Dr. Cindye Richburg Cotton

Dr. Cindye Cotton serves as Executive Director of the Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center, where she has led the organization since April 18, 2018. In this role, she oversees all operations including supervising staff, writing policies and procedures, managing grants, building partnerships with donors, strategic planning, fiscal oversight, program evaluation and assessment, and contributing to research presented at conferences nationwide. Prior to this position, she spent 25 years in higher education as a professor teaching business, criminal justice, civil law, education, and business research courses, and she led academic programs such as continuing education initiatives. She holds a business degree along with a graduate degree in criminal justice and education. Under her leadership, the organization has achieved self-sustainability, expanded its staff from three to fifteen members, completed multiple capital improvement projects, and secured historic preservation designations for its facility.