ABOUT US: Who we are

Dr. Camille O. Cosby, President
(pictured above right)

Producer and educator Camille O. Cosby has brought to the American public, through multimedia, an appreciation of our rich and diverse cultures. Dr. Cosby's body of notable work includes producing a Peabody Award-winning television film and a Tony-nominated Broadway play, plus numerous films and documentaries. Dr. Cosby is the co-founder of the National Visionary Leadership Project, formed to help preserve the priceless legacy of African American elders.

Dr. Cosby is the author of Television's Imageable Influences: The Self-Perception of Young African Americans (University Press of America, 1994). Based on her dissertational research, the book investigates the impact of negative images of black people on television on the self-perception of young African Americans. Countering such negative perceptions has been a significant focal point of her work since she received her doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1992. Dr. Cosby also earned an MA from the university in 1980.

As part of this on-going commitment, Dr. Cosby served as executive producer on a documentary in 1994 called No Dreams Deferred. The documentary chronicled the

experiences of Thelma and Wesley Williams and their catering business designed to teach life skills to young people. The film was broadcast extensively on public television. One year later, Dr. Cosby co-produced with Judith Rutherford James Having Our Say, the inspiring story of Sarah and Elizabeth Delany, two centenarians born to a former slave, who went on to become an educator and dentist respectively. Dr. Cosby felt that the play, based on the bestselling book by Amy Hill Hearth, brought to life an important and rarely told part of American history. The two-person play starring Mary Alice and Gloria Foster received three Tony Award nominations. Diahann Carroll and Ruby Dee starred in the CBS television film version that won the prestigious Peabody Award in 1999.

Dr. Cosby's experience with Having Our Say was a major catalyst in the formation of the National Visionary Leadership Project with co-founder Renee Poussaint. NVLP is a Washington, DC-based intergenerational institution dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing history as told by distinguished African American elders. In 2004, Simon and Schuster published A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak based on stories from fifty of the elders in the NVLP archive.

Cheryl Clarke, Chief Executive Officer (Interim)

Cheryl Clarke is the Chief Executive Officer (Interim) for the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP). She is responsible for setting strategy, operations, financing, marketing and human resources. Ms. Clarke is a seasoned executive with a proven record of success. Prior to joining NVLP in April 2008, she worked for 24 years at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) in several senior management positions. Her most recent stint at Freddie Mac was the Senior Director of the Freddie Mac Foundation Investment and Programs area where she directed the investment of $30M annually in the Washington, DC Metropolitan region and nationally. Additionally, she has worked as a Director in a number of other areas at the company including the Director of Communications in Community Relations; Director of the first office of Diversity, and Director of Human Resources and Business Support Services in the Atlanta and Dallas operations. In these roles she generated break-through ideas and initiatives; built infrastructure, operations, internal controls; led high-performing teams; cultivated organizational, board and external relationships; and, developed successful strategies to achieve business and organizational goals. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Ms. Clarke spent seven years as director and teacher at a DCPS special education satellite program of the Bundy Crisis Intervention Center for emotionally and behaviorally challenged boys in Washington, DC. Ms. Clarke serves on the boards of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG), The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and is a member of Leadership Greater Washington.

Skip Coblyn, Program Director

Skip Coblyn joined NVLP in 2002 with nearly twenty five years of experience in broadcast TV and corporate video/film production. He began his career in public broadcasting at WETA-TV26 in Washington, DC on the groundbreaking cultural music series From Jumpstreet: A Story of Black Music, hosted by the late Oscar Brown Jr.  He continued to work with PBS and WETA to develop the critically acclaimed national public affairs series Congress: We the People and the six-part documentary series Making Sense of the Sixties. He also briefly produced WETA’s long-running DC arts magazine, Around Town.

For seven years, he was producer for MCI’s Multimedia Productions department, creating live business satellite TV and web broadcasts, and corporate video and film productions for company-wide use. While at MCI he received two Telly Awards.

Mr. Coblyn was also consulting producer/ assistant director and multimedia producer for the award-winning 2001 documentary Partners of the Heart, about life and career of open heart surgery pioneer Vivien Thomas, which PBS aired nationally on the American Experience.  He received a Cine Golden Eagle for his multimedia work.

In his spare time, Skip enjoys cooking, photography and making music.


Bonnie K. Freeman, Director, Community & Corporate Development

Ms. Freeman was recently appointed Director, Community & Corporate Development with NVLP. With a background in public relations and fundraising, she is credited with sharpening the communications, public relations, and marketing activities for several nonprofit organizations, and has become highly regarded for her fundraising ability. A native of Denver, Freeman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Clark Atlanta University and a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Regis University.

Geri Reinhart Tse, Producer

With more than twenty years of experience in production (television, film, video, print and web); news writing; and public relations/media outreach, Geri Reinhart Tse brings a broad range of skills and expertise to NVLP. She produced broadcast news stories that aired nationally on CBS News and PBS, including segments on Women’s Suffrage and the African American Influence on Modern Dance. She produced television public service announcements shot in 35 MM film as well as promotional videos for clients such as American Express, Energy Star, Freddie Mac, and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Her background includes writing for CBS News This Morning, Fox News and the F/X network.

In addition, Ms. Reinhart Tse has been responsible for directing public relations campaigns. In this capacity she conducted press conferences, media training, and media outreach; supervised the development of a wide range of press and marketing materials; orchestrated efforts with federal and local governments, partners, and community organizations and led new business pitches.

At NVLP, Ms. Reinhart Tse’s responsibilities include booking and producing the Visionary interviews shown on the NVLP website, producing brief tributes and other videos from the material, coordinating production details for NVLP events and other special projects and productions.

John Kinhart , Editor/Web Specialist

John Kinhart is an award winning documentary filmmaker who studied painting and video editing at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art in 2001.

Mr. Kinhart's first two documentaries, Futonmaker and Non-Player-Character showed in several film festivals throughout the United States. His most recent documentary, Blood, Boobs & Beast, won Best Documentary at several film festivals including the Coney Island Film Festival and the B-Movie Film Festival. Additionally, BB&B recieved a four-star review from FilmThreat.com and was called "a compelling portrait of an intricate man" by the Baltimore Sun.

Previous projects include serving as cinematographer for Is It True What They Say About Ann?, a documentary about controversial pundit Ann Coulter, and assistant director for "Dazzlement," a music video for Cherrywine, a.k.a. Butterfly from the hip-hop group Digable Planets.

Mr. Kinhart’s responsibilities at NVLP include managing the NVLP web site, as well as editing the Visionary interviews, short-form documentaries and other video presentations.

Terri Johnson, Office Administrator

Terri Johnson joined NVLP in February 2005.  She has over 28 years of experience in office administration and management.   Her responsibilities at NVLP include overseeing NVLP’s day-to-day operation as well as supervising the organization’s financial matters.  A native Washingtonian, she is currently working on a degree in Business Management.  She is the oldest of six siblings and is very active in church and in her daughter’s life.

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