Black Veterans Project is thrilled to announce the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors, Dr. Ravi K. Perry, Mary L. Tobin and Daniel Walker. Their innumerable talents, skills and passion for advancing racial equity will bring new life to energy to our efforts.

Dr. Ravi K. Perry is a Professor of Political Science. Previously, Dr. Perry was Chair of the Department of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University and was a member of the faculty at Mississippi State University and Clark University (Worcester, MA).  Dr. Perry holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Brown University, each in political science. An expert on Black politics, minority representation, urban politics, American public policy, and LGBT candidates of color, Dr. Perry is the editor of 21st Century Urban Race Politics: Representing Minorities as Universal Interests, a book that discusses the efforts of African American, Latino and Asian mayors to represent the interests of minorities in historically White cities in the United States. His second book, entitled Black Mayors, White Majorities: The Balancing Act of Racial Politics, focuses on the challenges Black mayors face in representing Black interests in majority White, medium‐sized cities in the state of  Ohio.  His third book, published with his mother, is The Little Rock Crisis: What Desegregation Politics Says About Us. In it, Perry and Perry frame the story of the Little Rock 1957 desegregation crisis through the lens of memory. Over time, those memories – individual and collective – have motivated Little Rockians for social and political action and engagement. Currently, Dr. Perry is finishing a book that introduces the lives and campaigns of Black, and openly lesbian and gay elected officials in the United States.The proud son, grandson, great grandson, and great nephew of generations of family members on the armed services, including but not limited to army and Air Force; and the following conflicts: WW I, II, Korea and Vietnam, and formerly recommended by his hometown congresswoman Marcy Kaptur to the Air Force academy in 2001.

Mary L.Tobin has over 19 years of leader development, project management, community engagement, public speaking experience. Mary is the Director of Brickyard Chapters and Programs, where she manages all of the volunteer Brickyard leaders and leadership development programs at More Perfect Union. Most recently, she served in the Biden-Harris administration as the Senior Advisor for Wounded Warrior, Veteran, and Military Family Initiatives at AmeriCorps. She is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the New York Institute of Technology. Mary is a proud combat Veteran, having served 10 years in the United States Army as a communications officer, including two combat tours in Iraq. Her previous roles include Senior Project Manager for the US. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a President’s Management Council fellow in the US Department of Treasury, a Chief Operations Officer for the City of Jacksonville, FL, and the Executive Director, East Region at The Mission Continues. In her spare time, Mary serves as the Vice President of the West Point Women Alumni Organization, Committee member for the West Point Alumni Organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Co-Founder of the West Point African-American Alumni Association. She is a proud Godmother and an avid sports fan.

Daniel Walker is a former US Air Force F-22 Raptor Mission Commander and Fighter Fundamentals Instructor Pilot with over 1200 hours of combined training and combat flight time. Daniel is a 2010 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. While at the Academy, he was a four-year athletic letter winner in Baseball, as well as Track and Field. He is also a graduate of Old Dominion University with a master’s degree in Public Administration. Daniel has piloted the T-6, T-38, F-16, and F-22 from 2011-2021. He graduated in the top 10% of his Undergraduate Pilot Training class, earning him an F-22 Raptor assignment. Before completing the F-22 Basic Course, he graduated the Air Force Introduction to Fighter Fundamental course as the Air-to-Air Top Gun. He has since led various units, including the Alaskan Northern Aerospace Defense Region’s F-22 Combat Alert Cell. He is also one of six winners of the 2020 United States Air Force Academy’s Young Alumni Excellence Award. Walker is attending Harvard Law School as a Juris Doctor Candidate in the class of 2024. At Harvard he is a Tillman Scholar, Black Family Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership, and a HLS International Legal Studies Chayes International Public Service Fellow. With him is his wife (Kelly), son (Kiowa), and two daughters (Nahla & Kalea).