NASHVILLE, TN — The Minerva Foundation, Incorporated in conjunction with the Nashville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will host the Dr. Dorothy L. Brown Humanitarian Awards Brunch on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 10 am – 12 noon at the Nashville Downtown Hilton.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, a past National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
The Humanitarian Brunch is an opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Dr. Dorothy L. Brown, an innovator, humanitarian and public servant for the Nashville Community. The theme for this celebration is “Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Dorothy L Brown: An Advocate for Children Services, Healthcare, and Social Justice”.
Dr. Brown was the first African American female surgeon in the south; the first single adoptive mother in TN; and the first American female to be elected to the Tennessee State Legislature and a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Tickets are $75 and can be obtained through eventbrite.com Several women will be honored who embody the characteristics of Dr. Brown.
The Minerva Foundation, Incorporated is a non-profit 501©3 organization that utilizes proceeds from this event to fund scholarships to deserving non-traditional students in the Nashville Metropolitan area, and other charitable projects in the community, as well as to honor “unsung heroes” for their leadership and commitment to public service in their communities.
Dr. Boyd is an engineer and is described as a dynamic and relevant leader, a prolific motivational speaker, a powerful preacher and a prominent advocate for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Boyd earned her B.S. from Alabama State University with a major in mathematics and a double minor in physics and music. She received a fellowship and was the first African-American female to earn a M. S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University. She has earned both the M. Div. and D. Min. Degrees from Howard University.
Boyd returned to her alma mater in 2014 and for three years she served as the 14th and first female president of ASU. Highlights of her presidency included getting the university its very first engineering degree program with approval for a BS in biomedical engineering. Boyd and her team got the university removed from SACSCOC warning status from previous financial instability. The largest freshman class was documented during her tenure.
She serves on the ministerial staff of Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Md.
Dr. Boyd was elected to serve from 2000-2004 as the 22nd National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an international organization of more than 250,000 members. Known as the “Technology President,” Boyd helped to establish technology in all facets of the sorority’s activities and administration.
Her four-year tenure as president included a number of transformative accomplishments, including the launching of Project SEE (Science in Everyday Experiences), an initiative funded by a $1.6 million National Science Foundation grant with a goal of promoting math and science for middle school African-American girls.
She also led the sorority’s humanitarian and education advocacy efforts in various parts of Africa, including Swaziland, Lesotho and Soweto, South Africa. In 2013, Dr. Boyd served as chair of the sorority’s Centennial Celebration, which involved organizing a year-long series of events culminating in a Washington, D.C.-based convention that drew more than 40,000 participants from around the world.