Meet The Leader: R. Tony Penn

R. Tony Penn

President and CEO of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona

Interviewed by Birgit Burton

Written by Anne Stanford

Tony Penn is an inspiration to all he encounters. As the President and CEO of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Penn successfully leads the organization that positively affected the lives of more than 230,000 children, families, and seniors this past year alone. A dynamic, visionary leader, he possesses a strong equity lens and guides organizations in achieving mission-focused goals and objectives. Among his many recognitions and accolades, Penn received the 2021 Man of the Year Award from Greater Tucson Leadership for contributing significant time, energy, spirit, and leadership, making a positive impact on quality of life in the community. He and his wife have two adult sons and 13 grandchildren.  

The AADO Network recently spoke with Penn to learn more about what led him to where he is today, the mentors who influenced him, the art of fundraising, and what he hopes his legacy will be, among other topics.

Penn grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, with seven siblings… Read More

MEET THE LEADERS

Meet the Leader: Toni Simmons Henson

Toni Simmons Henson

Founder and Producing Director of the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (ABTF), Toni Simmons Henson has made a profound impact not only on her community but also on the arts worldwide. Originally from New Jersey, Henson moved to Atlanta and started Micah 6-8 Media, LLC in 2007. Together with her sister, Wanda Simmons, she co-founded the ABTF in 2012. The annual, internationally renowned event attracts thousands of theatre enthusiasts from across the world and has provided a platform for more than 145 self-producing African-American playwrights and over 3,000 artists. The ABTF’s mission is to support and expand opportunities for multi-disciplinary artists of color to develop, preserve, and present their works for and about the pan-African experience in their own authentic voice. 

At the helm of the ABTF is Henson, who has successfully guided and grown the festival for more than a decade. Wife to Antonio and mother of four, Henson also is a spoken word poet, public speaker, entrepreneur, and the best-selling author of “Let It Go: Queens Gotta $#!+, Too!: Mastering the Art of Reclaiming Your Queendom (A Poetic Memoir by Toni X).” In addition to the ABTF, Micah 6-8 Media produces the Black Family Table Talk Podcast/Blog, Black Theatre TV, and ABTF Travels, which specializes in arts and cultural experiences. Henson has performed and presented in New York, Paris, and Ghana. She will debut her new full-length solo show in Los Angeles in February 2022.

Recently, the AADO Network met up with Henson to learn more about her professional journey, with a particular focus on her fundraising experiences.  

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Meet the Leader: Juan A. McGruder

Juan A. McGruder, Ph.D., CFRE

Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer

Junior Achievement of Georgia

Written by Keatley Scroggins 

Juan McGruder appears to be the type of person who should be walking the halls of a white-shoe law firm or Atlanta City Hall.  He is gregarious, clever, and doesn’t know a stranger, qualities that are befitting for a lawyer, politician, and in his case, a professional fundraiser.  

Juan’s story starts with a humble beginning in academia. With an undergraduate degree from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, two masters degrees, and a PhD in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University, it’s his tenacity, resilience, and commitment to giving back that ultimately carried him from being denied admission to college as a senior in high school to his current position as Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Junior Achievement of Georgia. 

As a high school student, Juan was solidly in the bottom half of his class, so it was no surprise that he was not admitted to Clark College on his first application. However, with most of his friends successfully completing their first semester of college, Juan’s mother saw his sadness and suggested he write a letter to tell the school how he felt. With neither mother nor son familiar with application procedures, they didn’t have the terminology to call it a letter of appeal. But Juan listened to his mother, and wrote to Clark College, promising that if he was accepted, he would be a good student and an even better alumnus. 

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Meet the Leader: Carlotta M. Arthur, PhD

Meet the Leader: Carlotta M. Arthur, PhD

Interviewed by Birgit Smith Burton

I considered it an honor and indeed a pleasure to spend an hour getting to know Dr. Carlotta Arthur.

Carlotta M. Arthur, PhD is many things. You may know her as the program director for the Henry Luce Foundation’s Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program, where she directs the foundation’s efforts to support women in science, mathematics, and engineering in higher education in the United States. Arthur joined the Luce Foundation in 2012. Since then, she has deftly led CBL, which is the most significant source of private support for women in STEM disciplines in higher education in the nation. In her role, she leads the program, conducts strategic planning, manages all grant making and administration, and consults current and prospective grantees, among other responsibilities. 

In addition to being a philanthropic leader, she is an engineer and a licensed psychologist. Arthur was the first African American woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Purdue University. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Arthur has provided leadership and volunteer service through her involvement with the Society of Women Engineers Research Advisory Committee and the American Psychological Association Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology Advisory Committee.

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