By Stanley Ugagbe
United States based politician of Nigeria origin, Roxy Ndebumadu has been sworn in as councilor of Bowie District 4, Maryland.
Recall that Roxy edged her four opponents in an election that was keenly contested. The 26-year-old was declared winner haven ganerned the highest votes. She had 29.85% votes while her opponents, Leon Buck 29.18 %, Helen King 6.20%, Antonio D Lindsey 5.75% and Derrick A Mallard 29.02% respectively.
Overwhelmed with joy, the history make who took to her Facebook page to share her joy, wrote “On November 18th, I became the youngest woman sworn into Bowie City Council and the first black woman to represent District 4… A blessing that I never saw coming!”
“Thank you to every resident in Bowie who supported me along the journey and gave me this wonderful opportunity”
“You listened to my story, you believed in me, and you gave me this opportunity! I promise to uphold this honor and serve the residents in Bowie, Maryland to the best of my ability”.
“Women are not inadequate, young people are not forgotten, and this is only the beginning of our beautiful future!”
“To the 717 residents who believed in me enough to vote for me and to my mentors who supported me along this journey, I thank you! I look forward to using all that I have learned to advocate for the great residents of Bowie, Maryland and continue my journey at Microsoft”.
In the build up to the election, Roxy had said her vision is to make Bowie a premier city for its residents and businesses. She said “I’m not your typical politician. I’m a new leader with a new voice, and my vision is to make Bowie a premier city for its residents and businesses”.
Specifically, the councilor had in her campaign said she intends to focus on four major areas to revitalize Bowie. “Economic development, public safety, senior citizens, and the municipal budget are the keys to any community. We need to streamline our process for new businesses to come into Bowie and offer incentives based on businesses staying in Bowie. For public safety, we need to partner with our police and fire and support our citizens with a pilot program for subsidized Ring video doorbells. Our seniors are the backbone of our community, we want them to maintain independence. Mixed use senior housing combined with businesses that cater to them, will help the seniors and spur economic development. The municipal budget is being used as a tool for votes. Instead of responsible budgeting, rainy day funds are used to avoid tax increases. Soon, there will be no safety net for our community.” Ndebumadu stated.
Prior to the election, the City Council did not have any women on it, though female members have served before. Now there will be two, Harrison and Ndebumadu. There are also now three council members who are younger than 30 — Estève, 29, Ndebumadu, 26 and Boafo, 25.
Roxy Ndebumadu is a graduate of the Howard University. Roxy graduated with a B.Sc. in Health Sciences focusing on Health Management and a minor in Business Administration. As a Federal Customer Success Lead for Microsoft Corporate, Roxy leads a team of Customer Success Managers, Technical Experts, and Cloud Architects that drive end-user adoption, implementation, relationship management, and strategic partnerships for all Microsoft Federal Accounts ranging from U.S. Department of Defense to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Along her journey, Roxy always found ways to “innovate” a process or procedure. During her time at Howard University, Roxy participated in one of the largest technology implementations to date across Howard University’s Health Division Schools. Roxy’s favored professional acumen and pixieish humor enabled her to heighten cross-functional teams in meeting 94.6% of all deadlines. Roxy’s motto was always, “If not now then when?”
She took pride in knowing that the implementation would enhance the lives of her clients as well as enable continued learning for all health-related students. Inundated with curiosity on the metrics behind most successful companies, Roxy decided to pursue a certificate in Strategy & Performance Management directly after graduation.
It has been said that you have never met a young woman as dynamic and passionate as her. Roxy’s previous work experience includes roles within the field of Operations & Data Analytics across multiple markets: Health Care, Hospitality, Data, Finance, and Start-ups.
All of these diverse experiences have molded her into the relatable, charismatic, and determined woman that she is today. Roxy is a part of Brookings Institute, Red Cross, Make-a-Wish, Running Start: Bringing Young Women to Politics, Women in Technology, Grace Hopper, and many other volunteer organizations. Recently, Roxy joined the board of Hera Angels which is a Venture Capital firm that focuses of funding women owned start-ups. Roxy’s combined volunteer and professional experience only sharpened her skill set and made her the go-to example for young women of tough backgrounds who aspire to pursue their dreams.
Her election marks the first time a black female will serve in the council.
