Mr. Gevonee EuGene Ford has worked in the field of early childhood care and education for the past twenty-eight years, specializing in program development, administration, and policy. He has been at the forefront of progressive education in Minnesota as a teacher, trainer, program director, and community organizer. Mr. Ford is the Founder and Executive Director of Network for the Development of Children of African Descent (NdCAD), a non-profit family education center located in Saint Paul, Minnesota that was established in 1997 and is focused on education and community revitalization in communities of African descent. Mr. Ford’s mission through NdCAD is to strengthen important cultural connections within African communities that help prepare children for success in school and life. Mr. Ford has continued a tradition of Black leadership by working with hundreds of children and their families each year to increase reading proficiency and learning confidence amongst students and increased reading levels and academic performance in school as well as increased parental and community involvement in the education of children.