Black Employees at Drexel (BEAD)

Our Mission

  • Foster a sense of community through support and engagement.
  • Serve as a united voice to represent the needs of the Black community at Drexel University
  • Cultivate an open atmosphere of collaboration, dialogue and engagement within Drexel University's Black community.
  • Encourage professional achievement, scholarship and research opportunities among Black faculty, professional staff and students.
  • Create and advertise social and educational opportunities to strengthen the University's knowledge regarding cultural awareness; cultivate a community of social responsibility; and improve outcomes within our university community.

Our Vision

BEAD (formally BFPSA) is committed to enhancing the experience of faculty, professional staff and students at Drexel University by focusing on education, mentoring, community involvement and networking.

To subscribe to the listserv, please email listserv@lists.drexel.edu with "Subscribe BEAD-L" as the subject line. For more information, please email BEAD@drexel.edu.

Annual Events

Below are annual events organized or co-sponsored by BEAD. BEAD also offers other events and activities throughout the year, such as wellness, social responsibility, and arts.

Fall Term

  • October
    Black Dragon Meet & Greet
  • December
    Year End Mixer

Winter Term

  • January
    Civic Engagement Hours
  • February
    Black History Month Luncheon

Spring Term

  • April
    Social Hour

Summer Term

  • June
    Juneteenth Block Party

Our Eboard

Ahaji

Ahaji Schreffler, BEAD’s President, is the Senior Director of Education Abroad in Drexel’s Office of Global Engagement, where she leads the Education Abroad team in strategy and program development. Ahaji also teaches community-based intensive study abroad courses to Haiti and Ecuador. In her 18+ years at Drexel, Ahaji’s passion for community and inclusion have inspired her to serve on BEAD’s executive board since 2012 (as Vice President and President). She is also the founder and facilitator of Drexel’s Meditation Group, which has connected people through self-care, mindfulness, and compassion since 2012. Ahaji served as one of the two co-administrators of Drexel’s Anti-Racism Task Force and is now the DEI Liaison on the CORE Team for Drexel’s Strategic Plan. Outside of work, Ahaji is the Founder and President of We The Village, a grassroots non-profit that supports children at Love Orphanage in Haiti through health and education. 

Allen

Allen Riddick is the Executive Director, Supplier Inclusion for Drexel University where he works within Accounts Payable & Procurement Services to ensure equal procurement access and local workforce opportunity. He works alongside Drexel’s Accounts Payable & Procurement Services and serves as a resource to all University departments for increasing spend with small, minority, women, veteran, service-disabled and LGBTQ+-owned businesses.
Allen is a current Board member for the Women’s Business Enterprise Council East and Vice President of BEAD. He is a former board member of the Institute of Supply Chain Management (ISM -Philadelphia) and serves as co-chair on West Philadelphia’s Promise Zone Workforce & Economic Committee, strategic leader for Women 100 VisionForward, and Turner Construction Diversity Committee. 

Sierra's headshot

Sierra Andrew, BEAD’s Membership Liaison, is Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships and Resident Director of Millennium Hall. Sierra identifies as a young professional with bicoastal experience, with an educational background from the University of California (UC). She has prior research experience studying the impact of Black resource centers in the University of California system. Sierra’s professional experience includes working at UC Riverside’s African Student Programs Office as an intern and establishing Black Queen’s Week as a student. In her free time, Sierra enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and volunteering throughout her newfound home in Philadelphia.

Monét Harbison is the Associate Director of Research Compliance Operations and works within the Office of Research & Innovation, where she helps support the University’s efforts of research compliance and education. Monet serves on the advisory board for the Center for Black Culture, the Graduate Diversity Advisory Council and has served on the Anti-Racism Task Force here at the University. Monét is currently a first year, part-time PhD student in the School of Education, where she hopes to explore image-making and belonging for Black womxn academics. As a born and bred West Philadelphian (right down the street from Main Campus!), Monét is excited to serve BEAD as the Vice President of Communications.

Bernetta Millonde

Bernetta McCall-Millonde, BEAD’s Student Liaison, is Director of Diversity Initiatives and Community Relations in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and serves as the Director of the Liberty Scholars Program in the Center for Inclusive Education and Scholarship. She is a trusted and respected leader across Drexel’s campus, emphasizing the value college-aspiring students from marginalized communities bring to the Drexel community, advocating for their needs, and addressing challenges of historically underrepresented students. Bernetta is a trained Train-the-Trainer facilitator committed to team building, ensuring that team members understand and own their roles in the big picture and inclusion to become confident, independent thinkers whose contributions will continue to propel collective group success.

EBonys headshot

Ebony Drummond, BEAD’s Events Liaison, is the Residential Desk Coordinator at Bentley Hall. Ebony started at Drexel University as a Public Safety officer in 2015. As the morning RDC (Resident Desk Coordinator) at Bentley Hall, Ebony is responsible for monitoring access to Residence Halls and providing administrative clerical support to the AD/RD. Ebony Drummond is currently enrolled in LeBow College of Business in the Marketing Program.