Ladies for ethnic advancement & dignity, inc.
2025 L.E.A.D. Members
Joan Anderson
Bernadette W. Bennett
Annie Battle Bolden
Agnes J. Dodd
Alberta Edmond
Jessie M. Ford
Rhonda Foster
Katrina Jones
Dr. Brenda A. Manuel
Connie Meigs
Ruby Miles
Cheryl Newman
Brenda Parker
Gwen Chambers Randolph
Janet Robinson
Mary Stovall
Adrienne Walden
Inga Warren
Chris Waters
In Memory:
Clara Cheltenham
Maple Cornwell
Norma Harris
Shirley Jackson
Barbara Meigs
Wilma Fulcher Miller
Jacquelyn Snead
Cecilia Van Dyke Day
Making Change
Rhonda Foster, Pitzer College ’82 and her son, Alec, were invited by President Biden to the White House on July 11 to celebrate the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Foster and her husband, Pitzer Trustee Ruett Foster ’81, have devoted their lives to violence prevention after their 7-year-old son, Evan, was killed by errant bullets in 1997. Alec, who was 10 months old at the time, survived gunshot injuries sustained during the incident. He is now a graduate of the University of Arizona and hosts the WoMen Against Gun Violence podcast, Bullet Points: Hot Topics on Gun Violence Prevention.
Foster says she is grateful for the recent passage of gun legislation and continues to advocate for universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons.
Welcome 2024-2025 L.E.A.D. Officers
(Seen in order of photo)
Joshua Thompson: Sergeant-at-arms
Samuel Banks: President
Karron Williams: Secretary
Victoria Carriere: Vice President
Pouring generosity, steeping opportunity.
Saturday, September 6, 2025
LEAD 2024-2025 Officers with Deon and Winner, founders of G.U.M.P. (Greater Under Mental Pressure) Topics: Mental Wellness & Bullying
A Message on not giving up from sENIOR SCHOLAR
RICO RANDOLPH
Good afternoon everyone my name is Rico Randolph and it is with deep gratitude that I am standing before you today as the only graduating senior of the LEAD program. Now you probably know that I am Gwen's grandson and that I don't talk a whole bunch. However, there are a few things you don't know. One of them being that I actually wasn't too fond of LEAD at first because I'm not a huge talker, and the other being that I was diagnosed with severe depression during February of last year. If you aren't too sure what that means then I'll explain. In simpler terms, I had given up, not just on myself, but on school, on friends, on life in general. Now I've been through my fair share of personal challenges, but this had to be my biggest one yet. I had become unmotivated and unhappy with who I was that I had stopped going to school because of how much anxiety and fear it caused me, and I almost let it win. But if I learned anything from LEAD and my parents, it's that I need to keep moving forward because life doesn't wait for you, it keeps going and I've seen the potential that we as people apart of the African American community have. I wasn't gonna be left behind. It is now part of my story and I'm no longer ashamed of it because no matter what life throws at you, you can always bounce back. Now being part of LEAD, this is so much more than a milestone in my academic journey. I think of it as more of a send-off to a journey that still awaits me.
I want to personally thank all the LEAD staff for encouraging me along the way, and a special thanks to Mr. Coffee as his public speaking workshops had prepared me for moments like today. To my fellow LEAD Scholars, I encourage you to keep growing and keep moving forward. As I prepare for this next chapter of my life, all I can do is thank the entire LEAD program for not just helping support my education, but helping me discover my voice, my purpose and my potential. And for that I will always be thankful. So I mean this from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
RICO RANDOLPH, CLASS OF 2025
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