Tuesday, April 4, 2023
As the leader of Girls For A Change (GFAC), Angela graduated from Meadowbrook Highschool (in North Chesterfield, Virginia) in 1990. She has been recognized in the local Richmond, VA press as Top 40 Under 40 (2010), by a coalition of girl serving groups in 2015, by President Obama as a White House Champion of Change (2016), has received the Nonprofit Partner of the Year (2018) from the Metropolitan Business League, and Richmond Times-Dispatch 2019 Person of the Year Honoree. In 2022 Angela was recognized by The International Alliance for Women as a World of Difference Awards winners in the Non-Profit/NGO Awardees category.
Angela is an Ambassador for who she calls “at-promise” (as opposed to “at-risk”) girls and a serial innovator committed to “Preparing Black girls for the world, and the world for Black Girls.”
In 2016, Patton led her national Board of Directors and staff to refocus and retool the program structure to more accurately reflect GFAC’s goal to work with Black girls. The organization is now able to disseminate its programs using GFAC’s unique, replicable approach.
Angela’s TEDWomen talk describing a father-daughter dance for incarcerated dads and their daughters has been viewed over 1,000,000 times to date. This talk and work has inspired a documentary, DAUGHTERS, where Angela has taken the role of Co-Director/Executive Producer. The documentary follows the lives of four young girls who prepare for a dance with their incarcerated fathers as part of the rehabilitation program Date With Dad.
Angela has been an in-demand speaker at conferences and colleges/universities throughout the country. She is also a published author. She coauthored the book Finding Her Voice: How black girls in white spaces can speak up & live their truth, with Faye Z. Belgrave, PhD and Ivy Belgrave. The book is available on Amazon, at Target, and at many small, Black-owned bookstores across the country.
Angela is a member of SisterFund and still finds time to serve on the board of Orchard House Middle School for Girls, volunteer for various organizations, and serve as a technical assistance consultant with MENTOR Virginia.
When she isn’t inspiring change, advocating for gender equality, and empowering girls, she is hanging with her family, enjoying festivals and concerts with her husband and motivator, Adofo Ka-Re and their loving children, Imhotep and Asani. Her interests include spending a day at the spa, visiting the Caribbean islands, cardio kickboxing, watching documentaries, and attending dinner parties with close friends.
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