Johnnetta B. Cole

Johnnetta B. Cole is the Chair and Seventh President of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). She held teaching positions at several schools including Washington State University; the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and Hunter College where she was professor of anthropology and director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program until her departure in 1987 when she took the helm of Spelman College. From 1987 to 1997, Dr. Cole served as the seventh president of Spelman. In 2002, she was recruited to be president of Bennett College for five years. She also served as director of Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art from 2009 to 2017. The National Council of Negro Women is comprised of 200 community-based sections in 32 states and 38 national organizational affiliates with the common goal to lead, advocate for and empower women of African descent, their families and communities. The recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees and numerous accolades, Dr. Cole has  served on many boards including Home Depot and Merck.  In 2004, Dr. Cole became the first African-American chair of the board of United Way of America. During her Spelman presidency, she was the first woman elected to serve on the board of Coca-Cola Enterprises. She currently chairs the board of the National Visionary Leadership Project and is on the Advisory Committee of America's Promise and the Points of Light Foundation.