Elder Denise Marshall-Mills
Founding Member & Umoja Elder Umoja Elder CouncilElders and Ancestors have provided Elder Denise Marshall-Mills with the knowledge, lessons, and examples needed to establish and sustain community. Their presence in her life reminds her of the obligation and responsibility she carries to serve — and to do so in ways that nurture and uplift people of African ancestry.
She has had the privilege of serving over 40 years as an educator at both the secondary and college level and is a founding member of the Umoja Community Education Foundation. She was one of the faculty members who developed the Diop Scholars Community of Learners at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, California. She has served as EOPS Coordinator, EOPS Counselor, General Counselor, and Adjunct Professor, and developed an African-Centered College Success course that became the core course for Umoja cohort classes.
She also served as an Academic Counselor and Summer Bridge Coordinator at CSU Sacramento, and at the secondary level as a Social Studies Teacher and College Counselor. She was privileged to spend summers working in programs including Upward Bound, Summer Bridge, the I Have a Dream Foundation, and the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP).
She currently serves as an Umoja Elder and as a member of the African Diasporic Education Summit (ADES) Planning Committee. She enjoys traveling to West African countries and looks forward to exploring even more African and Caribbean destinations. She is blessed to be the sixth of nine children born to Joseph and Odessa Marshall, and she cherishes time with family, friends, the ocean, and pickleball. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from CSU Dominguez Hills and an M.A. in Counseling & Guidance from Loyola Marymount University. I am my Ancestors' wildest dreams — and they are mine. Ase!