2026-2028 Executive Council Officers

Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead

ASALH President

Development/Event Oversight Committee Chair
Planning Committee Chair

Bio for Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead
Rev. Anita Shepherd

Rev. Anita Shepherd

Vice President for Membership

Membership Committee Chair

Bio for Rev. Anita Shepherd
A woman with short curly hair and glasses, exuding leadership, smiles at the camera. She wears a black headband, large round earrings, a pink scarf, and a blue top, with a blurred green background behind her in this 2022 photo.

Ms. Aaisha Haykal

Vice President for Programs

Woodson House Committee Chair, Program Planning/Annual Theme Committee Chair

Bio for Ms. Aaisha Haykal
A man wearing a gray suit, light blue shirt, and red bow tie stands outdoors with his arms crossed, looking confidently at the camera—an ideal representation of Executive Council Officers. The background is blurred, showing trees and buildings.

Dr. David Walton

Secretary

Bio for David Walton

Mr. John E. Adams C.P.A.

Treasurer

Bio for John E. Adams

Ms. Sylvia Y. Cyrus

Executive Director

Bio for Ms. Sylvia Y. Cyrus

Executive Council Members

Class of 2028

Dr. Lisa Brown
Texas A&M University – College Station

Bio for Lisa Brown

Mr. Timur Davis
Mount Vernon Public Library

Bio for Timur Davis

Dr. Leslie Etienne
Indiana University Indianapolis

Bio for Leslie K. Etienne

Dr. Everett Hardy
Oberlin College and Conservatory

Bio for Everett Hardy

Rev. Walter Lanier
Progressive Baptist Church/Great Lakes Urban Empowerment Center

Bio for Walter Lanier

Mr. James Morgan III
Morgan State University

Bio for James R. Morgan III
Randall Webber

Rev. Randall Webber
Wayside Christian Mission

Bio for Randall Webber

Class of 2027

John Ashley

Mr. John Ashley, Esq.
Bethel Dukes Branch

Bio for John Ashley
An Executive Council Officer with a bald head and gray beard, wearing a dark textured jacket and black shirt, speaks into a microphone. The lighting highlights his face against a dark background.

Dr. Sundiata K. Cha-Jua
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Chair, Woodson House

Bio for Sundiata Keita Cha Jua
Kimberly Jeffries

Dr. Kimberly L. Jeffries Leonard
Washington, DC

Bio for Kimberly L. Jeffries Leonard, PhD
A smiling man with a full beard, wearing a pinstripe suit, light blue dress shirt, and plaid tie, stands in front of a plain gray background—an ideal portrait for the Executive Council Officers archive.

Dr. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr.
District of Columbia Archives

Chair, ASALH TV Committee

Bio for Dr. Lopez D. Matthews

Dr. Zebulon Vance Miletsky
Stony Brook University

Chair, Marketing and PR

Bio for Dr. Zebulon Vance Miletsky

Dr. Crystal Moten
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Bio for Crystal Moten

Ms. Chadra Pittman
The Sankofa Projects

Bio for Chadra Pittman
Crystal Sanders

Dr. Crystal Sanders
Emory University

Bio for Crystal Sanders
Camesha Scruggs

Dr. Camesha Scruggs
Central Connecticut State University

Chair, Awards

Bio for Camesha Scruggs
Carlton E. Wilson

Dr. Carlton E. Wilson
North Carolina Central University

Chair, Audit and Finance

Bio for Carlton E. Wilson

Class of 2026

Dr. Karen Cook Bell
Bowie State University

Chair, ASALH Book Prize

Bio for Karen Cook Bell

Dr. Anthony Cade II
United States Air Force

Bio for Anthony Cade II

Dr. Natanya Duncan
Queens College

Bio for Natanya Duncan

Dr. Aisha Johnson
Georgia Institute of Technology

Bio for Aisha Johnson

Dr. Lionel Kimble
Chicago State University

Bio for Lionel Kimble
Tomiko Meeks

Dr. Tomiko Meeks
Texas Southern University

Chair, Human Resources

Bio for Tomiko Meeks

Dr. Daryl Michael Scott
Morgan State University

Chair, Nominating

Bio for Daryl Michael Scott

Dr. Gladys Gary Vaughn
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Washington, DC

Chair, Black History Month Festival Luncheon
Co-Chair, Festival Luncheon Committee

Bio for Gladys Gary Vaughn

Dr. Augustus C. Wood
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Chair, Academic Programs

Bio for Augustus C. Wood