Published: January 13, 2005

New Members Join Africare
Board of Directors

Former Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr., International Human Rights Lawyer Gay J. McDougall Are Among Appointments

Washington, D.C. (January 12, 2005) … Africare announces the recent appointment of the following six individuals to its Board of Directors. The new Africare Board members are: Mr. Stephen D. Cashin, the Honorable Howard F. Jeter, Ms. Gay J. McDougall, Ms. Barbara A. McKinzie, the Honorable J.C. Watts, Jr., and the Honorable Howard Wolpe, Ph.D.

Stephen D. Cashin is founder and chief executive officer of Pan African Capital Group, LLC, which specializes in investment banking and advisory services, asset management, and private equity exclusively in Africa. Prior to his current position, Mr. Cashin was the founder as well as the managing director and head of the Washington Office of Modern Africa Fund Managers, LLC. Mr. Cashin is also the vice chairman of the Corporate Council on Africa.

The Honorable Howard F. Jeter is a vice president of GoodWorks International. Mr. Jeter is a career diplomat, who has served as the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Director of West African Affairs, the President’s Special Envoy for Liberia, ambassador to Botswana, deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires in Namibia, and deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires in Lesotho. He has also held various political, economic, commercial, and consular positions in U.S. embassies in Mozambique, Tanzania, and the Temporary Liaison Office in Namibia.

Gay J. McDougall is the Executive Director of Global Rights, Partners for Justice. Ms. McDougall has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for her work on behalf of international human rights. She was elected to serve as an independent expert on the U.N. treaty body that oversees the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. As a Special Rapporteur to the U.N. Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Human Rights Commission, she presented a groundbreaking study that called for international legal standards for prosecuting acts of systematic rape and sexual slavery committed during armed conflict. Ms. McDougall also served as one of five international members of South Africa’s 16-member Independent Electoral Commission, which successfully organized and administered that country’s first non-racial elections.

Barbara A. McKinzie is the First Vice President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the oldest and largest sorority for African-American women. In this role, Ms. McKinzie is scheduled to become the International President of the sorority in 2006. Ms. McKinzie is also the Comptroller for the Chicago Housing Authority, the third-largest public housing system in the U.S. Prior to her current position, she served in a series of critical financial roles in major corporations such as Coopers & Lybrand and Salomon Smith Barney.

The Honorable J.C. Watts, Jr., is chairman of the J.C. Watts Companies, where he works with clients to implement business development, communications, and public affairs strategies. Mr. Watts was elected to the U.S. Congress from Oklahoma in 1994, where he served four terms, during which he led two Congressional trade missions to Africa. His continued public service has included leading a U.S. delegation to the Conference on Racism, Discrimination, and Xenophobia covened by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; accompanying President George W. Bush on his trip to Africa; and co-founding and co-chairing the Coalition for AIDS Relief in Africa. Mr. Watts has also created the J.C. Watts Foundation to focus on urban renewal and other charitable initiatives.

The Honorable Howard Wolpe, Ph.D., is Director of the Africa Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Dr. Wolpe served seven terms as a U.S. Congressman from Michigan, during which he chaired the Subcommittee on Africa of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is also the former Presidential Special Envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Region. Dr. Wolpe has taught at Western Michigan University and the University of Michigan, and has served as a Visiting Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program of the Brookings Institution.

Rejoining the Board after a period of absence is William R. Ford. Departing the Board are James M. Harkless, Esq., Clyde B. Richardson, the Rev. Yvonne Seon, Ph.D., and Curtin Winsor, Jr.

Africare is a leader in aid to Africa as well as the oldest and largest African-American organization specializing in African aid. Over its 35-year history, Africare has delivered more than $450 million in assistance - representing over 2,000 projects and millions of beneficiaries - to 35 countries Africa-wide. Today, Africare's 150-plus programs reach families and communities in 25 nations in every region of Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information or to donate on-line, please visit: www.africare.org.