Dorothy Bracy Alston is an education and faith-based consultant who has been working with parents, youth, educational, service and faith-based organizations for over twenty-five years. As the president and principal consultant, CISBA provides systems and resources that will educate, empower, and develop the family into a prosperous and cohesive unit.
Dorothy has gained a multiplicity of skills and experiences as an educator, writer, lecturer, academician, workshop trainer and facilitator, community activist, adjunct professor, advisor and consultant. She is a motivational speaker who, teaches, lectures, and facilitates training on various topics that deal with education, faith-based and holistic issues. Students and youth are her passion. Some youth and parent topics have centered around developing parent leadership skills, successful student achievement; career and workforce development; parent and student empowerment, holistic living; youth development for non-profits and others. She has designed youth curriculum and programs for several non-profit organizations, and has written articles that assist non-profit organizations in fund development and research.
Dorothy’s diverse background includes teaching as an adjunct professor, expertise in family literacy, development of training curriculums for family literacy and youth development programs, leadership roles in the government and corporate sectors, and as an entrepreneur. She has been a local and national conference facilitator and speaker, instructor and trainer.
Dorothy has served in various professional and community based leadership roles with a 25-year background of working with families, youth and service organizations. She has more than 20 years experience in community engagement and working in non-profit management, providing resources and educational support to parents, students and non-profits. Because of her passion for working with this population, she launched her own education and faith based consulting firm — CISBA Associates; to provide training to educational, non-profit and civic organizations whose primary focus are families and youth.
Ms. Alston also works with small businesses, public and private schools, government agencies, faith-based organizations and non-profits on projects that will move their organization to a higher level of efficiency: be it project management, grant writing and research, communications, or writing various business documents.
Dorothy earned a BS degree in Business Administration from Wilberforce University, and a Master’s degree in English's Professional and Technical Writing from the University of Memphis. Her Bachelor’s degree in Business allowed her early career opportunities to work in government, corporate, as well as entrepreneurial venues in finance and several service oriented business ventures.
Ms. Alston has traveled and taught abroad. Her educational pursuits lead her to study Czech at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic where she was certified to teach English as a Foreign Language and she also taught English at the Annual Summer Language Institute in the Czech Republic.
Dorothy has developed and implemented parent education programs to assist in increasing parental involvement in various non-profit organizations, faith-based groups, at targeted Memphis City Schools, and private learning facilities, where program assessments were done to ensure that program objectives were met.
As a staunch educational advocate, CISBA has been connected with major non-profit and service organizations that serve parents and youth for decades. Such organizations as the Memphis Literacy Council; Partners in Public Education (PIPE); Department of Children Services; Juvenile Court; the Boys and Girls Club; United Way's Together for Children; Mid-South Reads; just to name a few.
CISBA provides strategic planning, marketing, public relations and direction to both local and national parental engagement initiatives and programs with a specific focus on helping parents become more skilled in working with their students; understanding how to access information about their student’s performance, and mobilizing parents to become more involved in their children’s education, especially fathers, whether absent or currently living in the home.
With decades of experience in community service and program development, CISBA's consultants, focuses strategically and meticulously on developing and implementing organizational programs for parent education, youth development and community engagement initiatives that meet the needs of the client.
Our consultants have coordinated activities for program committees and groups to plan procedures, and provide direction and supervision to project staff, community partners, parents and youth, volunteers, and academic and administrative staff where needed. CISBA has coordinated and implemented youth programs specifically geared toward mentoring and student athletes. We are eager to help you with these program models.
CISBA's president, as project manager, coordinated activities for a state and national report that was sponsored by Partners in Public Education and the Public Education Network in Washington, DC. The results of the project were published nationally and can still be found online.
The work at CISBA Associates has included facilitation and project work with program committees and/or other groups to plan major community projects and events, assess parent, youth and community needs through focus groups and parent leadership training and institutes, ensuring that program objectives were met.
CISBA Associates continues to rely on experience, best practices, critical thinking, advisory boards, strategists and judgment to plan and accomplish project goals.
The company's president and its associates believe in giving back to the community and serve on a number of volunteer boards, advisory councils, and other philanthropic ventures, locally and in Charleston, Missouri.
The president's mother was a strong education advocate, so upon her death, Dorothy established the Remmite Sager Memorial Scholarship fund at her hometown high school: Charleston High School, in Charleston, MO for a graduating senior; in memory of her late mother. To date there have been ten recipients who have received scholarships and attended colleges in and out of the state of Missouri. Scholarship recipients have attended such colleges as Southeast Missouri State University, the University of Missouri at Columbia, Arkansas State University, Shawnee Community College, Christian Brothers University, Murray State University, McKendree University and others. CISBA and its associates also continue to give back to the community through serving on volunteer boards, mentoring, and other philanthropic ventures.
CISBA staff are all experts in their specified fields. They are trained professionals in their areas of expertise; with more than twenty years experience in hands on, professional and administrative, and management capacities.
The president and staff of CISBA are passionate about education and want to ensure that ALL children have the opportunity to succeed and find their true life's purpose. We want what's best for all the children. An African greeting was shared with us recently and it simply says: "
How are ALL the children?"
As an education and faith-based consulting firm, we know it takes a village and we want what's best for ALL the children and their families.
We'd love to have an opportunity to help you with your family or business project or program.
We can be reached at CisbaAssociates@consultant.com or 901-570-3923.
