Dr. Charlene Mickens Dukes

Dr. Charlene Mickens Dukes began her service as interim president at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland on August 7, 2021. Upon her recent retirement from Prince George’s Community College, she received the title of “President Emerita” for her thirteen years of service from July 2007 to August 2020. During her presidency at PGCC, enrollment surged to 44,000 students, served by 6 locations. Her career spanned 42 years, beginning as an admission and financial aid officer at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, continuing at the Community College of Allegheny County in a variety of administrative positions, including dean of Students, and concluding at Prince George’s Community College where she held the position of vice president of Student Services immediately prior to accepting the presidency.

Her associations included chair of the Board of the American Association of Community Colleges, founding faculty of the Leadership Institute of the National Council on Student Development, board member of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, committee service for the American Council on Education, convener of the Presidents Round Table for African-American CEOs in Community Colleges, member of the Maryland Community College Council of Presidents, and board service for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Institute of Higher Education Policy. Additionally, she served on the Prince George’s County Board of Education and the Maryland State Board of Education, where she was president for the last three years of her appointed term.

She currently serves as chair of the Board of the Meyer Foundation, vice chair of the CareFirst, Inc. Board of Directors, secretary of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, , and member of the Board of Venture Philanthropy Partners. Dr. Dukes is a mentor for the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship Program and a member of the Board of Visitors for the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She was appointed, in July 2020, by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to serve as co-chair of Prince George’s Forward, a taskforce charged with the post-COVID transformation of Prince George’s County, Maryland. More than 90 recommendations across the areas of health equity, education, human and social services, economic recovery, and continuity of government services were presented, accepted, and funded at a cost exceeding $50M.

A lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Dr. Dukes serves on the National Board of Directors and maintains her local membership in the Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter. She is also a member of the Prince George’s County (MD) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated.

Dr. Dukes is the founder and principal of The Dukes Group LLC, specializing in executive coaching, board development, strategy, equity and inclusion, and advocacy. She is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.