Books, Media, and Film

Sandra Rattley is a behavior change communications specialist with over 35-years experience as a communications leader. In 1999, she launched the Africa Learning Channel, a Pan-African information service broadcast via WorldSpace Satellite Radio to over 100 million listeners in 51 African countries, providing first-voice, best practices information for poverty reduction, civic engagement and good governance. She also led a 3-year HIV/AIDS information campaign in rural villages in Uganda and Zambia to increase AIDS awareness and reduce stigma. Sandra Rattley has directed numerous federal and local government programs designed to increase the capacity of NGOs that serve those disproportionately impacted by poverty, as well as a DC Government HIV/AIDS Administration program to establish HIV/AIDS Drop-In Centers at churches and other faith-based organizations to offer services and support to people infected and affected by the virus.

Sandra Rattley has served as Vice President of Cultural Programming for National Public Radio, as manager of public information, marketing, community outreach and audience research, as well as National News Editor at NPR. She conceived and managed the first comprehensive research study of NPR’s African American audience. She has extensive electronic media and print experience, working as a reporter, oral historian, documentarian and executive producer of major projects, including WADE IN THE WATER, a series on African American sacred music produced in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution and hosted by Bernice Johnson Reagon; as well as MAKING THE MUSIC, hosted by Wynton Marsalis. Both 26-part series won the highest recognition in journalism, the Peabody Award. She has been awarded similar honors from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Education Association, among others.

Sandra Rattley also has extensive experience planning and implementing public information and media campaigns, conducting research and providing strategic planning advice to numerous organizations such as the African National Congress, Africare, Amnesty International, National Urban Coalition, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Women’s Health Project, and World Music Productions. She also served as Director of Communications for the Congressional Black Caucus, press spokesperson for Nelson Mandela’s first national US tour, and as media representative and speech writer for Winnie Mandela. She has collected oral histories and produced documentaries about her mother’s family, the Quander Family.

1989 -  

Michael Richard Quander, Jr. was born in Washington, DC and educated at Morgan State University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism.  Michael Quander, Jr. joined  WUSA9 in the District of Columbia in March 2017, and one year later in 2018 he won his first Emmy Award for "I Am Quander" an historic/cultural news story about the history of the Quander Family.

1948 -  

Charles Paul Jeffries is a native of Washington, D C and the grandson of Edward and Mary Ella Quander Gordon, he was educated in DC public and catholic schools. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology with a social work concentration from West Virginia State University, and a

Master of Science degree in Urban Education from Morgan State University where he became a member of the Baltimore City Teacher’s Corp. He has taught on every grade level from pre-school to college and worked in some

of the toughest schools in the Washington, DC area. Paul is

the youngest of eleven children and has always been curious

about why Blacks were enslaved and how people could break up families like that. The more he researched the more he found out about the many aspects of slavery and the widespread ramifications which haunt both Blacks and

Whites, even to this day. He hopes with this work to bring

people to a clearer understanding of the guilt as well as the

life altering pain which this atrocious institution brought to

bear. He received a certification in Herbal Studies and Natural Holistic Remedies. Paul served as afterschool coordinator for DC public schools. He also served as the adult education director at Maury Community School. 

At Books by Charles P. Jeffries, Paul Co-Authored the last two books by The Jeffries Family, “904 and Reflections of a True Messenger.” As Assistant Director of Career Services at Xavier University, New Orleans, Louisiana for eleven years, Paul directed a video series for higher education careers that encouraged students to bring their education back to Xavier University, which aired on a local cable station for one year. He also conducted numerous workshops at the Department of Interior Training Center in Phoenix, Arizona on making the transition from school to work. Charles is also a self-taught wood sculptor.

1946 -  

Cynthia Ward Jeffries, the daughter of William Turner and Verna LaNelle Griffis Ward, is an American businesswoman. She owns and operates The Beaver Heights Group, a real estate property limited liability company, and New View Literature, a literary publishing house. In addition, Cynthia is the critically acclaimed author Ann Jeffries, who writes the multi-cultural, romantic suspense series Family Reunion—Wisdom of the Ancestors. When she decided she was ready for a new challenge, Cynthia created a pseudonym that offered her the opportunity to reach a new and different audience. She published the first mystery C.W. Montgomery novel in 2020. Once again, she got that itch to create another series. So, writing as Alexandra Ward, she released the Fruit From This Tree series in 2021. To craft her novels, Cynthia draws upon her experiences as a native of Washington, DC, the political capital of the world and her extensive travels. Although she began writing fiction for her own amusement, she has always been an avid reader. At a very young age, Cynthia was stricken with Rheumatic Fever, a rare inflammatory disease that can develop when strep throat or scarlet fever isn't properly treated. It most often affects children ages five to fifteen and can cause permanent damage to the heart, including damaged heart valves and heart failure. The disease caused her to be bedridden for nearly a year, during which time her grandmother home-schooled her. To keep her entertained, her grandmother had her read the dictionary learning at least ten words per day and using those words in a sentence. As a result, Cynthia began to create literary stories, leading to useful writing skills later in life. When she lost her grandmother and father at thirteen, her mother, a nurse, who worked the night shift at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, had no childcare alternative. So, she sacrificed to send Cynthia to Allen High, a private boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina. Although distraught at the loss of her family members, Cynthia credits her experiences at Allen High as one of the most endearing highlights of her life. She furthered her academic career at Anacostia High School, Strayer University, and the University of Maryland, College Park. Cynthia began her professional career at The World Bank in New York City, followed by The National Education Association and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She ended her federal service as Director of the FCC’s National Call Center in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. During her career as a keynote speaker at colleges, universities, conferences, and conventions, she has extensively traveled the North American continent, Asia, and Europe. Among other endeavors, Cynthia is an avid supporter of the Public Broadcasting Service, a practicing genealogist, collector of African-American Heritage US Postal stamps, and continues to be a voracious reader and prolific writer. While living in Washington, Cynthia met and in 1969 married Theodore Lee Jeffries, Senior, the grandson of Edward and Mary Ella Quander Gordon. Theodore “Jeff” and Cynthia welcomed the birth of Theodore Lee “Ted or TJ” Jeffries, II, in 1971 and Tracy LaNelle Jeffries Riley in 1973. Jeff died in 2005. Cynthia’s pride and joy are her son, Ted, daughter, Tracy, son-in-law, Dominic, the Jeffries family (in-laws, nephews, and nieces), and particularly her Fabulous Four grands Gavin, Maia, Meagan, and Miles. All parts of her family are a constant source of inspiration, enjoyment, and pleasure. Cynthia lives in Maryland and South Carolina. You are welcome to visit www.newviewliterature.com, her publishing house. You may also follow Ann Jeffries at www.annjeffries.net, Alexandra Ward at www.alexandraward.net, and CW Montgomery at www.authorcwmontgomery.com. She is available on Facebook @Ann Jeffries, and on Twitter @Ann Jeffries. Her novels are available in print at book stores and on-line at popular sites, in e-book format on Amazon.com, and audiobook format on Audible.com. Collectable and autographed copies of her work can be ordered through each of her websites. Bulk sales of her novels are available at www.ingramspark.com.