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Dr. Donna Elam is a nationally recognized authority in diversity and cultural competence training for governmental, business, community, and educational agencies. She is also the Associate Director for Program Development and External Affairs at the David C. Anchin Center housed in the College of Education at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Elam has received countless recognitions and awards at the state, national and international levels. In March 2011 was recognized by Power Broker Magazine as one of the Tampa Bay Florida Area’s Most Influential Educational Leaders. Earlier, in March 2009, she received the Women’s Leadership Award from the University of South Florida and was one of the 2003 recipients of the prestigious Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award by Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA) during the International Committee of Artists for Peace Conference. She has also been given the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director’s Award for her work as a member of the Attorney General’s Hate Crime’s Working Committee; and most recently has been recognized by the United States Department of Education for her work in Youth Development and Student Achievement and the Florida Education Fund/Florida College Access Network for the Lifelong Service Award.
Elam holds two degrees from New York University (NYU), a Masters and Doctorate of Education; and a Bachelors of Science from York College in New York. Former Director of New York University’s Equity Assistance Center and serviced New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Dr. Elam has testified as an Expert Witness for the United States Department of Justice on Diversity in Education to the United States House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary and for the state of Arkansas” Legislative Summit on Closing the Achievement Gap.
In March 2009, Dr. Elam was re-appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to serve a third four-year-term on the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) and holds the Chair position since October 2007. Governor Jeb Bush appointed her first two terms. The Commission possesses policy-making responsibilities to identify and eliminate unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, private clubs, and service at a public lodging or food service establishment in the state.
Dr. Elam sits on the executive boards of the USA/Africa Institute, Florida Regional Policing Institute, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute for Non-violence, and the FBI Diversity Task Force.. She has conducted trainings and reviewed curricula for law enforcement and government agencies such as, the Department of Justice- Weed and Seed Programs; Florida Department of Law Enforcement – Human Interactions; the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement; and the City of Oakland Park, Florida.
Among her publications are “New Directions for Culturally Competent Leaders”, “ From the Schoolhouse to the Jailhouse: Can We Stop it?”, and “Why They Marched: The Struggle for the Right To Vote” a civil rights book for children which has been recommended by both the Department of Education’s “Just Read Florida” Reading List for Educators , as well as the Governor’s Reading List for Black History Month.
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