Michele Jones Galvin is Harriet Tubman’s great-great-great grandniece and co-author with her mother, Ms. Joyce Jones, of Beyond the Underground: Aunt Harriet Moses of Her People. As Descendant Biographers, they have penned this creative nonfiction based on genealogical and historical research about Harriet Ross Tubman Davis, Greatest Conductor of the Underground Railroad and celebrated Civil War General. Ms. Jones Gavin has also spoken regionally and nationally on her Aunt Harriet’s life and was named Co-Chair of the 2020 New York State Centennial Suffrage Conference, serving with Kenneth Morris, Jr. (Descendant of Frederick Douglass) and Alice Keesey Mecoy (Descendant of John Brown).
Ms. Jones Galvin’s profession life includes being co-founder and former Director of the ACCESS Center, an infant mortality prevention program sponsored by Onondaga County which provided comprehensive case management services to over 15,000 families. She also served as Special Projects Director and Director of Community Initiatives for the County where she worked closely with community based organizations, schools, and health and social service programs to provide families the greatest access to County services, quality customer service, de-escalation services, referrals to community based agencies, and trauma informed care. She also served on the County’s diversity training leadership team, is a certified Bridges Out of Poverty facilitator and certified National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) trainer.
Ms. Jones Galvin serves and has served on multiple boards including FOCUS Greater Syracuse, George and Rebecca Barnes Foundation, Guardian Angel Society, Loretto Management Corporation, Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, League of Women Voters, Central New York Health Systems Agency, Centers for Nature Education, Chadwick Residence, Consolidated Industries, Cultural Resources Council, Everson Museum, HealtheConnections, HOME, Inc., Juneteenth, Inc., Independent Living Services, Junior League of Syracuse, MAMI, Meals on Wheels, Loretto Nursing Home, Northeast Community Center, Partners in Education and Business, PEACE, Inc., Regional Learning Services, Syracuse Corinthian Club, Syracuse Stage Guild, Transitional Living Services, Vera House, Volunteer Center, and Women’s Fund of Central New York. She is also an active member of Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, Inc., Syracuse Chapter of the Links, Inc., Syracuse Chapter of National Council of Negro Women, Syracuse Onondaga NAACP, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Among Ms. Jones Galvin’s many honors are the Onondaga County Martin Luther King Award, Lambda Kappa Mu Service Award, Thursday Morning Roundtable Award for Meritorious Community Service, YWCA Diversity Achievers Award, Junior League of Syracuse New Member Award, Bethany Baptist Church Harriet Tubman Spirit Award. American Red Cross Women Who Mean Business Award, Syracuse Chapter of the National Council of Negro Women Community Service Award, Junior League of Syracuse 20th Annual Spirit of Mary Harriman Award for Community Leadership, and Onondaga NAACP Presidential Award. She was also inducted into the North Side Hall of Fame and recognized as one of the founders of the Women’s Fund of Central New York.
Ms. Jones Galvin received a Master’s Degree in Psychological Research from the New School for Social Research and Bachelor’s Degree with a double major in Psychology and African American Studies from Fordham University.
Website: mosesofherpeople.com
Marc Jones, a great-great-great grandnephew of Harriet Tubman and Ms. Jones Galvin’s brother, is the visionary and principal behind the multi-award winning company Dreissig Apparel Inc. and Fan Hands LLC. Mr. Jones is an experienced CEO with strong business development, sales and marketing skills developed in his previous work in the pharmaceutical industry.
Born and raised in Syracuse where his companies are based, Mr. Jones graduated from Christian Brothers Academy as an All-State and All-Northeast US running back his senior year. He went on to play football at the University of Tennessee where he graduated with a degree in Psychology. He then went on to play professionally in the German Football League (G.F.L.).
Mr. Jones founded Dreissig Athletic which designs and manufacturers his own brand of athletic apparel. He also invented and distributes a novelty product, Fan Hands, that enhances the sound of the clap for fans at sporting events.
Along with his businesses success, Mr. Jones is active in the community, believes in giving back and is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Willow Street Foundation which supports young students with financial need and develops their educational passion and desire to succeed through scholarships, educational support and community projects.
Website: dreissigapparel.com
Evelyn C. Ingram serves as Director of Community relations for the Central New York Region of Wegmans Food Markets, overseeing activities in the community investment and media relations arenas and serving as the company’s regional spokesperson. Ms. Ingram and her husband Chino Ingram are also the founders of Simply Ingram, LLC, established to restore and transform a historic church on Syracuse’s Southside. Renamed The Castle, the property will be amulti-use facility with event space, an entertainment lounge and a training center for programs benefiting local residents. The project is already serving as a catalyst for the Southside’s revitalization and economic development.
Previously, Ms. Ingram held positions at United Technologies Carrier Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Company. She a graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse and serves/has served in leadership positions on multiple boards including CenterState CEO, CNY Community Foundation, Crouse Hospital, Hillside Work Scholarship Connection, United Way, American Heart Association, Salvation Army, and Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation and WCNY Public Broadcasting Corporation. Ms. Ingram is a member of Links Inc, one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of women of color committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. She is also a graduate member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, the first black female Greek letter organization.
Among Ms. Ingram’s many honors are PEACE’s Champion of Diversity Community Service Award, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Marjorie Dowdell Fortitude Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s President’s Award, and Community Service Awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Negro and Professional Women, Dunbar Center and Omega Psi Fraternity.
Ms. Ingram is a graduate of SU’s Newhouse School of Communications, holds a Master’s Degree from Le Moyne College, and received an Honorary Degree from Onondaga Community College.