What does it take to be a great leader? According to Richard Bynum, President of PNC in Greater Washington and Virginia, it’s helping others. “My hope is that I’m taking some small part in making sure [people] get where they want to be,” he says.
This winter, the Washington Business Journal honored his thoughtful leadership by selecting Bynum, who is also a Community Foundation Board Member, as a Minority Business Leader Award Honoree. The Award acknowledges his creativity and entrepreneurial drive, among other attributes.
Bynum’s accomplishment coincides with two other major board member milestones. Dr. Charlene Dukes, Secretary of our Board, is retiring as President of Prince George’s Community College after 13 years of service. And Artis Hampshire-Cowan, Vice Chair of our Board, will be honored by Leadership Greater Washington as the 2020 Leader of the Years.
Read more about their lives, work and impact below.
A Mission to Help Others
“It’s always such an honor to be recognized for the work that one does, and this award is no different. It means a great deal to me to go to work fully invested in what I do every day and to make a difference.”
Richard Bynum, President of Greater Washington and Virginia’s PNC Financial Services Group, never intended to work in banking.
Before joining PNC through their Executive Leadership Program in 2005, he had a 12-year career with the American Red Cross. Bynum traveled the country working helping with disaster relief efforts, eventually serving as Operations Director for the Kosovo Refugee Operations; and, finally, Assistant Director of Relief following the aftermath of 9/11 in New York City.
He says this work inspires how he thinks about leadership today.
“It’s all about helping people—the people who work for you and with you, and your clients,” Bynum says.
This winter, Bynum was selected by Washington Business Journal as a Minority Business Leader Award Honoree. The award honors entrepreneurial drive, creativity and diversity and inclusion in the workplace—values he says directly connect to his work at PNC.
As CEO of the market at PNC, Bynum values performance and customer service; and, creating a workplace where everyone can find their own success, as well as contribute to the success of the company. “We work hard to value our differences,” he says.
Bynum is a member of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees, where he says he is “proud to take some small role in the impact that the Greater Washington Community Foundation makes every day.” He will be honored by the Washington Business Journal at their annual Minority Business Leader Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, July 14.
A Leader of a Renaissance
Dr. Charlene Dukes is known as the “leader of the renaissance of Prince George’s Community College.”
As president of the college for the past 13 years, she helped lead the development of the Academy for Health Sciences, the first middle college in the state of Maryland; a Teacher Academy; two P-Tech Schools; and the 3D Scholars Program with University of Maryland Global Campus. She also helped found the Prince George’s County Promise Scholarship, which provides financial support for college students graduating from Prince George’s County.
“President Dukes is a talented educator and leader who is passionate about Prince George’s Community College, the County, and the region,” said Sidney Gibson, chair of Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) Board of Trustees. “We are pleased that she has served this community as president for 13 years.”
Dr. Dukes was the college’s very first woman president of PGCC. In 2013, she was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame; in 2016, honored with a medal and certificate as a Woman in American History; and, was recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in the region in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
This fall, Dr. Dukes announced her retirement for this upcoming summer. “It’s been an amazing journey, and I leave with no regrets,” she said. “I hope I’ve been able to impact [the community] as much as it has impacted me.”
Dr. Dukes is Secretary of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees. She will retire from Prince George’s Community College on June 30, 2020.
A Leader of the Years
“Receiving this award means a great deal to me, not because I am the honoree, but because I so deeply believe in what Leadership Greater Washington (LGW) members do, every day, year after year.”
Artis Hampshire-Cowan is a self-identified “board doctor.” As a governance professional who works with boards, CEOs, and executive leadership, she is passionate about ensuring effective leadership at organizations.
“The best part of my [profession] is I get to help organizations become high performing,” she says.
Hampshire-Cowan recently completed a 23-year tenure at Howard University, which included serving as senior vice president and secretary, interim CEO and acting president. Prior to her role as senior vice president, she served concurrently as secretary and vice president for human resource management and provided executive oversight for Howard University’s workforce of 6,000+.
Leadership Greater Washington, the region’s premiere leadership incubator, recently announced Hampshire-Cowan as the 2020 Leader of the Years. The award, which celebrates local leaders that are furthering community impact and advancing leadership collaboration in the region, connects directly to her work in the community.
“I focus my work as much as possible on organizations that have a regional agenda,” Hampshire-Cowan says. “I seek to connect and leverage relationships to advance the essential mission of these important organizations.
Currently, she is Founding Principal of Leveraged Leadership Group, a corporate governance consulting firm that works with clients on governance, management consulting, and workforce development.
Artis Hampshire Cowan is Vice Chair of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees, where she says, “my hope is to accelerate The Community Foundation’s brand as the community’s guardian for the Greater Washington region.” Hampshire Cowan will be honored with Leadership Greater Washington’s Leader of the Years award at its annual dinner.