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MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
April 24, 2026
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2 -
142; D.C. Official Code § 1-523.01), and pursuant to section 4 of An Act To establish and provide for
the maintenance of a free public library and reading room in the District of Columbia, approved June
3, 1896 (29 Stat. 244; D.C. Official Code § 39-104), I am pleased to nominate the following individual:
Ms. Denise Rolark Barnes
Mississippi Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20032
(Ward 8)
for appointment as a member of the Board of Library Trustees, filling a vacant seat formerly held by
C. Brian Williams, for the remainder of an unexpired term to end January 5, 2031.
Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation. Please
do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
Mayor
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at the request of the Mayor
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To confirm the appointment of Denise Rolark Barnes to the Board of Library Trustees.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the "Board of Library Trustees Denise Rolark Barnes Confirmation
Resolution of 2026".
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the appointment of:
Denise Rolark Barnes
Mississippi A venue, SE
Washington, DC 20032
(Ward 8)
as a member of the Board of Library Trustees, established by section 4 of An Act To establish
and provide for the maintenance of a free public library and reading room in the District of
Columbia, approved June 3, 1896 (29 Stat. 244; D .C . Official Code§ 39-104), filling a vacant
seat formerly held by C. Brian Williams, for the remainder of an unexpired term to end January
5, 2031.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Mayor.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
DENISE ROLARK BARNES
WORK EXPERIENCE
‘TheWashingtonInformer Washington,DC
Publisher August1980-Present
‘*Manageorganizationaloperationsofawardwinningmultimediaservicesincluding:print,TV,website,socialmedia,andemailnewsletter
TheWashingtonInformerNewspaperCo.Inc.wasfoundedin1964byfather,Dr.CalvinW.
Rolark, and continues to serve the metropolitanWashington D.C. area with additionalreaders
acrossthenationandabroad.Itreachesover50,000newspaperreaderseachweek,alongwithan
averageof20,500uniquevisitorstothewebsite(www-washingtoninformer.com).Currentlythereare7,500weeklysubscriberstoouremailnewsletter,androughly300,000viewerswhowatchWashingtonInformerNewsonDCTV.
BOARD MEMBERSHIP
Events DC
Board Member
NationalNewspaperPublishersAssociation
Chairwoman
DC PressAssociation,MarylandandDC Chapters
BoardMember
EDUCATION
HowardUniversity
JurisDoctor
HowardUniversityBachelorofArts,Communications
HamptonUniversity
MediaStudies
Washington,DC
April2012-May2024
Washington,DC
June2015-Present
Washington,DC Metropolitan
January2012-Present
Washington,DC
1976-1979
Washington,DC1974-1976
Hampton,VA.
1972-1974
Execut
ive Office of the Mayor – Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Denis
e Rolark Barnes
Ms. Deni
se Rolark Barnes is the publisher of The Washington Informer,
the award-winning community newspaper serving the African American
community in the Washington metropolitan area.
Ms. Rolark Barnes became publisher of The Washington Informer in
1994 following the passing of her father, Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, who
established the newspaper in October 1964.
In addition to her work at The Washington Informer, Ms. Rolark Barnes
maintains The Washington Informer Charities, a non- profit organization
that promotes literacy and sponsors internship opportunities, writing
competitions and scholarships for students interested in pursuing careers
in journalism. The Washington Informer Charities also has served as the official sponsor of The
Washington Informer Spelling Bee for the past 32 years. She also launched several community
initiatives including an anti-gang mural project in Southeast, DC; Girl Talk, a day of social and
personal development for girls at Ballou Senior High School, and the re -establishment of the
Martin Luther King Holiday Parade in Ward 8.
Ms. Rolark Barnes is past president of the AARP-DC. She has also served on the boards of several
local non-profit, community and municipal organizations, including EventsDC, the DC Martin
Luther King Holiday Commission, the Maryland, Delaware, DC Press Association, and the
American Lung Association of Washington, DC. She is a former chairperson of the National
Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), She is also a member of Leadership Greater
Washington, an inductee in the D.C. Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the Generous Heart Award
presented by the Jack H. Olender Foundation.
A Ward 8 resident, M s. Rolark Barnes earned both her Bachelor of Arts in J ournalism and her
Juris Doctor from Howard University.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
______________________________________________________________________________
The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724-7681
To: Tomas Talamante, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: April 15, 2026
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of Resolution s nominating Mary Early and Denise
Rolark Barnes as members of the Board of Library Trustees
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above -referenced resolution s and
found them to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call Erika Satterlee, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at 202-
724-1303, or me at 202-724-7681.
______________________________
Elizab
eth A. (Betsy) Cavendish