Alumni, Faculty, and Students Honored at MLK Celebration
This year’s West Chester University Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration, organized and hosted by the Society of WCU (formerly WCU’s Frederick Douglass Society), saw the presentation of several awards.
The program celebrates Dr. King’s civil rights work and promotion of nonviolent struggle for racial justice. WCU alumni who exemplify Dr. King’s legacy are recognized at the event with the annual Drum Major for Justice Awards. Other awards presented during the brunch include the community service award named for former Executive Deputy to the President Lawrence A. Dowdy ’79 and the Society’s Student Service Leadership Award.
The Society of WCU is an organization of University faculty, staff, and administrators who embrace the spirit of Frederick Douglass’ commitment to social consciousness and inclusiveness. Their programs aim to stimulate other groups on campus to enrich our multicultural climate. The MLK Brunch is one way the Society raises money for scholarship funds.
2025 Drum Major for Justice
Lisa Wright Bryant ’87
Lisa Wright Bryant ’87 has been the change agent to hundreds of men and women across
the country for more than 20 years. She has dedicated her life to empowering individuals
to live their best lives by “Keeping It 100” with themselves and others. It is her
mission to “… let [people] know that they are great, they are overcomers, and they
can make it.”
Bryant is a leadership development expert with experience in sales, financial management, strategic planning, and non-profit management. Her career ignited with training and developing in telecommunications and finance with companies such as Verizon and Vanguard Group. She quickly advanced in her career by obtaining Series 6, 63, and 26 with Primerica Financial Services.
In 2013, she co-founded LM Bryant Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm that inspires people to live their best lives by helping them build their confidence and increase their self-esteem. The firm provides tailor-made workshops and keynote speeches that help clients unlock their internal toolboxes. She wrote You Are Enough: Keeping It 100 With Yourself 2.0, an uplifting book and journal that encourages readers to face the potentially paralyzing traps of their past and/or present that could stop them from living the life that they were created to live.
Bryant is a student success coordinator in WCU’s Academic Support & Advocacy Center, working closely with the College of Arts & Humanities and the communication and media department. She has also taught at WCU as an adjunct faculty member and served as the 2022-23 Entrepreneur in Residence with the Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center, where she also serves on the center’s advisory board.
Her hard work and dedication to empowering everyone she meets has gained her recognition by West Chester University’s Legacy of Leadership, Chester County & Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and C.H.O.I.C.E.S. She was named one of the 150 Influential Women of West Chester University.
Community service and parent advocacy are strong pillars in her life. She and her husband, D.J. Bryant, are founders of Divine Liberty Ministries, Inc., where the entire family serves together in ministry. She is the chaplain of the Epsilon Omega Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.; campus advisor for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Theta Lambda Chapter; and a past president of the West Chester University Alumni Association.
Bryant is currently a first-year student in West Chester University’s doctor of education program in higher education, planning, and administration.
A native of Chester, PA, she is a graduate of Chester High School. She earned her bachelor of science in liberal studies with a minor in music education from West Chester University; a bachelor of arts in theology from Chesapeake Christian College; a master’s degree in theology from the International Christian University; and a life coach certification from Transformation Academy.
2025 Drum Major for Justice
Kenneth Johnson M’17
Kenneth Johnson M’17 (who was unable to attend the event and is not pictured) is a consummate advocate for social, political, and economic justice in and around the Philadelphia region.
He is an evaluation project manager with direct responsibility for evaluating the city of Philadelphia’s grant-funded violence prevention programs related to reducing the incidents of gun violence. Johnson was already embedded within Philadelphia’s social services and volunteer community for more than 20 years prior to pursuing his master of social work degree at WCU. He developed the Boys & Girls Track program, which provides mentorship in character development and is now integrated into the Philadelphia Department of Human Services’ programming.
Johnson organized the Philadelphia Office of Public Safety’s first conference in 2024 for anti-violence grant recipients. The majority of those who attended were people of color from the city who provide community-based support to people of color from Philadelphia. Many have also developed their own community-based organizations.
As a WCU graduate student, Johnson was selected to serve as a Community Engagement Scholar for a proposal funded through the Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact. In this role, he assisted with the development of a “study abroad at home” course focused on human rights in Philadelphia for students who could not study abroad. Johnson co-taught the course three times and published an article on the course development in the journal Urban Social Work.
Johnson has also been an active part of the local Campaign Schools for Social
Workers, a professional development opportunity that connects and trains those who want to be more politically active as leaders, volunteers, advocates, and/or candidates to amplify their impact to create positive change. Along with Dr. Christina Chiarelli-Helminiak, a professor in WCU’s master of social work program, he presented on “Ethics in Politics” at the University of Connecticut’s 2021 Campaign School. He also moderated a panel entitled “Inside the Studio: What’s it really like to hold elected office?” at the 2024 Campaign School in the tri-state region (PA, NJ, DE). Johnson’s expertise and communication skills were critical to eliciting panelists’ honest responses on how professional identity, training, values, and ethics shape their agenda to navigate the world of politics.
Johnson’s leadership in the social work profession exemplifies the values and ethics of the social work profession and WCU’s mission to graduate global citizens who contribute to the common good. He has embraced Dr. Martin Luther King’s understanding of the interdependence and interrelatedness of social, political, and economic rights that apply universally and inalienability to all humans.
Johnson continues to inspire the next generation of social workers as an instructor in the University’s MSW program.
Lawrence A. Dowdy ’79 Community Service Award
Laquana Cooke
Dr. Laquana Cooke is a WCU associate professor of digital rhetoric and a leading scholar,
educator, and advocate for equity in digital media and STEM education. A digital media
expert, her work focuses on critical issues such as inclusive design and race and
representation in technology. She has presented her research at prestigious conferences
and institutions including SXSW EDU, PAX East, IEEE, and the Integrated STEM Education
Conference, as well as at NYU, Cornell Tech, and RPI.
As a game designer, Dr. Cooke has contributed to notable projects for Nintendo DS and Leap Frog, and she currently serves on the executive board of nonprofits dedicated to fostering diversity in the gaming industry. Her research on game design thinking and pedagogy has been widely published, with articles appearing in journals such as IEEE, Games Studies, TCQ, IGI Global, and ACM Transactions on Computing Education. She has also authored a forthcoming book, Tuning into Justice, that explores the development of gaming pedagogies aimed at empowering Black youth.
Dr. Cooke is a passionate advocate for institutional equity and has been instrumental in advancing such initiatives at WCU. Her efforts have led to transformative curricular reforms and innovative programs that bridge equity gaps in education. She has spearheaded STEM equity initiatives through programs like the iCamp Summer Media Academy, which empowers high school students from under-resourced communities through media production and technology education. Under her directorial leadership for the past seven years, iCamp has grown into a nationally recognized model of university-community collaboration, with more than 20 WCU student interns and 90 alumni. Dr. Cooke has secured in excess of $150,000 in funding for iCamp, including a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant.
Beyond WCU, Dr. Cooke is a trailblazer in fostering diversity and inclusion in digital media and STEM fields. Her work with dual enrollment programs, particularly with the School District of Philadelphia, has created pathways for underserved students to access higher education. Additionally, her advocacy through organizations like Tech Valley Game Space and Games for Change has empowered youth across the country to engage in digital activism and technology.
Dr. Cooke’s tireless commitment to advancing equity in education, her innovative scholarly contributions, and her leadership in shaping inclusive academic communities make her a deserving candidate for recognition and a powerful force for positive change in both the University and broader professional communities.
The Society Student Service Leadership Award
Future Teachers United
Future Teachers United is a student-led organization that was founded in October 2023. Its purpose is to create an environment within the College of Education and Social Work that promotes inclusivity, stimulates educational and professional growth, and encourages students to continue their academic journey to becoming teachers.
Future Teachers United was founded on the belief that each person deserves a place where they can feel appreciated regardless of their identity. Created to provide support for aspiring teachers, the organization has been able to expand its efforts to students from other departments and continues to promote an inclusive and welcoming space on campus, inviting students from across the disciplines to join and support its mission.
Members include Aaliyah Wood (president), Ronnell Williams, Madison Peacock, Myasija Rivera, Alexis Crawford, Sierra Boatwright, Ariana Dacre, Selina Finkelstein, and Nyla Mitchell.