Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 6-21-19

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2019
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Tampa Chapter The Links, Inc. Increases Its Membership With Induction Of 3 Daughters
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
On Saturday, June 8, 2019, the Tampa Chapter of The Links, Inc. welcomed three new members into its sisterhood.
They are Dr. Misha Davis Harding, Jemelle Wilds, and Jeria Wilds, Esq. All three inductees are daughters of Link members and look forward to sharing the legacy of service with their mothers.
Jeria and Jemelle Wilds are the daughters of Tampa natives, Link Ozepher Wilds and the late Jetie B. Wilds. They were born in West Virginia, but raised primarily in Co- lumbia, Maryland before re- locating to Tampa to be near their parents.
Link Jeria Wilds is an attorney with the State At- torney’s office. She is the Chief of Problem-Solving Courts, which includes the felony drug division, the Veteran’s Treatment Court, as well as the Mental Health Division.
Link Jeria is responsi- ble for implementation of alternative sentencing which focuses on treatment, rather than incarceration. Through her position, she is implementing a necessary step in ongoing criminal jus- tice reform efforts in the of- fice. In her previous position with the office, she was responsible for prose- cuting major felonies in- cluding drug trafficking, armed robberies, and homi- cides.
Prior to moving to Tampa in 2005, Jeria was a Major in the United States Army Judge Advocate Gen- eral’s Corps.
Link Jeria received her Bachelor of Arts degree
Newly inducted Links, Jemelle Wilds, Dr. Misha Harding, and Atty. Jeria Wilds. All are daughters of Links.
Link Ozepher Wilds (center), with her daughters, Links Jemelle Wilds and Jeria Wilds.
from the University of Penn- sylvania, with a major in Po- litical Science and African American Studies. At the University of Pennsylvania, she was captain of the Women’s Track Team, and received an Army R. O. T. C. scholarship and was com- missioned as a second lieu- tenant upon graduation. Jeria earned her law degree from the University of Cali- fornia at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. At Boalt Hall, Jeria was elected as the first Black female presi- dent of the law school stu- dent body.
Link Jeria is a founding member of the Florida ERA Coalition, whose mission is to pass a federal constitu- tional equal rights amend- ment; the Florida Democratic Lawyers Coun- sel’s Voter Protection Team, the George Edgecomb Bar Association and past co- chair of the TOBA MLK Breakfast.
She is a supporter of sev- eral grassroots organiza- tions and initiatives including, Moms Demand Action Against Gun Vio- lence, the Women’s March, and the push to fight felon
disenfranchisement in Florida. She is currently on the Advisory Board of the Central City YMCA.
She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, In- corporated, and a member of Bible-Based Fellowship Church.
Link Jeria is the mother of one son, Julian. Link Jemelle Wilds
works for Career Source Tampa Bay as a Human Re- source professional where she has received numerous awards and accommoda- tions. In her present posi- tion as Special Projects Program Manager, she is re- sponsible for managing a Resource Center in East Tampa that serves as a focal point for youth and adults interested in vocational training, performance man- agement and center produc- tivity.
Link Jemelle attended Spelman College, where she graduated Cum Laude.
She has recently received a certificate of appreciation for her work in 2018 with the Hillsborough County Parenting and Resource Coalition, as well as recogni- tion from a ministry at
Bible-Based Fellowship Church.
Jemelle’s passion is ed- ucating young people and serving her community. She is a member of Toastmas- ters International, THHI, and has participated as a member of the board of the YMCA. She is also a professional member of the Hillsborough County Par- enting Resource Coalition and the Hillsborough HealthyTeen Network.
She attends Grace Fam- ily Church.
Link Jemelle is the mother of one son, Jordan. Link Misha Davis Harding was born and raised in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, where she lived until late 2018. She is the daugh- ter of Link Mary Lynn Davis of the Beverly Hills (CA) Chapter of The Links,
Inc.
Misha moved to Tampa
with her pilot husband,
Commander Ronald R. Harding, Jr., U. S. Navy (Ret.) and their blended family of four children. A newlywed, she reunited with her college sweetheart 25 years after they met.
Link Misha has a Bach-
elor’s degree in Psychology from Hampton University and received her MA from California State University at Fullerton. Link Misha has a Ph.D. in Organiza- tional Management and Consulting from Phillips Graduate University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
In her professional life, Link Misha is the Princi- pal Strategic Advisor of Crown Executive Strategies, LLC. She is an Organiza- tional Psychologist. She works with top Forbes 100 companies and small busi- ness owners to develop or- ganizational strategies.
Link Misha previously held the position of VP of Organizational Develop- ment for a healthcare non- profit and served on the Board of Directors, support- ing the organization in lead- ership development and strategic advising.
In addition, she has owned and operated a suc- cessful, fully licensed finan- cial services firm developing brokers and their teams.
Link Misha and her husband attend Anchor Point Church.