About Us
The Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts & Humanities Board of Directors
Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt, Honorary Chair, is the daughter of Miss Katherine Dunham and Mr. John Pratt. As such, she is Miss Dunham’s living legacy.
Leverne Backstrom Wizard, KDCAH Chairman, Pro Tem, joined the board in 2005 and is a 9th grade Language Arts teacher at East St. Louis Senior High School. She is a member of the East St. Louis Federation of Teachers, Local 1220 and a former organizer for the Illinois Federation of Teachers. She was asked to join the board because she is the president of The Olivette Park Neighborhood Association. As a resident of the neighborhood, she has been active in the community through The Trinity United Methodist Church since 1960. The OPNA has championed community gardens, and several community and economic development projects. It recognizes that the Dunham Museum positioned in its neighborhood is unparalleled as a tourism development magnet. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina KS. Leverne is a talented, recorded vocal artist, preferring to sing secular music.
Riley L. Owens, III: A former 4-term Mayor of the City of Centreville, IL, Owens is a semi-retired consultant, entrepreneur, visual artist, and inventor. When this US Air Force Veteran doesn't have a sculpting knife, hammer and chisel or paint brush in his hand, he manages the R. Lawrence Company. With his BS in Urban Planning from SIU Edwardsville, Owens, during his first term as Mayor co-founded the National Conference of Black Mayors. He held many positions on the board of directors and was instrumental in launching the World Conference of Black Mayors. Owens attended the Leadership Institute for Mayors at Clark University and has traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, Asia and South American to promote the development of national and inter-national trade. He was elected the chairman of the East St. Louis Area Development Gateway Coordinating Council and served on the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Ed. He has served on the KDCAH board since 2006.
Dr. Elizabeth Lewin, Professor, SIUC – Education Administration and Higher Ed, Carbondale, IL:
A KDCAH Board member since 2007, Vice Chair Dr. Elizabeth Lewin holds three degrees from SIU-C: a bachelor, masters and specialist degree in Education Administration. She earned a PhD in Educational Leadership at the University of Sarasota, Florida. From an experienced teacher and educational leader in the St. Louis area, Dr. Lewin, was the first African-American to hold an administrative position in the Edwardsville, IL public school system, serving as principal of the high school. She was the first female to serve as superintendent for Carbondale, IL School District #95. Her service extends to numerous local, state, and national boards: The Nat’l Holmes Partnership and Rotary International, Leadership St. Louis, Southern IL Regional Social Services, IL State Board of Ed. representative to financial over-site panels, and the IL Association of School Administrators. Once an alderman for the City of Edwardsville, she also developed a community project that promoted dialogue on race in Carbondale. Elizabeth, a native of Carbondale, Illinois, became friends with Marie Christine Dunham-Pratt, the only child of Miss Katherine Dunham, in 1963 when Marie Christine attended school in Carbondale while Miss Dunham served as a visiting professor at SIU.
Johnny E. Campbell founded Campbell LLC, Certified Pubic Accountants and Management Consultants over twenty years ago. He had been a partner with the Washington, Pittman and McKeever, CPA firm for over ten years prior to opening his own accounting firm. For approximately ten years before he entered public accounting, Campbell served as Comptroller for St. Clair County, Illinois government. A native of East St. Louis, Campbell attended Lincoln Senior High School and is a GED graduate. Campbell obtained his BS in accounting from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and went on to achieve a MBA from St. Louis University. Campbell is a Charter member of the Metro- Lions Club, a member of the Southern Cross lodge; Tyree Consistory and The Aahmes Temple. His professional affiliations and memberships include the Illinois Society of C.P.A.’s, the Missouri Society of C.P.A’s; the American Institute of C.P.A.’s and the Government Finance Officers Association: A.I.C.PA: and the Government Audit Quality Control Association.
Irma G. Golliday, Executive Director, East St. Louis Park District: Irma joined the Board of KDCAH in 2005. She is an elected board member of East St. Louis School District 189 and serves as Secretary of the Board of Education. Golliday is also an elected Village Trustee in the Village of Alorton, IL. She was appointed Commissioner for the St. Clair County Parks Grant Commission, a Board Member with Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation and former appointed Trustee of the Metropolitan Community College. She received her formal education at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville majoring in Business Administration. She is married to Eddie Golliday, a local businessman. Prior to accepting the position with the East St. Louis Park District, Irma was the Southern Region Coordinator for the Illinois Secretary of State's Organ and Tissue Donation Program. The entrepreneurial spirit also exists in her. She and Eddie were the owners of Golliday's Catch-of-the-Day Restaurant and Alorton Hardware. They are the owners of Golliday Rentals Agency located in Alorton, IL.
Theodore J. Wofford, Architect: Wofford received his BA from Washington University in St. Louis in 1953, and following military service, returned home to join the firm of Murphy & Mackey, Architects. that association lasting nearly 50 years ended in the partnership of Murphy Downey Wofford and Richman, Inc. Architects. When his partners retired, he dissolved the firm and began practicing as an individual, allowing him to resume an active interest in painting, drawing and sculpture. A champion of regional urban planning and civic causes with service on many boards and commissions: his long and personally costly battle to save the St. Louis Arena as a world-class aquarium, his concepts for the East St. Louis and St. Louis riverfronts, successful efforts to save the Wainwright Building and many other studies to try to resolve regional crises, are now part of the archive of his, and his firm's work, at the Mercantile Library. Early in the 1990's his interest in East St. Louis drew him to Miss Dunham and he found in her limitless vision, a wise kindred soul and a dear friend. She asked him to serve on her Board where he has remained for many, often turbulent, years. He is now involved in the efforts to secure her legacy for the future. His architectural designs have included fifty libraries, 100 religious structures, innovative medical and educational facilities, and many master plans, including that for Sangamon State University (now the U of I, Springfield). A number of his buildings now enjoy "landmark" status (a somewhat disturbing, though gratifying fact), as do his internationally recognized restorations of the Missouri Governor's Mansion carried out through five administrations, and the Shrine of St. Joseph - a pro bono project now in its 34th year. Mr. Wofford is committed to the preservation of our rich heritage and a sense of cultural continuity, and the power of art and our urban environment to change and enrich lives.