About

The Black Alumni Council (BAC) is the officially recognized affinity organization and shared interest group within the Georgetown University Alumni Association that supports and engages current and future generations of Black Georgetown alumni.

The BAC is dedicated to inclusion, engagement, and outreach for all Black alumni of Georgetown. While the university will continue to celebrate and honor Black history month, it is important to the Alumni Association that commemorations and celebrations are no longer reduced to one month a year. The BAC is the group that aims to promote the interests and give voices to Black alumni, further strengthening relationships with the university and fostering a spirit of connectivity.

Our goal is to encourage more Black alumni to return to the Hilltop and re-engage with the university in ongoing efforts, including support of the Patrick Healy Fund and Dinner, Black Alumni Summit, Soul Hoya Reunion Weekend, John Carroll Weekend, and other Georgetown University Black Alumni Council initiatives.

The Patrick Healy Dinner Committee

Coordinates preparations for the annual Patrick Healy Dinner, in partnership with the University’s Office of Advancement. Through the Patrick Healy Dinner, the Committee enhances the BAC’s efforts to recognize the accomplishments of Georgetown’s Black alumni, faculty, staff, and students. In
addition to supporting planning for the dinner, the committee is responsible for leading the BAC’s outreach and sponsorship efforts to widen the event’s reach each year. Proceeds from the dinner support the Patrick Healy Scholarship, which promotes diversity at Georgetown by providing assistance to students who have demonstrated financial need for scholarship aid.

Co-chairs: Marguertia Brunson Sims (C’91) and Willie Tate (B’94)

The Black Alumni Summit Committee

Plans and manages the biennial Black Alumni Summit, in partnership with the University’s Office of Advancement, for the purpose of celebrating the professional and personal achievements of the diverse and accomplished Georgetown Black alumni community. The Summit brings Black alumni from across the globe, classes, schools, eras, professions, and walks of life back to the Hilltop to reconnect with each other and with the University.

Co-chairs: Eric Woods (B’91) and Mannone Butler (B’94, L’99)

The Soul Hoya Committee

Plans and manages the annual Soul Hoya Reunion and GU Homecoming events for the purpose of fostering social camaraderie and community service, and generating financial support for current Georgetown Students. The Soul Hoya Committee works to encourage more Black alumni to return to the Hilltop for Georgetown Reunion and Homecoming Weekends and, ultimately, get re-engaged with the University in ongoing efforts, including support of the Patrick Healy GU Endowed Scholarship/Patrick Healy Dinner, Black Alumni Summit, John Carrol Weekend, and other BAC initiatives.

Co-chairs: Winoka Wendy Wilkes (SFS’91) and Keith Dent (B’89)

The We Are Georgetown: Celebrating Our Black History Committee

Through storytelling and first-hand accounts, We Are Georgetown documents the history of the Black experience at Georgetown, leveraging oral histories, artifacts, and memorabilia. The project’s initial focus is on the stories of Black students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others from the 1960s to the present. The project aims to represent an intergenerational portrait of our narrative, spanning across the University’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools.

Co-chairs: Michael C. Ford (L’84) and Fonda Sutton (SFS’87, L’95, G’15)

The Faculty, Staff, and Curriculum Committee

Serves as a catalyst for diverse and inclusive scholarship, by encouraging the faculty of the University to develop and sustain a diverse and rigorous academic environment and curriculum across disciplines. The committee seeks to provide support to academic and administrative staff around issues related to a diverse student body and the interests of students of color.

Co-chairs: Marcia Cooke (SFS’75) and O. Felix Obi (MPM’11)

The Admissions and Financial Aid Committee

Works in conjunction with the overall University admissions and financial aid offices on the Main Campus, Law Center, and Medical Center, to ensure that the admissions and financial aid processes yield a socially, culturally, and economically diverse population in order to provide world-class access and opportunity.

Chair: Chris Perkins (B’94)

The Student Life Committee

Exchanges ideas amongst schools and units, including the Center for Multicultural Equity & Access, to identify opportunities to increase visibility and involvement of alumni with students across the University Community.

Co-chairs: Ky Adderley (C’98, SCS’01) and Ashley Hodges (L’14)

Over the years, Black alumni of Georgetown have engaged with the university and each other in a variety of ways. Three tentpole events have served as the focus of this engagement: the Patrick Healy Dinner, Soul Hoya Reunion Weekend, and the Black Alumni Summit. Through the years, these events have grown in number and impact, which created the critical mass to embark on a new and exciting journey.

In January 2020, a group of Black alumni leaders, including the leadership of the Georgetown University African American Advisory Board (GUAAAB), the Black Alumni Summit (BAS), the Soul Hoya Alumni Group (Soul Hoyas), as well as other Black alumni engaged at the leadership level in various aspects of the university, convened to discuss the current status—and consider the future—of Black alumni engagement at Georgetown University. In partnership with Julia Farr (C’88, Parent’19, ’21, ’24), executive director of the Georgetown University Alumni Association (GUAA), Black alumni leaders endeavored to consolidate resources in an unprecedented effort to provide meaningful and effective support for enhancing the empowerment and engagement of Black alumni.

In July 2022, the BAC will launch with the alumni leaders of the three tentpole events spearheading the development of this first-ever affinity group within the Georgetown University Alumni Association.

Mannone A. Butler (B’94, L’99)

Tyree P. Jones, Jr. (L’86, Parent’21)

Gail Gillis-Louis (C’75)

Conan N. Louis (I’73, MS’78, L’86)

Tammee Thompson (C’91)

Winoka Wendy Wilkes (SFS’91)

Eric Woods (B’91)

Mannone A. Butler (B’94, L’99), Chair

Winoka Wendy Wilkes (SFS’91), Vice Chair

Gail Gillis-Louis (C’75), Secretary

Conan N. Louis (I’73, MS’78, L’86), Parliamentarian

Ky Adderley (C’98, SCS’01)

Marguerita Brunson Sims (C’91)

J. Jacques Carter (M’79)

Marcia Cooke (SFS’75)

Keith Dent (B’89)

Goren Dillard (C’84)

Michael Ford (L’84)

Schuyla Goodson-Jeanniton (L’92)

Ashley Hodges (L’14)

Tyree Jones (L’86, P’21)

Christopher Jones (M’01)

Erin Meadors (C’05, L’21)

O. Felix Obi (MPM’11)

Chris Perkins (B’94)

Beverly Perry (L’81)

Nigel Scott (C’95)

David Simmons (L’84)

Rick Sinkfield (SFS’91)

Markhum Stansbury (C’91)

Fonda Sutton (SFS’87, L’95, G’15)

Charlene Tarver (L’03)

Willie Tate (B’94)

Tammee Thompson (C’91)

Donna Wise (SLL’80)

Eric Woods (B’91)