# Angela Patton

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**Angela Patton** is an [activist](/source/Activism) for at-risk African-American girls and the CEO of [Girls For A Change](/source/Girls_For_A_Change) (GFAC), which works to support and empower young girls of color to feel seen, heard, and celebrated.[1]

## Education

Patton studied and completed her [Business Administration](/source/Business_administration) degree at [ECPI University](/source/ECPI_University). At [Virginia Commonwealth University](/source/Virginia_Commonwealth_University), she received her certification in Non-profit Management.[2]

## Work

Patton, a [licensed practical nurse](/source/Licensed_practical_nurse) and [doula](/source/Doula), worked for [the YMCA](/source/YMCA), the [Children's Museum of Richmond](/source/Children's_Museum_of_Richmond), and the Richmond AIDS Ministry.[3][4] She also served on the board of Richmond's East District Family Resource Center, which provides emergency assistance programs, education initiatives, and career development programs to those in Richmond's [East End](/source/East_End_(Richmond,_Virginia)).[5]

### Camp Diva

The Camp Diva Leadership Academy, which operates in the [Richmond, Virginia](/source/Richmond,_Virginia) metropolitan area, reaches African-American girls, aged 6–14, through before- and after-school programs and summer camps.[6][7] Patton founded Camp Diva in [Richmond, VA](/source/Richmond,_Virginia), in 2004 to honor and remember Diva Mstadi Smith-Roan, a five-year-old African-American girl who died in a firearm accident earlier that year.[8] Patton worked with Clover Smith, Diva's mother, to create a summer camp in her daughter's memory. During this five-week retreat, African-American girls, ages 11–15, engaged in camp activities such as cooking, sewing, dancing, and swimming. Through these activities, campers are taught social skills and introduced to [entrepreneurship](/source/Entrepreneurship), career opportunities, and practical life skills.[9][10] Camp Diva raised financial support for the costs of running the camp through hosting fundraisers and events.[11]

### Father-daughter dance in prison

In 2007, Camp Diva hosted their first father-daughter dance, which began as a suggestion from a camper.[10] As the dance attendance grew each year, Patton realized that there was still a significant number of girls who could not participate at the "Date with Dad Dance" because their fathers were in prison.[12] Patton worked with Richmond City's then-sheriff, C.T. Woody, to host a father-daughter dance within the walls of the jail. Incarcerated fathers participated in a 30-hour parenting class to earn the right to attend.[13] On March 17, 2013, 16 inmates and 18 girls attended the first annual father-daughter dance in jail. This event became nationally recognized after being featured in a [*Washington Post*](/source/The_Washington_Post) article and in Patton's 2013 [TEDxWomen](/source/TED_(conference)) talk, "A father-daughter dance...in prison," in which she explained the origins of the Daddy Daughter Dance. The video has more than 800,000 views.[6][12]

Camp Diva continues to host their annual father-daughter dance at the Richmond City Jail. Other prisons, such as Miami's Federal Detention Center and the Omaha Correctional Center, have started their very own father-daughter dance for young girls with incarcerated fathers.[14]

### Merger with Girls for a Change

In 2013, Camp Diva merged with California-based Girls for a Change, a non-profit leadership and professional development program for girls, and Patton became GFAC's chief executive officer.[15]

## Awards and recognition

Her work has been featured on [NPR](/source/NPR), [ABC World News](/source/ABC_World_News_Tonight), and *[Inside Edition](/source/Inside_Edition).*[16] In 2016, [President Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) named her a Champion of Change" as part of the [White House Council on Women and Girls](/source/White_House_Council_on_Women_and_Girls)' initiative on advancing equity for women and girls of color.[17][18]

Patton has been awarded the title of "Virginians Making a Difference" and "The Cultural and Leadership Award".[19][20] Richmond's *[Style Weekly](/source/Style_Weekly)* named her to their 40 Under 40 list in 2010.[21] In 2019, she was a *[Richmond Times-Dispatch](/source/Richmond_Times-Dispatch)* Person of the Year Honoree and, in 2026, one of the paper's Women Who Drive Richmond.[22][23]

Film director Natalie Rae approached Patton about collaborating on a project that would become the 2024 film [*Daughters*](/source/Daughters_(2024_film)) after seeing the TED talk.[24] The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Daughters took home both the Festival Favorite honor and the Audience award in the US Documentary Competition. [Angela Patton and Natalie Rae's 'Daughters' Takes Home Sundance Festival Favorite Award](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/daughters-takes-home-sundance-festival-favorite-award/) Rae and Patton won a [Peabody Award](/source/Peabody_Awards)[25] for *[Daughters](/source/Daughters_(2024_film))* for "empathetic curiosity about the inner lives of young women as they come to understand the challenges of living in America".[25] The film follows four girls as they prepared for, and attended, the first Daddy Daughter Dance held at a Washington, D.C. jail. With Natalie Rae, Patton was named a member of the 2024 [BAFTA Breakthrough](/source/BAFTA_Breakthrough) U.S. class.[26]

## References

1. ["Angela Patton - IMAGINE Social Good"](https://imaginesocialgood.org/keynote-speakers/angela-patton/). *IMAGINE Social Good*. Retrieved 2018-10-21.[dead link]

1. forbes (2015-03-12). ["Nonprofit Management Certificate"](https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/professional-graduate-certificates/nonprofit-management-certificate). *Harvard Extension School*. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

1. ["Angela Patton - Speakerpedia, Discover & Follow a World of Compelling Voices"](https://speakerpedia.com/speakers/angela-patton). *speakerpedia.com*. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

1. ["ConnectVA Spotlight: Angela Patton, Girls For A Change | ConnectVA"](https://www.connectva.org/connectva-spotlight-angela-patton-girls-for-a-change/). *www.connectva.org*. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

1. ["PROFILE: East District Family Resource Center"](https://chpn.net/2015/11/02/profile-east-district-family-resource-center/). *CHPN*. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

1. ["A father-daughter dance in prison and not in prison: Angela Patton"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131005085130/http://www.orondeamiller.com/archives/1345). *Reclaiming Our Way*. 2013-08-26. Archived from [the original](http://www.orondeamiller.com/archives/1345) on October 5, 2013. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

1. Cardwell, Rob (2017-06-07). ["How Girls for a Change helps young women brighten their futures"](https://wtvr.com/2017/06/07/girls-for-a-change-building-better-minds/). *WTVR.com*. Retrieved 2018-10-21.

1. Allbrittin, Deanna (2025-03-25). ["Remarkable Women: Angela Patton with Girls For A Change"](https://www.wric.com/remarkable-women-2026/remarkable-women-angela-patton-with-girls-for-a-change/). *[WRIC](/source/WRIC)*

1. Cleggett, Chianti C. (Fall 2013). "Camp Changes Lives of Girls". *The Crisis*

1. ["There is love in the Diva name"](https://urbanviewsweekly.com/2012/03/07/there-is-love-in-the-diva-name/). *Urban Views RVA: RVA's Urban Internet Newspaper*. 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2018-10-09.

1. ["There is love in the Diva name"](https://urbanviewsweekly.com/2012/03/07/there-is-love-in-the-diva-name/). *Urban Views RVA: RVA's Urban Internet Newspaper*. 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

1. Wax, Emily (March 20, 2013). ["A father-daughter dance — in jail"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-father-daughter-dance--in-jail/2013/03/20/b1833af4-90a9-11e2-9abd-e4c5c9dc5e90_story.html). *Washington Post*. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

1. ["Why This Prison Created Father-Daughter Dances for Inmates - Good News Network"](https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/prison-created-father-daughter-dances-inmates/). *Good News Network*. 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

1. Hetter, Katia (November 10, 2014). ["Prison hosts first-ever father-daughter dance"](https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/10/living/prison-father-daughter-dance/index.html). *CNN*. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

1. Hall, Zoe (2020-06-25). ["Pandemic or No Pandemic, Angela Patton Believes in the Futures of Black Girls"](https://rvamag.com/community/pandemic-or-no-pandemic-angela-patton-believes-in-the-futures-of-black-girls.html). *RVA Mag*. Retrieved 2026-03-15.

1. ["Angela Patton: A Father-Daughter Dance — In Prison?"](https://www.npr.org/2014/04/25/301828303/a-father-daughter-dance-in-prison). *NPR.org*. April 25, 2014. Retrieved 2018-10-24.

1. ["Champions of Change"](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/champions). *The White House*. Retrieved 2018-10-14.

1. ["Nominate a White House Champion of Change for Extracurricular Enrichment for Marginalized Girls"](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/08/02/nominate-white-house-champion-change-extracurricular-enrichment-marginalized-girls). *whitehouse.gov*. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2018-10-16.

1. ["Angela Patton"](https://www.ted.com/profiles/1540950). *www.ted.com*. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. Baldwin, Brent; Galuszka, Peter; Ingles, Laura; Spencer, Paul (18 October 2016). ["2016 Top 40 Under 40"](https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/2016-top-40-under-40/Content?oid=2374196). *Style Weekly*. Retrieved 2018-10-24.

1. webpubpro (2010-10-13). ["Angela W. Patton, 38"](https://www.styleweekly.com/angela-w-patton-38/). *Style Weekly*. Retrieved 2026-03-15.

1. WILLIAMS, MICHAEL PAUL (2019-12-16). ["Get to know Angela Patton, CEO of Girls for a Change"](https://richmond.com/discover-richmond/article_f3fbd1b8-df0b-5052-840b-2149cedeb89c.html). *Richmond Times-Dispatch*. Retrieved 2026-03-15.

1. Times-Dispatch, CHELSEA JACKSON Richmond (2026-03-06). ["Women leaders in Richmond share their stories about shaping the city’s future"](https://richmond.com/news/local/business/article_b939c520-b903-4fe2-8161-10fea0a5027e.html). *Richmond Times-Dispatch*. Retrieved 2026-03-15.

1. Lu, Kelsey (2024-09-06). ["How Directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae Made the Year's Most Wrenching Documentary"](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/how-directors-angela-patton-and-natalie-rae-made-the-years-most-wrenching-documentary). *Interview Magazine*. Retrieved 2026-03-15.

1. ["Daughters"](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/daughters/). *The Peabody Awards*. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

1. ["Meet the 2024 US Breakthroughs"](https://www.bafta.org/stories/breakthrough-us-2024/). *Bafta*. 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2026-03-15.

## External links

- [Girls For A Change/Camp Diva website](http://www.girlsforachange.org)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Angela Patton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Patton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Patton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.