Tracy African American Association P.O. Box 62, Tracy, CA 95376
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President Nate Terry: Nate has been in the real estate industry for more than 19 years. His career has afforded him opportunities to be a Speaker, Trainer and Recruiter. Nate studied at the Conservatory of Music in Kansas City, MO., has starred in Langston Hughes', "Black Nativity" as a featured vocalist, and has performed on a 2-year musical tour with Kenny Loggins as background vocals. Nate is President of The Tracy African-American Association for 2004-2006; is Chairperson of St. Matthews Baptist Church Advisory Board. Nate was recently appointed as Commissioner for the City of Tracy's Cultural Arts Commission.
Vice President Howard Baker: Howard is a founding member of the Tracy African American Association in 1994. He has been an active member of TAAA ever since. He currently works for Imara Mortgage & Realty as a Real Estate Agent. He works for Hewlett Packard (since 2001) and has worked for Compaq Computers and Digital Equipment. He also has a B.S. in Aeronautics from San Jose State University and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, Delta Rho. Mr. Baker has also served on the Tracy Airport Advisory Board from 1995-1999 and has been a Deacon at Good News Missionary Baptist Church since 1993.
Treasurer Gail LaGasca: Gail is also one of the founding Members of the Tracy African American Association that was started in 1994. She began her career with the City of Tracy in November 1994 in Development and Engineering Services. Prior working for the City of Tracy, Gail worked for 8 years as a flight attendant and 6 years as a travel agent. Gail loves to travel and enjoys singing. She is also an active member of the Stockton Chapter of the Filipino-American National Historical Society, and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Tracy Boys and Girls Club and Brighter Christmas.
Public Information Officer
Marvin Wiley: Marvin is originally from Clarksdale, MS, the home of the Blues Museum formerly a member of the United States Air Force. After his tour of duty, he worked as a systems and network specialist for Link Flight Simulation and Sun Micro Systems. He is a graduate of Foothill College and attended San Jose State University and University of Santa Cruz. Marvin trained in White Tiger Kung-Fu and was an instructor for eleven years. Marvin has two sons, Rashad and Adal. His family moved to Tracy in 1997 from San Jose. Both sons graduated Tracy High school. Marvin left Sun in 2004 and is pursuing a career in Real Estate. Marvin currently is doing business through Realty Executives in Tracy on Central Ave. Marvin has been a member of the TAAA since 2000 and joined the Activities Committee in 2006. Marvin accepted the position as Public Information Officer to improve the knowledge of TAAA's mission and vision throughout the community.
Cooresponding Secretary Melyssa Barrett: Melyssa has been a member of the Tracy African American Association since 1998. She is the Director of Loss Mitigation Services at Visa U.S.A. and has worked in financial services for more than 21 years. She serves on several non-profit Boards including Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco, American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Tracy Performing Arts Foundation. Ms. Barrett holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Phoenix.
Recording Secretary Dale Applewhite: Dale was raised in Oakland, CA. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from California University State, Hayward. Dale worked 15 years as a Project Manager, and has recently transitioned her career to the Real Estate industry. She currently works as a Mortgage Loan Consultant. In 2002 she and her family relocated Tracy. In an effort to get involved in local community, Dale joined TAAA in January 2005. She hopes that her commitment to people and her organizational skills will be a benefit to the organization. Dale is looking forward to her tenure as Recording Secretary, and is proud to be associated with the Tracy African-American Association. Her vision plan as Recording Secretary is to contribute to the success and to add to the momentum of TAAA. She plans to assist with building the interest and involvement of members by keeping the members well informed.
By-Laws Chairperson Dr. Clara Coleman Rouse: Dr. Clara Coleman Rouse is an educator who truly believes that every child has the capacity to learn and achieve at high levels and has worked diligently to prove that fact. In all of her ventures she leaves a legacy of improved student achievement. Clara now serves as Regional Vice President and General Manager, responsible for the 7 Edison Schools in California as well as the Regional Achievement and Finance teams. Clara is currently dedicated 100% to working with a team to redesign the company. In addition to her work in Education, Clara has had a life of community service. She has been recognized as the Outstanding Working Woman of Illinois, Woman of the Year, Outstanding Southern Illinois Educator, and Silicon Valley Community Champion among numerous others. She has served on many boards and was co-founder of Women in Need (an organization focused on preventing violence to women and children) and served for 10 years as founder and director of SIP, a young ladies’ Self Improvement Program for teenage girls. Clara is an active member of People of Christ Missionary Baptist Church, loves her family and is dedicated to making a positive difference. Clara writes poetry for special occasions and is a motivational speaker, having spoken on the local, regional, state and national level. In her spare time she loves to read and entertain. Clara says, "If I leave this world without having made it better for those who shall follow me, then I have failed. For I, too, have drunk from wells I did not dig and have been blessed by prayers I did not pray."
Education Chairperson Margie Forehand: Margie is a Citizen of Tracy for sixteen (16) years. She is married to Sheldon Forehand, a Retired Police Officer. She is the parent of 8 children and grandparent of 17 grandchildren. She is a retired Educator from the Diocese of Oakland (Taught for 22 years in Catholic School System) and a graduate of San Francisco State University where she Majored in Economics and Minored in African American Studies. She is a Board Member for the Tracy Performing Arts Foundation and the GWF Peeker Plant Foundation. She works as a Substitute Teacher for the Tracy Unified School District. She is an advocate for the education of children and for medical and other services for the elderly.
Membership Chairperson Mary Kennedy-Bracken:Mary was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Maeday Branham who always said" an empty wagon makes the most noise." She never knew that those were the words the would set Mary off to her worlds greatest destiny at the tender age of eight, not knowing her destiny and who she was to become. Out of the cloud rose this dedicated motivational speaker. She is a Motivational Speaker, entrepreneur, and businesswoman focusing on helping you turn your passion into profit. She has been blessed to meet and/or to speak on the platform with some great people such as: Motivational Speaker Les Brown, Motivational Speaker Dennis Kimbro, Political Speaker Martin Luther King lll, Zig Ziglar, Rosa Parks and Cicely Tyson.
Activities Chairperson Brenda Terry: Brenda was born and raised in Oakland. She received her education and work experience in the bay area before moving to Tracy in 1991. She retired early from Orient Overseas Container Lines after 21 years of service, and later decided to return to work and has been employed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the last 7 years. Brenda is married to Nate Terry, President of the Tracy African American Association and between the two they have four children, Bryan, Kim, Pilaar, and Jaharri, ranging from ages 23-29, and three grandsons, Isaiah, Bryan and Jayden. Brenda accepted the position of Chairperson for the Activities Committee because of the positive and exciting things the Tracy African American Association supports, which is helping African American Students with scholarships for college, along with planning various activities. She has a great group of Activity Committee Members with great ideas and extends her invitation to all of those interested in joining the committee.
