Edward R. Murrow award for her coverage and 30-minute special on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She also received an Associated Press award for best documentary.
Surae met her husband, Devon Lucie, at KCTV5, a station where they both worked in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the morning weekend anchor, and Devon was the weekend morning and evening meteorologist. They later made the move east and worked at television stations in Washington, D.C. This summer, Surae left her hometown in Northern Virginia to join husband Devon at ABC4Utah, where he now serves as Meteorologist for Good Morning Utah and ABC4Utah News Mid-day.
Chairman of the First Responders Award
Shawn Newell is the vice president of business development at Industrial Supply Company. His motto is “Education is a path to success.” Employed by Industrial Supply Company for more than 20 years, Newell views his connection to customers as essential to understanding their needs. He received his Associate of Science degree in Marketing Management from Salt Lake Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Utah and a Master of Management degree from the University of Phoenix.
He approaches his leadership role in sales with the same competitive spirit that drove him to succeed in football at the University of Utah. In 1984, he tried out to play with the Chicago Bears, but injuries prevented Newell from pursuing NFL dreams. Newell is the Vice President of the NAACP Salt Lake Branch and a Program Advisory Committee member of SLCC’s Business Marketing department. Newell is a member of the Governor’s Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission. He recently started a scholarship for SLCC marketing students.
NAACP Scholarship Donors
NAACP Scholarships: Agnes & Dora, CR England, Gordon and Connie Hanks Scholarships, Hires Big H, Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships from Vijaya Sharma Foundation, Shawn and Tory Newell Family Scholarship, and Utah Jazz Scholarships will be presented to Utah High School and College Students.
Reservations:
Make reservations by calling (801) 250-5088, email jdwnaacp@att.net, or pay online: www.naacp-saltlakebranch.org
Payments can be mailed to:
NAACP Salt Lake Branch
P.O. Box 25414
Salt Lake City, UT 84125-0414
