Beach Lady
MaVynee Betsch, the "Beach Lady" of American Beach, Florida died in September 2005 was the great granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln Lewis, president of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, who helped found the seaside town of American workers at a time when most Southern beaches were closed to them.
Located on Amelia Island, north of Jacksonville, American Beach attracted working-class visitors, black homeowners and the black cultural elite through the 1950s with its hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs. More recently, development has encroached on the town and Betsch worked to protect it.
Mark Mitchell, M.D. MPH
Director, Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice 
Dr. Mark Mitchell is the founding president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) and has served on both local networks’ steering committees since their inception. Dr. Mitchell has spent nearly twenty years working in the public health sector; he has spent the past five years educating the community on the effects of the environment on health. Working primarily with communities of color and low-income, he teaches people what can be done to prevent and reduce the disproportionately higher rates of disease in their communities. Dr. Mitchell serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association of Connecticut and the Hispanic Health Council.
Dr. Mark Mitchell is a physician specializing in epidemiology and public health, including environmental health. He recieved his training at the University of Missouri at Kansas City where he received his B.A. degrees in economics and biology as well as his M.D. degree in 1981.
After this, he attended the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where he received his environmental health and health policy training. He earned his Masters in Public Health degree and completed his Preventive Medicine Residency there at Johns Hopkins in 1985.
He served as Deputy Director of the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department for 7 years, where he led the successful campaign to establish the city's landmark smoking ban, before coming to Hartford where he was Director of Health for 4 years. He is currently President of Mitchell Health Consultants, a public health and environmental health consulting firm. He is also founder and President of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice. His work is focused on environmental justice, asthma and air pollution.
Atlanta’s Community Leaders
Sonja Ebron is the CEO of blackEnergy, an organizer of energy buying groups that help people use their utility bills to support black communities. In metropolitan areas where suppliers compete for household accounts, blackEnergy aggregates natural gas and power loads into energy cooperatives, negotiates low rates for member households, and channels a portion of their energy dollars to local nonprofit groups working in black communities.
Sonja Ebron, President & CEO, blackEnergy
Before heading blackEnergy, Sonja held academic positions with the Florida Institute of Technology, Norfolk State University, and Hampton University, where she taught energy systems. She co-founded Solar Power & Light (SPL), a small consulting and training firm active in global renewable energy development. Her professional background also includes employment with Carolina Power & Light and Gainesville Regional Utilities, where she held positions in distribution operations, strategic planning, and customer relations.
Sonja studied electrical engineering at North Carolina State University where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees with a focus on electric power. She earned a doctorate from the University of Florida specializing in power system reliability.
A member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Sonja serves on the board of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE).
Who’s Who in Black Atlanta | The 2005 Edition
http://www.blackenergy.com
Clarke Watson
Clarke Watson founded the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). He died in 2003 just before the AABE National Conference. AABE is a great institution and is a testament to Clarke Watson's vision. His legacy as a giant in the energy sector is clearly apparent to anyone familiar with the history of AABE. AAEA President Norris McDonald was President of the AABE Washington, DC Chapter from 1982-1984.
Working in the Nuclear Industry…
...you can too (maybe not). Thelma Wiggins is no longer with this organization
"Over the next 10 years, the nuclear energy industry will need
more than 90,000 new workers to meet staffing demands."
Thelma L. Wiggins, Manager, Media Relations
Nuclear Energy Institute
Thelma L. Wiggins is the spokesperson for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the Washington-based policy-making organization for the nuclear energy industry. Wiggins is not the first—nor is she the last—woman, or minority to join the ranks of nuclear energy industry professionals. She is, however, one of few African-American females to confront the white-male, nuclear-navy stereotype to excel within the industry.
| Thelma Wiggins has been promoted to Director, Member Communications, effective December 15, 2004. Thelma has been a Media Relations Manager at NEI since 1999. Prior to coming to NEI, she was a Media Relations Representative where she coordinated communications related to emergency planning at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. In her new role, Thelma will serve as the principal liaison to member company and energy industry communicators . She will work closely with energy information center managers and emergency planning professionals, and manage the Institute’s meetings for communicators. |
As non-traditional as her chosen field, Wiggins has a diverse background, with more than 19 years of experience in communications, education and military service. She was in charge of the power supply for the U.S. Army’s Patriot Missile System, worked at a nuclear power plant, and served as U.S. nuclear energy spokesperson for an international climate change conference.
Wiggins is a member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). A philanthropist by nature, she is interested not only in furthering the cause of nuclear energy, but the involvement of all Americans, especially African Americans and minorities, in all aspects of energy and energy-related issues.
There are more than 1,000 women who are members of the U.S. Chapter of Women in Nuclear, an organization devoted to outreach and professional development. Of all the nuclear technologies, nuclear medicine is the fastest growing. Over the next 10 years, the nuclear energy industry will need more than 90,000 new workers to meet staffing demands. Wiggins encourages women and minorities to take advantage of the vast opportunities. More information on nuclear careers and education, and nuclear energy issues is available on the NEI website at www.nei.org
