Lorraine Cole
Lorraine Cole was appointed chief executive officer of the YWCA USA. Cole currently is president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative. Prior to leading the Black Women’s Health Imperative for nearly six years, she was executive director of the National Medical Association for six years. She earned her doctorate in communication science at Northwestern University and is a Certified Association Executive. She has been a fellow of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations and the Avery Institute for Social Change.
Onica Makwakwa
Onica Makwakwa is the new executive director of UNITY: Journ-alists of Color Inc., and will lead the group into its 2008 convention in Chicago. Previously the director of development at the YWCA USA, Makwakwa has more than 10 years of professional experience in the nonprofit sector and a strong background in fund-raising and event management. She received a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Iowa. UNITY is made up of the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association and the Native American Journalists Association.
Kaplan Mobray
Kaplan Mobray was named U.S. diversity recruiting leader for Deloitte & Touche USA L.L.P. Mobray earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and is a graduate of Deloitte’s National Diversity & Inclusion Initiative’s Breakthrough Leadership Program. He will work with national diversity leaders and regional diversity recruiters to create a national diversity recruiting strategy. Prior to his new role, Mobray served as senior marketing manager for Deloitte’s national consumer business industry group, one of the largest industry practices at the organization.
Brian Armstead
Brian Armstead joined the editorial team of Roadfly.com, an Internet
automotive resource for buyers, sellers and owners, as a road test editor and public relations director. Armstead has worked in radio, television and print for more than 30 years, with such organizations as On Wheels Inc., The Washington Times, Wheels Today, Motor News Media Syndicate, The Black Family Channel, Rides Magazine, Atlanta Tribune Magazine, Sister 2 Sister magazine, NBC Radio, AutomotiveRhythms.com, Auto-motive Rhythms, The Magazine and XM Satellite Radio. He currently is president emeritus of the Washington Automotive Press Association.
Brenda S. Banks
Brenda S. Banks was hired as chief archivist at Morehouse College to facilitate organizing more than 10,000 pieces of the Martin Luther King Jr. Collection at Morehouse, King’s undergraduate alma mater. Currently, Banks is the deputy director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History. She was a member of the board of directors of the National Association for Government Archives and Records Administrators and represented this organization on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. She is a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists, the highest honor bestowed by the society, and most recently received the SAA Council Exemplary Ser-vice Award for outstanding contributions to the archiving profession.
Mary A. Daffin
Mary A. Daffin was named managing partner of the law firm Barrett Burke Wilson Castle Daffin & Frappier L.L.P. Daffin joined the firm at the time of its formation in 1990. Previously she was a solo practitioner in Houston for eight years, and prior to that she was an assistant United States attorney from 1978 to 1982. Daffin graduated cum laude from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University and summa cum laude from Alabama State University. She is an adjunct professor at Texas Southern, and is an author and frequent speaker on issues related to the mortgage servicing industry, bankruptcies and foreclosures.
Michael L. Parks, M.D.
Michael L. Parks, M.D., a faculty member within the department of orthopedics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, joined North General Hospital as its new chief of the division of orthopedics. Parks acts as liaison between North General Hospital and the other Mount Sinai faculty who are joining him in the initiative to bring quality orthopedic care and education to the community of Harlem, where North General is based. Parks received his A.B. from Duke University and his M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the Duke University Medical Center and a fellowship on the hip and knee service at the Hospital for Special Surgery/Cornell Weil Medical Center. Parks served on the faculty at Columbia and as an attending orthopedic surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital.