Judge Alexander to head black think-tank

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The Board of Governors of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has elected U.S. Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander of Boston as its new chairperson, replacing Detroit attorney Elliott Hall.

Judge Alexander, who presides in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, has served on the Joint Center’s Board for 11 years. She had previously served as Chief U.S. Magistrate, the nation’s first African American to do so.

Alexander co-founded and served as president of the Urban League in Eastern Massachusetts, and served as chairperson of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association.

Alexander has received numerous awards and honorary degrees in appreciation of her work in both the legal field and her community, including the Medal of Honor from the Harvard University Foundation for Excellence in Multicultural and Racial Relations, and the C. Francis Stradford Award, the National Bar Association’s highest award.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a national, nonprofit research and public policy institution based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1970, it is recognized as one of the nation’s premier think tanks that focuses on issues of importance and concern to African Americans and other people of color

“The Joint Center continues to attract people of high caliber,” said Ralph Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center. “Judge Alexander and the new members’ achievements and expertise will be vital in moving the Joint Center forward and maintaining its position as the nation’s premier policy institution on African American issues.”

The Board also elected two new members – Robert L. Mallett of Pfizer, Inc. and Dwight L. Bush of the Urban Trust Bank.

Mallett is Senior Vice President of Global Stakeholder Alliances, Philanthropy & Corporate Citizenship at Pfizer, Inc. He also serves as President of the Pfizer Foundation, where he oversees corporate philanthropy and global policy. Mallett is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Prior to joining Pfizer in 2001, Mallett served as Deputy Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration, and was a partner in the Washington law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand. He also served as legal counsel to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas.

Mallett is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and earned his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He resides in New York City.

Dwight Bush serves as President of Urban Trust Bank (UTB), where he oversees the development and implementation of programs including growth of the bank’s deposit base, and strategic business lines such as mortgage and student loan programs. Before joining UTB, Bush founded D.L. Bush & Associates, LLC, which focused on investments in financial services companies, small business investment corporations and specialized tax credit programs.

Bush also was the first African American Managing Director at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he was employed for 15 years. He is a graduate of Cornell University and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

The Joint Center has also elected current members Norma Ketay Asney of Asney Productions and Roderick D. Gillum of the General Motors Corporation as the new vice chairs.