About Us

Founded in 2014, the Dinner Table Doc is a  501(c)(3)  New York City, non-profit  organization that partners with schools and community organizations to provide college and career readiness workshops and programming. Our target audience is middle school and high school aged women of color ages 10-18 as well as incoming college freshmen. Through our  events and workshops we've been able to service over 400 girls in the Brooklyn, New York area. 

All Of Our  Events Aim To:

• Provide Resources and a network for leadership and goal setting skills
• Foster Healthy Conversations about identity and self confidence 
• Promote Healthy eating habits and communication skills

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Meet Our Team

Asha Boston | Founder, Executive Director 

Born prematurely, at one pound and two ounces, Asha Boston knows a thing or two about fighting for the things you want in life-- including life itself. 

Her work resume includes companies like AMC, BET, Media Information Services and most recently Lifetime and Bravo. However it is through her journalism and documentary work that she is widely recognized. Asha has a passion for storytelling and has done so via platforms like Her Agenda, Teen Vogue, Madame Noire, VIBE, the NBA.com, Carib News and several others.

Asha currently serves at the President and CEO of Passion Fruit Vineyard Productions where she oversees all pre, post and current production services for documentaries, The Dinner Table and A Time Before Kale. In June of 2016, Asha was honored by the White House Council for Women and Girls as a "Nominated Change Maker" at the United State of Women Summit.

Contact Email: asha@thedinnertabledoc.com

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Meet Our Board of Directors

My name is Shevon Lewis. I am proud to be an Early Childhood Special Educator. I have a true passion for working with our youngest learners. I received a Bachelors of Education in Special Education from Medgar Evers College and a Masters in Literacy from Long Island University.

​I strive to create a community of learners that are able to be socially, emotionally and academically prepared for the global community. I enjoy reading, cooking, music, and spending time with my family and friends.

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​Neil G. McGowan joined NetApp in September of 2017 as VP, East Area Sales. As of May 2018, Neil leads the newly formed Americas Global Account segment, which represents $1B+ in revenues. Neil brings to his role a unique blend of leadership, cultural prowess, fiduciary discipline, industry expertise, and functional operating skills. He is described as a high-integrity Silicon Valley veteran with diverse general management experiences at large public and private startup high-tech companies. He is respected, pragmatic, and known for his ability to envision and produce successful outcomes.

​Neil has demonstrated his creative leadership skills and has proven his ability to formulate and execute global business strategies at leading companies including, VeriSign, Openwave, Silicon Graphics and Tandem Computers (now HP).

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As Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion for L’Oréal USA, Cecilia Nelson-Hurt is responsible for shaping diversity efforts that underscore the company’s commitment to ensuring that L’Oréal USA is an equal opportunity workplace. Amplifying the department’s mission to “build the standard in making beauty inclusive,” Cecilia serves as Head of the L’Oréal USA’s Diversity & Inclusion Education pillar. In this capacity, she is responsible for L’Oréal’s Diversity & Inclusion curriculum development and facilitation.

Combining passion and purpose, Cecilia aligns her efforts in support of underrepresented groups both internally as externally as the D&I lead for the company’s Socio Economic Multicultural Origins Pillar. She works with the L’Oréal employee-led Think Tanks to develop strategies and implement initiatives to positively impact employee engagement, consumer insights and community outreach. Under Cecilia’s leadership, L’Oréal has been recognized as a top company for both Diversity and Multicultural Women; and has consistently received a 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index.

​Cecilia serves on the boards of non-profit organizations The Dinner Table, YouthBridge NY, Knit the Rainbow, and the Vogue Knitting Magazine Diversity Advisory Council, where she helps to create strategies to advance diversity, inclusion and belonging for the populations they serve. Cecilia holds a bachelor’s degree cum laude in International Marketing from Pace University; and has completed coursework toward her Master’s degree in Organizational Development at New York University.

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​Courtney Ball is an author, speaker, leadership coach and HR Director who specializes in helping individuals transform their experience into influence, impact and income. For over a decade, she has provided advice and strategy to employees about how to define their career trajectory and execute a path to achieve their professional goals. With endless joy in seeing individuals succeed in life, Courtney also encourages her clients and staff to strike a balance between career pursuits and personal life. Courtney enjoys learning, cooking delicious meals and binge watching Bravo.

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Kaiama L. Glover is Ann Whitney Olin Professor of French and Africana Studies and Faculty Director of the Digital Humanities Center at Barnard College, Columbia University. She has written extensively about Caribbean literature in such works as A Regarded Self: Caribbean Womanhood and the Ethics of Disorderly Being (2021) and Haiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial Canon (2010), and she is the prize-winning translator of several works of prose fiction and non-fiction. Her work has been supported by fellowships at the Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris and the New York Public Library Cullman Center. She has also been awarded grants from the PEN/Heim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Mellon Foundation. She is a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review and is the co-host of WRITING HOME | American Voices from the Caribbean.

Meet Our Junior Board

Nakiyah M

Maia W

Alyssa B.

Meet Our Advisory Board Committee 

​My name is Melanie Nichols and I'm a NYC based Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW). I graduated with my Bachelors in Social Work from Buffalo State College and my Masters in Social Work from Simmons College! I have a passion for working with youth and families and I'm currently working as a School Social Worker and a part time fee for service therapist. I am extremely passionate about empowering others through my work, using a strength based focus. It's my belief that equipping people with the right tools and guidance, I'll be able to help people recognize their true potential in order for them to be the best version of themselves.

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Danielle Samuel is an architectural designer with an interest in urban design and urban policies for social justice. She has always had an interest in design, and when her mentor pointed her in the direction of interior design, she gladly walked towards it.
Designing for social change is extremely important to Danielle which is why she chose Temple University for her Master of Architecture. She used the landscape of North Philadelphia and knowledge of her hometown to educate and inform others of the dangers of gentrification. Outside of architecture and lighting, Danielle serves as a advisory board member for the Brooklyn-based non-profit organization “The Dinner Table Doc.”

Testimonials 

"I felt the safety necessary to be vulnerable in this space. So many times I am closed off and reserved due to the fear of not being understood, respected or well received but at The Dinner Table I felt the comfort I needed to have a vulnerable dialogue."

"After today's event I would frame a picture of a 15 year old girl with an afro standing on the globe. This image would represent that my black is beautiful and society would never tear me down. This event meant so much to me because silence was my loudest scream and The Dinner Table is now my voice. Thank you."

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