Following the death of her husband Mike in a drunk driving crash, Laura joined MADD to help craft better laws to ensure the tragedy never affected another family. For the past 17 years later, Laura has worked steadfastly to change the laws in both Texas and Florida. Now as National President of the organization, she does similar work in all 50 states so that one day she can witness the total elimination of drunk driving.   

On November 21, 1991, Laura’s husband Mike left a business meeting in Oklahoma and drove towards the Dallas-Fort Worth area to visit his family. Both born and bred Texans, he and Laura had moved to Denver six months previously to start a new chapter in their life with their 8-month old daughter. The two had only been married two and a half years.   At 7:15 p.m., a drunk driver going the wrong way on a Texas highway met Mike’s car head on, killing him instantly and simultaneously making her both a grieving widow and a single mom. The offender, who died at the crash scene, had a BAC of .34 and was driving with an almost empty bottle of Jim Beam whiskey in the vehicle.      After the crash, Laura moved to College Station, Texas.  Once she received her settlement from the civil suit in 1993, she called the Austin branch of MADD to donate part of that money to the organization specifically to help public policy laws in Texas. This started her involvement with the organization. She immediately became active with the Brazos County, Texas Chapter. Soon after, she earned a position on the Texas State Board and was elected State Chairperson in 2000.   Laura moved to Florida in 2001 and immediately began volunteering with the Central Florida Chapter. In 2001, she came on as a Chapter Advisor to the National Board of Directors and was elected to the National Board of Directors in 2002. She served as Chapter President of the Central Florida Chapter from 2003 to 2005. She served as the Law Enforcement Advisory Committee Chair from 2004 to 2008 and served as leadership chair of the MADD Florida State Operating Council just before taking office as National President. Carrying on her passion for public policy, she served as the Public Policy Committee Chair while on the National Board of Directors

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

Nakia Troi Ngwala's advocacy began more than a decade ago while she held various corporate positions throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. In 2004, out of inspiration from the birth of her first son, Mrs. Ngwala became a full-time parent, full-time community advocate and organizer, and youth advocate and has been actively engaged in promoting unity, social justice and equality in her community of Springdale and in Prince George’s County, Maryland ever since. In September 2008, when Mrs. Ngwala learned that her 4 year-old son was not eligible to participate in the public preschool program in Prince George’s County because of the county’s income requirements, she immediately became a Universal Pre-K/Preschool for All advocate. Since then, as a constituent in Prince George’s County, she has written letters, and has called and continues to call on elected officials to inform and encourage involvement from the county on the importance of early childhood education for all young children in Prince George’s County. In November 2008, she was a contributor in the Universal Pre-K Fact Finding Meeting with the Prince George’s County Public School’s Board of Education to examine national, state, and local data regarding Universal Pre-K and to determine if there was a need to establish a Prince George’s County Universal Pre-K Task Force.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

Shirley Henderson, Associate Editor of Ebony Magazine. In its September edition, Ebony saluted the amazing royalty of African American women with its annual feature of the Campus Queens of HBCUs. Ebony showcased 35 Queens of HBCUs in its Campus Queens Online poll. Ebony wanted to make this a very unique and memorable salute to the Majesties of HBCUs and thus allowed its readers to vote on their favorite queens. In a close, but exciting race, the top ten vote getters were profiled in style with photos taken by celebrity photographer Derek Blanks. What we saw and read was a mosaic of beauty, brains, charisma and hopefulness for the future. Ms. Henderson will share the vision behind her amazing article and the photos of the remarkable Campus Queens of HBCUs with host Michel Davis Robinson.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

Forest Of The Rain Productions has an exclusive interview with Dr. Nancy Grasmick, Maryland's State Superintendent of Schools can be heard on The Journey Begins Internet Radio for the engaged parent and dedicated educator.

 For the second straight year, Maryland’s public education system received number one rankings in 2010 from Education Week; the

href="http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/pressrelease_details/2009_02_04.htm" target="_blank">College Board for Advanced Placement performance; and, once again, Newsweek for the highest percentage of rigorous high schools in America. We should all be truly proud for these consistent and remarkable accomplishments.

 BIO

First Lady of Education A woman of courage who dared to make a difference. A tireless advocate for education These are just a few of the phrases Maryland’s media and civic leaders have used to describe Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick, Maryland’s first female state superintendent and the U.S.’s longest serving appointed schools chief. Dr. Grasmick is known for her strong focus on student achievement, teacher quality, parent involvement, public school funding, and early childhood education.

 Dr. Grasmick received her doctorate from the Johns Hopkins University, her master’s degree from Gallaudet University, and her bachelor’s degree from Towson University. Her numerous board and commission appointments include the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, the U.S. Army War College Board of Visitors, the Towson University Board of Visitors, and the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. In 2005, she was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences committee responsible for Rising Above the Gathering Storm, the landmark report on U.S. economic competitiveness.

 Dr. Grasmick has received many awards for her visionary leadership, including the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. In 2007, Loyola College in Maryland awarded Dr. Grasmick its President’s Medal in honor of her professional accomplishments and service to the community. She was also named a 2007 Influential Marylander by The Daily Record.

 Dr. Grasmick is the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Education Commission of the States’ James Bryant Conant Award for her outstanding contributions to American education. In 2005, Maryland’s education head quarters was renamed the Nancy S. Grasmick State Education Building. In 2004, Dr. Grasmick was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame. She also received the Johns Hopkins Woodrow Wilson Award for Government Service. In 2003, the Education Commission of the States gave Maryland its State Innovation Award for excellence in education policy development.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

This special Parent Talk will examine the importance of male teachers in the academic success of African American Males. The lack of African American male teachers has been defined as a nationwide problem (Tate-Billingsley, 2010). Data indicates that only two percent of the American five million teachers are African American males. United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan suggested that if America is to reduce the number of African American young men who fail to graduate, it is imperative that men of color are teaching (Tate-Billingsley, 2010). During this amazing conversation we will discuss the reasons behind the African American male teacher shortage and its impact on minority students.

In the 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males a study conducted by the Schott Foundation it was reported that the graduation rate for African American Males in the United State has become so dismal that an African American male has a better chance of being incarcerated than they have at earning a high school diploma. According to the report, the national graduation rate for African Americans males is 47% compared to 78% for white male students. This represents an achievement gap of 31%. Maryland has a graduation rate of 55% which is 8% higher than the national average and places the state in the top ten of states with large minority populations.

Invited guest for the first show includes:

Dr. Roy Jones is lecturer and executive director for the Eugene T. Moore School of Education's Call Me MISTER Program at Clemson University. The mission of the Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role-models)

Mr. Bryan G. Nelson is the Executive Director of MenTeach. He was joined by Bruce Sheppard and other men (and backed by supportive women) to offer a workshop at a state professional conference to find more men (and women) who believed that it is important to have men teachers.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)