PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD
Victor Chimezie Okorochukwu
Chairman, National Black Tourism Marketing Corporation Advisory Board
Chairman, National Black Tourism Marketing Corporation Advisory Board
Victor is the Executive Producer for the African Network Television. ANTV broadcasts globally from Gainesville Florida, United States featuring breaking news from across the African continent and lively discussion on current affairs, politics, health, money, cultural lifestyle reflecting the global African experience for all people of African descent.
ANTV bridges current media gap on Africa through trustworthy and reliable Africans led discussion on Africa; by engaging Africans in reshaping Africa’s image and by making it possible for Africans to take a lead in telling Africa’s story.
With enormous natural economic wealth and the abundance of numerous untapped resources, ANTV sheds unprecedented spotlight on Africa’s role on the global future while portraying the numerous highly skilled people of African descent that are crafting the global economic future.
ANTV Network provides reliable central platform for serious conversations on real issues, prospects, challenges, and concerns of both the continent of Africa and all people of its descent.
ANTV’s core audience spans the globe, and includes all people of African descent, foreign investors to Africa, and members of general public with interests on Africa and its beautiful cultures.
Captain Frank Smith, USN Retired
Captain (Retired) Smith graduated from Savannah State University in June 1976 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. He was also commissioned in June 1976 via Savannah State University’s Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Program and was designated an Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer in 1979. He received a Master’s Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (formerly the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF)) in 1995 and graduated from the Defense Acquisition University Senior Acquisition Course Acquisition at Fort McNair in Washington, DC that same year. He was later designated as a level-three certified member of the Department of Defense Acquisition Professional Community where he provided oversight and negotiated contracting, acquisition and logistics support agreements with major commercial, government, and academic organizations nation-wide.
Operational tours include two tours onboard Aircraft Carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Norfolk, Virginia; Attack Squadron One Forty-Seven in Lemoore, California; Aircraft Carrier USS Constellation in San Diego, California; Training Squadron Eighty-Six, Pensacola, Florida; and Aircraft Carrier USS Coral Sea in Norfolk, Virginia;
Captain Smith’s acquisition tours include the Navy Supply Corps School; the National Defense University in Washington, DC; Defense Acquisition University, Washington, DC; The Pentagon, Washington, DC; and the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (formerly Naval Air Maintenance Training Group Headquarters) onboard Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.
His awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards) Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Expeditionary Medal (two awards), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, NATO Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (Four awards).
He currently works as an Executive level Manager for Global Business Solutions, Inc. in Pensacola Florida as Director of Business Development and Vice President of United States Army and Navy Programs. He manages significant Contracts supporting Cyber Security, Training Solutions, Systems Integration, Virtual Engineering, and other Information Technology Support Services to Department of Defense Agencies and Commercial Corporations. Also, he resides in Pensacola Florida where he supports the local community as Chairman for the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce.
Operational tours include two tours onboard Aircraft Carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Norfolk, Virginia; Attack Squadron One Forty-Seven in Lemoore, California; Aircraft Carrier USS Constellation in San Diego, California; Training Squadron Eighty-Six, Pensacola, Florida; and Aircraft Carrier USS Coral Sea in Norfolk, Virginia;
Captain Smith’s acquisition tours include the Navy Supply Corps School; the National Defense University in Washington, DC; Defense Acquisition University, Washington, DC; The Pentagon, Washington, DC; and the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (formerly Naval Air Maintenance Training Group Headquarters) onboard Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.
His awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards) Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Expeditionary Medal (two awards), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, NATO Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (Four awards).
He currently works as an Executive level Manager for Global Business Solutions, Inc. in Pensacola Florida as Director of Business Development and Vice President of United States Army and Navy Programs. He manages significant Contracts supporting Cyber Security, Training Solutions, Systems Integration, Virtual Engineering, and other Information Technology Support Services to Department of Defense Agencies and Commercial Corporations. Also, he resides in Pensacola Florida where he supports the local community as Chairman for the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Phyllis Gray Ray
DIRECTOR, PAN-AFRICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTE
DIRECTOR, PAN-AFRICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTE
Dr. Phyllis A. Gray is currently Professor of Sociology and Social Psychology at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, FL. Previously, she served as the Vice President for Research, and then as the Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Research Institute at Florida A & M University. Other positions include being the Chief Research Officer and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Winston-Salem State University; Head of the Division of Social Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Sociology at Voorhees College; Professor and Research Director of the Institute for Disability Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi; The City of Jackson (Mississippi)Chief Strategic Planner/Consultant for the city’s 2000 – 2004 Strategic Plan; Executive Director of the Mississippi Urban Research Center at Jackson State University; Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at North Carolina Central University; Associate Professor and Assistant Professor of Sociology/Criminology, and Coordinator of the Mississippi Crime and Justice Research Unit of the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University, as well as an Instructor of Sociology at Iowa State University. Dr. Gray has produced approximately 20 professional research final reports, 8 major strategic plans, and presented nearly 60 papers at national and international conferences. She has published numerous scholarly research articles in both national and international journals, and is the recipient of many honors and awards including induction into the prestigious Sigma Xi National Scientific Research Society. She is also the founding Executive Director of the National Black Graduate Student Association, Inc. Dr. Gray has generated close to 10 million dollars in external research funds. Her research has been funded by The National Science Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the U. S. Department of Education, the Mississippi Department of Health, the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and the Kellogg Foundation. During her tenure as Vice President for Research at Florida A & M University, faculty generated over $60 million in single-year funds and over $100 million in multi-year funds, within one year. Her current book, From Imagining to Understanding the African American Experience, was published in August, 2012. Her second book, focusing on the disparate treatment of minority youth in the juvenile justice system is slated for publication in 2013. Dr. Phyllis A. Gray is a native of Beaufort, SC and received her B. S. degree in Psychology from South Carolina State University, and both the M. S. degree and Ph.D. in Sociology/Social Psychology from Iowa State University. She is the mother of two, Akeem T. Ray, a Junior majoring in Psychology at Florida State University, and Shakenna J. Durant, a 5th grader at Killearn Lakes Elementary School in Tallahassee, Florida.
PAM TEDESCO
NATIONAL BLACK BUSINESS SUPPORT CORPORATION
NATIONAL BLACK BUSINESS SUPPORT CORPORATION
More than 20 years in community, economic and workforce development. Currently serving as the President of the National Black Business Support Corporation and as Interim President of the Florida Black Business Support Corporation, where she oversees the company’s administration of more than $4 million loan portfolio under Florida’s Black Business Loan Program and Microfinance Loan Program. Other projects include facilitation services to FCR-STEM for the development and update of Florida's first STEM Strategic Plan. Recently served as the initial project manager for the STEM Florida Initiative, designed to make Florida a leader in market-relevant STEM talent development and retention. Prior to this project, while employed with Florida's Great Northwest, oversaw the successful implementation the organization’s USDOL funded $15 million WIRED Northwest Florida Initiative, a project geared at developing systems to ensure adequate production of highly skilled workforce to move the region’s innovation economy forward. Critical to the project’s success was the establishment of a strong public/private partnership, which was recognized by the USDOL as the national model and it was featured at an international workforce symposium in Singapore in 2008.
Prior to directly working in workforce initiatives, Pam worked for chambers of commerce at both the state and local level. While at the Florida Chamber, interacted with the business and legislative leaders across north Florida while coordinating with local chambers of commerce. As the president of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce, led the organization to receive the prestigious national Award for Excellence twice, an achievement done by only seven chambers of commerce in the country. Additionally, she more than doubled the membership roll while tripling the budget through quality program development and implementation. Additional responsibilities included strategic plan development and implementation program action; policy development; fiscal management.
Professional Certifications/Awards
Certified Chamber Executive, 2004
Graduate, Institute for Organizational Management, 2000
National Chamber of the Year, 2001 and 2004
Specialties: Program development and implementation
Building partnerships
Administrative processes
Erik O’Neal – Heritage Artist
Director, Art & Entertainment Network
Director, Art & Entertainment Network
Erik O’Neal took his first formal lesson at the Art Institute of Chicago. He later went on to study art at Southern University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Erik joined the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS) in 2012. He also is a member of the Louisiana Art and Artists’ Guild and the Art Council of New Orleans. Erik was part of the Art Council of New Orleans’ 2012 class of “ Artist as Entrepreneurs”.
Erik primarily works with pastels and oils. “Impressionistic realism is how I describe my work. My goal is to bring a sense of intensity to my work and invoke passion within the viewer. I want to recreate the moment”.
Erik has exhibited his work across the country, including the East Baton Rouge Parish Library system multiple times. He has twice been selected to participate in the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival (2009, 2012). Erik was a featured artist for the Gumbo Gallery in Pensacola, Florida for the month of June 2013. He is a gifted artist and historian and adept at teaching and conducting seminars and art events.
Quote: “I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember. I cannot imagine not doing it. Wherever I go, whomever I meet could be an inspiration for my next painting. Art is in all of us, it’s all around us.”
Erik primarily works with pastels and oils. “Impressionistic realism is how I describe my work. My goal is to bring a sense of intensity to my work and invoke passion within the viewer. I want to recreate the moment”.
Erik has exhibited his work across the country, including the East Baton Rouge Parish Library system multiple times. He has twice been selected to participate in the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival (2009, 2012). Erik was a featured artist for the Gumbo Gallery in Pensacola, Florida for the month of June 2013. He is a gifted artist and historian and adept at teaching and conducting seminars and art events.
Quote: “I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember. I cannot imagine not doing it. Wherever I go, whomever I meet could be an inspiration for my next painting. Art is in all of us, it’s all around us.”
Eugene Franklin President/CEO
Eugene Franklin is the author of the Pan African American Cultural Heritage Initiative and the architect and organizer of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Alliance, anchored by the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute, Inc., the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, and the National Asset Building Coalition, Inc; with the National Black Business Support Corporation serving as the Alliances, Fiduciary Agent. Franklin also serves as the President of the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Gene is known internationally as a driving force behind the Pan African American cultural economic development movement. His efforts include the creation and development of cultural programs and infrastructure models that benefit disadvantaged and underserved historic communities. His latest endeavor includes the development of a marketing and promotional e’ commerce network that will promote the culture, history, communities, businesses, and destinations of the People of African Descent, in support of cultural heritage tourism and travel. Additionally, Franklin is an advocate for the arts, and also, teaches on the cultural economics impact of the historic ‘Green Book’.
Eugene was born August 19, 1948, in Ethel, Louisiana and moved to New Orleans in 1953. Gene attended grade school and high school in Metairie, Louisiana. To serve his country and further his educational dreams, Gene enlisted in the United States Navy in 1969, and served a total of 27 years on active duty. Gene retired 1996 in Pensacola, Florida after serving his command tour as Officer-in-Charge of Naval Air Training Management Support Activity at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the military, Gene founded Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company and worked in the industry for approximately ten years.
Gene Franklin currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Washington, D.C., the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, and serves as Chairman of the Board for the National Black Business Support Corporation. He supports his local community by his service as a board member for Pensacola Habitat for Humanity, the Escambia County Health Facilities Authority, and Every Child a Reader in Escambia. Gene previously served as a board member for the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce, the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Administration - Northern Florida Region Advisory Board, and a host of local and state boards and committees.
As the President of the Florida Black Chamber, he works closely with over twenty local chambers and in partnership with the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Visit Florida. His many awards include being named as one of Florida’s Most Influential People in 2004 and as One of Florida's Most 500 Influential Business Leaders in 2018 by Florida Trend Magazine. His other awards are too many to mention. Gene Franklin is also an ordained minister and serves as an associate minister for a local church and as the lead evangelist of a growing community-based ministry. His thirst for knowledge and service continues………!
Eugene was born August 19, 1948, in Ethel, Louisiana and moved to New Orleans in 1953. Gene attended grade school and high school in Metairie, Louisiana. To serve his country and further his educational dreams, Gene enlisted in the United States Navy in 1969, and served a total of 27 years on active duty. Gene retired 1996 in Pensacola, Florida after serving his command tour as Officer-in-Charge of Naval Air Training Management Support Activity at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the military, Gene founded Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company and worked in the industry for approximately ten years.
Gene Franklin currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Washington, D.C., the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, and serves as Chairman of the Board for the National Black Business Support Corporation. He supports his local community by his service as a board member for Pensacola Habitat for Humanity, the Escambia County Health Facilities Authority, and Every Child a Reader in Escambia. Gene previously served as a board member for the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce, the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Administration - Northern Florida Region Advisory Board, and a host of local and state boards and committees.
As the President of the Florida Black Chamber, he works closely with over twenty local chambers and in partnership with the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Visit Florida. His many awards include being named as one of Florida’s Most Influential People in 2004 and as One of Florida's Most 500 Influential Business Leaders in 2018 by Florida Trend Magazine. His other awards are too many to mention. Gene Franklin is also an ordained minister and serves as an associate minister for a local church and as the lead evangelist of a growing community-based ministry. His thirst for knowledge and service continues………!