Dayton NAACP Keeps Foward at Helm for Term

Dayton organizations partnering on education and voter outreach can plan around a stable leadership slate starting January 1, 2027.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in People

Isometric editorial illustration of an empty wooden chair pulled from a long wooden table in a civic meeting hall, suggesting organizational continuity. — Derrick L. Foward was reelected president of the Dayton Branch NAACP on Tuesday for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2027, extending his tenure into its 21st year. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Derrick L. Foward was reelected president of the Dayton Branch NAACP for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2027, and the branch selected its 2027-2028 leadership team. The reelection extends his tenure into its 21st year for operators and civic organizations tracking local leadership continuity in Dayton.

Why it matters

Foward first took the branch presidency in November 2006, and this is his 11th term, signaling sustained leadership continuity at a local civil rights organization. For Dayton businesses and nonprofits that engage with the branch on education, criminal justice, and voter outreach, the stable leadership slate sets the agenda partners can plan around for the next two years.

Foward's reelection marks his 11th term and his 21st year as president, while the branch reports 3,200 discrimination complaints investigated and 6,200 voters registered during his tenure. The branch also invested $256,800 in youth and scholarship programs and elected fifteen additional members to its Executive Committee. The source does not provide prior-period or benchmark comparators for these totals.

The players

Dayton Branch NAACP

The local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization focused on education, criminal justice, and voter engagement in Dayton, Ohio.

Derrick L. Foward

The branch president since 2006, whose tenure includes oversight of discrimination complaint investigations, voter registration drives, and youth and scholarship investments.

The details

Members voted to reelect Foward for another two-year term, and fifteen additional members were elected to the branch's Executive Committee alongside a slate of officers. The new officers include Tom Roberts as first vice president, Dr. Rhonda Gullette as second vice president, Willie A. Terrell Jr. as third vice president, Colin L. Kimuli as secretary, Lynn Cooper as assistant secretary, and Dinah M. Williams as treasurer. The branch states it will continue focusing on education, criminal justice reform, police accountability, and voter engagement during the new term.

November 2006: Foward first took the Dayton Branch NAACP presidency.
January 1, 2027: Foward's new two-year term begins.
2027-2028: The newly selected leadership team takes office.

Market Landscape

The reelection extends Derrick L. Foward's presidency, first begun in November 2006, into its 21st year and 11th term at the Dayton Branch NAACP. Continuity of this kind keeps the branch's programmatic priorities on education, criminal justice reform, and voter engagement stable for the 2027-2028 term.

Dayton organizations partnering with the branch on education, criminal justice, or voter engagement should align planning with the 2027-2028 leadership slate taking office January 1, 2027. Operators and nonprofits should confirm points of contact with the newly elected officers and the Executive Committee before the term begins.

The takeaway

Stable leadership across a two-year term gives local partners a predictable contact structure to plan around. Organizations engaging the Dayton Branch NAACP should note the new officer roster and reconfirm relationships before January 1, 2027.