Valerie Hollingsworth Baker
Valerie Hollingsworth Baker
Zeta National Educational Foundation Chairman
25th International Centennial President
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Valerie Hollingsworth Baker served as the 25th International Centennial Grand Basileus of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated from July 2018 – July 2022 (Two Terms). Prior to being elected to Grand Basileus, Valerie held numerous elected and appointed positions in her home chapter Delta Mu Zeta, served as Atlantic Regional Director for four years, served as Chairman of the National Executive Board for two terms (four years) and as the International First Vice President for two terms (four years), overseeing the entire sorority’s membership functions (intake, reclamation, retention, chapter chartering and reactivation).
Scholarship is a principle that Valerie holds in high regard, having graduated from York Institute as the class valedictorian at the age of fourteen (14) and accepted into ten (10) of the nation’s top universities. At the age of eighteen (18), she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University, where she majored in Industrial Organizational Psychology with a minor in Theater and Drama. Valerie also received a Paralegal degree from the American Institute for Paralegal Studies.
Valerie was the Director of the Inforce Systems Division for New York Life Insurance Company in New York City. She was responsible for managing multi-million-dollar projects, programs and helpdesk, training personnel, and overseeing new product development and was the chief administrator of one of the company’s major subsystems, which she helped to design, build, and roll out to more than five thousand (5,000) employees across the country.
In addition to being recognized for her service in the International “Who’s Who of Information and Technology” and “Who’s Who in America” (2021) publications and receiving numerous awards from her own organization, Valerie was honored by the United Negro College Fund as a “Maya Angelou Women Who Lead” Honoree in September 2020 and commissioned by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as an Honorary Kentucky Colonel in September 2022.
She currently serves as the Vice President of Hancock T&T Block Association and is a member of the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women. She has served as volunteer coordinator with the March of Dimes for more than 18 years, as well as the Volunteer Coordinator for the United Way for more than 10 years.
Valerie also volunteers her time with the American Red Cross, UNCF, and New York Cares. In addition, she served on the board of directors for the Bedford-Stuyvesant Mental Health Clinic and currently serves on the Chairman of the Zeta National Education Foundation Board.
Valerie has recently launched her own business entitled “M.C. Hollingsworth Unlimited” an LLC specializing in Global Women Empowerment, Personal Coaching, Event Sourcing, and creating fundraising strategies/opportunities for non-profit organizations/foundations.
Conferred Honorary Doctor of Ministry from Carolina Christian College; May 2023.
Currently holds the position of Chairman of the Zeta National Educational Foundation as of August 2023
As the International Centennial President, Valerie and the Centennial Chair were responsible for the organization’s weeklong historic Centennial celebration, which took place January 12-18, 2020. She also instituted a $100,000 scholarship, which was awarded to a female high school graduate who is pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Stanford University.
The first was awarded in June of 2020. She then increased the next three scholarships to $125,000 each which were presented in November 2021, July 2022 and August of 2023. The scholarship is named after Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Founder Emeritus and is the first scholarship of its kind to be provided by a “Divine Nine” organization to a single student.
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Zeta Phi Beta Sorority (Z-Nef 1975-2020) National Educational Foundation, Inc. 45 Years of Excellence In Scholarship, Community Outreach and Related Research. (Scholarships and Philanthropic Initiatives)
Authors: Dr. Kathryn T. Malvern, Issie L. Jenkins Esq. and Jacqueline E. Lawton.
In this 45th Anniversary Commemorative History Book of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority National Educational Foundation, you will be inspired and motivated to strive for greatness. This will be available in March everywhere books are sold.
You will be enlightened and inspired as we journey through the lives of the founders of the ZNEF and their commitment to others. This book contains amazing black women who represent Zeta Phi 'Beta Sorority, Inc. We can all be inspired by their story, their accomplishments and the lives they have changed through their scholarships.
The ZNEF Foundation was founded by members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority in 1975 to operate exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. The ZNEF history book chronicles the 1st centennial.
To support higher education achievement through scholarships and conduct community education and related research to improve individual and community living standards. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority National Educational Foundation, Inc. was created to operate exclusively for charitable and educational purposes.
The principal activities and purpose of the Trust was to award scholarship grants to worthy students for the pursuit of higher education; to conduct community education programs which would aid in the educational and vocational improvement of individual and community living standards; to engage in activities which would aid in the educational development related to the purposes of the Foundation. Past programs include the Humane Genome Project.
One of the Foundation’s primary objectives is to financial support to needy students for higher education through its scholarships. Since 1975, the Foundation has awarded thousands of scholarships and fellowships for higher education to both Zetas and Non-Zetas. The foundation has processed hundreds of other scholarships, as a part of its Chapter Designated Scholarship program, established in 1980.
Under the program, local scholarships and fellowships are awarded by chapters throughout the country. The Foundation’s scholarship program is funded by support of its principal donor, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. through chapter tax and life member fees, by contributions and gifts from members and chapters, by Board of Managers’ contributions and fundraising, memorial scholarships, as well as fundraising at the Regional and State levels.
Endowments have been established for the Foundation at the National level, Chapter level, and by the Board of Managers. Scholarships are rewarded annually, for both undergraduate and graduate study and are processed through the Foundation’s scholarship committee.
ZNEF provides scholarships to worthy students to further their higher educational goals. We currently offer 15 ZNEF titled scholarships for studies across a diverse field of academic areas. We also offer one $125,000 scholarship, titled the Founders’ Centennial Scholarship, to a female high school senior pursuing a bachelor's degree at an accredited college or university.
In honor of the five founding members of ZETA Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, the Centennial International President of Zeta Phi Beta, Valerie Hollingworth Baker, began awarding the Founders’ Centennial Scholarship each year to a new recipient, for five consecutive years beginning the sorority’s Centennial Anniversary year of 2020 with $100,000. Hollingsworth Baker increased the scholarship amount to $125,000 in 2021 to account for the rising costs of college tuition.
