Ken Walker Jr.
Vice President
An accomplished professional with 13+ years of experience in youth education, business start-up, grant-writing and community advocacy, Kenneth Walker Jr. welcomes new opportunities to bridge this nation’s considerable economic wealth gap. As part of the Jamaur Law Foundation, he is wholly committed to furthering the company’s mission to grow.
Ken brings to JLF a lengthy track record of empowering people to reach their full potential, and has achieved measurable success in scaling multiple businesses from ideas to multi-million-dollar operations.
He currently serves as Founder and Lead Grant Writer for Advance DMV, a non-profit consultancy focused on securing funds for nonprofits, schools and other community-based organizations. Since starting this journey, Ken and his team have helped win over $35 million in grants for organizations throughout the U.S. doing important work. This accomplishment is due, in part, to Ken’s keen ability to translate true excitement and deep belief in positive change into his writing — to create compelling narratives that move decision makers.
Prior to Advance DMV, Ken helped start Monument Academy, a Washington, D.C., charter school dedicated to teaching social, emotional and life/career skills to underserved/foster care youth.
For several years, Ken was Director of Workforce Development for Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc., where his efforts bolstered programs assisting families in crisis. He spearheaded the launch of two licensed employment training schools in Philadelphia. And he teamed up with two of his best friends to create a high school scholarship program through their nonprofit, the Trio Foundation.
Ken credits his parents for always giving of themselves and encouraging him and his sister to pursue their dreams. Their selfless gift would seed Ken’s future — growing and fueling his inspiration to help others.
Ken holds BA degrees in Finance and Marketing from Old Dominion University. He also earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from George Mason University. In his free time, Ken likes fishing and attending sporting events. He also enjoys vacationing with his family and hopes to eventually visit every state — with only eight left to go!
An accomplished professional with 13+ years of experience in youth education, business start-up, grant-writing and community advocacy, Kenneth Walker Jr. welcomes new opportunities to bridge this nation’s considerable economic wealth gap. As part of the Jamaur Law Foundation, he is wholly committed to furthering the company’s mission to grow.
Ken brings to JLF a lengthy track record of empowering people to reach their full potential, and has achieved measurable success in scaling multiple businesses from ideas to multi-million-dollar operations.
He currently serves as Founder and Lead Grant Writer for Advance DMV, a non-profit consultancy focused on securing funds for nonprofits, schools and other community-based organizations. Since starting this journey, Ken and his team have helped win over $35 million in grants for organizations throughout the U.S. doing important work. This accomplishment is due, in part, to Ken’s keen ability to translate true excitement and deep belief in positive change into his writing — to create compelling narratives that move decision makers.
Prior to Advance DMV, Ken helped start Monument Academy, a Washington, D.C., charter school dedicated to teaching social, emotional and life/career skills to underserved/foster care youth.
For several years, Ken was Director of Workforce Development for Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc., where his efforts bolstered programs assisting families in crisis. He spearheaded the launch of two licensed employment training schools in Philadelphia. And he teamed up with two of his best friends to create a high school scholarship program through their nonprofit, the Trio Foundation.
Ken credits his parents for always giving of themselves and encouraging him and his sister to pursue their dreams. Their selfless gift would seed Ken’s future — growing and fueling his inspiration to help others.
Ken holds BA degrees in Finance and Marketing from Old Dominion University. He also earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from George Mason University. In his free time, Ken likes fishing and attending sporting events. He also enjoys vacationing with his family and hopes to eventually visit every state — with only eight left to go!
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Jasmine LawSecretary
Jasmine Law is an Instructional Lead Teacher (ILT) and Testing Coordinator in the Prince George’s County Public Schools system. Prior to working as an ILT, she was a middle school English teacher for seven years. Her passion for children and educating youth has led her in the decision to transition from a classroom teacher to an instructional leader. Jasmine obtained her bachelor’s degree from Bowie State University in Secondary Education, and from there she continued to pursue education at a higher level. She attended George Washington University, where she received her master’s in educational leadership administration. As Jasmine continues her leadership journey, impacting both students and teachers, she aspires to be an Assistant Principal in the near future. |
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Amanda KennedyTreasurer
Amanda Kennedy is currently a Tax Manager 1 at Intuit where she manages a team of tax experts supporting the TurboTax Live services with complex customer-facing tax questions, full-service individual tax preparation, and product navigation support. Her current project work includes data analysis of KPIs and performance management evaluation, implementation and support. She is also part of a team that advocates for change in level processes and procedures to align with organizational shifts, address reporting and data concerns, and assist with back-end processes within the full-service realm. She is a Florida-Licensed Attorney with a Master of Laws in Taxation from Boston University and currently admitted to the United States Tax Court. In her tax practice, she assists individual taxpayers, solo practitioners and small businesses with tax preparation and planning. Amanda’s passion is putting knowledge into the hands of individuals — from entrepreneurs to consumers — so they can make better informed decisions about business and tax planning. |
In her private practice, she focuses on Small Business Law and Tax Law. She handles myriad business matters for sole proprietors, small businesses and corporations from proper structuring for tax and liability purposes, corporate compliance and governance, to outside general counsel services. She also assists clients with their business ventures by drafting corporate documents including transactional and general contract matters. She has a background in and experience with corporate compliance and medical malpractice reporting.
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Shawnta M. LeftwichEducational programming
Shawnta M. Leftwich is a western Pennsylvania native, raised in Los Angeles, California, and moved to Maryland as an adolescent. She is a proud graduate of Prince George’s County Public Schools (class of 1999) Morgan State University (2003), Bowie State University (2011) and Towson University (2015). Shawnta has a 15+-year career in education, where she has served at all levels K-12 and post-graduate. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Jamaur Law Foundation. |
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Percy MasonFinancial Advisor
Percy Mason brings more than 12 years of financial experience to the Pollard, DiMedio & Associates team. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor in 2020, he was a branch manager at PNC Bank in New Jersey. Percy enjoys working with a diverse clientele that includes business owners, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth families. He is passionate about helping clients create personalized wealth management strategies to pursue their specific life and legacy goals. Percy’s wealth management approach combines old-fashioned hard work with innovative, research-based ideas. He is committed to building authentic, long-term relationships that emphasize active listening to help clients clarify what they want to accomplish with their wealth. Percy also believes in educating clients about complex financial topics to help ensure that wealth management strategies are implemented with mutual understanding. A Pittsburgh native, Percy graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies. |
He lives with his wife and their two young sons in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, where he coaches youth sports. Percy is a founding member of Persevering Against All Circumstances (PAAC), a charitable organization that assists underprivileged families in southeastern Pennsylvania and Central New Jersey.
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Jay WashingtonDiverse Markets Segment
Jay Washington is assistant vice president, Diverse Markets Segment for Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA). Working with Voya’s Corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team, he is a national subject-matter expert, partnering with internal stakeholders including sales, service, operations, legal and product to position Voya to attract and retain diverse clients and provide a consistent experience that speaks to the different needs of these markets from engagement and onboarding and into the ongoing relationship. Jay is a member of Voya’s Growth Office, reporting to the chief client officer. In his down time, Jay enjoys co-parenting his niece (13) and nephew (10) with his mom, participating in his men’s group, and traveling domestically and internationally. Jay also spends quite a bit of his time working on his mental and physical health. Jay graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a second in Journalism. He has an MBA from Point Park College, in addition to his CEBS®, AIF® and RICP®. He has 22 years of financial services experience in sales, operations and service. Previously, he has worked for other recordkeepers, including Vanguard, TIAA and OneAmerica. |
