Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Dignity Award Breakfast

A respected journalist in the San Diego community, Dr. Warren was a weekly commentator on the local NPR/PBS station for nearly a decade. He is a member and past director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and a past member of the National Bar Association. His professional affiliations also include the American Society for Public Administration and the original Conference of Minority Public Administrators.

In addition to his media and professional endeavors, Dr. Warren is an ordained minister. He is the co-founder and senior pastor of Eagles Nest Christian Worship Center in San Diego, California.

Dr. Warren’s career reflects a lifetime of dedication to public service, education, and community impact. He served 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives as an assistant to prominent African American legislators, including Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. during his chairmanship of the Education and Labor Committee, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins. As Vice President of the National Institute of Public Management, he advised the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities on Social Insurance and Income Security policies during the Carter Administration. He also co-authored a 1978 article on urban crime in Nation’s Cities Magazine.

Dr. Warren was an elected member of the Washington, D.C. Board of Education for eight years and served four years as a director of the National School Boards Association, representing over 90,000 members. He was also a delegate to the Democratic Midterm Convention during the Carter Presidency. As publisher of the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, he has written over 25 years of editorials and commentaries.

Born in Henderson, North Carolina, and raised in Washington, D.C., Dr. Warren experienced the desegregation of public schools following the Brown v. Board of Education decision. He earned undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University and completed graduate studies in Public Policy and Administration at the University of Southern California. He later became an adjunct professor at National University, where he developed a Government Contracts curriculum and taught Public Policy, School Law and Finance. He also served on the National University Board of Trustees.

Dr. Warren is a U.S. Army veteran, a graduate of the Officers’ Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and holds an honorable discharge. He is a black belt in martial arts and has received numerous awards from diverse organizations.

He and his wife Dolores have five children — Michael, Latanya, Shani Thai, Chida and Charles — and five grandchildren. In their spare time, they focus on writing their memoirs and traveling.