Barbara McKinzie Biography

Barbara A. McKinzie is Alpha Kappa Alpha's twenty-seventh International President, who served from 2006 to 2010. Born in Oklahoma, McKinzie has a B.S. degree from East Central University as well as an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. She is a twenty-five-year member of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), and is a member of the sorority's board of directors. In addition, she was the sorority's fourth Executive Director from 1985 to 1987. Later, McKinzie was the sorority's International Treasurer from 1998 to 2002, before becoming the sorority's International Vice-President from 2002 to 2006. She is a certified public accountant and former Comptroller at the Chicago Housing Authority. According to the sorority's IRS filing as a 501(c)3 organization, McKinzie's compensation by AKA was $375,000 in 2007.

2006"2010 administration

During her administration as International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, McKinzie implemented "The Heart of ESP: An Extraordinary Service Program." ESP is an acronym for Economics, Sisterhood, and Partnerships. The five platforms included in the International Program and implemented in the Ivy Reading AKAdemy are:

• Platform I - Non-Traditional Entrepreneur
• Platform II - Economic Keys to Success
• Platform III - The Economic Growth of the Black Family
• Platform IV - Undergraduate Signature Program: Economic Educational Advancement Through Technology
• Platform V - Health Resource Management and Economics

Lawsuit to remove McKinzie

In July 2009, eight members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sued the sorority to have McKinzie removed as president. They alleged that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of organization funds on personal items, including jewelry and clothing. Further, the suit alleged that the AKA board approved a "pension stipend" of $4,000 a month for four years after McKinzie leaves office without the necessary approval of members, and that a $1 million life insurance policy was purchased for her. McKinzie was also accused of spending $900,000 on a life-sized wax statue of herself. McKinzie responded that $45 thousand was actually spent on statues of herself and the sorority's first International President, the late Nellie Quander. McKinzie said the expenses were "consistent with furthering AKA's mission," and that the lawsuit was "without merit." The plaintiffs additionally claimed that under McKinzie AKA lost large sums in investments.

In October 2009, legal counsel for AKA sent a letter to the plaintiffs' attorneys demanding that a web site supporting the lawsuit be removed from the Internet, but the web site, Friends of the Weeping Ivy, remained online.

After the lawsuit had been dismissed in February 2010, it was reinstated in 2011 by an appeals court.