She is a native of southeast Louisiana and has been a resident of Mississippi for the past 22 years. Prior to joining the Mississippi Urban League, Portia served as Executive Director of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, where she also served as Director of Community Building.

She has held positions with the Children’s Defense Fund Southern Regional Office, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Mid-South Delta Initiative, Royal Dutch Shell, Entergy Corporation, and Raytheon Aerospace. Portia holds a PhD in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University, an M.B.A from Loyola University, New Orleans, and B.A. in Communications from Southern University, Baton Rouge.

She initially served as Administrative Assistant to the President of Mississippi Roadmap to Health Equity, the organization from which the Mississippi Urban League was formed. Angele has extensive experience working within higher education in the areas of operations, administration, and organizational support. Prior to joining the Mississippi Urban League, Angele worked for historical Tougaloo College located in in Jackson, MS.

Ida Patterson is currently a Disaster Recovery Program Manager at Mississippi Urban League. She is a proud graduate of Tougaloo College, where she earned a degree in Political Science. She went on to pursue her Master's in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University. She has always been dedicated to helping others, which inspired her to pursue a career in various Social Service roles. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends.