4th Change Makers Panel Discussion

C. Ryan Jones is a senior sales and operations executive with 20+ years of experience in digital transformation and corporate leadership. He currently serves as an Executive Sales Director for Microsoft’s US Enterprise Industry group, running a $300M segment of the overall US business holdings. Ryan has managed high profile client relationships in private and public sector over his career and led several national enterprise sales units in addition to roles leading national customer service and operations divisions. Ryan has driven market share growth across various product lines, negotiated billions in revenue agreements with Fortune 100 clients, the US Department of Defense and US Health and Human Services and has been most recently tasked with driving industry transformation.

Ryan is passionate on personal and professional development and has created and supported mentoring structures in each of his assignments to help others attain their goals. Ryan serves as Co-Chair of the DC Chapter of Blacks at Microsoft (BAM), a 30+year old Employee Resource Group dedicated to supporting the continued growth and development of Black employees. He creates and supports training curriculums to help Microsoft employees in BAM improve their personal and professional development and is the founding principal at Adapt & Advance, LLC – a sales excellence coaching firm that works with clients in all industries.

Ryan is also a member of the Board of Directors for Beacon House, an organization providing children in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, DC with a safe, nurturing, and life-expanding community in which to increase their academic achievement, discover their talents, and to grow into healthy adults who achieve their greatest potential. Ryan enjoys making new connections and engaging the power of those connections to better his community. He holds a B.S., Computer Science from Shepherd College (WV), a MBA from George Washington University (DC) and several executive certifications ranging from LSS to BPM and PMP from Villanova University (PA).

Derrick Perkins is the Market Executive for the Greater Washington DC. His primary role is to help meet the local market goals of connecting businesses, families, and individuals to the banking and investment teams. He also leads the effort to deploy the bank’s resources in the market to address social and economic concerns and build strong communities. Prior to accepting the role as Market Executive, he was a Senior Relationship Manager with coverage of affordable housing developers based in Suburban MD, Washington, DC and Virginia. His responsibilities also included leading the Bank’s national Charter School construction lending efforts.

Derrick joined NationsBank in 1998 in the Consumer Credit Card division as an account manager in Norfolk, VA. In 2000, Derrick accepted a role as a Portfolio Management Associate in the Business Banking division in Richmond, VA. In 2002, Derrick relocated to McLean, VA to work in the Middle Market Banking group as a credit analyst and eventually an underwriter. After four years in the Middle Market Banking, Derrick accepted a role within Community Development Lending, underwriting affordable housing developers and charter school facilities. Derrick accepted his current role as market executive in 2018.

Derrick holds a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Derrick lives in Upper Marlboro, MD. Derrick is on the Boards of Virginia Housing Alliance, Volunteers of America National Services and Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers.

Sultan Shakir is the President and Executive Officer of Mazzoni Center.

Shakir’s leadership approach is heavily influenced by his early years working as a community organizer. Through that work, he came to respect the power of collective action for marginalized people through partnering with unions like SEIU and AFSCME to fight for the basic rights of low-income black and brown people. Additionally, he gained the skills needed to actively listen to people’s needs and discovered that the best decisions are those informed by the people most affected. He would go on to work in communities across the country: from cities like Philadelphia, where he met his husband while working to turn out the LGBT vote, to small, rural towns. In each community, listening, building trust, and creating buy-in and alignment among teams was the foundation for his success.

Shakir came to Mazzoni Center from SMYAL, an organization dedicated to the well-being, support, and empowerment of LGBTQ youth. Born and raised in North Philly, Sultan lives with his husband, Mark and their two dogs Blanche and Manny. Sultan is an avid artist and musician and enjoys the vibrancy and creativity of the queer and trans community.

Sultan has been honored with the Community Circle Award by Baltimore Black Gay Pride, named Jewel of the Month by the National Black Justice Coalition, and won the DC Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance Distinguished Service Award.

Vernetta Walker is CEO and Chief Governance Gladiator of Vernetta Walker & Associates Consulting. Prior to starting her consulting practice, Vernetta served as Chief Governance Officer, Vice President of Programs, and Senior Advisor on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for BoardSource. With over two decades of experience as a nonprofit leader and consultant, Vernetta is passionate about helping organizations maximize their impact through exceptional leadership, intellectual engagement, and advancing DEI for mission impact. In addition to providing consulting and training, she is a frequent speaker on nonprofit leading practices, sector trends, and DEI.

Vernetta has worked with hundreds of public charities, associations, and foundations across the country and globally. Her clients have included Easterseals, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, YMCA of the USA, the National Aquarium, Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and the Walt Disney Company.

Vernetta is an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University, where she teaches Nonprofit Governance and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Vernetta has extensive nonprofit board experience and currently serves on the DC Bar Foundation board and is co-chair of March for Our Lives.