SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2019 Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall George Mason University 4400 University Drive Fairfax, Virginia Black Alumni Chapter Forty Under 40 | 1 Forty Under 40 Honors Program Welcome and Purpose David C. Atkins, BS ’90 President, Black Alumni Chapter Greetings Trishana E. Bowden Vice President, Advancement and Alumni Relations and President, George Mason University Foundation Julian R. Williams Vice President, Compliance, Diversity and Ethics Dinner Recognition of Honorary Membership Hannibal S. Jackson, BA ’99 2019 Distinguished Black Alumnus Presentation of the 2019 Christopher Preston, BS ’96 Forty Under 40 Honorees Past President, Alumni Association Student Voices Egette D. Indelele 2019 Black Scholars Endowed Scholarship Recipient Jason L. Smith Soloist Presentation of the 2019 Tennille Smith Parker, BA ’97 Forty Under 40 Honorees Past President, Alumni Association Closing Remarks JaPrince Carter Senior Assistant Director, Alumni Relations, Chapter Liaison Janae D. Johnson ’11, ’15 Vice President of Events, Black Alumni Chapter A digital program booklet, inclusive of honoree information and patrons list, is available at alumni.gmu.edu/BAChonors2019-program. Follow the social conversation at #GMUBACHonors. Forty Under 40 | 2 Congratulations, Honorees! Tonight, we celebrate you, the honorees of the 2019 George Mason University Forty Under 40 Alumni Award, because you have exhibited the power within you to be pillars of change. This prestigious award salutes alumni leaders who are making tremendous strides in their chosen professions, and you have inspired, empowered, and embraced the world of business and your respective communi- ties. This honor is indicative of the true beauty and strength that you hold within! As president of the Black Alumni Chapter of George Mason University, I want you to know that we are proud to celebrate the culmination of your academic, career, and community successes, awarded via the Forty Under 40 Award. We stand proudly with alumni, faculty, and staff in honor of your great accomplishments. I encourage you to always be generous with your time, talent, and treasure. Be faithful in developing your gifts and seizing the opportunities given to you. Be a good steward of the resources given to you. Be humble and keep your promises. Demonstrate, through what you do and say, that your life is meaningful, and I guarantee that you will be seen. In closing, I thank all of you who are joining us tonight to celebrate this momen- tous occasion. To all those who have served as patrons to our honorees, we say a collective thank you. Your investment means we can continue to provide student scholarships and support programs for students and alumni. I’d also like to offer a special thanks to the Forty Under 40 selection and planning committees and our event volunteers for your efforts in ensuring a well-deserved recognition of our honorees. Finally, I am grateful for the support of Mason’s Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, Sodexo, Coca-Cola, Canteen Vending, AJ Realty, and Fortis Mortgage for your investment in the Forty Under 40 Honors. I am humbled by your efforts and generosity. In Mason Spirit, David C. Atkins, BS ’90 President and Black Scholars Endowment Chairman George Mason University Black Alumni Chapter Invisible Link Forty Under 40 | 3 Induction of the 2019 Forty Under 40 Class India Adams-Jacobs, BS ’12 Nana Konadu-Asare, BS ’18 Michael Akindele, BS ’06 Ashley Koranteng, BS ’19 Deleon Barnett, BA ’11 Nicole Lynn Lewis, MPP ’06 Brian Barry-Austin, BS ’08 Ryan Lowry, BS ’06 Phinon Beckham (Phillips), BS ’04 Diondra Musgrave, BA ’14 Gary Bushrod, MEd ’14 Kevin Okyere, BS ’05 David Clark, JD ’15 Urenna Onyewuchi, BS ’06 Xavier Clark, MPA ’18 Leon Terrance “TP” Polite, BSN ’09 Danielle Craddock, MA ’11 Kisha Porcher (Woods), PhD ’16 Tony Craddock Jr., MPH ’13 Darin Simmons, MEd ’07, MBA ’11 Jewelle Daquin, BS ’06, MEd ’10 Dr. Alexandra M. Sims, BA ’09 Michael Davis, BA ’09 Fatima M. Smith, BS ’10 Keandra Diamond, BS ’17 Jessica Smith, BA ’14 Yolanda Fraction, BA ’07 Kareema Smith, BS ’15, MS ’16 Merone Hailemeskel, BA ’15, MPP ’17 Erica Street, MPH ’16 Nicholas Hamilton-Archer, BA ’06, MPA ’10 Whitney Ward, BA ’08 Stephanie Harris, MEd ’12 Andrias White Murdaugh, BS ’12, MBA ’15 Christal Johnson, BS ’04 Philip Wilkerson, MEd ’12 Henry “Hank” Jones, BA ’07, MA ’11 Shamika Williams, BA ’08 Doreen Joseph, BS ’19 Marshall “Britt” Wright, BS ’12 Forty Under 40 | 4 India Adams-Jacobs, BS ’12 India Adams-Jacobs is a proud Mason alumna of the Schar School of Policy and Government. While at Mason, she was a member of the women’s softball team and a recreation manager for the Corner Pocket. After graduating from Mason with her BS in public administration, she pursued graduate studies at Virginia Tech. In 2014, she received her master’s degree in public administration, followed by a graduate certificate in local government management from Virginia Tech’s Center for Public Administration and Policy in 2015. During her time at Virginia Tech, Adams-Jacobs was selected to serve as the General Assembly Fellow with the President’s Office of Government Relations, where she was the first African American to serve in this prestigious role. She then served as an International City/County Managers Association (ICMA) Local Government Management Fellow in both Albemarle County, Virginia, and the City of Tacoma, Washington. During her tenure in the City Manager's Office with the City of Tacoma, Adams- Jacobs led a number of community partnership and engagement efforts. She es- tablished Tacoma’s Student Government Day program, served as project manag- er for the city’s first T-Town City Services Expo, and led a project in collaboration with the University of Washington’s Livable City Year initiative. The latter collab- oration resulted in Adams-Jacobs producing the proposal project “Business and Amenities Recruitment: A Millennial Perspective,” which was selected, and later published, by the University of Washington. In 2018, Adams-Jacobs accepted a position with the City of Delray Beach, Florida, as an assistant to the city manager, becoming the city’s first African American woman to hold the position at just 28 years old. After nearly five years away from Virginia, Adams-Jacobs brought her talents home to make an impact in another community, serving as the assistant to the city manager with the City of Peters- burg, Virginia. In her spare time, Adams-Jacobs enjoys traveling, sports, writing, and co-hosting her podcast, 4 Tha Win, with her husband, Antwon Jacobs. Her first book, The Blueprint: A Young Professional’s Guide to Local Government Management, is forthcoming in 2020. Back to Honoree's List Forty Under 40 | 5 Michael Akindele, BS ’06 Michael Akindele is an entrepreneurial business strategist and multiskilled tele- communications, media, and technology executive with proven achievement in architecting innovative products and services from conceptualization to market entry. He has extensive experience in building high-performing products and startup organizations. Akindele is versatile in all areas of development, from ideation, research, and design, to testing and release management. He steered an innovative venture to obtain licensing approval for The Apprentice: Africa. Focused on elevating critical business platforms and penetrating and expanding into new markets, Akindele has a proven ability to manage financial planning roadmaps, pilot growth strategy, and market tactics. Akindele has also managed teams, de- veloped talent, and negotiated funding, strategic partnerships, corporate sponsor- ships, and music and video licensing. In 2018, George Mason University’s Alumni Association named Akindele an Alumnus Exemplar. Deleon Barnett, BA ’11 Deleon Barnett is currently the assistant principal of operations at Rocketship RISE Academy. Prior to joining the Rocketship family, Barnett served as a se- nior program manager with the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. He was a Teach for America Corps member and taught third and fourth grade (all boys) at KIPP: Harmony in Baltimore, Mary- land. Barnett holds a BA in integrative studies with a concentration in public and community engagement from George Mason University. In addition, he received a double MS from Johns Hopkins University in education and leadership for school, family, and community collaboration. Barnett enjoys traveling, DIY proj- ects, and pizza. He is a member of the oldest and coldest fraternity: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. Back to Honoree's List Forty Under 40 | 6 Brian Barry-Austin, BS ’08 After working for Smith and Nephew for close to a decade, Brian Barry-Austin had the opportunity to directly and indirectly help in getting people back to their everyday lives with the use of his company’s devices and surgical systems. It has become a passion of his to work closely with orthopedic surgeons, hospital ad- ministrators, and other key influencers in the space to not only provide optimal solutions for patients, but to also grow with the company by consistently achiev- ing sales quotas and goals. In turn, every year since Barry-Austin started with Smith and Nephew, he’s maintained an upward trajectory in his career. Barry-Austin's passion for selling devices and surgical systems specific to sports medicine injuries stems from his athletic background. Having played soccer his whole life, including for Mason, he’s seen many of his teammates go down with injuries—from fractured bones and sprained ankles, to torn ligaments. Barry-Aus- tin is now working for a company that provides surgical treatment options for all of those kinds of injuries and more, and he wakes up every day feeling fulfilled. Phinon Beckham (Phillips), BS ’04 Phinon Beckham, a former medicolegal death investigator for the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a newly hired forensic scientist (firearms and toolmark analyst) for the Washington, D.C., Department of Forensic Sciences, was inspired by a forensic science course she took as a child.