Just my thoughts...

Just my thoughts...
The randomness that is I

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

My Black History-Bonnie Guiton Hill

Bonnie is a second cousin on my father's side of the family. My grandfather and her mother were brother and sister. Cousin Bonnie, for as long as I can remember, has been on top of Corporate America. She has an awesome resume, sitting on many boards as a director.

Cousin Bonnie is the president of B. Hill Enterprises, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in corporate governance and board organization. She is also co-founder of Icon Blue, a brand marketing company.

From 1997 to 2001, she was president and CEO of Times Mirror Foundation and senior vice president, communications and public affairs, of The Los Angeles Times.

Prior to four years as Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia (1993-96), Hill was a cabinet member serving California Governor Pete Wilson and Director of the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs in the George H.W. Bush administration. She later chaired the Consumer Affairs Advisory Board at the SEC.

She is a director of AK Steel Holdings Corp., Home Depot, Inc. and Yum Brands, Inc. She was formerly a director of Hershey Foods Corporation. She is a director of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation, a member of the Investors Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and trustee of the RAND Corporation.

In 1997, she was honored by Dominion, as a Strong Men and Women award recipient and they include the following biography on their site:

Bonnie Guiton Hill, Ph.D.

1997 Honoree

On July 1, 1992, Bonnie Guiton Hill became the third dean of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. Before joining the McIntire School of Commerce, Dean Hill was a member of Governor Pete Wilson's cabinet in California.

She served President Bush as Special Adviser for Consumer Affairs and Director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs. Dr, Hill headed the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development's Committee on Consumer Policy. During the Reagan administration, Dean Hill served as Assistant Secretary in the Department of Education and Vice-Chair of the Postal Rate Commission.

Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Dean Hill was a vice president with Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation in Oakland, California, having also served as Assistant Dean of Student Services and Lecturer at Mills College in Oakland, California.

Years ago, her teachers at McClymonds High School in Oakland, California may have had reservations about her chances to succeed, Hill persevered because several teachers including Ms. Powell, her English teacher, encouraged her to be strong and to stay in school.

Dean Hill received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Mills College, a master's in educational psychology from California State University at Hayward, and her doctorate in higher education from the University of California at Berkeley, Her dissertation analyzed a successful partnership between private industry and business education.

In 1971, during her first year at Mills College in California, her husband had a massive heart attack, and she nursed him back to health while working a full time job and caring for their infant daughter.

Hill remained in school and earned her bachelor's degree in three years, her masters degree the next year, and 10 years later her doctorate, Hill's colleagues describe her as an inspirational whirlwind.

She realizes that her success is living proof that "as a result of much support from friends and family, you can take a little black girl out of the streets of Oakland and find that she can successfully move in diplomatic circles at all levels, including the White House."

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