February is Black History Month, a time set aside for an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a recognition of their role in U.S. history. Our thanks go out to Cara Fogarty of the Nonprofit Institute at CSM for introducing us to two extraordinary women who are making history right here in Charles County and internationally!
Kaprece James of Hughesville is a social entrepreneur, humanitarian, founder and CEO, women and girls advocate, author, and international leader. She has served her community volunteering and working in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years, in all capacities from volunteer to director and board chair.
As CEO, she is the founder of Stella’s Girls, Inc., an international 501c3 nonprofit and recognized Liberia and Sierra Leone nongovernmental organization that focuses on the empowerment and leadership development of girls and women in the United States, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Uganda. In Charles County, Stella’s Girls serves as the local vendor for mentoring services for both boys and girls to help them reach their full potential as productive citizens.
Before Kaprece founded Stella’s Girls, she was a founding Board member of B4YT, Inc., a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization of Liberia. Kaprece has assisted many other nonprofits with building their programs both nationally and internationally. She is also a retired Marine Corps Officer’s spouse and does a significant amount of pro bono work for the military community with organizing and sustaining military support organizations.
In addition to leading Stella’s Girls, she runs a consulting business, DKJ Global Consulting, where she serves as a consultant and grant writer to nonprofits and small business owners. She decided to fully launch her consulting business in 2020 as she realized the need for board development, program management, and grant writing services for grassroots and small nonprofit organizations and small business owners. To date, she was helped organizations receive over $20 million dollars in grants.
Kaprece is currently the newly elected Chair of the Charles County Commission for Women and sits on several boards including the Charles County Chamber of Commerce and the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland.
When Destiny Morgan of La Plata was looking for a flexible, affordable option for continuing her education, she turned to the College of Southern Maryland (CSM). After graduating in 2015 with an associate’s degree, she joined the military and then completed her bachelor’s degree in Communications at the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Now, while running her own IT business, Kuinua Tech, she is paying it forward to other CSM students who may need financial assistance by offering her newly-established Kuinua Together scholarship.
“Kuinua” is a Swahili word that means “elevate,” and that is what she aims to do with the scholarship: elevate students, particularly students of color, who may have not otherwise been able to access a tech career.
Morgan said in a recent CSM press release, “As an African American, I think a lot about how hard people fought for my ability to go to school,” Morgan said. “My mother is my biggest inspiration, and she taught me that each generation needs to be better than the last. Technology is a space where many people do not look like me, and I hope to show others that they can do it, too.”
Earlier this year, she earned a master’s degree in Management and Leadership with a focus on IT from Western Governors University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Artificial Intelligence at Capitol Technology University.
The Charles County Economic Development Department recognizes the work of these two ladies and their positive impact on our community and the world. Thank you for all you do!
