2025 Leadership Award Honorees

Janet S. Currie is president of Bank of America, Greater Maryland, and the market executive for the Local Markets Organization.

As President of Bank of America, Greater Maryland, she is responsible for connecting banking and investment resources offered through the bank’s eight lines of business to people and companies across the region. She also leads the effort to deploy Bank of America’s resources to help advance economic mobility and build strong communities.

As the Market Executive, she leads Bank of America’s community opportunity work in the region, leveraging the capabilities of the company to help partners, people, and communities more effectively address a wide range of issues.

During her more than 30-year career in financial services, Janet has held a number of key executive roles including National Banking Group Support executive responsible for supporting the operations of 5,800 financial centers and owning significant processes in the Bank of America acquisition of FleetBoston Financial. She has also served as Consumer Market Executive responsible for the sales and operations of the Greater Baltimore financial centers, Premier Banking executive responsible for wealth management sales and operations, and Consumer Mortgage Area Executive leading local home loan sales.

Before joining Bank of America in 1993, Janet worked for JP Morgan in New York.

Janet holds a Master of Science degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and a graduate of both Leadership Howard County and the Greater Baltimore Committee’s LEADERship programs. Janet has served on numerous local boards and currently serves on the board of the Maryland Bankers Association as Chair, the Greater Baltimore Committee as Secretary, Cherry Hill Strong, Baltimore Workforce Development, and the Baltimore Convention and Tourism board. She Co-Chairs the Greater Baltimore Committee’s Baltimore Women’s Advisory Board.

Within Bank of America, Janet serves as the Co-Executive Sponsor for LEAD for Women, an employee network dedicated to connecting, developing, and elevating women to enable them to make meaningful contributions within Bank of America and the communities we serve.

Janet is the recipient of many prestigious awards and recognitions, including the Daily Record Influential Marylander award, the Daily Record Power 30 Banking & Finance professional, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award, the Baltimore Sun 25 Women to Watch award, the Baltimore Business Journal Power 10 award, and the Daily Record Maryland’s Top 100 Women award.

Angela Franco is the President and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) in Maryland, where she leads the region’s business community in shaping policy, fostering partnerships, and advancing programs that drive economic growth and opportunity. Under her leadership, MCCC serves as a strong and trusted advocate, representing Montgomery County at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure a prosperous and sustainable future.

Previously, Ms. Franco served as President and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce, where she positioned the Chamber as a leading voice for businesses across the region and developed innovative programs to support growth and advocacy. She also played pivotal leadership roles at the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority and the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, revitalizing organizations and strengthening their impact. Earlier in her career, she held senior management positions in Bogotá, Colombia.

A recognized leader in the Washington metropolitan area, Ms. Franco has been named to the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100 list in both 2022 and 2023 and Women Who Mean Business in 2021. She also contributes her expertise as a Board Member for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Co-Chair of Leadership Council for the Kid Museum, and Ex-Officio Board Member for Junior Achievement of Greater Washington.

Ms. Franco is a graduate of both Leadership Montgomery and Leadership Greater Washington. She earned a Master of Science in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.

Dr. Charlene Mickens Dukes served Prince George’s Community College as the first female president from July 1, 2007 to August 10, 2020. Upon retirement, she received the title of “President Emerita” for her thirteen years of service. During her presidency at PGCC, enrollment surged to 44,000 students and 2800 employees, served by six 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. Dr. Dukes also acted as interim president at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland from August 2021 to February 2022.

Her service in higher education includes chair of the Board of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC); member, Executive Committee of AACC and the Association of Community College Trustees(ACCT); 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 National Council on Black American Affairs, AACC; chair 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.

Dr. Dukes is the immediate past chair of the CareFirst, Inc. Board of Directors; past chair of the Meyer Foundation; past secretary of the Greater Washington Community Foundation; and past member of the Board of Venture Philanthropy Partners. Dr. Dukes served as a mentor for the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship Program, on the Advisory Board of the Belk Center at North Carolina State University, and as the vice chair of the Board of Trustees for Excelsior College.  Currently, she is a member of the Board of Visitors for the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh and the School of Education at Howard University.

She has received numerous accolades and awards for her contributions to higher education and the greater community. In 2021, Dr. Dukes was selected as “Leader of the Year” by the American Association of Community Colleges. In 2020, she was recognized, nationally, by the Network Journal as one of “25 African-American Women in Business.” She was named a “2016 Washingtonian of the Year,” inducted in the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013, and listed as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the Washington region in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

She is the founder and principal of The Dukes Group LLC, a higher education consulting firm specializing in board development, presidential searches, executive coaching,  strategy and planning, equity and inclusion, and advocacy. She is a  consultant for the Association of Community College Trustees and former senior advisor for Education Strategy Group, LLC. Dr. Dukes has taught in the community college doctoral programs at Morgan State University, University of Maryland Global Campus, and North Carolina State University. She is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and a member of the Prince George’s County (MD) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated.

Danielle Thumann
Senior Counsel
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr