ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC. DISTRICT OF ILLINOIs
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
The Illinois District Director Brother Dr. Leonard C. McKinnis, II is a Fall 2001 initiate by way of Mu Mu Chapter. He graduated from Lewis Catholic University with a degree in Government and History. Following his undergraduate studies, Bro. McKinnis completed a Masters of Religion and Politics with an emphasis on African American Religion, Society, and Social Justice, from Harvard University. He then returned home to Chicago where he completed a PhD in Religion and Theological Studies.
Bro. Dr. McKinnis is currently a member of Zeta Xi Lambda Chapter in Champaign, IL. He presently serves as the Midwest Region Chair of Grievance and Discipline. Brother McKinnis brings an extensive Alpha resumé that includes leadership in Mu Mu, Mu Mu Lambda, Epsilon Lambda, and Zeta Xi Lambda Chapters. He has served as Chapter President, Vice President Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Chaplain Beautillion Chair, Golf Fundraiser Chair, Derby Chair, and a host of other offices. He also served Alpha at the Regional and General levels.
Professionally, Bro. Dr. McKinnis is Professor of Religion and Black Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a scholar of African American Religions and Religion and Society. Dr. McKinnis teaches and advises undergraduate and graduate students. His current book, Divine Blackness: Race, Religion, and Imagination among Black Coptic Believers, is forthcoming with NYU (New York University) Press and will be released in 2023.
Bro. Dr McKinnis has an extensive background in public policy and government. He served as a White House Intern under President George W. Bush, a Secretary of Labor Policy Fellow, a Chicago Mayoral Policy Fellow, and a National Policy Director for a policy group in Chicago, where he interfaced with the Obama Administration Office of Domestic Policy, and members of Congress.
Bro. Dr. McKinnis is married to Tamitha McKinnis, a 22 year member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, by way of Xi Tau Chapter at Johns Hopkins University. They are the parents to four children, Sofia, Olivia, Leonard III, and Gabriel.
Copyright © 2025 Alpha Illinois Forward - All Rights Reserved.