ONGB was founded by philanthropist Dee Dee Abdur- Rahim, Tameka Raymond and Nyeisha DeWitt. All three of the co-founders are Oakland Natives and their parttnership with the office of Mayor Ron Dellums, the City Administrator and the Oakland Unified School District has allowed them to maximize their impact within the community. Now, they are reaching out to fellow Oakland natives, community members, and businesspersons because those who remain connected to the community know the challenges the youth in Oakland face- and what it takes to succeed.
To be an example to all Oakland natives by declaring that your commitment to the community in which you reside should not supersede your contribution to the community in which you were reared.
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Dee Dee Abdur-Rahim, Esq. is an attorney, entrepreneur and philanthropist originally from Oakland, California. She and her husband, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, founded Future Foundation, a non-profit that offers free academic, physical, social and developmental enrichment programs to over 4,000 disadvantaged and at-risk youth in the greater Atlanta area. She is also the Co-Founder of Oakland Natives Give Back, a California non-profit designed to offer Oakland inner-city kids educational assistance and resources. Dee Dee is also a Board Member of Behind the Bench – The National Basketball Wives Association, which is a national non-profit comprised of current and retired NBA players’ wives. Its mission is to enhance communities through volunteer service and to financially assist deserving charitable organizations. In 2009, she was appointed to the role of Secretary of the organization. Dee Dee received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UC Berkeley and Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara School of Law. She currently works as a criminal defense attorney in Northern California, where she resides with her husband and their two children.
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Dr. Nyeisha DeWitt is an active member of the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, Oakland Unified School District’s Truancy Task Force, and Effective Teachers for Oakland Task Force. She works very closely with the Office of Mayor Jean Quan to tackle the dropout crisis in the Oakland community. Oakland is a convener of the Grad Nation initiative (the only city West of the Mississippi to be named a “Featured Community” by America’s Promise Alliance). She is the Program Director of Citywide Dropout Prevention at Oakland’s Promise Alliance. Nyeisha was recently featured on the California Forward website as a “Forward Thinker”. In 2010, he was recognized as a Hometown Hero, by Comcast and ANG Newsgroup.
The native “Oaklander” received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkley in 1997. She later earned her Master’s degree in Teaching from the University of San Francisco (USF), in 2003, and she recently earned her doctoral degree in education, from USF’s Organization and Leadership program. |
Tameka Raymond has helped some of America’s favorite celebrities look great as a stylist to the stars, Now she’s giving a rising generation of young women the chance to feel great – about themselves and their future.
In creating The Lost Ones Foundation, Tameka sought to develop a philanthropic vehicle that remembers those so often forgotten in life. Tameka attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in 1994 as a merchandising / marketing major in Los Angeles. Working as a dresser for Giorgio Armani and other designer shows, the resident Atlantan became best known for propelling Lauryn Hill’s vintage haute couture look into the limelight, branding Lauryn as an international fashion icon. Tameka’s impressive clientele roster reads like the ultimate VIP list. She’s lent her creative talents to legendary soul singers like Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin, as well as chart-toppers such as Jay-Z, Toni Braxton, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre and more. The fashion leader, mother philanthropist, and entrepreneur is eager to add designer to her list of credits with the preparation of her women’s and maternity clothing line, Hides & Dungarees. |