As Executive Director of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Dwayne oversees all internal and external activities and affairs for the organization.

Dwayne’s experience in management, sales, marketing, operations, finance, and labor relations has spanned multiple industries, including electronics, financial services, medical devices, computer technology and non-profits. As such, he has held senior management positions with 100 Black Men of America, Inc., ADT Security Services, and the Bank of New York, among others.

A strong leader with a special passion for team building, motivational training, and mentoring, Dwayne has a strong track record of delivering double-digit growth while spearheading significant organizational change. His leadership and skills have garnered him a range of awards and recognition, including the Atlanta Business League Men of Influence, Atlanta Consumer Choice Award for Business Excellence, the United Way “Top 10 Corporate Per Capita Award,” and Outstanding Young Men of America.

Dwayne currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, Prevent Child Abuse America, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Ervin Academy. He has previously served on the American Red Cross National Diversity Advisory Council, Delta Air Lines Curator Board of Directors, Nicholas House Board of Directors, and 100 Black Men of North Metro, Inc. Board of Directors. He is also the Past Chairman of the Atlanta U.S. Army Board of Advisors.

A native of Philadelphia, he earned a BS degree from Hampton University and a MBA in Marketing and Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Valerie Lemmie serves as the Directory of Exploratory Research at the Kettering Foundation. An adept strategic thinker with more than 35 years of experience in solving public problems and controversial issues in governmental organizations and local communities, Lemmie joined the foundation in 2014 after a distinguished career in public service. She served as city manager for the cities of Petersburg, Virginia, and Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio; commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Ohio; and district director and acting chief of staff for Congressman Turner (Ohio’s 10th District).

currently serves as chair of the board of the National Civic League and Dayton History; board trustee and treasurer of Initiatives of Change, USA; executive committee member of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium; interim chair of the SIVIO Institute; and board member, Ohio Matriots. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and has served on numerous local, federal, and international boards and commissions. A published author, Lemmie is a noted speaker on democratic civic engagement and the complementary production of public work nationally and internationally.

Lemmie received her BA in political science and urban sociology from the University of Missouri and an MA in urban affairs/public policy planning from Washington University.

Richard began his healthcare career as a Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy during the later years of the Vietnam war.  After completing his Baccalaureate nursing education at the University of Massachusetts, he began his professional nursing career in acute spinal cord injury.  As a clinician, he has since practiced in a wide range of clinical specialties in acute care, including general medicine, psychiatry, orthopedics, and oncology.

He's held various administrative and educator positions in academic health care settings, including University of Virginia, Fletcher Allen Healthcare, the University of Vermont, Meridian Health, the New Jersey State Nurses Association, and Texas Children’s Hospital.  Richard served at the Director level in operational and education support leadership positions, Chief Nurse Executive, Director of Nursing Innovation and Outcomes, and as a nursing professional development specialist.

He has consulted to nursing and health care executives in a broad range of nursing operations related areas, including clinical innovation, staffing and scheduling systems, care delivery model redesign, patient outcomes evaluation, recruitment and retention, patient and staff safety, quality improvement, and cultural competency development. He is also an active member of the Virginia State Nurses Association, The American Organization of Nurse Executives, and Sigma.  

Gerard Robinson served as Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida and Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. His other leadership roles have included Executive Director of the Center for Advancing Opportunity and Director and President of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Robinson also was a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is coeditor of Education for Liberation: The Politics of Promise and Reform Inside and Beyond America’s Prisons(2019) and Education Savings Accounts: The New Frontier in School Choice (2017). In addition, he cohosts The Learning Curve: National Education Podcast. Robinson has been published or quoted in AEI Ideas, Gallup News, Newsweek, The Hedgehog Review, the Hill, the New York Times, the Washington Examiner, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and US News & World Report. He earned a BA from Howard University and an EdM from Harvard University, as well as an AA from El Camino Community College.