The Otterbein College African American Alumni Network (OCAAAN) honored Melissa Johnson and Rayshawn Wilson for their professional accomplishments and service contributions made to the college and their communities on Feb. 27 as the second class of inductees into its African American Hall of Fame. The ceremony was held at the Columbus Urban League.
Johnson is the CEO and president of Velvet Suite Marketing Consulting Group, Inc., which is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. She is the author of the book Brand Me, Make Your Mark: Turn Passion into Profit and has consulted with many top organizations, including Pepsi, the National Football League, Citi, actors and artists, executives, politicians, professional athletes and pastors. She has shown her leadership skills in assisting various Fortune 100 companies with non-traditional marketing strategies and creative concept development, providing profound results that build the individual, the brand, and the business.She is also the founder of two non-profit organizations, R.E.A.C.H. and Face 2 Face, Expressions in Mime. R.E.A.C.H., Remember to Extend A Caring Hand, was founded in 1994 as a youth outreach program to promote high school volunteerism, and Face 2 Face, Expressions in Mime was founded in 1998 to foster the development of expressions in mime through movement and music.
Johnson received her bachelor's degree in public relations with a minor in business administration from Otterbein in 1999. She came to Otterbein on a community service scholarship and served as coordinator of the Indianola Middle School Mentoring Program. She received her master's degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University.
Wilson is a social worker for the Ohio Department of Youth Services, performing psychosocial intervention, crisis counseling, family, individual and group counseling, as well as acting as the liaison between the youth, his family and parole officer. Wilson is currently the drug and alcohol education facilitator at Otterbein College. He facilitates drug and alcohol classes for college students that have been sanctioned through the College Judicial Board for disciplinary reasons to complete the class. Wilson also serves as the lead consultant for Project SOAR for the City of Columbus. He facilitates individual and group criminal justice trainings and conferences in a variety of areas, including reentry, substance abuse, and mental health. Extremely active in the criminal justice system, Wilson has managed programs at a prerelease center for felony offenders, has been a juvenile probation officer, and a criminal justice professor at Central State University. He also has conducted numerous workshops, speaking engagements and volunteer projects. His passion for ensuring the criminal justice system in Central Ohio continues to advance is very evident through all his accomplishments and work within the system.
He volunteers on the Building Vibrant Neighborhoods Committee through United Way of Central Ohio, the Transitions Board at the Columbus Urban League, American Correctional Association and the Ohio Community Corrections Association.
Wilson received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Otterbein in 2002. He was active in the African American Student Union (AASU) and was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He then received a master's degree in criminal justice from Tiffin University in 2004, and graduated from the University of Dayton in 2008 with a master's degree in community counseling.
Otterbein College African American Alumni Hall of Fame honorees are selected based on achievements in their careers, service to Otterbein and community service.
The purpose of OCAAAN is to foster on-going relationships, support and service from the Otterbein African American Alumni community, provide the opportunity for alumni to continue to be a part of diversity growth on campus and to provide mentorship between alumni and students. OCAAAN provides activities for alumni to get involved by participation in the Cardinal Career Network, panel discussions, mentoring, providing scholarships, supporting students, the African American Student Union and Otterbein College. For more information regarding OCAAAN or its upcoming events, contact Becky Smith in the Office of Alumni Relations at 614-823-1650.
