Sunday Roundup: Otis Moss III, Jawanza Colvin, Alison Bibb-Carson, Dallas Grundy, Kathryn Hall, Denise McCory, Nwaka Onwusa

Notwithstanding the increasing secularization of American life, black clergy remain among the most prominent and dynamic leaders of our increasingly diverse community. Two of them — Otis Moss III and Jawanza Karriem Colvin — are yoked through Cleveland’s historic Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. Not coincidentally, both are also Morehouse graduates.

Dr. Otis Moss III

This morning, Otis Moss III, since 2008 pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, will be interviewed on Oprah Winfrey’s SUPER SOUL SUNDAY at 11AM EST. The two will discuss the upcoming election, Moss’s new movie, and more. It can be accessed via Facebook here.

Rev. Jawanza Karriem Colvin

This evening, on 60 Minutes, correspondent Scott Pelley will report on his conversations with Ohioans regarding this year’s elections. Pelley returns to Olivet for an update with Rev. Colvin, whom he interviewed in 2016 about that year’s election. 

During the segment Pelley will also talk with people who lost relatives to COVID-19 and who themselves had the disease. He also ventures to Akron, where he interviewed a group of union workers from Goodyear to get their views on trade, workers' rights and other issues important to them.

The  report will be broadcast at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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This year’s pandemic and quarantine have not appreciably slowed the cycle of new faces in new positions around town. Here’s a summary of who’s now where that you may have missed in forging your new routine:

Alison Bibb-Carson

Alison Bibb-Carson joined Cleveland State University in August 2020 as the Executive Director of Marketing and Communications. She most recently served as External Affairs Director for Virginia and Maryland American Water. Preceding her 2012 relocation to the Washington, DC area, Alison worked as Director of Communications for the Cleveland Museum of Art. She also held strategic communications positions at University Circle Incorporated, the Cleveland Play House and University Hospitals of Cleveland.

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Dallas A. Grundy has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Akron. He comes to northeast Ohio from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was Associate Dean for Business Affairs at the Law School. 

Grundy holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and an MBA in Management Information Systems and Marketing, both from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Previously he worked in the areas of staffing and human resources management, strategy development, and leadership and team development for Lucent Technologies, Citigroup, General Motors, Corning Inc., and Merck & Co.

Along with three friends from his Rutgers Engineering program, he co-founded BCT Partners, a national consulting firm that specializes in housing and community development, economic development, workforce development, children and families, education, and health care.

In 2012, Grundy was selected as a fellow by the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, an organization which represents Black faculty and staff in higher education and recognizes African-American achievements and accomplishments in the field.

Grundy and his wife, Latifah, an elementary school administrator, will relocate to the Akron area in the coming months.

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Kathryn M. Hall has been hired as vice president of diversity and inclusion at JACK Entertainment of Cleveland pending regulatory approvals.

Kathryn M. Hall

Hall, a Cleveland native, will "lead the development and implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion strategy for the gaming company," JACK Entertainment said in a news release.

Hall joins JACK Entertainment from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, where she was chief diversity officer. She previously worked as chief diversity officer for both Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga Community College.

Hall holds a master's degree in psychology, with an emphasis on diversity management, from Cleveland State University. She also holds a certification as an executive coach from Case Western Reserve's Weatherhead School of Management. Hall is board chair of the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland and is a board member for the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, the Commission on Economic Inclusion, the United Black Fund of Cleveland and the UNCF of Northeast Ohio.

Hall holds a Master’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis on Diversity Management from Cleveland State University. She is a Certified Diversity Professional, has been certified by the NTL, Washington, D.C. with a Specialization in Diversity Management, and holds a certification as an Executive Coach from the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.

JACK Entertainment owns and operates JACK Cleveland Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino. The company has a total of about 1,400 workers.

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Denise McCory is the new president at Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus. Before serving as interim leader there, she served in such roles as the college's dean of student affairs at the Metro Campus and dean of academic affairs at the Eastern Campus.

The selection of McCory followed a national search. 

Denise McCory

“Dr. McCory has excelled in every role at Tri-C as measured by the success of students under her guidance,” said Alex Johnson, president of the College in a news release. “She will make a difference as Metro Campus president and help grow the next generation of community leaders.” 

McCory holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Walden University. She earned a Master of Education in adult learning and development from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Ohio University. 

She graduated from Cleveland’s John Marshall High School and now lives in Shaker Heights.

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Nwaku Onwusa

Nwaka Onwusa is the new vice president and chief curator at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She joined the Rock Hall in 2019 as the director of curatorial affairs. She was lead curator for the museum’s exhibit, “It’s Been Said All Along: Voices of Rage, Hope and Empowerment”. The, exhibit, highlighting how legendary artists responded to social injustice, opened at the Rock Hall on July 25.

Onwusa’s past experience included a decade of work at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. She has specialized in putting together exhibits that emphasize diversity in music.

“Nwaka is a dynamic curator with strong connections to contemporary artists, a deep knowledge of rock and roll, a keen interest in the power of museums and an understanding of the expansive reach of digital engagement," said Greg Harris, CEO of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in a press release.

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IN MEMORIAM

VIVIAN C. WILSON

[May 25, 1943 - October 19, 2020]. A graduate of John Adams HS, she worked at Ohio Bell/Ameritech and Karamu House during her long career. Services will be Friday, November 13 at 10am at the Calhoun Funeral Home, 23000 Rockside Rd. [44146] and will be livestreamed. Family visitation is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 3p-8p at Calhoun’s Rockside location.

JAMES F. MOCKABEE [April 30, 1946 - October 22, 2020]. Survived by his wife, Marsha A. Mockabee; children, Michelle E. Sims (Wardell Jr) and Shamar D. Simmons (Anthony Jr.); siblings, Shirley Moore (Anthony), Sandra Hollyfield (Norman), Kenneth Mockabee (Mary), Jacqueline Mockabee, Sharon Mockabee, and Michael Mockabee; grandchildren, Nina Sims, Wardell James Sims (D.J), Aniyah Simmons, and Samara Simmons.  

A private Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 2:30p at the Calhoun Funeral Home, 23000 Rockside Rd. [44146]. A wake will begin at 1:30p.

In lieu of flowers the family request, donations may be to the memory of James F. Mockabee at the Cleveland VA Medical Center 10701 E. Blvd. Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Attn: 135. In the memory section of a check or in any correspondence, please indicate In Memory of James F. Mockabee – GPF 1142 (PTSD Services).

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