Board Members
Founder/Executive Director | Derek T. Griffin
Derek T. Griffin, the founder of Griffstar Community Foundation, is the CEO of Derek Todd Agency INC. He has tremendous expertise in business development with over 25 years of corporate experience in the industries of Telecommunications with AT&T, Banking and Finance, Insurance and Bonding, and also served as National Sales Director for NCAA Collegiate Sports and Marketing at HOST Communications. Mr. Griffin also serves as Managing Partner of Grifkin & Associates which is a tax credit consulting firm and is a Managing Partner of Housemen Investments, LLC of Atlanta.
Mr. Griffin graduated from Morehouse College, Class of ‘89 with a BA degree in Marketing. He has been married for 32 years to Lisa Griffin with three children, Darien, Blake, and Kennedy. He also serves as the Lead Pastor at Lakewin Christian Center in Riverdale, GA.
Chairman | Terry L. Baskin, Ph.D.
The Honorable Terry L. Baskin was elected in 2004 as the first African-American Tax Commissioner in the history of Clayton County, which is the sixth largest county in the state of Georgia. He's only the fifth Tax Commissioner elected since the county’s inception, Baskin is completing his fourth four (4) year term, Commissioner Baskin oversees the largest multi-million dollar revenue operation for the county, cities, and school system. He also specializes in real and personal property taxes, along with motor vehicle and bankruptcy laws.
Baskin has an extensive background in accounting skills. He began as an account specialist with the Atlanta Police Department where he managed over $10,000,000 for the field operations division. He also prepared, administered, and represented the police department in the budgetary hearings before the City Council of Atlanta. He later became a budget analyst for the county of Clayton, where he worked extensively for the commissioned chair on balancing the county’s $142,000,000 budget prior to becoming the Chief Deputy Tax Commissioner.
Baskin continued his education by attending the Georgia Military College with a concentration in accounting. He received his bachelor’s degree from World Changers Bible College. He also received both his Master’s and Doctorate’s Degree in Theology from Restoration Theological Seminary, which both institutions are state accredited.
Currently, Baskin, a long-time member of the Georgia Association of Tax Officials, along with the Constitutional Officer Association of Georgia, is also the co-creator and ex-officio member of the Clayton county land bank and serves on the Clayton county’s Chief Financial Officer’s committee as Chairman, and the county’s solid waste board member.
Commissioner Baskin just celebrated his 28th wedding anniversary with his lovely wife, Dr. Lycynthia Baskin. They have one child, Rachel and they are members of Lakewin Christian Center International where Baskin serves as Associate Pastor.
Vice Chairman | Felton Magee, Jr.
Felton Magee, Jr. is a dynamic leader, change agent and President & CEO of Regent Healthcare Holdings, Inc. Regent has two companies, Regent Healthcare, Inc. a private pay home care company and Regent Healthcare Medicaid, Inc., a State of Maryland Medicaid waiver company. Regent carries the State of Maryland’s highest level of Home care licensure, thereby enabling the delivery of skilled nursing services, medication management and personal care. Regent is also Joint Commission accredited and is laser focused on “Serving the greatest number of people with the greatest need.” As President & CEO, Mr. Magee is responsible for developing, institutionalizing, and executing the organizations vision, mission and core values.
Mr. Magee has implemented an aggressive growth strategy that consists of organic growth, geographic growth, and growth through acquisition. Under his leadership Regent has successfully expanded its geographic footprint from Central Maryland to now include Southern Maryland and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Mr. Magee has completed two acquisitions, one in each of the targeted geographic expansion areas.
Mr. Magee is an expert in program and project management, fiscal operations and organizational strategy, design, implementation and achieving organizational efficiency and effectiveness. He has been successful developing organizational strategy, facilitating organizational development and managing projects with rapid deployment, multi-state, complex event sequencing, technology integration, training and policy and procedure development. Mr. Magee has delivered tangible results in all roles and positions held with the ability to inspire and manage staff and peers to achieve meaningful and measurable results.
In his most recent public sector role (2010 to 2014), Mr. Magee managed a team that relocated to the Virgin Island where he served as the Program Manager and Third-Party Fiduciary Agent for the Virgin Islands Dept. of Education (VIDE) & the Virgin Islands Dept. of Human Services (VIDHS). He was responsible for implementing fiscal management processes and controls over 22 federally funded programs to ensure these high-risk grantees met federal compliance, reporting and transparency requirements. In addition to managing the accurate disbursement of over $200 million dollars in federal grant dollars. The program under Mr. Magee’s management consistently achieved a clean audit performed by Ernst & Young and included Procurement, Grant Management, Asset Management and Accounting & Reporting operations.
Mr. Magee is a 2019 graduate of the Leadership Maryland Program and currently serves as the President of his condominium association and Board member of the Maryland National Capital Home Care Association. Mr. Magee is also the creator of the apparel brand Unity. Unity is a brand, a cause, and a lifestyle. It is a socially conscience apparel brand rooted in the belief that focusing on our common humanity is the key to achieving Unity in every CommUNITY.
Mr. Magee is a United States Air Force Veteran, certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and has a B.S. in Banking & Finance from Bowie State University, and an M.B.A. from Loyola University.
Member | Rafiq Ahmad
Rafiq Ahmad is currently the Special Agent in Charge at the Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, Atlanta Regional Office. Mr. Ahmad has 34 years of government service, having previously worked as a Special Agent and Resident Agent in Charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, beginning his career in bureau headquarters in 1987. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Mr.Ahmad graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute the age of sixteen and earned a Bachelor's degree inCriminal Justice from the University of Maryland, and his Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and Training from Seton Hall University.
Mr. Ahmad has been a stalwart in the community serving as a mentor to young men and women in the greater Atlanta community. Mr. Ahmad frequently provides lectures to youth on the importance of decisions and consequences and the value of making quality decisions. Mr. Ahmad provides lectures in life skills, bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community, peer pressure and the importance of education. Mr. Ahmad is also a successful entrepreneur, who currently owns several local businesses.
Mr. Ahmad is a member of the 100 Black Men of South Metro and is the current President of the South Metro Atlanta Chapter and is the current President of the Georgia Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Mr. Ahmad is a member of ASIS, Atlanta Metropol and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
Member | Darien A. Griffin
Darien Alexander Griffin is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Morehouse College, where he majored in Computer Science. He is the oldest of three siblings.
Darien is currently the CEO of his family-owned record label, Griffstar Entertainment, LLC where he is responsible for the daily operations and management. His “Get it done right the first time” attitude and work ethic has afforded him the opportunity to surround himself with some very influential and “heavy hitters” in the entertainment industry. He also serves as the Lead Chauffeur for North Point Global Transportation.
Some of Darien’s past and present accomplishments include, but not limited to, being selected as a participant in the National Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, served as Student Ambassador for the United States where he traveled abroad to Europe, served as a Congressional Page for Congressman David Scott of the 13th district and interned for VMWare/AirWatch (Fortune 100 company). He was also featured in a published book for “Most Outstanding African American” students.
In addition to his accomplishments, Darien was recently appointed to serve as the youngest Board Member for Griffstar Community Foundation. His love for people, ability to communicate and interact with individuals at all levels has afforded him the opportunity to excel and gain the respect to achieve his goals.
Member | Mr. Creed Pannell, Jr.
Mr. Creed Pannell, Jr. has a background as an entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. With a reputation as a true visionary, he is recognized in the business community as an astute and influential business man that’s paving the way for others to reach the highest levels of entrepreneurship and to fulfill their own career aspirations. His passion and experience for growing business relationships has fostered trusted business contacts from around the globe.
Creed has launched several successful startups including: Pannell Sales, Inc., a manufacturing firm specializing in black hair products; the National Sales Reps organization located in Philadelphia, Baltimore and in Washington D.C.; created the largest Black Bridal Show in the US that focused on African Americans in the bridal industry and also helped pave the way for African American brides and models to be featured in prominent magazines around the world; the Atlanta Metro publication, the Atlanta News Leader newspaper and the Clayton Leader newspaper that focused on education,
