Uncrowned Community Builders

Oklahoma native Barbara A. McKinzie is the International Vice President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She became the 27th International President in 2006 and will presided over the Centennial Celebration in 2008.

She is a Certified Public Accountant and has held Investment Advisor licenses in most states. She has served in high-level financial management positions at Coopers & Lybrand, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Salomon Smith Barney, Hollywood Casino Corporation-Shreveport, Louisiana and as Chief Financial Officer of the Cook County Forest Preserve District. She currently serves as the Comptroller for the Chicago Housing Authority, the third-largest public housing system in the U.S.
McKinzie is also a partner in Esbarkin LLC, a real estate investment firm.

In these high-level financial positions, she has managed multi million dollar portfolios and billion dollar operating budgets. Her financial savvy, business acumen and commitment to fiscal responsibility have saved these financial titans over $100 million.

Mckinzie's professional triumphs have earned her prestigious designations and honors including selection as one of the Top 25 Outstanding Business Women of 2002 by the New York Network Journal; a listing in the International Who's Who of Professionals in the World, Midwest and Business; Outstanding Service Award from the Certified Public Accounts Society, and 2001 Woman of the Year from the American Biographical Institute.

Ms. McKinzie has devoted over 25 years to Alpha Kappa Alpha and is currently on its board of directors. She has single handedly donated, raised and executed plans that have generated millions of dollars for Alpha Kappa Alpha. Her devotion to the Sorority has earned her a host of honors.

She has earned particular acclaim for her financial vision. During her term as Executive Director and Chief Administrative Officer of Alpha Kappa Alpha, she launched fiscal initiatives that generated income for the Sorority, while putting in place measures designed to streamline costs.
During this same period, she administered the successful fund raising effort that generated $2.5 million for the financing of the new international headquarters. She negotiated a five-year contract with the Department of Labor that enabled AKA to operate several programs designed to enhance the quality of life of the less fortunate. She was also Financial Advisor to the 20th and 21st International Presidents.

In 1998, she was elected the Sorority's International Treasurer. On the strength of her fiscal integrity, and innovative financial programs she implemented, she ran unopposed in 2000 to a second two-year term. In this position, she continued to implement initiatives that made the sorority fiscally vibrant. She also chaired a Strategic Planning Committee that issued a host of recommendations that will fortify Alpha Kappa Alpha for decades to come.

She is committed to nurturing leadership skills in our youth and preparing them for the responsibilities of the future. To this end, she mentors young people and instills them with skills to prepare them to be our future leaders. She served as chairman of the board of three community organizations whose missions mirror her goal to improve the plight of our youth, the community and the collective society. In 2004 McKinzie was appointed to the board of Africare.

Barbara McKinzie holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and graduated cum laude from East Central University where she is a past recipient of the school's Outstanding Graduate Award.