National Leadership
Chantel Grant is a single mother to one daughter and grandmother to an adorable grandson. She was born and bred in the state of New York. Her greatest aspiration is to live a life filled with unwavering faith. She is currently serving in the Army Reserves and retires April 2022. Unofficially, while going through the Diamond Development phase of Iota Gamma Psi’s initiation, her line dubbed her as the “Clutch” of the line because she is always supportive and understanding while still maintaining that sense of accountability to her own obligations. She is also a very compassionate person often making people feel comfortable. Her excellence is her wisdom and ability to help you reach a goal, while fighting her own battles. Her heart is pure, and it shows in everything she does. She’s kind and sincere and will give you her last without even thinking about it. When she chooses to love, she loves wholeheartedly, and you can’t be around her and not be amazed. She believes in being grounded in the Lord, which is why she chose to join Iota Gamma Psi. She is the National Leadership President and also the Cinco of the NL-Δ SMR20’s Prestigiou5 Diamonds. She was given the name E5tym'd Diamond because of all of the great characteristics and traits listed above. Lastly, her goal is to be an aid for other service members. She wants to stand as a liaison between the military and resources provided to members going through the life/military transitions.
Reese Ferguson was born in New York City, she was raised all over the country. She is Haitian, Sicilian, and African American. She is married to an active-duty Soldier with 5 children. She is a Clinician and works at a hospital is Savannah Georgia where she specializes in Medical Artificial Intelligence. She is currently volunteering with United Way and is also a captain with the March of Dimes for women who have lost a child from miscarriages and stillborn babies. Her goal is to inspire and empower women all over the world, leaving a message of positivity. Her aspiration is to show girls of color they can make it in the healthcare field.
Soror Ferguson can sing, play the clarinet, and write poetry. Her hobbies are reading, coloring and crossword puzzles. Her reason for joining the sorority is because she wanted a sisterhood with the military lifestyle. She hopes to provide fresh ideas to any task she is put on and be an outreach sector for the military community. Soror Ferguson is now the Vice President of Iota Gamma Psi. She is the Deuce on the NL-Δ SMR20’s Prestigiou5 Diamonds and her line name is N'Flu2ntial Diamond.
Ericka Jones was born in Columbia, SC and was the 1st Soror that joined as a spouse and although she never physically served, she served her country by supporting her disabled army veteran. She was #7 on Iota Gamma Psi’s alpha line, 8 Qualifications of a Diamond, and completed her initiation Spring of 2018.
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She has served as the Membership Director and member of the recruiting team from 2018-2021 and currently serves as the National Secretary. She has always been willing to assist in the betterment of the organization wherever needed.
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After losing her husband in 2017 she has made caring for others her main priority. Her motto is “Live life to the fullest, love hard, and laugh even harder! She has been a licensed cosmetologist for 20 years and business owner for the past 13 years. By volunteering in her surrounding communities she has had the privilege of mentoring other young stylists, business owners, and young girls with a dream of joining the beauty industry.
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She is a member of the “8 Qualifications of a Diamond” SPR18 line. As the Lucky 7 of the line, she obtained the name of Radian7 Diamond from her line sisters because of her shining personality and glowing smile. In all situations good or bad, she still manages to let her light shine. She is constant in her conviction to stay strong, stand tall, and keep moving forward
Brandy Crawford was born on 10 September in San Antonio, TX. While in the military, she worked in the CID office for most of her 20-year career in the United States Army. She is now retired and living in Virginia, with her two daughters. She is still working in the criminal field and is working on her associate degree in criminal justice and currently holds a bachelor’s degree in theology, to help enhance her career. Brandy has volunteered at homeless shelters, shelters for battered women and has also volunteered with prison ministry. Her goals and aspirations are to finish her degree in criminal investigation/justice and to excel in her current field. She wants to encourage young girls and women to recognize that for every negative situation they may find themselves in, there is always something positive that will result in the end.
One of her hobbies consist of being an event planner/coordinator. Her claim to fame talents are her cooking skills and making everyone she comes in contact with smile. Once you meet her, there is no way you can be in her presence and not have a good laugh or smile. She enjoys watching and playing sports, with football being her favorite. Her reasons for wanting to join Iota Gamma Psi was to gain sisters and build an unbreakable sisterhood along the way. She also wanted to surround herself with an environment of other positive women and build on making others that cannot see a silver lining in their life because she feels that there is always something positive in the end, even if other women can’t see it. Brandy is the Tre on the NL-Δ SMR20’s Prestigiou5 Diamonds and her line name is Kl3ar'Kut Diamond.
Denise Jones (Bio coming soon)
Tamika Thompson joined the sorority and is the 1st DOD civilian. She is a Youth Program assistant at Stout’s Child Development Center. She has worked with children for 12 years has worked at Stout for three of those years. One of her ultimate goals is to start her own Christian private school. Her aspiration is to create a program for young single mothers on basic life needs such as budgeting, managing income, self-help skills and most important showing them how to love themselves and building confidence.
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She is currently serving as the Chaplain of Iota Gamm Psi and has served as the Sorority Step Master and Chief Information Officer. She is the Tre of the Spring 19, My Sisters Keeper line. Her line name is Persist3nt Diamond. She joined this sorority because she wanted to be part of an organization that put a positive light on Strong women and their goals. She is a member of the Praise Team at New Life Bible Church and has also volunteered at Salvation Army, Goodwill, Harvest Preparatory Academy and Food for Harvest. She may not have all the time in the world, but she does not mind helping in the community. She is the kind of women who is determined to see change and works hard to see those changes.
Dakera White was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She has been in the Army for seven years. She is currently Unit Supply NCOIC where she is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She has been married to her husband Nikko for six years. She has two sons Kaleb and Kase. She enjoys playing volleyball, which she played in high school and college. She also enjoys hiking. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in biology. Her line named is Precious Diamond and she is the Ace of her line. She received her line name because she was soft spoken and her smile. She is currently serving as the Chief Information Officer.
Dawn Staten-Drakeford was born and reared in “The Bronx” located in New York City in 1964. Both of her biological parents are deceased. Her mother died in 2016 and her father died in 2018. She is the oldest of six children and has 23 nieces and nephews. In 1990, she became Mrs. Drakeford and she and her husband have been married for 31 years with 25 years, as a military family. They had two daughters, Jasmine (deceased) and Ashleigh (31 yrs. Old). Unfortunately, Jasmine unexpectedly died at the age of 28 on April 2, 2014. Dawn has five grandsons (15, 12, 9, 8, and 5). She is a Breast Cancer Warrior and still striving to remain in remission. During her cancer battle, she embraced the Islamic faith and have been practicing for 11 years. Her strength comes from the Lord and her way of life, Islam. She has a Master of Science degree in Clinical Counseling with a specialty in mental health. She is also Licensed as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a Clinical Addictions Specialist Associate. In addition, she is a National Certified Counselor, Tricare Certified Mental Health Counselor, Certified Clinical Domestic Violence Counselor, and a Multi-systemic Therapist for Problem Sexual Behaviors in juveniles.
She can remember as a teenager, dreaming that one day, she would become an entrepreneur; her dream is no longer a dream, it is a reality. On April 17, 2017, she founded and established Living Anew Wellness Center, PLLC an outpatient behavioral health agency providing mental and behavioral health counseling/psychotherapy to all populations in need. Soror Drakeford is the deuce of the 2 Incredible Diamonds line and her line name is Lum1nous Diamond. She is the 1st Islamic Faith Soror to join Iota Gamma Psi.