“Reimagining agency for community diplomacy” 

The Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center (RBC) at Howard University offers the programming of the Global Futures Collaborative (GFC). The GFC convenes senior global and domestic policy experts to catalyze international exchanges, foster livable communities, and amplify diverse voices in public policy thought leadership.

Mission:
The Global Futures Collaborative is a practitioner resource center and policy engine reimagining diplomacy networks for identity-affirming exchange and community empowerment. 

 Core Programming: 

1. Mentorship & Expert Support bridging global leaders with the Howard University campus community and beyond. 

1. Senior Practitioner Fellowships advancing Diaspora connections through bespoke action projects. 

1. Community Network curating place-based international exchanges and strategic partnerships driving global change.  Learn more about this work here: https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/howard-universitys-international-affairs-center-announces-launch-new-global-futures-collaborative

Strategic Objectives: 

• Empower Global Policy Exchange
  Equip policy leaders and changemakers to craft community empowerment policies rooted in international solidarity and multilateral institution accountability. 

• Convene Global Equity Leaders
  Bridge domestic and global justice movements through tactical exchanges and events advancing reparatory justice and global equity frameworks. 

• Facilitate Strategic Partnerships
  Foster collaboration among public-private sectors, academia, and community-centered leaders to advance anti-racist global engagement. 

• Reclaim Narratives
  Document practitioner leadership and historical international solidarity that has facilitated existing and future global infrastructure for restorative justice.  

 

 

Alex T. Johnson

Former Diplomat | National Security Expert | Global Advocate for Racial Equity

Alex T. Johnson is a distinguished leader in diplomacy and national security, recognized for his expertise in multilateral diplomacy, human rights, health equity, and fundamental freedoms. A former Obama Administration appointee, Mr. Johnson has extensive experience managing private philanthropy initiatives, driving international advocacy efforts, and fostering partnerships between government entities and civil society organizations representing diverse identity communities.

Mr. Johnson spent over a decade at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, where he advanced parliamentary diplomacy and served as Chief of Staff during the 116th Congress. His tenure included nearly four years representing the Commission at the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, Austria. His work has taken him to over 70 countries, where he has led high-profile exchanges and delivered impactful public speeches.

In addition to his diplomatic service, Mr. Johnson has held influential roles in private philanthropy and advocacy organizations. He is a founding Executive Board Member of fp21, a think tank focused on evidence-based foreign policy formulation, and serves on the Board of the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship. He is also a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was honored as one of Washingtonian Magazine’s 500 Most Influential People in 2022 for his leadership in foreign policy supporting global human rights defenders and international racial justice.

Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and a Master of Public Policy from Oregon State University.

 

Christopher Scott

National Expert on Education & Criminal Legal Systems | Racial Equity Advocate

Christopher Scott is a nationally recognized expert on education and criminal legal systems, with a career dedicated to advancing racial equity, civil and human rights, and innovative policy solutions. A former Obama Administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Education, Mr. Scott has over a decade of experience in Congressional, legislative, and federal policy development. His expertise includes crafting litigation strategies and implementing advocacy initiatives at local, national, and international levels.

As a senior leader in governmental and public affairs, Mr. Scott has successfully developed and executed advocacy strategies across all levels of government. He has also worked internationally with civil society coalitions and local communities to promote equitable policies and systemic reform.

For 14 years, Mr. Scott served as a Senior Policy Advisor and Senior Team Manager at the Open Society Foundations. In this role, he led initiatives to address racial disproportionality in K-12 schools and higher education, championed educational equity, and played a key role in drafting federal policies aimed at systemic change.

Mr. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science as well as a Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) from Oregon State University. His career reflects an unwavering commitment to building inclusive systems that empower marginalized communities.

Inaugural Alcee L. Hastings Global Leadership Fellows
The GFC will host a distinguished cohort of senior leaders, honoring the legacy of the late U.S. Representative Alcee L. Hastings, a pioneer in transatlantic cultural diplomacy. Fellows include: 

• Zakiya Carr (HU ’96): Former Chief Diversity Officer, U.S. Department of State 
• Travis Adkins: Former President/CEO, US-Africa Development Foundation
• Desiree Cormier-Smith: Former Special Representative for International Racial Equity, U.S. Department of State
• Dr. Mischa Thompson: Former Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Zakiya Carr

Global Social Inclusion Leader | Equity Strategist | Advocate for Women Entrepreneurs

Zakiya Carr is a social inclusion and equity expert and strategist with over 25 years experience shaping international development and foreign policy. Prior to joining Howard University’s Ralph Bunche Center as an inaugural Alcee L. Hastings Global Leadership Fellow, she served as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the US Department of State and Senior Professional Staff Member for the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, leading policy on the Western Hemisphere, International Law Enforcement and Narcotics and Corporate Social Impact. In 2018, Zakiya founded global consulting firm, Odara Solutions and launched the Black Women Disrupt initiative to strengthen ecosystems for women entrepreneurs. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor and Director of the Race, Ethnicity and Social Inclusion Unit in the U.S. Department of State, co-chair for the White House Inter-Agency Committee on Gender-Based Violence Monitoring and Evaluation, Foundation Representative for Ecuador and Venezuela at the Inter-American Foundation and Senior Technical Advisor for the Social Inclusion Trust Fund at the Inter-American Development Bank.  

As a proud alumnus of Howard University, Zakiya is an accomplished public speaker, fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, who builds bridges of understanding between communities at home and abroad. 

 

Travis L. Adkins

Global Leader in Foreign Policy, International Development, and Advocacy for African Affairs

Travis L. Adkins is a senior executive leader in foreign policy and international development, with 25 years of experience serving in both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government; various branches of the United Nations system; and prominent International NGOs and think tanks. 

He most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. African Development Foundation; and prior to that as the politically appointed Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa with the U.S. Agency for International Development; as well as the Staff Director for the House Subcommittee on Africa.  

Mr. Adkins has served in over 50 nations throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America; held academic appointments from Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, and New York Universities; is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations; holds an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Bridgewater State University; and is a graduate of Fisk University, one of our nation’s illustrious Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

 

Desiree Cormier-Smith

Trailblazing Advocate for Racial Equity | Human Rights Champion | International Policy Leader

Desirée Cormier Smith is a recognized foreign policy expert, an effective human rights and racial justice advocate, and a dynamic public speaker. From 2022 until 2025, she served as the U.S. Department of State’s inaugural Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice. In this groundbreaking role, she led efforts to promote and advance the human rights for people of African descent, Indigenous peoples, Roma people, and other marginalized racial and ethnic communities around the world through U.S. foreign policies and programs. Previously, she served as the Senior Advisor in the Department of State’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, where she played an integral role in ensuring robust U.S. support for the newly created UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent. Ms. Cormier Smith also worked at the Open Society Foundations as the Senior Policy Advisor for Africa, Europe, and Eurasia. In that role, she led the global foundation’s U.S. advocacy strategy and execution on a wide range of human rights issues in these dynamic and diverse regions. From 2015 until 2020, she was the Senior Director with Albright Stonebridge Group’s Africa Practice, where she advised and assisted private and social sector clients on growth strategies across the African continent. Ms. Cormier Smith began her career as a State Department Foreign Service Officer with assignments in Mexico, South Africa, and Washington, DC.  

Ms. Cormier Smith is the recipient of five Department of State Meritorious Honor Awards and the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Undergraduate Fellowship. She is an alumnus of the International Career Advancement Program and is a member of the 2019 class of Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellowship at the Center for a New American Security. She was honored by New America as a 2020 Black American National Security and Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader and is a 2020 alumnus of the New Leadership Council Washington, DC chapter. She was recognized by the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) as a Global Top 100 leader in politics and governance in 2023. Ms. Cormier Smith is the inaugural recipient of the Harvard Kennedy School Black Alumni Association’s Distinguished Achievement Honor in 2024.  

She currently serves on the Advisory Council of Global Kids, an educational non-profit aimed to inspire underserved youth to pursue careers in public policy and global affairs, and on the Advisory Board of Shea Yeleen, a social enterprise dedicated to empowering women in West Africa and the U.S. Ms. Cormier Smith was a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations from 2019 until 2024. 

Ms. Cormier Smith holds a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from Stanford University and a M.A. in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is proficient in Spanish and French. 

 

Dr. Mischa Thompson

Global Social Inclusion Leader | Equity Strategist | Advocate for Women Entrepreneurs

Dr. Mischa Thompson most recently served as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee where her responsibilities also include the State Department budget and management. She previously served as Acting Chief of Staff and Director of Global Partnerships, Policy, and Innovation at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission). In this role, she worked with Members of Congress and the State Department to lead U.S. policy initiatives with the 57 countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and also served as Senior Advisor to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance. Prior, she served as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and in the U.S. House of Representatives. In these roles she served as the senior national security advisor, was responsible for appropriations, and co-founded Congressional country caucuses and international bipartisan initiatives on inclusive societies. A former Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, she also served on the ICAP Board and WE EMPOWER USA (EU/UN/ILO) Advisory Group, and held Fellowships with Fulbright, AAAS/APA Congressional, National Science Foundation, Salzburg Global, Aspen Institute, and the German Marshall Fund. Originally from Detroit, Dr. Thompson received her B.S. from Howard University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, where she managed several laboratories, research grants, and published on intergroup relations.

 

 

 

GLOBAL FUTURES COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY NETWORK

LEARN MORE HERE: GFC Community Network – One Pager

The Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University, in strategic partnership with the Global Futures Collaborative (GFC), recently announced the launch of its Global Futures Collaborative Community Network. The initiative establishes a subnational framework designed to cultivate reciprocal community collaboration aimed at expanding the scope of traditional diplomacy with a goal to advance meaningful global engagement by national leaders.

The newly established network brings together an inaugural cohort of 14 GFC Community Liaisons who are positioned throughout the United States. The initiative is designed to leverage the cohorts deeply rooted local leadership, bridging their respective home communities directly with senior international practitioners, fellows, and global leadership networks affiliated with Howard.

 

Dr. Charity Clay  

Minneapolis, Minnesota  

Dr. Charity Clay is an interdisciplinary scholar, storyteller and master teacher whose practice centers Black resistance movements on the African Continent and across the diaspora. She is a former college professor and program lead at community college, HBCU and liberal arts institutions who has taught across humanities and social sciences. Her research includes naming and creating frameworks Systemic Police Terrorism and the Black Protest Industrial Complex. Her storytelling centers oral histories and fugitive cartography of historically Black communities, and her teaching carries on the Black radical tradition through decentering white epistemologies and creating educational spaces that ensure Black students in the US remain locally grounded and in community with their peers in the diaspora and on the continent. 

 

 

Natasha L. Cooper 

Upper Marlboro, Maryland  

Natasha L. Cooper has spent more than two decades leading program design, training and collaborative initiatives while building meaningful relationships and ensuring lived experiences inform decisions that affect people’s lives. Shaped by navigating diverse personal, cultural and professional experiences, she brings a grounded perspective centered on connection, inclusion and practical solutions that support communities. 

 

 

Mic Crenshaw   

Portland, Oregon 

Mic Crenshaw was born and raised in Chicago and Minneapolis and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Crenshaw is an independent Hip Hop artist, respected emcee, poet, educator and activist. Crenshaw was the Lead U.S. Organizer for the Afrikan HipHop Caravan from 2013 – 2018. Crenshaw uses Cultural Activism to develop international solidarity related to Human Rights and Justice through Hip Hop and Popular Education. 

In his teenage years, in Minneapolis, Crenshaw actively confronted white supremacist gangs that were a growing part of the hard-core music scene. Mic was a founding member of the Minneapolis Baldies who launched Anti-Racist Action. In addition to his highly-acclaimed work in spoken word and Hip Hop, Mic is the Executive Director of Education WithOut Borders 501c3. Through EWOB, Mic helped facilitate a project to create and maintain a computer center for disadvantaged youth in Burundi, Central Africa. Over 400 people have received free training, and it is now expanding, generating revenue and creating jobs. Through Mic’s leadership, Education WithOut Borders has helped fund food security projects in Burundi and Tanzania, as well as establish a banana farm in Tanzania. Crenshaw is the co-producer and narrator of the It Did Happen Here podcast and a co-editor of the book by the same name. 

 

Dr. Nickolas H.B. Dawkins 

Denver, Colorado 

Dr. Nick H.B. Dawkins is an executive leader, scholar-practitioner, and systems builder with more than two decades of experience advancing educational excellence, organizational resilience, and community centered change across K–12 education, higher education, and nonprofit ecosystems. Across his career, Dr. Dawkins has led at the intersection of academic performance, people strategy, and equity-driven systems design, supporting schools and organizations through moments of growth, complexity, and transformation. His leadership spans classroom instruction, school turnaround, network level executive roles, and cross-sector partnerships, with a consistent focus on improving outcomes for students and communities historically excluded from opportunity. Dr. Dawkins holds a Doctorate in Education, with research examining the experiences of Black school leaders in public education and the conditions necessary for their recruitment, retention, and long-term effectiveness. 

 

Lakayana Drury   

Portland, Oregon 

Commissioner Lakayana Yotoma Drury is an educator, social entrepreneur, community advocate, writer, poet, and filmmaker. He is the founder and executive director of Word is Bond, a nonprofit leadership incubator for young Black men based out of Portland, OR, which he formed in 2017. At his core, Lakayana is a storyteller who harnesses the power of community engagement and various mediums of art, including poetry, music, drawing and painting, photography, and film, to uplift hidden stories and inspire others to collective action. Lakayana’s leadership commitments include serving on the Local Public Safety Coordinating Committee (LPSCC) Executive Committee, the Center for Black Student Excellence (CBSE) Guiding Coalition with Portland Public Schools. In 2023, Lakayana was appointed to the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs for a three-year term. 

  

Appreccia D. Faulkner 

Chicago, Illinois 

Appreccia D. Faulkner is a “glocal” historian, that has been heralded as a transformative leader who bridges both the local and global. She is the Founder of Global Strategists Association, an international organization striving to increase global engagement among the African Diaspora. She founded the organization in 2013 to promote diversity, racial equity, inclusion and justice in global affairs. She was selected for the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) 2021 US National Security and Foreign Affairs Leadership List, a bipartisan coalition highlighting unique and notable contributions in the national security and foreign affairs arena. She is a 2021 Truman National Security Project Fellow and a 2020 Emerging Leader with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. As a Professor, historian, and international affairs practitioner, she reimagines diplomacy and global leadership through the lens of racial equity, historical truth, and justice. Her work is reshaping the global landscape by building institutions, cultivating leaders, and advancing a more inclusive and authentic vision of Black transnational diplomacy. 

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Monique “Mo” George 

New York, New York 

Monique George, MPA, known as Mo, is a National Campaign Strategist with the Clean Slate Initiative and a nationally recognized leader in community organizing, criminal justice reform, and campaign strategy. With more than 30 years of experience, she has led successful policy campaigns resulting in legislative victories at the local, state, and federal levels. An internationally respected trainer and keynote speaker, Mo has equipped thousands of organizers and nonprofit leaders across the United States and Eastern Europe with the skills to build grassroots power, develop effective coalitions, and drive lasting systems change. 

  

Adrian Holmes 

Cambridge, Maryland 

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Ms. Holmes brings more than 15 years of military leadership and management to her role heading Alpha Genesis CDC (AGCDC). Her natural ability to lead and connect with people, combined with a keen eye for design and art, complements Cambridge’s evolving, inclusive image. Ms. Holmes’s dedication to the Cambridge community runs deep.  Dialogue she has fostered resulted was the award-winning documentary You Don’t Know Nothin’ About Groove City, which traces the origin of the Groove City name in the Cambridge African American community.  

Ms. Holmes conceptualized and led the historic Day of Resilience in 2019, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the transatlantic slave trade, including the unveiling of the nationally acclaimed, Harriet Tubman “Take My Hand” mural, painted by Michael Rosato.  She also led a two-year fundraising campaign, Harriet’s Journey Home, which raised more than $400,000 to install a 12-foot bronze Harriet Tubman statue at the Dorchester County Courthouse, where Tubman’s first rescue took place in 1850. The statue was unveiled on September 10, 2022, in honor of Harriet Tubman’s 200th birthday. 

   

Cheryl Poe   

Virginia Beach, Virginia 

Cheryl A. Poe is a nationally recognized special education advocate, speaker, and trainer whose work centers on advancing equity for Black neurodivergent students and their families. As the Founder and Executive Director of *Advocating 4 Kids, Inc.*, a Virginia-based nonprofit, Cheryl leads transformative advocacy and training initiatives that challenge systemic inequities within public education and empower parents to use their voices as agents of change. 

 

Ellen Reddy 

Durant, Mississippi 

Ellen Reddy is a force for her community and, especially, for the rights and health of young people. Reddy founded the Nollie Jenkins Family Center with her twin sister, Helen Johnson, in 1994, with the goal of providing area families with safe, affordable childcare for their babies and preschool-aged children. Today she serves as CEO and executive director of NJFC. Ellen is focused on ending the use and practice of corporal punishment in Mississippi’s public and charter schools. She worked to organize the Mississippi Coalition to End Corporal Punishment, which formed in 2021, to pass legislation eliminating corporal punishment in schools throughout Mississippi and the Southeast. 

 

John Spann 

Jackson, Mississippi 

Originally from Columbus, Mississippi, John has lived in the Jackson Metro area since 1997. Shortly after graduating from Mississippi State University with a B.A. in history, he joined the museum division staff of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). During his five years with MDAH, he became an inaugural member of the curatorial team for the Two Mississippi Museums. As program and outreach officer, John oversees and develops council-conducted programs, such as Ideas on Tap and The More Perfect Union initiative. In addition, he cultivates partnerships with educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and community groups to guide grant applications and promote Mississippi Humanities Council programs. 

 

DeJuana Thompson 

Birmingham, Alabama 

DeJuana L. Thompson is a political and social strategist providing innovative and sustainable engagement methods and models for candidates, campaigns, and community organizations. She leads Black Equity Strategy and Trust, a boutique consulting group specializing in engagement strategy, leadership development, rapid response initiatives, and curating high-end logistics and premium cultural experiences. DeJuana is the founder of Woke Vote, an organization designed to engage, mobilize, and turnout African American voters in the South. 

 

Collette Watson 

Phoenix, Arizona 

Collette “Coco” Watson is a multidisciplinary social impact artist, writer, and cultural strategist whose work bridges sound, screen, stage, and community. Based in Phoenix, she leads Black River Life, a creative studio transforming stories of Black migration into pathways for liberation and care. Her practice spans immersive installations like Temple of Traveling Mercies, soul-infused albums, soundscapes, and documentary film. She directed Black in the Newsroom, an award-winning short documentary that exposes the emotional toll of systemic racism in mainstream media. Her work has been featured in TIME, PEN America, EBONY, and the Columbia Journalism Review. With a background in mass communications, organizing, and cultural strategy, Coco uses storytelling as a tool for ancestral memory, collective care, and narrative justice across the African Diaspora.

   

George D. Williams II 

Cleveland, Ohio 

George D. Williams II is Founder and Principal of The Kairos Group, known for building the coalitions behind consequential development initiatives, with expertise in inclusive economic development, coalition governance, and sub-national diplomacy. A former White House advance and public engagement staffer, George founded and scaled a five-continent social enterprise developing overlooked talent for global leadership, advises the world’s largest association of economic developers on international engagement, designs civic-leadership programs engaging former heads of state, and is an MSc candidate at the University of Oxford.