Former Washington, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt was born on January 30, 1944 in Washington, D.C. Pratt is the daughter of Mildred Petticord and Carlisle Edward Pratt. Pratt graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1961 and earned her B.S. degree in political science in 1965 from Howard University. Pratt attended Howard University Law School where she earned her J.D. degree in 1968.

Pratt served as in-house counsel for the Joint Center for Political Studies from 1970 to 1971. From 1971 to 1976, she worked as an associate for the law firm Pratt & Queen PC. In 1972, Pratt became a law professor at the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., and worked there until 1976 when she became the Associate General Counsel for the Potomac Electric Power Company, known as PEPCO. In 1982, Pratt directed the failed mayoral campaign for Patricia Robert Harris. That same year, Pratt married Arrington Dixon, a Democratic Washington, D.C. City Councilman. Pratt was promoted to the Director of Consumer Affairs for the Potomac Electric Power Company in 1979 and then later to Vice President of Consumer Affairs in 1983. In 1988, Pratt announced that she would challenge Mayor Marion Barry in the 1990 mayoral election in Washington, D.C. Pratt was elected Mayor of Washington D.C., the first African American female to hold this position. In 1994, she lost her bid for re-election as mayor to Marion Barry. From 1997 to 2001, Pratt served as the President of @ The Center, a start-up electrical marketplace for Africa. In 2002, Pratt began Pratt Consulting, working with companies and governments developing Homeland Security/Emergency Management Plans. She is also the Executive Vice President for BI Solutions.

Pratt’s past and present board memberships include: the Center For Creative Leadership, the Democratic National Convention, Society for PSP, Emmitsburg St. Mary’s College Board, Opportunity Funding Corporation and a trustee at Howard University. Pratt is also the recipient of the Presidential Award from the NAACP, Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year Award, the Congressional Black Caucus’ Mary McCleod Bethune-W.E. Dubois Award and the Clean Cities Award.

The Executive Office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the University of the District of Columbia are launching an Institute of Politics Policy and History. The Founding Director of IPPH will be former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt. MISSION Rediscovering District of Columbia history – and its consequential role in determining contemporary politics and policy.VISION IPPH, housed at the University of the District of Columbia, will encourage constructive, spirited dialogue about tough issues of the day; illuminating these conversations with insights from our city and our nation’s history. The Institute of Politics Policy and History, housed at the University of the District of Columbia, one of the country's oldest HBCUs, will encourage constructive, spirited dialogue around the issues of the day – illuminating these conversations with insights from our city and nation’s history. http://ipph.org/

Pratt is divorced, has two children, Aimee A. Dixon and Drew Willliams, and is also a grandmother.

Pratt was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on July 26, 2007.

Today I’m speaking with AKURA, a channel medium since childhood. Since childhood she could see various entities, most of all ETs. Akura made her first astral journey when she was 4 years old and through this experience understood that we are not our bodies. Sandra, AKA Akura, grew up in a strict catholic family where "spirituality" was classified as "occultism." At the age of 18 she had a suicide attempt and went through the dark night of the soul. She understood that it is her job to work as a "channel medium." Today Akura helps other starseeds around the world. 

Karen received her Masters’ Degree in Social Work from Columbia University and has worked in the areas of family therapy, eldercare and PTSD.

Acclaimed talk show host of Spouting Off

As a performer, she has toured the country in musical comedies, entertained on cruise ships and appeared in television and film. Her broadcast experience includes turns as a classical music radio announcer, news-caster, voice-over artist and of course, talk radio host. She lends her operatic voice to a variety of fundraisers and community events and has sung the National Anthem and God Bless America in numerous venues from State Legislatures to the New Jersey Nets.

Karen has trained people of all ages in public speaking, voice and diction, assertiveness and interpersonal communication. She taught communications at a Manhattan corporate training firm, the New School for Social Research, Parsons School of Design in New York, New Jersey’s Montclair State College, and Fairleigh Dickenson University, among others.

In politics, Karen has written numerous editorials and run for public office. She is passionate about freedom, equal justice and personal responsibility. You might have trouble pigeonholing her.

She enjoys encouraging people to think for themselves and to question everything.

Karen is the author of the awarding winning memoir, FATLASH! Food Police & the Fear of Thin, a memoir about her "stage mother on steroids" and her participation in child beauty pageants.

Marlene Wallach is the founder of Gleem Beauty. She was also the president of Wilhelmina Creative Model Management for nearly two decades. Nationally recognized as the arbiter of all things beauty, an author, and an empowering educator. Marlene brings together a career of knowledge from within the beauty industry and works tirelessly with models and their skin concerns.

With Marlene's beauty background and a long-time advocate of clean beauty, she explains how Gleem Beauty got its start: "During my decades with Wilhelmina Creative Model Management, models often came to me for skincare recommendations saying that nothing was helping their skin. The simple answer was – to develop products that I could certify! From that moment on, I was driven to learn more about dermatology, skincare products, and ingredients; what was most effective to achieve healthy, radiant skin with GLEEM.”

My first step was to get certifications in esthetics, acne-care, and LED Light Therapy. I then spent time working in a MedSpa to learn first-hand about the (skin) care process. Simultaneously I was researching the most up-to-date skincare science and formulations along with seasoned medical professionals. Next, Gleem Beauty was born! At Gleem Beauty, we believe whether you are strutting down the runway or walking down the street, feeling the Gleem is what life is all about. That is the philosophy that is at the core of Gleem Beauty.

“Male and female, different ages, different problems – we all have skin in the game. With Gleem Beauty, everyone has a chance to shine through and through" says Marlene.

 Marlene’s former models say: 

From a practical view - now a biomedical engineer, one model says back in the day at Wilhelmina Models, “Marlene always preached to her models how important it is to take good care of your skin, so it was no surprise when she released Gleem Beauty”. 

From a philosophical view - a familiar face on recent streaming series “A proponent of self-care and self-beauty, Marlene was an early leader in the industry, promoting self-esteem and beauty from within to her community of models”.

Marrying the practical and the philosophical, Gleem Beauty has created clean beauty products for women and men of all races and ages who want to take their skincare to the next level and feel the Gleem.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlene-wallach/

Laura G. Hanson is a former full-time SWAT operator with the Virginia Beach Police Department. After leaving the department Laura wrote a memoir, called Why I Went In, about the many ways trauma impacted her life. She spent many years feeling alone in the depths of her thoughts so she chose to write this book to help others resurface from the depths of their most painful experiences. 
She is a Certified High Performance Coach and currently works as a wellness coordinator with Virginia State Police. Laura believes first responders deserve to have a successful career while also having strong relationships and a healthy overall well-being. She’s on a mission to help first responders believe and achieve this reality.