4814709 ACR 20-169, "Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd D.C. Centennial Torch Weekend Recognition Resolution of 2014”

                                                A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

 

20-169 

 

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

March 4, 2014

 

 

To recognize Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd and declare March 9 through March 10, 2014, as “Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd D.C. Centennial Torch Weekend” in the District of Columbia.

 

WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was founded on January 13, 1913 by 22 African-American, college-educated women on the campus of Howard University;

 

WHEREAS, the Centennial Torch of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will be in the  District of Columbia from March 9 through March 10, 2014, to honor Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd for her significant work in, and contributions to, the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics;

 

WHEREAS, Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd, born on December 27, 1955  in Montgomery, Alabama, is an engineer, activist, and civic leader here in the District of Columbia;

 

WHEREAS, Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd is the 22^nd National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a past Chapter President of the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.;

 

WHEREAS, Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, The Links, Inc., and United Way of the National Capital Area;

 

WHEREAS, in December 2009, President Obama nominated Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, a position to which she was subsequently confirmed to by the Senate in March 2010;

 

WHEREAS,  a few of Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd’s  accomplishments during her tenure as 22^nd National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (from 2000-2004) included completing the work and payment of the $6.5 million renovation of the National Headquarters in District of Columbia; securing a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish Project SEE (Science in Everyday Experiences) to promote math and science for middle school African-American girls, helping the sorority achieve Non-Governmental Organization status at the United Nations with the Economic & Social Council, making Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. the second African-American organization to obtain this designation; building a group home for AIDS orphans in Swaziland called “The Delta House,” and providing funding for orphans living in the home; instituting the Sorority’s International Day of Service where all chapters throughout the world conduct a service initiative on the same day, on the same issue or topic; advocating for education and awareness about HIV/AIDS in Africa and in the United States of America as a part of the first International Day of Service; establishing the Delta Computer Training Center in Lesotho, opening the center with 10 donated computers; adopting the Adelaide Tambo School for the Disabled in Soweto and also providing the school with a bus to transport disabled students, leading 2 delegations to South Africa to provide training for teachers on every grade level in Swaziland and Lesotho in conjunction with the Minister of Education; and establishing the Delta Homeownership initiative; and

 

WHEREAS, Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd, in her career as an engineer and the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff at the Johns Hopkins Applied Laboratory, has been dedicated to community service, a tireless advocate for women’s equality, and proactive in recruitment of African Americans and underrepresented Americans into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

 

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd D.C. Centennial Torch Weekend Recognition Resolution of 2014”.

           

Sec. 2.  The Council of the District of Columbia declares March 9 through March 10, 2014 as “Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd D.C. Centennial Torch Weekend” in the District of Columbia.

 

Sec.  3.  This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.