Our Team
Who We Are
Rahim Jenkins, CEO
A native Washingtonian and longtime community activist – Rahim Jenkins, continues to make his mark on both the local and national levels, through a long and illustrious career as a Youth Advocate and Re-Entry Facilitator. Recognized as a pioneer in the field—one that demonstrates through innovative programming and a front-line presence, his long-standing commitment to educating, rehabilitating, and uplifting disadvantaged minority youth. His personal and professional philosophy is focused on the constructive empowerment of youth who are disproportionately impacted by the violence and destruction that plagues many of our inner-city communities.
Rahim has served as the Youth Policy Advisor to the Mayor and the Director of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DOC). In this role, he had oversight responsibility for operational, educational, and programmatic initiatives impacting youth in the custody of DOC. Rahim was instrumental in the implementation of a successful multi-tiered behavior management program with a reward system directly linked to positive performance as well as the brokering of an effective working partnership with the D.C. Public Schools involving the provision of on-site educational services to incarcerated youth being adjudicated in the city’s adult system. While employed at the DOC, Rahim has served as Correctional Officer, Correctional Counselor, Public Affairs Specialist, Special Assistant to the Deputy Director, and Community Liaison Officer—all positions that have contributed to his mastery of many of the issues critical to correctional administration, rehabilitation, criminal and restorative justice.
Dr. Carmen White, PhD
Dr. Carmen White, PhD is a professional speaker, trainer and consultant, and for over 20 years has provided her expertise in the areas of personal and professional development, leadership, and communication training to organizations, associations and schools.
Dr. Carmen White has been inspiring youth and adults on issues of purpose and vision for over 20 years. Her journey towards this novel undertaking began during my childhood where the seeds of imagination, awe, and possibility, were planted.
Carmen is a Board-Certified Drama Therapist and educator of all most 15 years. and a certified Process Communication Model Trainer and have served as an Artist-in-Residence for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 2008.
Glenn Brown, MS
Glenn is a community leader, social justice advocate and champion for children with incarcerated parents, with nearly three decades of experience. Presently, Glenn services as a core member of the National Center for Juvenile Justice Reform – an anti-violence initiative geared at addressing the systemic issues in and around violence.
Glenn has a BS in Human Services and a Masters degree (with distinction) in Organizational Management and Leadership from Springfield College, Springfield, MA.
Nancy Ware, MS
Board Member
Nancy Ware is a nonresident fellow in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She has more than three decades’ experience in the management and administration of juvenile and adult criminal justice programs on the local, state, and national levels. Before assuming leadership of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, Ware guided the agency’s compliance with the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, focusing on strategic planning and performance measurement.
Ware’s professional career includes service as the first executive director of the DC Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, director of technical assistance and training for the US Department of Justice’s Weed and Seed Program, and director of national programs for the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs. Early in her career, Ware was executive director of the Rainbow Coalition, executive director of the Citizenship Education Fund, and executive director of the District of Columbia Mayor’s Youth Initiatives Office. Ware holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Howard University.
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik Seale
Director of Financial Affairs
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik Seale is a founding spiritual leader of soulfulmuslims.org (DC Metro) and The Muslim Alliance In North America. The imam is a former Director of Outreach at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center, the first Muslim Chaplain at Howard University (HU) and is the former Head of the National Association of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education. The imam has also served as the chair of government relations for the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), was the founding President of the Muslim Advocacy Commission of Washington, DC. He continues to serve on the DC Mayor’s Faith Advisory Committee and is on the board of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, one of the nation’s first organizations of its kind with over 11 faith traditions.
In his native Brooklyn community his mother kept the family busy with community activism. In College he became a Black activist, musician, practiced transcendental mediation (TM) and vegetarianism. In Graduate school, Allah showed him the light of Islam. He served as the President of MSA at Howard University and later the University’s first Muslim Chaplain.
Lisa Johnson-Willingham
Board Member
Lisa Johnson-Willingham became director of Ailey Extension in 2011, expanding Alvin Ailey’s vision that dance is for everybody through innovative and accessible dance programs for students of all ages, levels, and backgrounds. Under her leadership, the program has continued to thrive since its inception in 2005, attracting over 83,000 new students; creating annual workshops like Ailey Experience, Voices and Visions, and World Dance Celebration; and hosting premiere guest artists like Judith Jamison, Robert Battle, Les Twins, Yanis Marshall, and Pretty BIG Movement. For five years (1994-1999), Ms. Johnson-Willingham was a member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater under the artistic direction of Judith Jamison. Throughout her career, she also danced with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, New World Dance Company, Donald Byrd/The Group, Joel Hall Dance Company, Deeply Rooted Productions, Footprints, and Cerqua/Rivera Art Experience.
Ms. Johnson-Willingham leadership experience in the arts includes a decade-long position as Director of AileyCamp Chicago, heading dance programs at the Dance Conservatory of Chicago High School for the Arts and Whitney Young Magnet High School, and teaching positions at Columbia College, Olive Harvey College, and Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance.
Lennie Smith, MA, BCT/RDT
Board Member
Lennie is a seasoned educator, trainer, university professor, author, and entrepreneur, with over 20 years of experience in public school systems, alternative education programming, corporate and non-profit organizations. Lennie is the co-founder of Dramatic Solutions Inc. Lennie is a strong advocate for active and collaborative learning in the classroom for disengaged learners. During his tenure as Co-founder and Director of a non-profit drama education organization, Lennie successfully developed and implemented an interactive life skills program at a juvenile detention center, consisting of user-specific curricula and training modalities.
Lennie strongly believes in the power of drama to educate, empower, and enlighten. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Educational Drama and a Master of Arts degree in Speech and intercultural Communication from New York University. Lennie is a Board-Certified Registered Drama Therapist, with additional credentialing in Process Communication Model Training and Quality Matters Online teaching. Lennie is currently a doctoral student at Morgan State University.
Thomas Penny
Board Member
Thomas guides the operation of a portfolio of business class hotels affiliated with the Marriott, Hilton, Choice, and InterContinental Hotels Group. Thomas’ leadership responsibilities for Donohoe Hospitality include strategic planning, overall operational direction, development and acquisition of properties, and long-term financial and capital planning. Thomas is a career hospitality professional with multi-brand hotel experience and a history of achieving above-average results in employee satisfaction, guest satisfaction, market share, and profitability. Thomas joined Donohoe in 1996, and he has shared a successful 21+ year career with the company in both a developmental and hands-on operational capacity.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Hotel Association of Washington, DC (HAWDC), immediate past board chair (2 years) and Executive Committee member (2008-present), Destination DC, board and Executive Committee member (2014-2016), Hospitality High School Public Charter School, founding board member (1999-2015), DC Public Education Fund, member (2013-present), DC Mayor’s Workforce Investment Council, Executive Committee member (2011-present), DC Career Academies Network (DCCAN), co-chair (2013-present), DC National Academy Foundation (DCNAF) Executive Hospitality Board, founding chair and present co-chair (2013-present)
Assadullah Jenkins
Youth Development
Assadullah is a college student attending Clark Atlanta University and is knowledgeable in Criminal Law aspects. His studies on Victimologist/Criminologist assist his current pursuits in creating multiple procedures to help reduce gun violence in Washington DC. He has been recognized for Most Outstanding Youth because of passion and leadership for justice, met with members of March for Our Lives to discuss gun violence in America and went lobbying at the Capital to implement new gun laws to congressman.
He has held various town hall meetings to discuss social issues in Washington DC, as well as promoted to predominant speaker on gun violence across the city of Washington. He has hosted multiple meetings with council members addressing the struggles in urban communities, where eight in total town hall meetings and there was 10% increase in attendance after each previous meeting. Assadullah is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Society of Leadership and Success, a recipient of Clark Atlanta’s Dean’s List Award and also the Muslim Young Adult Man of the Year Award.
