Cora Masters Barry, former First Lady of the District of Columbia, is a nationally respected educator, civic leader, community builder, and tireless advocate for children and families. For more than three decades, she has dedicated her life to expanding opportunity, strengthening communities, and creating pathways to excellence for young people—particularly those living in underserved communities throughout Washington, D.C.
As Founder and CEO of the Recreation Wish List Committee (RWLC) and the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center (SETLC), Cora has transformed a vision for equitable access to recreation and education into an enduring institution that has touched generations of District families. She founded the Recreation Wish List Committee while serving as First Lady of the District of Columbia, creating an organization committed to providing safe, enriching recreational opportunities and environments for underserved youth.
In 2001, Cora’s vision reached a defining milestone with the opening of the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8. Marking 25 years in 2026, SETLC has used tennis as a gateway to education, personal development, leadership, discipline, and opportunity. Under Cora’s visionary leadership, the Center has served more than 75,000 District youth through educational programming and tennis opportunities, with academic enrichment, tutoring, life-skills development, mentoring, and cultural programming designed to help young people thrive both on and off the court.
Her original vision continues to grow. A major expansion of the campus is designed to make the Center an even greater destination for tennis, recreation, education, and international junior competition. The expansion advances Cora’s decades-long dream of establishing a world-class tennis destination in Southeast Washington while ensuring that District youth remain at the heart of its mission.
Cora’s commitment to education extends far beyond SETLC. She served for 21 years as a tenured Professor of Political Science at the University of the District of Columbia, specializing in Black Politics, Comparative Political Studies, the Presidency, and the Constitution. Her career as an educator reflects the same philosophy that has guided her community work: education, exposure, opportunity, and civic engagement are essential tools for creating lasting change.
A lifelong advocate for civic participation, Cora has orchestrated voter education, registration, and mobilization initiatives locally and nationally. Her political leadership included playing an instrumental role in the historic political return of Marion Barry for an unprecedented fourth term as Mayor of the District of Columbia. She was also appointed to lead the Million Man March Voter Registration Drive Team, an effort that registered more than one million men before and during the historic March.
Cora’s trailblazing leadership has extended into the world of professional sports. She served as Chair of the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission, becoming the first woman in the United States to hold such a position. She also served as an Executive Board member of the World Boxing Council and the International Boxing Federation, further demonstrating a career defined by breaking barriers and opening doors for others.
Throughout her distinguished career, Cora has received numerous awards and honors recognizing her leadership, advocacy, community service, and extraordinary contributions to youth development. Her honors include the DC Chamber of Commerce Community Impact Award, Washingtonian of the Year, the USTA Founders Award, the National Recreation and Park Association’s Robert Artz Citizen Advocacy Award, and the Rodham Institute’s Beacon of Light Award, presented in 2019. She has also been inducted into the USTA Mid-Atlantic Tennis and Education Foundation Hall of Fame and the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.
Her legacy of service continues to earn recognition. In 2024, Cora was honored at the AFRO D.C. High Tea among distinguished women recognized for their outstanding contributions to political and community service. That same year, she was recognized as an honoree at the Gatsby Showcase Foundation Awards Gala, celebrating changemakers whose leadership advances equity and opportunity.
In 2026, Cora received further recognition for her enduring impact on Washington, D.C. She was celebrated among the honorees of the D.C. Go-Go Awards, an event recognizing artists, leaders, and institutions that have shaped and preserved the District’s cultural legacy. She was also named one of the “Heroes of the Game” at the 2026 Mubadala DC Open, an honor celebrating her decades of work expanding access to tennis and creating opportunities for young people throughout Southeast Washington and across the District.
Beyond her professional achievements, Cora remains deeply committed to civic, cultural, and community leadership. Her affiliations include the National Council of Negro Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and Leadership Greater Washington. Her service has also included leadership with the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Cora earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Southern University and her Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies and Public Administration from Howard University.
Today, Cora Masters Barry’s legacy can be measured by the generations of young people whose possibilities have been expanded because she dared to envision something greater for them. Twenty-five years after the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center opened its doors, her mission remains as powerful as ever: to use education, athletics, culture, civic engagement, and opportunity to develop confident young people prepared to lead.
Her life’s work stands as a testament to the transformative power of vision, persistence, service, and an unwavering belief in the potential of every child.