Gwendolyn Manning is a visionary in preventive health with over 30 years of experience advancing health equity in underserved communities. Since 1999, she has served in leadership roles with the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, including as Program Coordinator for the Black Infant Health (BIH) Program since 2009. In this role, she leads a multidisciplinary team delivering culturally affirming care to Black pregnant and parenting participants. She also coordinates the statewide BIH Public Awareness Campaign which mobilizes media, community partnerships, and culturally centered messaging to reduce birth disparities and improve outcomes for Black mothers and babies across California.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gwendolyn was appointed Deputy Equity Officer for the City’s COVID-19 response. She worked to co-develop the City’s Racial and Health Equity framework, facilitating the Black Health Equity Fund which provided critical physical and mental health resources to the Long Beach Black community.

Gwendolyn recently spearheaded the development of The Nleta Project, a home visitation program that supports long-term wellness for BIH graduates and their families. A creative spirit, Gwendolyn enjoys writing and finds her greatest joy in time spent with her grandchildren.

On February 1, 2011, James T. Butts, Jr. was sworn in as Inglewood’s 12th Mayor. James Butts has 53 years of experience in public safety and municipal government. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from California State University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic University. Mayor Butts has held the rank of CEO, general manager, or assistant general manager of three large municipal organizations. He served 19 years in the Inglewood Police Department, rising to the rank of Deputy Chief, 15 years as the Chief of Police for the City of Santa Monica, and five years as an assistant general manager for Los Angeles World Airports in charge of Public Safety and Counterterrorism, taking LAX to a NUMBER 1 ranking nationwide by the TSA in 2009. He is an 11-year Board member and past Chairman of the Los Angeles METRO Board of Directors.

In 2011, Mayor Butts negotiated with Madison Square Garden to renovate the Forum. In 2016, the Forum became the #1 concert venue in California. Mayor Butts secured the reinstatement of the then-federally defunded Residential Sound Insulation Program by securing over $100 million in grant funding. Inglewood now operates the #1 Residential Sound Insulation Program in the country. On November 4, 2014, James T. Butts was re-elected Mayor of Inglewood with over 83% of the votes cast—the highest margin of victory in Inglewood electoral history. He was re-elected in 2018 and again in 2022 to a 4th term.

For 10 consecutive years (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025), Mayor Butts was named one of the 500 most influential leaders in LA County by the Los Angeles Business Journal. His business expertise prevented bankruptcy in a city that Bond Rating agencies had ceased to rate for bond worthiness as late as 2010. Our bond rating is AA+ at present. The City’s reserve fund balance exceeds 100% of its annual operating fund. The City, as of 3/28/25, has more liquidity in reserves than Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverley Hills, or Torrance. Under his leadership, the unemployment rate in Inglewood dropped from 17.5% when he took office in February of 2011 to 4.7% by 2022.

Veteran and iconic actress, Vanessa Bell Calloway, can currently be seen continuing her lead/female lead role in season 2 of the hit Netflix series. On the show she plays the fan favorite role as Vince’s sharp, no-nonsense mother, ‘Anita Staples,’ delivering the humor, warmth, and authenticity that made her a standout in season one of the popular series. “The Vince Staples Show,” season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

Vanessa can also most recently be seen in the smash hit film ONE OF THEM DAYS, a feature pro-duced by Issa Rae’s ColorCreative and Sony, starring Keke Palmer and four-time Grammy Award winner SZA. She also stars in the NAACP Image Award-nominated series “The Black Hamp-tons,” now streaming on BET. She is a producer and co-star of “Whicked City” on ALLBLK. Vanessa also directed, produced, and co-starred in “Black Girl Erupted,” a TV movie streaming on BET and BET Her. She recurred in the final season of NBC’s hit drama “This Is Us,” and starred as the matriarch Lady Ella for six seasons on Bounce TV’s one-hour hit drama “Saints & Sinners,” now streaming on Hulu.

Film credits include THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (Lionsgate), “QUEENS OF CHRISTMAS,” A HOLIDAY CHANCE, AMERICAN SKIN, COMING TO AMERICA, COMING 2 AMERICA, HARRIET, SOUTH SIDE WITH YOU, WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, BIKER BOYZ, DAYLIGHT, CRIMSON TIDE, THE BROTHERS, LOVE DON’T COST A THING, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, and THE INKWELL.

Her extensive television credits include “Sacrifice,” “Games People Play,” Grand Crew,” “Shame-less,” “Black Monday,” “Kenan,” “Queen Sugar,” “Unbelievable,” “Love Is,” “Survivor’s Re-morse,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” “Hawthorne RN,” “The Closer,” “NCIS,” “Castle,” and “The Temptations,” among many others.

Vanessa has earned eight NAACP Image Award nominations and won the NAACP Theater Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of ‘Zora Neale Hurston’ in her critically acclaimed one-woman play Letters From Zora. In 2024 she performed in a six-month Broadway run in the hit multi-nominated Tony Award play, Purlie Victorious, starring Tony Award nominated actor Leslie Odom Jr. and Tony Award winner Kara Young at The Music Box Theater.

An original cast member of the Broadway hit “Dreamgirls,” Vanessa has also starred in “Seven Guitars” at Kenny Leon’s August Wilson 20th Century Theater Festival at The Kennedy Center, as well as Los Angeles productions of “The Piano Lesson,” “The Divorce,” and “Crowns.” A profes-sional concert dancer for many years, Vanessa can be seen performing alongside her two daugh-ters, Ashley and Alexandra, in a viral YouTube video set to Regina Belle’s “If I Could.”
Vanessa has directed episodes of “Saints & Sinners,” “Some Day at Christmas” (TV One), and a short film for BET Her’s health initiative, “A Long Look in the Mirror.” She also created and pro-duced two hit web series, “In the Company of Friends” and “Cookin’ & Hookin’ Up,” along with her blog talk radio show, “That’s So Very Vanessa.” All are available on demand at www.inthecompanyoffriends.tv.

A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Vanessa has been married to her husband, Dr. Tony Calloway, for 37 years. They reside in Los Angeles, California.