Board of Directors |
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Meet the Board of Directors |
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Karyn ParsonsKaryn Parsons (Founder and President) is best known as the character “Hilary Banks” on the long-running television show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” Karyn created Sweet Blackberry after being inspired by the true tale of a determined enslaved man and the remarkable lengths he travelled to find his freedom. While growing up, Karyn’s mother, a librarian in the Black Resource Center of a library in South Central Los Angeles, would share stories of African American accomplishment with her daughter. A mother and an activist, Karyn believes that stories have the power to inspire youth.
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Meagen HagansMeagen assists with the management of communications, strategic partnerships, program development and production for Sweet Blackberry. She previously worked as a media specialist for public relations firms Edelman and Burson, Cohn & Wolfe, where she oversaw integrated communications campaigns for such clients as Cigna, Special Olympics and UPMC (in partnership with Donate Life America).
She graduated from New York University with an M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication and Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in Business Marketing. Meagen began her work with Sweet Blackberry in 2016. |
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Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.Dr. David Childs is a professor of Social Studies education and History, and Director of Black Studies at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). He earned two Masters' degrees and a Ph.D. from Miami University of Ohio. Childs received a Doctorate of Divinity from Temple Bible College and Seminary in Cincinnati. He also received a certificate in historical studies from Harvard University. Childs writes a regular column for Cincinnati’s local NPR station (WVXU) entitled Democracy and Me. He has also been a regular guest on Black Press USA Television. Childs is an international scholar, having worked in Mexico, Canada, France, England and Liberia, Africa. He has published over 200 academic articles and book chapters. Childs has also published a young adult historical fiction novel entitled Escaping from Home: A Novel about Slavery and Freedom.
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Karen S. GruenbergKaren S. Gruenberg is a media executive and strategist with extensive experience working across multiple media platforms. Her work spans the inception and launch of digital distribution outlets–Noggin and Sprout; the creative and business reinvention of Sesame Street; and the development and launch of hit programs: Dragon Tales and Sagwa. Gruenberg recently launched KSG Projects,a media company dedicated to building new creative platforms and brands. Gruenberg also serves as a board member of Out2Play- a New York based-nonprofit dedicated to building playgrounds in areas of need.
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Stephanie Tavares-RanceStephanie Tavares-Rance co-founded The Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival with her husband Floyd Rance. She began her career in entertainment working on award winning projects such as Frank Sinatra’s Duets I and II and with artists such as Prince, Jon Secada, Gloria Estefan and many others. Stephanie is the President of Crescendo, a public relations and event planning company where she works with such clients as Martell Cognac, HBO, Showtime and Vanguard Media.
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Richard GrayRichard Gray is the Director of the Community Organizing and Engagement Division of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University (AISR). His work includes providing nationwide, strategic support on community organizing and engagement to community, school reform, and civil rights organizations. Richard is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia Law School. Previously, Richard has served as the Director of National Technical Assistance at New York University’s Institute for Education and Social Policy (IESP), where he assisted community groups in developing strategies to improve local schools and education policies, and as the Co-Executive Director of the National Coalition of Advocates for Students (NCAS).
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The Advisory Board
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Tatyana AliTatyana Ali is a Broadway-trained actress, singer, activist and graduate of Harvard University. Audiences recognize her as Ashley from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which earned her the NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Youth Actor” and the 1995 and 1997 Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award. She is also the Founder and President of HazraH Entertainment, a production company which produces BUPPIES and Love That Girl!. Heradvocacy work includes President Barack Obama’s campaign, the Millennium Momentum Foundation, and traveling the country as the host of the United Negro College Fund’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Empower Me Tour.
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Sherryl Browne GravesSherryl Browne Graves is Professor of Psychological Foundations and Department Chair of Educational Foundations and Counseling at Hunter College in New York. Her courses focus onpsychological foundations of education, including courses in child development, educational psychology and educational research. Her research interests focus on children’s understanding of racial and ethnic portrayals in mass media, the effects of diversity in the educational process and the use of technology in teaching and learning. She has served as a consultant and advisory board members to numerous media organizations including Sesame Workshop, WGBH and KCET Public Television Stations, Discovery Kids and the Public Broadcasting Service.
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Liz DwyerLiz Dwyer is the education editor at GOOD magazine. She has written on race, parenting and education for several national media outlets, and was named one of Parenting Magazine’s top bloggers of 2010. Dwyer previously worked as the education ambassador for the $20 million dollar Pepsi Refresh Project and as a social media consultant for several companies. She has over fifteen years of experience in education, including teaching grade school in both Guangzhou, China and Compton, California, and worked on Teach For America’s Los Angeles staff, where she supervised first and second-year K-12 teachers in the Compton, Lynwood and Los Angeles Unified school districts. She serves on the board of John Legend’s “Show Me Ed Reform” campaign and runs marathons in her spare time.
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Roger L. PattonRoger L. Patton is an attorney for One Degree of Separation Entertainment Consulting. He served as COO and General Counsel for Hidden Beach Recordings, a record label that launched the career of multi–platinum recording, Jill Scott. Mr. Patton’s diverse entertainment experience includes having served as Chief Entertainment Counsel for the Clinton Administration’s Presidential Inaugural Committees in 1993 and in 1997. Mr. Patton is on the advisory board for several new media and non-profit organizations, including The Multiverse Network, FTS Communications and the National Black Child Development Institute.
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James Reynolds, Jr.James Reynolds, Jr. is founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Loop Capital Markets.He has worked in the financial services industry for more than 27 years and strongly believes that successful executives have a responsibility to give back to the community. Mr. Reynolds participates as a board member of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness, Chicago United, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, The University of Chicago Hospitals and The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Additionally, Mr. Reynolds is Chairman of the board for the Chicago Urban League, a member of the Advisory Board of the Levy Institute/Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and he is a member of the CFA Institute.
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Sabrina L. WilliamsSabrina L. Williams is the Executive Director of home&community, inc., an organization that helps low-income residents organize to change housing policy and minimize the effect of food deserts in their neighborhoods. She has worked in over 40 states as a community organizer and organizational development specialist, and is currently expanding residents’ access to fresh food through institution of community food systems. With a background and education in architecture, law and urban planning, her work has focused on issues of justice and equity in urban communities.
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