Blk History week 3 press release Dr. Dionne Mahaffey
Office of Communications

Office of Communications

Voorhees kicks off week three of Black History Month speaker series

Voorhees College prepares for virtual week three of “Blue Table Talk,” with a leadership and business focus featuring Dr. Dionne Mahaffey, business psychologist, author, technologist, and entrepreneur, and Melvin Carter, mayor of Saint Paul, Minn. on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. via the institution’s Facebook and YouTube channels. 

Mahaffey founded the Atlanta Chapter of The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences. This organization awards a monthly $1000 grant to individuals and groups in need of support for creative and innovative community-based projects. 

She has been featured on and in “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” CNN, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Modern Woman Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, MTV, ABC News, E! True Hollywood Stories, and more. 

Additionally, Mahaffey is the founder of Culture Greetings, an innovative greeting card platform. In 2015, she launched The WhereU app, a local business search app with a real-time leaderboard of black-owned businesses across categories. Her other apps include The Greek Gram and Divine 9 emojis, both iOS products. 

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, a doctorate in psychology from the Colorado School of Professional Psychology. She completed post-doctoral certification in personal leadership at Columbia University. Her talk show, “Let’s Talk Good Business,” is a lively format of news, information, and dialogues with luminaries in all walks of business and airs on WDJY 99.1 FM in Atlanta and Channel 36 in Washington, 

She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The United Way’s Volunteer Involvement Program, Toastmasters, Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and The International Association of Coaching, to name a few. Mahaffey is the mother of two children, Ashanti and Nasir. 

Carter is the 46th mayor of the city of Saint Paul after taking office in 2018. He has been leading an “unapologetic” equity agenda, where he has achieved increasing Saint Paul’s minimum wage, tripling free program in rec recreation centers; eliminating public libraries late fees, re-establishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund; expanding immigrant and refugee support resources, and launching an Office of Financial Empowerment. 

Some of his work includes training progressive activists and candidates in more than 30 states. In addition, beginning January 2020, Carter created a signature program called CollegeBound, where every Saint Paul child born in the city will receive a $50 college savings account. 

Before his election in 2017, Carter served as a Saint Paul City Council Member, founding board chair of the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood, director of the Minnesota Office of Early Learning, and executive director of the Minnesota Children’s Cabinet. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota. Carter resides with his wife, Dr. Sakeena Futrell- Carter, and their children. 

To view the Black History Month speaker series’ third week, please like, subscribe, and follow our YouTube page @VoorheesCollege1897 and our Facebook page @VoorheesCollege. 

For more information, contact the Office of Communications, at 803-780-1191 or at communications@voorhees.edu. 

Blk History week 3 press release Dr. Dionne Mahaffey
Dr. Dionne Mahaffey
Blk History week 3 press release Mayor Melvin Carter
Mayor Melvin Carter

About Voorhees University

Voorhees University, founded by Elizabeth Evelyn Wright in 1897, is a private, coeducational institution affiliated with the Episcopal Church and the United Negro College Fund. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and graduate degrees. Its mission is to produce highly qualified graduates who coalesce intellect and faith in pursuit of life-long learning, healthy living, the betterment of society, and an abiding faith in God. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Voorhees as a #1 best value, #3 in social mobility and #33 among regional colleges in the south in 2022-2023; and #26 among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, nationally. Additional information about Voorhees University can be found at www.voorhees.edu.

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