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The Black Management Association (BMA) at the UCI Paul Merage School of Business held their first annual conference on May 1, where they announced the Bradford Fellows Fund, a scholarship for students active in the BMA or UCI’s Black Thriving Initiative. The first Bradford Fellows Scholarship will be awarded in the 2021-2022 school year to a Merage School undergraduate or graduate student.

The fund was endowed by Professor Tonya Williams Bradford and Professor Kevin Bradford. The Bradfords were the first African American tenured faculty members at the Merage School and by joining the UC system they doubled the number of African American faculty in UC business schools.

“We wanted to mark this milestone with an endowed scholarship that reminds people that even when you are the first, it is important to create opportunities for others to follow,” said Tonya Williams Bradford. “It is our sincere hope that others will see value in supporting the goals of this scholarship by contributing to it.”

Both Tonya and Kevin Bradford began their careers in corporate roles but stayed connected to faculty mentors at their respective MBA granting institutions Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame. Both were encouraged to pursue scholarship and their doctorates. Now Kevin Bradford is the newly appointed associate dean of undergraduate programs and his teaching areas of interest are sales management, digital marketing and advertising. Tonya Williams Bradford is an associate professor and studies consumer rituals. Together, they founded the BMA at the Merage School in Fall 2020.

“We envision that the BMA will foster community across students, alumni and the broader Orange County business community,” explained Tonya Williams Bradford. “It is our hope that in decades to come, we will be blown away by the positive impact the organization has on strengthening the fabric of the Merage School as well as serving as a hub of innovation and inclusion for the Southern California business community.”

CONGRATULATIONS, Gloria Williams and Dr. Fran Williams, in collecting socks for National Day of Service.

As part of the National Day of Service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. several local groups participated in a sock drive. This effort was organized and coordinated by Laguna Woods resident Dr. Fran Williams of Marabou Creative Concepts in Education. The participating groups included the African American Heritage Club of Laguna Woods, the Laguna Woods Democratic Club and Forever 50 Ministry of Christ Our Redeemer AME Church in Irvine.

Over 400 pairs of men's and women's socks were collected and donated to the Alternative Sleeping Location in Laguna Beach, which shelters and feeds approximately forty people every day. Socks are reported to be the most requested article of clothing by those without shelter.

CONGRATULATIONS to the IMRI Family, CEO Reverend Martha Daniel, VP Human Resources Mathurin Daniel, COO Maronya Moultrie, and Security Operations Analyst Adrian Scharf for being named the Family Business of the Year 2020 for medium size Businesses by the Orange County Business Journal!

Reverend Martha Daniel founded the company in 1992 and has continued to evolve it to meet with the ever-changing landscape of technology. The Company and leadership have received numerous awards and recognitions, such as: 2018 induction to the Black Business Leader Hall of Fame; 2018 Orange County Register's 100 Most Influential People in Orange County; 2018 INC 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America; and, 2016 Small Business Association's Person of the Year for the Santa Ana District.

Reverend Martha has also been recognized for her leadership with the 2018 Drum Major Award, and by President Barack Obama as the 2014 White House Champion of Change.