New Staff Join WDCEP Team

This fall, WDCEP welcomed three new full time employees to its staff: Becca Gurney, Graphic Designer; Daour Diawara, Manager of Business Development; and Bonnie Wright, Project Assistant.

Becca Gurney is the Graphic Designer for WDCEP. She comes to WDCEP with more than 10 years of design experience. Becca has worked in various design positions, from large marketing studios to small non-profits, creating designs for reports, signage, newsletters, brochures, direct-mail advertisements and web content.  Becca graduated from American University in 2000 with a degree in Visual Media and went on to get a MFA in Graphic Design from Tyler School of Art at Temple University.  She grew up in Northern Virginia and has first-hand knowledge of the District and the metropolitan area.

Daour Diawara started at WDCEP in August 2009 as a WDCEP fellow (underwritten by Citi), and has now come on full time as a Manager of Business Development. Daour is contributing in the efforts of business retention and attraction in the District of Columbia through specific programs such as DoingBusiness2.0,  Small Business Awards and Business Plan Competitions. Daour previously held the position of Assistant to Senior Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial where he was responsible for managing over 200 clients’ portfolios and client relations. A native of Dakar, Senegal, Daour is fluent in French, English and Spanish. He graduated from American University in 2005 with a degree in Finance.

Bonnie Wright came on full time as a Project Assistant in October.  Upon finishing her coursework in Chemical Engineering at Mississippi State University in December of 2009, Bonnie moved to Washington, DC to serve as a Congressional Intern in the United States Senate.  Bonnie’s interest in politics and public policy influenced her decision to join WDCEP and make DC her new hometown.