After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10
Board of Directors
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Dondi Staunton, President
Ms. Staunton is renowned for her creative process improvement and problem-solving skills. As a Branch Chief for Mission Support within the U.S. Citizenship for Immigration Service, she is responsible leading multi-functional business operations and teams, with emphasis on customer service, strategic planning, project management, budget formulation/execution, human resources, performance management, financial management and contracting. In addition, she serves as a professional coach to federal and private clients.
She previously served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she held budgeting, contracting, and financial management responsibilities within the Bureau of Economic Analysis. She began working at Commerce within the International Trade Administration as an Import Compliance Specialist and later became a Desk Officer covering the countries of Uruguay and Paraguay. Afterward, she stepped into a position within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer performing federal budget formulation and execution She brings over 25 years of project management, project evaluation, and strategic planning expertise.
She has served on multiple federal Presidential Transition teams. In addition to this, she holds years of experience in contracting, acquisitions, budgeting, grants administration, and auditing. She has led business operations pertaining to training, awards programs, IT, FOIA, Privacy Act, Data Transparency, OIG, and GAO implementation. Her tenure at Commerce has enabled her to travel all over the world and aid small and mid-sized businesses. Mrs. Staunton is now passionate about making an impact on those within the international community who need social and economic assistance.
Ms. Staunton currently volunteers with Bethany Christian Services, where she serves on the Board of Directors.
Cynthia Whittenburg
Ms. Whittenburg is a committed champion of international trade education and training, currently serving as the Executive Vice President of the NCBFAA Educational Institute whose mission is to provide relevant content via multimedia platforms to equip our nation’s 21st century cross-border, trade-related workforce. She is a civil service and U.S. Army veteran helping American businesses design clear, legally compliant, and socially responsible cross-border trade strategies. In her over 10 years as a Senior Executive and director, she oversaw a complex mission of facilitating lawful trade and exercising trade enforcement to ensure fair and competitive trade. Ms Whittenburg managed a $300+ million budget leading a highly diverse staff of CBP professionals in pursuing transformative trade policies that promoted economic security and growth for American businesses, along with ensuring only safe and legitimate products entered the U.S. commerce. She is currently serving as a member of the United States Trade Representative Trade Advisory Committee on Africa. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Business at Dillard University, holds master’s degrees in both Public Administration from Georgia Southern University, and Legal Studies in International Business Law from the University of Oklahoma. Ms. Whittenburg also completed the Senior Managers in Government course at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. As an active member of the Executive Women in Government, Ms. Whittenburg recently served two terms as President of the this organization whose objective is to advocate for the advancement of women in senior leadership positions as well as prepare the up-and-coming tier of women for senior executive roles in the Federal Government.
Magana J. Kabugi, Ph.D.
Dr. Magana Kabugi is an Assistant Professor of African American Literature at Fisk University, where his teaching and research are focused on African and African American literature, Black intellectual history, and the cultural histories of historically Black colleges and universities
(HBCUs). As a faculty member at a small, historically Black liberal arts institution, Dr. Kabugi has an eclectic portfolio that includes working with a diverse range of students (including international students), advising, study abroad programming, institutional data management, digital content creation, and writing center administration. Dr. Kabugi is a recent 2023-24 research fellow at Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, and a contributing author to The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families, edited by Karida Brown and Charly Palmer (Chronicle Books, 2023), which won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Best Work of Nonfiction Literature. Dr. Kabugi's
research has been generously supported by Harvard, Howard University, Emory University, Vanderbilt University, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.