Uncrowned Community Builders

The youngest of six children, Denise is the daughter of Lucille and the late Daniel B. Watkins Sr. After graduating from Lackawanna High School , Denise attended Kent State University located in Kent , Ohio . There she majored in Criminal Justice Studies and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Cum Laude distinction. Her desire to pursue graduate study was realized in May of 1986 when Denise graduated from the University at Buffalo with a Master's Degree in Education.

For the past 24 years, Denise has been employed at the University at Buffalo . She mainly served as an education administrator. From 1986 to 1995, she was the Coordinator of the SUNY College Outreach and Placement Center . In this capacity Denise managed student support services such as SAT Preparation Classes, tutorial and college placement services for college bound students living in the Western New York area. She is currently the Administrative Counselor and Analyst for Student Support Services with the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). Her various responsibilities include providing personal and academic advisement to EOP students, teaching a University Experience course, and coordinating the mid semester progress monitoring system.

As President of the University at Buffalo Minority Faculty and Staff Association MFSA), from 1999 to 2005, Denise spearheaded the organization's resurgence towards becoming a more viable and visible entity both on and off campus. MFSA currently offers annual scholarship opportunities to UB undergraduate students of color in addition to being the lead sponsor for the University's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Program. Denise also serves as Faculty/Staff Advisor to the UB undergraduate chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (Gamma Kappa Chapter).

She is a member of the Community Action Organization (CAO) Education Task Force, an organization that annually sponsors college awareness programs such as the citywide college fair and financial aid workshop. The CAO Education Task Force also annually awards scholarships to college bound high school students. Denise is also a member of the prestigious sisterhood of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Buffalo Alumnae Chapter).
She attends the Second Baptist Church ( Lackawanna ) and is presently the Choir Director for the Youth and Young Adult Choir, the Reverend Howard T. Reese Fellowship and the Combined Choirs. Denise is married to L. Nathan Hare and has a grown daughter, Donica Hood.