President
Treasurer
Leon E. Dukes is a two term Vietnam Veteran and has served as an elected representative to the Albany County Legislature.
His interest in non-violence and social change span more then 30 years. As a college student at Hampton University, he
served as an active member and community organizer with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He has an
illustrious career in the private sector. He served as Easter Regional Manager for Lighting, Inc. A Marketing and Management
Consulting Firm and held Senior Management position with Xerox Corporation. He is an excellent trainer and expert in the areas
of Management Development, Small Group Theory and Practice, Survey Feedback and Course Design. He served in a senior administrative
capacity, as the state-wide coordinator for Council Development, Community and Commission Support, at the New York State
Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and Institute for Non-Violence. He is a Certified Non-Violence Trainer, he has served
as Assistant-Director of Programs, and the Annual King Non-Violence Summer Leadership Institute. Leon is an excellent
motivational speaker and trainer addressing familiar issues and conflicts, school violence, community violence, troubled
youth and many more important topics and issues.
Taunya Williams
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Taunya Hannibal-Williams graduated from Canisius
College in 1988 with a B.A. in Psychology and then in 1991 received her Juris
Doctor from the University of Buffalo School of Law. In 1993, Ms. Hannibal-
Williams won a fellowship from the Center in Women and Government and
Civil Society and relocated to Albany, N.Y. where she was placed with the Black
and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus as a policy analyst. The following year, Ms.
Hannibal-Williams received a scholarship to attend the University of Albany
School for Criminal Justice, where she received her Masters Degree.
Ms. Hannibal-Williams has been trained as a Restorative Justice facilitator, as well as
diversity trainer. She also has completed a curriculum design course from the
Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations, as part of her continuing education.
Ms. Hannibal-Williams has enjoyed a varied career in the not-for-profit sector,
working for the University of Albany, the Girl Scouts of Hudson Valley, the
New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, The Service Employees
International Union, The Civil Service Employees Association and as Trainer
and Organizer for Prison Families of New York in their Organizing Project.
In 2001, she started her own training and consulting business, The Harmony
Workshop. Her past clients include Prison Action Network and Mansion
Community Arts. She is also a music educator at various Capital District
locations.
While not attending to her family, Ms. Hannibal-Williams volunteers in various
community organizations and projects, and has been in leadership positions for
many groups including the Working Families Party of New York Sate, The
Glens Falls Sra Labor Council, The Albany County League of Women Voters, A
Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment (ARISE) and the National
Coalition Building Institute of the Capital District. One of Ms. Hannibal-
Williams cherished accomplishments has been to be bestowed with the Solidarity
2001 Award from the Solidarity Committee of the Capital Region.
Ms. Hannibal-Williams has also been active on the Guilderland Community Diversity
Committee, in Black Voices for Peace, and as Co-Chair for the Altamont Book
Fair Committee. Currently Ms. Hannibal-Williams is the membership
coordinator/Secretary of Black American Free Thought Association (BAFTA).
She performs research for BAFTA’s projects and helped organize its 2006 Black
History month events honoring Dr. Carter G. Woodson.