The Voorhees College Lyceum Series has the honor of Reverend Dee Dawkins-Haigler, to serve as the speaker for the annual Rev. Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. program, which will be held virtually this year on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 11 a.m. 

Dawkins-Haigler is the owner of DDH and Associates and is the executive director of TIME 1000, an organization dedicated to helping 1000 women and minorities get elected into public office and assist them with receiving board appointments. She has worked with women from various African countries and educated them about running for political office and gender issues, health, entrepreneurship, and education. 

She is the founder and president of the Organization of World Leaders, which houses leaders in government, law, business, health, finance, and politics, who build alliances for economic sustainability and growth in Africa and the diaspora. 

Dawkins-Haigler is also the founder of One Georgia, an organization committed to assembling members of the clergy, elected officials, social and civic groups, civil rights organizations, fraternities, and sororities with the collective purpose of promoting issues that are important to the African American and Hispanic communities. Moreover, she is an organizer for the Minority Cannabis Coalition, facilitating business opportunities and equity for minorities within the cannabis industry. 

The community leader eagerly advocates for youth who are impacted by poverty. Her experience with youth led her to be appointed to the Juvenile Parole Board for South Carolina, former Governor Jim Hodges, where she was the youngest and the first African American to serve as chair of the board. 

During her tenure with the Georgia General Assembly, she served in the House of Representatives from 2008 to 2017, in District 91, chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, and chair of the Georgia Women’s Legislative Caucus. 

She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from South Carolina State University, a master’s degree in public administration from Kentucky State University, and a master’s degree in divinity from Turner Theological Seminary. Currently, Dawkins-Haigler is working on her doctorate in political science at Clark Atlanta University and has earned honorary doctorates in ministry and philosophy. 

Dawkins-Haigler is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Council of Negro Women, and Order of Eastern Star, where she serves as president of the East Metro Orchids. She also previously served as the regional officer for Jack and Jill of America. 

She resides in Lithonia, Ga., with her husband who is her college sweetheart, Lt. Col. David Haigler Jr. They have four children, Christopher, Christyn, Hannah, and Joshua, and two grandchildren, Amari and Kingston. 

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For more information, contact the Office of Communications, at 803-780-1191 or at communications@voorhees.edu.