Board of Directors

Sidney Clifton

Emmy-nominated producer Sidney Clifton has over twenty years of experience as an executive producer, producer, casting director, voice director, director and creative development executive in animated and live-action content across multiple platforms.

Her producing credits include CELEBRATION TABLE WITH MAYA ANGELOU, TRIPPING THE RIFT, STAN LEE’S THE CONDOR, HELLBOY: SWORD OF STORMS, ROB ZOMBIE’S THE HAUNTED MOVIE OF EL SUPERBEASTO, TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S TOUGH LOVE; ME, ELOISE, AND BET’S animated series MARVEL’S BLACK PANTHER.

Sidney serves the Jim Henson Company as Senior Vice President of Animation and Mixed Media and is a Senior Consultant with Black Women Animate Studios. As a mentor and recruiter, she has been a featured speaker at colleges and universities across North America, including California Institute of the Arts, Pratt Institute, Maryland Institute of Arts, NYU-Tisch, Sheridan College, Savannah College Art and Design, George Mason University, and Ringling College of Art & Design.

​

Ms. Clifton’s passion for developing and supporting the underserved community of writers, artists, storytellers, and creators was the catalyst for her launching The Clifton House, a writer’s and artist’s workshop and retreat space centered at her childhood home in Baltimore Maryland—the home she shared with her five siblings and parents, educator/activist Fred J. Clifton and National Book Award winning poet and author Lucille Clifton.

Dr. Vell Lyles

Dr. Vell Lyles (she/her) has worked in higher education for over 25 years. She served for 13 years as an Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management overseeing enrollment staff and enrollment processes.  In addition, she has served as Dean of Students, Director of Student Services, and Director of Minority Affairs.

Currently, she is a Research Analyst in Planning, Research, and Evaluation (PRE) at the Community College of Baltimore County. She provides data support for the grant writers who pursue private, state, and federal grants.  Dr. Lyles received her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree from the University of Louisville, and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University.

Ali Michael Cannon

Ali Michael Cannon (he/him) met Lucille Clifton as an undergraduate creative writing student at UC Santa Cruz in 1985. Lucille's mentorship deeply influenced his life as a writer, activist, and education manager. He currently works for Contra Costa County Office of Education as a Wellness In Schools Program (WISP) Liaison, where he facilitates the improvement of mental health supports for all students, serving as a resource for school districts, county agencies, caregivers, and community organizations.

In addition to over 20 years in nonprofit management, Ali spent six years as a School District Administrator, managing state and federal grants that improve the lives of youth without equal access to education. Cannon is an expert in building strategic partnerships, engaging a wide variety of cross-sector stakeholders. His work as a courageous visionary has transformed organizations in roles both as staff and seasoned Board Member.

In 2019, Mr. Cannon received the inaugural Foglifter Emerging Elder Fellowship. In addition to Foglifter Journal, his work appears in From the Inside Out: Radical Gender Transformation, FTM and Beyond; Queer Jews; and Secret Sisters. He lives in Oakland with his wife and teenage son. 

Gillian Clifton

The fourth of Fred and Lucille Clifton’s six children, Gillian Clifton resides in Ft. Washington, MD. With 20 years in the Government Contracts industry, she works as a Contracts Manager for a large organization employing 9000+ people and operating in over 27 countries. She is responsible for the management of over $500M in contract awards.

​

Having learned the importance of community involvement from her parents' examples, Gillian has volunteered her time with Habitat for Humanity, homeless shelters, local elementary schools, women’s groups, and diversity, equity, and inclusion groups.

In her spare time, Gillian enjoys reading, discovering new things to do in the Washington metropolitan area, and spending time with her husband and daughter.

Darlene Taylor

Darlene Taylor (she/her) is an advocate for arts and humanities and lecturer at Howard University. Her deep interest in social justice grows out of her experiences in national politics, global corporate communications, and nonprofit service. Her community service is dedicated to literary citizenship. Darlene has served in leadership of national literary arts organizations and on the board of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright foundation. As the founder of INKPEN, she provides books to students in under-resourced schools and partners with libraries to bring stories by Black writers to readers.

​

Darlene writes fiction; her work has appeared in anthologies and journals. She holds an MFA in creative writing and is a recipient of fellowships and support from the D.C. Commission for the Arts and Humanities, American Association of University Women, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Community of Writers, Kweli, Callaloo, and Kimbilio. 

Phillis H. Rambsy, Esq.

Phillis Hegmon Rambsy (she/her) is an attorney and the owner of RAMBSY LAW PC, a law firm based in Nashville, Tennessee that serves clients in Tennessee, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky.  Phillis’ legal practice is concentrated in the areas of employment law, representing employees in matters of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and breach of contract.

In addition to focusing on employment law, Phillis also represents small businesses, entrepreneurs, and provides legal representation in general litigation matters. 

Besides running her legal practice, Phillis is an adjunct professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Maryland: Global Campus. Phillis  teaches courses focused on employment law, labor law, communications, and human resources management and strategy; she has also been an adjunct professor at other universities and taught courses in Legal Studies, Women’s Studies, African-American Literature, and Writing and Composition. 

Phillis earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Spelman College, a Master’s degree in English from the University of Kentucky, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.

Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan

Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan (she/her) has served as St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s (SMCM) seventh president since July 2014. The College, as Maryland’s only public honors college and the first of its kind in the nation, has been widely recognized for its successes. Under her leadership, the College continues to analyze and assess its programming to ensure that students are both striving and provided opportunities to be engaged, productive global citizens and leaders.

Since joining the College, President Jordan has been widely recognized for her contributions to higher education and the larger community. Recently, she was named one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education by the national magazine, Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

In addition to serving on numerous national panels and boards, Dr. Jordan was recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2018), Black Leader in Education by the AFRO (2017), was named as one of Fisk University’s Talented Tenth (2016), Purdue University’s Distinguished Women Scholars (2015-16), and as an Influential Marylander by the Daily Record (2015).

Dr. Jordan received the Torchbearer Award (2014) from the National Coalition of Black Women, Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter, was inducted (2015) into the Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, was awarded the Education Excellence award by the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce (2018), and received the inaugural CEO’s Excellence Award from the Prince George’s County Public Schools Foundation (2019). Dr. Jordan holds a B.S. in chemistry from Fisk University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Purdue University.