Our Board of Directors
David Owens, Chairman
David Owens is President and Energy Consultant at Da’VAS, LLC. Previously, David served as Executive Vice President of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the one of the largest trade associations in the world. He is also a board member of the Idea Charter Schools. David graduated with Bachelors and Masters degrees in engineering from Howard University, as well as with a Masters in Engineering Administration from George Washington University.
Sharifah Mastin, Vice Chair
Sharifah Masten is CEO of Bespoke and Co-Founder of Mission 2 Change. Bespoke provides high-quality human relations consulting services to companies around the United States. Mission 2 Change is a non-profit that’s assisted us in winning over $10,000 in funding from Verizon and Pepco. She is a proven leader with over 20 years of Human Resources experience. Sharifah served in the U.S. Army, worked for multiple offices within the Federal Government.
Arthur Burnett Sr.
Arthur Burnett Sr. is a retired Judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court and served as the first African American to be appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge. He was appointed to the D.C. Superior Court in 1987 and served as Judge and Senior Judge until 2004. He also worked as “Judge in Residence” at the Children’s Defense Fund. He continues to be involved in the National African American Drug Policy Coalition and several other non-profit organizations.
Rufus Little, Secretary
Rufus R. Little, III works with Oracle, developing cutting edge banking software and helping Oracle expand its cloud banking footprint in the US and around the globe. Rufus earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from Florida A&M University and a Law Degree from Washington University. He is also a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.
Charles Carithers, Treasurer
Charles Carithers is a principal with Cornerstone Government Affairs. Previously, Charles served as an aide to House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) on various national security and intelligence matters. He is a 2005 graduate of Morehouse College, a 2007 graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University where he teaches a graduate level course on Congress and U.S. national security policy.
Dr. Robert. N. Corley III
Dr. Robert. N. Corley III currently serves as Vice-Provost for Academic and Student Affairs. He is a former fellow of the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. Previous to Virginia State University, he was on the faculty of Tuskegee University and served as Faculty Senate Chairman. Dr. Corley holds the Bachelors and Masters of Science from Tuskegee University and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Animal Sciences.
Talib I. Karim, Esq., Executive Director
In addition to his role with STEM4US!, Talib I. Karim, leads Abe Legal, a company that’s creating software to help people of color provide and access high-quality legal services. A former Chief Technology and Health Counsel for a senior Member of Congress, Talib has over 20 years of policy and advocacy experience. Talib has also lectured on cybersecurity law at the Bay Atlantic University and taught business and labor at Bowie State University, a Historically Black College and University based in Maryland.