@LuvLiteracy Dr. Mike Robinson ask C. Diane Wallace Booker about the mission and work taking place at the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc.
Bio:
C. Diane Wallace Booker serves as Executive Director for the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., national non-profit serving children of incarcerated parents and children falling behind in school. Since the inception of the organization in 1998, she has worked alongside the founder Wintley Phipps, creating its organizational, programmatic and fundraising infrastructure. Ms. Wallace Booker led out in the pilot and expansion of the innovative Dream Academy programs to ten locations around the country. The organization has raised national awareness of the needs of children with a parent incarcerated from Capitol Hill to Oprah Winfrey who is a major donor. President Bill Clinton helped to open the first Center in Washington DC in 2000 along with support from former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman. Many other celebrities and officials have supported this work and focus their efforts on this vulnerable population. Mrs. Wallace Booker speaks around the country on the impact on children of incarcerated parents, the impact of poverty and trauma on children’s academic achievement and future prospects.
During her tenure, Mrs. Wallace Booker has developed an expertise in non-profit management, development, and implementation of after-school education and mentor programs, incarceration effects on children and families and has extensive experience in administering government grants. Mrs. Wallace Booker was accepted to and successfully completed the Stanford University, Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in February 2006 and Harvard University, Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management in July 2007. She was a member of the Public Policy Council for National Mentoring and the Advisory Committee to revise the Elements of Effective Practice for mentoring.
Bio:
C. Diane Wallace Booker serves as Executive Director for the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., national non-profit serving children of incarcerated parents and children falling behind in school. Since the inception of the organization in 1998, she has worked alongside the founder Wintley Phipps, creating its organizational, programmatic and fundraising infrastructure. Ms. Wallace Booker led out in the pilot and expansion of the innovative Dream Academy programs to ten locations around the country. The organization has raised national awareness of the needs of children with a parent incarcerated from Capitol Hill to Oprah Winfrey who is a major donor. President Bill Clinton helped to open the first Center in Washington DC in 2000 along with support from former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman. Many other celebrities and officials have supported this work and focus their efforts on this vulnerable population. Mrs. Wallace Booker speaks around the country on the impact on children of incarcerated parents, the impact of poverty and trauma on children’s academic achievement and future prospects.
During her tenure, Mrs. Wallace Booker has developed an expertise in non-profit management, development, and implementation of after-school education and mentor programs, incarceration effects on children and families and has extensive experience in administering government grants. Mrs. Wallace Booker was accepted to and successfully completed the Stanford University, Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in February 2006 and Harvard University, Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management in July 2007. She was a member of the Public Policy Council for National Mentoring and the Advisory Committee to revise the Elements of Effective Practice for mentoring.