2022-2023 Executive Board Election Candidates
April 11th to April 12th at 9pm EST, 2022 via Engage
Students must be a member of the Black Student Union on Engage in order to vote in the election.
Meet the Candidates
President
Gianna Cook
Class: 2023
Hometown: Newark, New Jersey
Major: English
Minors: Sociology and criminal justice
#Back2Black
To lead as a Black woman. To leave a legacy as a Black woman. To thrive as a Black woman. To BE a Black woman.
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Over this past term I have had the pleasure of being able to serve as your President for the Black Student Union for the 2021-2022 academic year. It has been a great honor to be your leader as we transitioned from remote instruction to in-person learning. Though the adjustment was not easy, my team and I came together to provide and re-establish the principle that our Black community was built upon: community, transparency, and resilience. Through our re-building, we were able to accomplish monumental occasions within the Black community.
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Under my leadership, I recommit myself to the plight of the community. I will ensure that I continue to uphold the pillars of unity, professionalism, and advocacy. As your leader, I want to be the person that you can trust with the challenges you face, the joys shared, and representation for your collective needs. I hope that under my tutelage, Black GW continues to inspire, defy, and create because that s the resilient soul of Black GW.
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This statement serves as a notice of my commitment to fulfill the core values BSU exemplifies and to maintain consistency throughout the year.
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Executive Vice President
Andrew (Drew) Dodd
Class: 2025
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Major: International Affairs with a Concentration in International Politics
Track: Pre-Law
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As Executive Vice President, I would use my past experiences from the programming committee to help fuel my execution of tasks assigned to me. This past year my committee and I have successfully achieved goals by communicating with multiple fields, both inside and outside of the organization. Some examples being: the Solidarity Conference, Fellowship Night and Blacksgiving. In this role that I hope to assume, I would use these experiences to facilitate cohesion among all of the committees within the organization, as would be my duty. Finally, I will work to achieve the future goals of The Black Student Union in order to preserve its legacy at this university.
With the events that have happened over the past few years, both on and off campus, I think hosting a well known black speaker (as was done earlier in this school year) would be incredibly beneficial for the members of our organization. It would allow our community to address topics that are most important to us and try to find viable options of how to move forward together.
Vice President of Marketing
Joanna Destil
Class: 2025
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Major: Computer Science and Business
My name is Joanna Destil, I am a freshman at The George Washington University. My end goal career wise is to absorb all the knowledge I can and work hard as I move toward being an Entrepreneur. In running for Black Student Union’s VP of Marketing position, I want to gain experience in marketing and becoming the vp is the perfect way to do so. I have some specific qualities for marketing; I like things to look a specific way and I keep track of current trends. I am great at communication and problem solving skills. I am eager to learn new strategies and work together with the team to create new material.
As VP of Marketing, some events that I have in mind include:
1. An event where everyone can meet at the start of the semester.
2. We can do a fundraiser and have some of the students do a dance or engage in something they feel confident in doing.
3. A service event where we distribute food or clothing to those who need it such as Wards 7 and 8.
4. Career and professional event
Vice President of Community Engagement
Amara Payne
Class: 2023
Hometown: Nashville, Tenessee
Major: Africana Studies and Latin American & Hemispheric Studies
I'm asking once again for your support in this year's Black Student Union election. As many of you all know, I have always had a passion for service and I want to continue to give back to GW’s community and the broader D.C. community. I have plans for extensive service opportunities this year, in hopes to help tackle some of the main issues in Black communities across the country that are reflected here in our community. I hope to be able to serve in this position in the coming year, thank you all for your support. My focus this year will be service to the broader D.C. community, more specifically combatting issues that affect the Black community. I feel that as students of GW, it is important that we give back to the community that makes our education possible. I will focus on 3 main platforms this year:
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1: Food insecurity on and off-campus- we will volunteer this year with Martha's table every month to help combat food insecurity, specifically in the SE DC area. I also plan to launch a feed the family fund, which is a mutual aid fund to help combat food insecurity on campus.
2: Combating recidivism rates in DC prisons/tackling school to prison pipeline- the Petey Greene program is a weekly service opportunity where students volunteer to help incarcerated individuals obtain their GED, or help them develop a resume for job interviews. As a current volunteer, I want to help students apply for this program and become a part of PGP and the amazing work that it does.
3: Volunteer work at the African Community Center- I plan on this being a monthly opportunity where students can volunteer in resettlement programs, which help immigrants and refugees acclimate to their new environment.
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Historian
Ryan Titus
Class: Long Island, New York
Major: History under the GW Honors Program
Minors: Africana Studies​
As a member of the BSU Executive Board, I hope to be able to support and aid the Black Student Union in accomplishing their mission to foster a sense of community among all students of African Diaspora at GW. I am running for the Black Student Union's Historian position because of my love for black history and culture. In the role of Historian, I would be able to share and promote the education of the GWU's student body in the history, culture, and traditions of the African Diaspora.
As Historian, some events that I have in mind include:
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Black students, staff, faculty, and alum mixer
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Movie night and discussion (screening of a movie or documentary related to the black community followed by a discussion)
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An event promoting the many talents of the black student body.
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Forum on voting rights and the fight against voter suppression.
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Black Trivia Night
Black Heritage Celebration Co-Chair
Clark Gilmore
Class: 2025
Hometown: Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Major: Psychology under the GW Honors Program
Track: Pre-Med
I am interested in the BHC Co-Chair position because as BHC freshman representative I got to see first-hand the pay-off in the end for all the hard-work that happens behind the scenes of events, particularly during Black History Month. Through my position in BSU this year, this will help in communication and establish a good relationship with BSU members.. Also, as a student at a PWI, I am committed to the BSU being a resource for all black students to feel heard and seen through special events. I hope to increase engagement from all classes at GW, garner more regular attendees for the events, and make sure the BSU is focused year-round and does not only get recognized by the rest of GW's community during Black History Month and Black Heritage Celebration.
I would be interested in organizing a step-show, a showcase where black students at GW can show off their talents, a speaking event where upperclassmen can share their advice with freshman and exchange contact information with them for future assistance, and/or an event where black professors at GW are invited to an event where black GW students can network with them and ask them for career/college advice.
Telease Bowen
Class: 2023
Hometown: Broward County, Florida
Major: Public Health
Minor: African Studies
Track: Pre-PA
Hi, my name is Telease Bowen, and I am asking for your vote for the 2022-23 elected co-chair of Black Heritage Celebration (BHC). This year I had the privilege of being the BSU VP of Marketing and could not have asked for a better opportunity to serve the Black GW community. In my role I was able to meet all four pillars of my original campaign platform, and I will do the same as the elected BHC Co- Chair.
While serving as VP of Marketing, I was able to launch two successful social media campaigns–#BSUCountdown2Campus and #BSUBack2BackBlack, share meaningful opportunities, participate and plan a variety of events, and so much more. In the last 90 days, engagement has increased by 15% on our Instagram platform alone. I was also behind the idea for the launch of our first annual BSU theme. I set out to elevate and maintain the organization name, platform, and likeness and I believe I was able to successfully accomplish that during my term.
In addition to my role as VP of Marketing, I also had the privilege of serving as the 2022 BHC SoulRevue Co- Creative Director. We were able to adjust to the lack of funding and pandemic regulations and create an entire new direction for Soul Revue. In this role, we were able to launch brand new events like Black Photoshoot Day and a Black Business Exhibition. The best part, though, was working with all of the creative black students to bring the vision to life. In my role as BHC Co- chair, I hope to use a fresh and purposeful perspective on the events we all know and love– my goal is to entertain and inspire. I think it is important for every black student to give back to their community and leave an impactful legacy & I will do this by putting meaning, care, and detailed organization into the Celebration from start to finish. BHC was a very inspiring and uplifting experience for me, I would be honored to have a larger role in the work it takes to pull it off and give our community an experience they will NEVER forget.
I hope to continue fostering community in a way that reflects the progressive movement of black people in our society and at GW. I also hope to impact not just the community as a collective, but the individuals within the community because that is where I believe change begins. The mission of the Black Student Union, in my own words, is to provide insight, advocacy, and opportunity for EVERY Black student and that is my mission as BHC Co- chair too.
