Board Member
Earl Fowlkes II, currently serves as the President, CEO, and Founder of the Center for Black Equity (CBE), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people worldwide. In that role, he oversees the membership of thirty-five Black LGBT Prides in the United States, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom and managed federal, state, and local grants. Mr. Fowlkes has more than twenty-five years’ experience related to HIV/AIDS prevention and advocacy. Prior to his leadership at CBE, he served as the Executive Director to the D.C. Comprehensive AIDS Resources and Education (DC CARE) Consortium, which supports the HIV/AIDS continuum of care in the District. While at the DC CARE Consortium, he oversaw staff, managed homelessness prevention programs, and convened the HIV/AIDS Food Bank and HIV/AIDS Prevention committees.
He briefly worked in Philadelphia as Interim Administrator for the COLOURS Organization, which empowers LGBTQ+ communities, especially those of the African Diaspora. He managed twenty paid staff and volunteers in that role and was responsible for grant writing and evaluation. Before that time, Mr. Fowlkes served as the Executive Director of Damien Ministries, a faith-based HIV/AIDS service organization in the District, through which he monitored all pastoral care activities at the D.C. Jail.
Mr. Fowlkes has been politically active in the District for over two decades and has served as President of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club since 2014, Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Caucus since 2013, and Chair of the Mayor’s LGBT Advisory Board since 2012.
He has also served on several task forces and boards related to racial, gender, and sexual equity and HIV/AIDS prevention, including the Victory Fund’s Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute Board, 100 Black Men, and the Transgender Health Empowerment Board of Directors. He is currently a member of the Washington AIDS Partnership Steering Committee, a role he has held since 2010. Mr. Fowlkes holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Social Work from City College of New York. He is a Ward 6 resident. Mr. Fowlkes was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser on March 2, 2021, and confirmed by the DC Council for a term ending January 12, 2024.