Edward Baker-Greene, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Client Relationship Management, Fidelity Investments
Edward Baker-Greene is Senior Vice President/Managing Director of Client Relationship Management at Fidelity Investments where he is responsible for the delivery of retirement products and services to emerging businesses. In this role, Edward brings together his expertise in the delivery of HR services and benefits, labor and employment knowledge and organizational consulting work with executives. Previously, Edward served as the Head of Human Resources for Retirement Services at Fidelity Investments with responsibility for the delivery of HR Services to more than 3400 associates nationwide.
Prior to joining Fidelity, he was a partner in the executive search firm of Isaacson, Miller that focused on identifying local and national leadership in the non-profit sector. Early in his career, Edward practiced labor and employment litigation at the national law firm, Goodwin, Procter.
As an executive, he has volunteered on several boards exercising leadership roles in the area of diversity, healthcare and the arts. He is currently Chair of The Partnership, a leading talent management organization as well as the Faulkner Hospital, and American Red Cross, among others.
Edward holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia Law School and a B.A. from Tufts University.
Lawrence Bobo, Professor of Social Sciences, Harvard University
Lawrence D. Bobo is the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University where he holds appointments in the Department of Sociology and the Department of African and African American Studies. He has held tenured appointments at the University of Wisconsin, UCLA, and Stanford where he was Director of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.
He has written widely on the intersection of social inequality, politics, and race. Among other works, he is co-author of the award winning book Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations (with H. Schuman, C. Steeh, and M. Krysan) and his most recent book, Prejudice in Politics: Group Position, Public Opinion, and the Wisconsin Treaty Rights Dispute (with M. Tuan), was a finalist for the 2007 C. Wright Mills Award. He is currently working on the “Race, Crime, and Public Opinion” project.
Professor Bobo is an elected member of the National Academy of Science as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, an Alphonse M. Fletcher Sr. Fellow, a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and a Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar.
Keith Clinkscales, SVP, Content Development and Enterprises, ESPN
Keith Clinkscales was named senior vice president, content development and enterprises, ESPN in June 2007. As head of ESPN Content Development, Clinkscales launched a new ESPN incubator media lab, designed to develop and create new sports-driven content for all ESPN media platforms; expanding the ESPN Content Development brand. Clinkscales also leads ESPN Enterprises where he oversees ESPN Publishing -- responsible for all operations of the award-winning ESPN The Magazine, domestically and internationally; ESPN Books; and all new publishing related business initiatives. Additionally he is responsible for ESPN RISE, ESPN Home Entertainment, ESPN Media
Packaging and the ESPN Zones.
In 1999, Clinkscales launched and served as Chairman and CEO of Vanguarde Media, publishing
HONEY, Heart & Soul and Savoy magazines until 2003. While heading up Vanguarde, he managed
the growth of its publications to reach more than 1.2 million in paid circulation, with a total reach of
more than five million.
Clinkscales was founding President and CEO of VIBE Magazine from 1993-1999. There, he grew
VIBE from a consumer music magazine with a circulation of less than 100,000 to a comprehensive,
industry-standard urban lifestyle publication reaching 700,000 readers. A magna cum laude graduate of Florida A&M University, Clinkscales received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard. He is an Academic Director for the Stanford Professional Publishing Course and is a member of PepsiCo's Multicultural Advisory Board. In 2008 Clinkscales was named one of Diversity MBA Magazine’s “Top 100 under 50 Diverse Corporate Executives” and in 2007, was honored by CableWorld Magazine as one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Minorities in Cable.”
Chris Crawford, VP, Summit Partners & Travene Crawford
Chris Crawford is a Vice President of Summit Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm managing more than $11 billion in capital. At Summit, he focuses on equity investments in rapidly growing private companies, and serves on the Board of Directors of a number of privately-held technology firms. Previously, Chris worked in mergers & acquisitions at Goldman Sachs & Co, and served in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of West Point, where he majored in engineering management, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. Chris serves as an Advisory Board member of The Posse Foundation, a nationalnon-profit organization that identifies, recruits, and trains high-potential urban students for success in college and beyond.
Travene Crawford is a former Captain in the U.S. Army, where she served on active duty for six years, including deployments to North Africa and Iraq. She earned a B.S. in Economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Travene is a former employee of Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the Human Capital Management Division.
Hailing from Houston, TX and Philadelphia, PA, respectively, Chris and Travene currently reside in Chestnut Hill, MA with their two children, ages 8 and 4.
Landon Dais, Deputy Campaign Manager, Rudy Moise
Landon Dais is a proud son of Harlem who has a blueprint to bring change to the community. While at Morehouse, Landon became a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. one of the nation’s oldest and largest black fraternities.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Morehouse, Landon returned to New York to obtain a Masters of Science degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Landon ran for City Council 9th District, New York City (Harlem / Upper Westside) in September 2009. Considered an afterthought and a major underdog in the race, he finished in 2nd place with over 2,800 votes in the three person race. He ran against veteran incumbent Inez Dickens. Even though Landon did not win, he earned the respect the political establishment. He was labeled by the Amsterdam News “ The Future of Harlem Politics, because of his vision and desire” Landon is considered a favorite for the City Council seat in 2013.
In November Landon was contracted by the Apafirm to become the Deputy Campaign Manager & Director of Operations of the Rudy Moise for Congress Campaign, US Congress Florida 17th District. The race features 10 Democrats running in the primary. If successful Dr. Moise would be the first Haitian Born Member of Congress.
As past President of the Uptown Democratic Club (70th Assembly District), he transformed a small organization into a vocal political club by putting the Uptown Dems on track to become a respected progressive organization in the Harlem community.
Landon’s affiliations include New York State’s Young Democrat Caucus of Color, Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, the New York Urban League Young Professionals, United for Change and Change NYC.
Amani Duncan-Coster, CMO, Sean Combs Enterprises
In her role as Chief Marketing Officer for Sean Combs Enterprises, Amani Duncan-Coster has taken the Marketing and Digital Marketing reins of a diverse array of Brands including recorded music, film, TV, apparel, fragrances, and other marketing imprints. Duncan-Coster serves as the architect for campaigns such as CÎROC, Guinness Draught and Fox Searchlight Pictures’ "Notorious”, which generated over 75MM media impressions worldwide and a #4 weekend debut earning over $20M.
Prior to joining Sean Combs Enterprises, Duncan-Coster was appointed SVP of Marketing, Video Production and Content of the Capitol Music Group. She was directly involved in the launch and guidance of marquee Artists, overseeing a staff of more than 30 employees. Challenged by the rapidly changing industry and charged with a mission of reducing Marketing and Promotion budgets, Duncan-Coster delivered by developing new growth centers, creating substantial new revenue streams, and cultivating strategic third party alliances with mainstream brands such as Myspace, Champion apparel, Chase, and Southwest Airlines among others.
Amani Duncan-Coster has succeeded in business today by exemplifying a new style of Executive leadership. Her philosophy is to advance the transformational possibilities of new business models while maintaining a keen understanding of special marketing to the New American consumer.
Crystal Fields-Sam, Director of Corporate Engagement, Year Up NYC
Crystal Fields-Sam is currently the Director of Corporate Engagement for Year Up Inc. – New York.Year Up is a national not-for-profit organization with the mission of closing the opportunity divide that exists in this country by empowering urban young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Crystal spearheads the sales effort for the organization in New York City and is responsible for securing 50% of the office’s operating revenue. She engages C-level executives of fortune 50 companies and is helping to fortify and to enrich the perception of the abilities of urban talent. She is a former Vice President at Citi Markets and Banking where she sold multi-asset class structured bonds to institutional clients. Within her first five years at the firm, she created and launched an on-going process that identified $160 Billion under management in 90,000 accounts. This process established the Qualified Retirement Plan Brokered Certificates of Deposit (CD) distribution channel.
Crystal has strong Caribbean and southern roots and hails from Queens, New York. She was reared to believe that diligence, a quest for knowledge, and a great work ethic are necessary to reach one’s true potential. At the age of 17, Crystal put those beliefs to the test and decided to join the United States Navy. She served on active duty during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Crystal cites being able to sell her parents on the idea of her joining the military as the start of her sales career. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband Mark and their newborn son Eian.
Gisele Garraway, VP at Devonshire Investors
Gisele Ransom Garraway grew up in Petersburg, VA and graduated from its public school system. After graduating from Howard University, summa cum laude she joined Bain & Company as a management consultant. Following Harvard Business School and five years at Bain, Gisele ventured into the early dotcom era as one of the first employees of Staples.com. Working with its CEO, Gisele helped turn the business to profitability leading efforts on customer segmentation, pricing and operations. These efforts led to Gisele’s promotion to VP/general manager of Staples’ Canadian delivery business overseeing call centers, fulfillment centers, marketing, and website & catalog merchandising. Gisele also led corporate strategy initiatives for Staples in both its U.S. and European retail operations. After 8 years at Staples, Gisele moved to Fidelity’s private equity business, Devonshire Investors, to bring strategy expertise to its diverse operating portfolio of hospitality, food, and building supply distribution companies. At Devonshire, Gisele leads strategic initiatives for Devonshire’s multi-billion dollar lumber distribution business and acquires companies to fortify the building supply platform. Moreover, Gisele enjoys teaching 5th/6th grade Sunday School at Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, MA. Gisele is married to Levi Garraway and the proud mother of Dwight and Darena (7 and 4 ½ ).
Levi Garraway, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Levi Garraway is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Garraway is also a faculty member of Dana-Farber’s Center for Cancer Genome Discovery and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute, where he is co-Director of Cancer Genome Analysis in the Broad Cancer Program.
Dr. Garraway received his A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College in 1990, and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Medical School in 1999. Thereafter, he completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he also served as Medical Chief Resident in 2003. He received fellowship training in Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Garraway leads a 16-member investigative team in cancer genomics at Dana-Farber and the Broad Institute.
Dr. Garraway has been the recipient of several awards and honors, including the Minority Scholar Award from the American Association of Cancer Research, the Partners in Excellence Award from the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences from the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. In the fall of 2007, Dr. Garraway was awarded one of the first prestigious New Innovator Awards from the National Institutes of Health, worth $1.5 million over five years. The Innovator Awards were given to the top 29 scientists from over 2200 applicants nationwide. In 2009, Dr. Garraway was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Bobbi Hampton Goard, President of the Hampton Agency
Bobbi Goard is the owner of one of Atlanta’s leading Marketing & Ad Agencies, The Hampton Agency, Inc.Where she combines a passion for people and branding to guide her team and clients to an outcome that focuses on their strengths and specializations. Her own specialty is to leverage her unique communication skills and authentic approach to support and inspire both small and large businesses or organizations alike to reach their goals.
Bobbi attended Georgia State University majoring in psychology. Her educational background and marketing industry experience provides insight into client culture and target audience, as well as a strategic marketing expertise to develop brand solutions that effectively communicate and exceed expectations. Clients benefit from Bobbi’s open-minded approach to all situations along with her keen ability to relate with all types of people.
Having been in the marketing Industry for over 10 years, Bobbi began her career working directly with the Vancouver Exhibition and Convention Center, one of Canada’s leading trade show venues. It was in this position that her passion for the marketing industry developed and would later lead to her to a fruitful career as the
Chief Operating Officer for a local Atlanta Brand Strategy Firm. Bobbi and her team have served a myriad of clients including small businesses, medical professionals, various levels of state and local government, in addition to large corporations such as Coca-cola and Home Depot. Bobbi maintains professional memberships with The American Marketing Association (AMA).
Though a native of Canada, she now makes her home in the Metro Atlanta area with her husband and four young children.
Steven Douglas Goard, Music Producer
Steven Goard, better known as “BigNeb” in the music industry, was raised on the Southside of Chicago. After attending Georgia Southern University majoring in computer science, he decided to make the Atlanta area home and proceeded climb the ranks of Autotrader a subsidiary of Cox Communications. He accomplished all this will actively pursuing his lifelong love of music and production.
After building his own flourishing recording studio and managing it for several years, Steven gained intimate knowledge of the industry from the inside out and used that to very knowledge to earned his first two placements in as many months. Working on projects with many artists across genres, both in Atlanta and across the country, “Big Neb” continues to cultivate artists and remains committed to producing “quality” not just popular music.
Though Steven played roles both behind the mic and behind the boards in the control room, he continues to display his business savvy and vast creativity through the management of his Creative & Web design firm, Indiezyne, Inc.
Though Steven will always proudly claim Chicago roots, he now makes his home in the Cobb County area just outside Atlanta with his wife and 4 children.
Kaneisha Grayson, Blogger & Talk Show Hostess
Kaneisha Grayson is an MBA and MPA student at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. She lived in Ghana as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar before coming to Harvard, and has focused her studies in the areas of leadership, entrepreneurship, and marketing while at Harvard. Her dream jobs are talk show hostess, filmmaker, and self-help writer. She maintains a dating and happiness advice blog Kaneisha’s CrazyGirl Nation at http://crazygirlnation.com and has a weekly live call-in talk show on Cambridge Community Television of the same name. She plans to move to Los Angeles upon graduation and work in the media and entertainment industry.
Leslie Hale, SVP & CFO, RLJ Development
Ms. Hale was promoted to CFO of RLJ Development in October 2007. As CFO, Ms. Hale is responsible for all financial matters across RLJ Development and its three affiliated funds; and continues to be responsible for the execution of all transactions.
Ms. Hale joined RLJ in March 2005 as its Director of Real Estate and Finance. In this role, she was primarily responsible for securing financing for each asset and managing the entire execution process for all transactions. In June 2006, Ms. Hale was promoted to Vice President, expanding her responsibilities to include all treasury functions, and she successfully created and oversaw the portfolio management arm of RLJ as well.
Prior to RLJ, Ms. Hale was an Associate Director in the GE Real Estate Strategic Capital Group where she provided structured finance products to institutional clients. Prior to this role, Ms. Hale served as a VP in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of GE Commercial Finance, and was responsible for managing the strategic review and due diligence process for prospective transactions. Before rejoining GE, she was an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co., advising clients across industries on mergers, acquisitions, and corporate finance matters. Preceding business school, Ms. Hale worked for GE Real Estate in both the Large Transactions Group and the European Mergers & Acquisitions Group, completing over $8 billion of real estate transactions. She received her undergraduate degree in Finance from Howard University, graduating Summa Cum Laude and earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Goldman Sachs and Robert F. Toigo Fellow. Leslie Hale is the recipient of AAREP’s Best Deal of the Year Award for 2009.
Amy Hilliard, Founder & CEO, Comfort Cake
Amy Hilliard, a native Detroiter, honors graduate of both Howard and the Harvard Business School is the founder and CEO of The ComfortCake Company, makers of “pound cake so good it feels like a hug.” Launched in 2001 and now a nationally trademarked brand, ComfortCake® is distributed through the foodservice and retail channels and their website (www.comfortcake.com) with customers that have included United Airlines, 7-Eleven, Walgreen's, Jewel’s, Dominick's, Rush Medical Center and the Chicago Public Schools. ComfortCake’s pound cake is currently being tested by McDonald’s for national launch. The Company team also produces Sugarless Sweetness®, their proprietary sugar substitute for baking. ComfortCake has been featured on CNN, Fox, The Food Network, AOL and Home Shopping Network, Fortune, Black Enterprise, Essence and numerous national publications. After just two years in business, ComfortCake was selected as the Emerging Minority Enterprise of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ms. Hilliard was also named as a 2009 Business Leader of Color by Chicago United, and in February, 2010 was selected by The Clinton Foundation for their Entrepreneurship Mentor Program.
Amy Hilliard is a former senior marketing executive with leading Fortune 500 corporations and entrepreneurial firms including Bloomingdale’s, Gillette, Pillsbury, L’Oreal and Burrell Communications Group. She also sits on PepsiCo’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Board, is active in the Chicago community and owns The Hilliard Group, a marketing consulting and speaking firm.
A proud mother of two, Ms. Hilliard is an internationally recognized speaker and author of “TAP INTO YOUR JUICE” – Find Your Gifts, Lose Your Fears and Build Your Dreams, which is endorsed by First Lady Michelle Obama. Additionally, the ComfortCake HUGS Foundation was established in 2009 to develop the entrepreneurial spirit in others through mentorship and scholarship programs. Ms. Hilliard’s latest book, “POUNDING CAKE INTO A BUSINESS” will be released in 2010.
Shari Hubert, Director of Recruitment, Peace Corps
Shari was recently appointed as the first Director of Recruitment for the Peace Corps, within the Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection. In this capacity, she develops the strategy associated with recruiting over 4500 Volunteers annually, and manages the operations of nine regional recruitment offices in the US.
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Shari was the Senior Vice President of Campus Recruitment for Citi’s Global Bank in North America; and was responsible for overseeing the recruitment of Analysts and Associates into the Corporate and Investment Banks, as part of Citi’s Markets & Banking Division.
Prior to Citi, she worked at GE, in their Corporate Headquarters, where she served as Manager, Campus Relations in Corporate Recruiting and Staffing. In this role, she was responsible for the overall recruiting efforts and budget allocation across the Southeast Region of GE’s strategic university relationships.
Prior to joining GE, Shari ran an Executive Leadership and Civic Development Program named in honor of David Rockefeller at the Partnership for New York City and held a consulting position with The Boston Consulting Group. Prior to obtaining her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000, Shari spent five years at Merck & Co., working in a variety of sales and marketing roles. Shari graduated cum laude, with a B.A. in French, from Dartmouth College in 1992.
Dr. John Jackson, President, The Schott Foundation for Public Education
On July 2, 2007, Dr. John H. Jackson became the President and CEO of The Schott Foundation for Public Education. In this role, Dr. Jackson leads the Foundation’s efforts to ensure a high quality public education for all students regardless of race or gender. Dr. Jackson joined the Schott Foundation after seven productive years in leadership positions at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He served as the NAACP Chief Policy Officer and prior to that as the NAACP's National Director of Education.
Dr. Jackson also served as an Adjunct Professor of Race, Gender, and Public Policy at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. In 1999, President William Jefferson Clinton appointed Dr. Jackson to serve in his administration as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Jackson possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana; A Master of Education in Education Policy from the University of Illinois' College of Education; and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois' College of Law. In addition,
Dr. Jackson received a Master of Education and Doctorate of Education in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Jackson served on the Obama-Biden transition team as a member of the President’s 13-member Education Policy Transition Work Group.
Tito Jackson, Political Director for Deval Patrick
Tito Jackson is currently the Political Director of the Deval Patrick Campaign. Prior to this role, he served as the Industry Director for Information Technology in Governor Deval Patrick’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development in the Office of Business Development. His work focused on job creation, job retention and helping businesses in Massachusetts grow. Tito has won numerous awards and honors in his over-10 years experience in the fields of healthcare, technology and government.
Additionally, he has become a much-sought-after public speaker at schools, motivational seminars, and other community events where he addresses youth development issues, such as how to prepare young people to pursue careers in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) Education.
A proud lifelong resident of the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Tito is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where he was elected Student Body President. He is a member of the UNH Alumni Board and a graduate of the Dunk The Vote Leadership Institute and the Initiative for Diversity in Civic Leadership. Tito has built a reputation for his commitment to civic engagement and social justice. He has used that passion to advance youth development programs such as Citizen Schools and Anytown/The Leadership Initiative.
Tito currently serves on the boards of directors for Heading Home and the Global Citizens Circle.
Jerry Johnson, Vice Chairman, PRWT Services, Inc.
Jerry L. Johnson is Vice Chairman of PRWT Services, Inc. As Vice Chairman, Mr. Johnson is responsible for developing growth strategies around the company’s merger and acquisition activities. He is also leading the effort to secure the financing that will fuel the growth of PRWT’s business process outsourcing business unit, facilities management business unit, and the newly created life sciences business unit.
Prior to joining PRWT, Mr. Johnson served as Chairman of Radnor Trust Company, a nationally chartered full service bank based in Radnor, PA. He also previously served as the President of eMoney Advisor and was the Executive Vice President at Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE), an operating company focused on acquiring and developing technology companies.
Mr. Johnson holds a BS in Psychology from Truman State University, an MS in Counseling and Education from Northern Illinois University, and an MS in Management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for several organizations including, ESmith Legacy, Inc., Axum Partners, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Board and Radnor Trust Company. He is also a board member for the Academy in Manayunk and Epitome Systems; and sits on the Elite Advisory Board.
Timothy Jones, Founder & CEO, Buzzient
Timothy B. Jones has over 15 years of executive experience starting new companies and developing new businesses in the technology industry. This research led Mr. Jones to co-found Buzzient, a SaaS application provider that enables marketers and advertising agencies to conduct business intelligence on social media for improved brand management and customer service.
Prior to Buzzient, Mr. Jones was CEO of BionTTech, a Georgia Tech spin-off company that focused on explosive detection for homeland security; Mr. Jones led the IP protection process leading to US Patent # 7,413,892. Mr. Jones identified BionTTech after helping launch the east coast office of Mohr, Davidow Ventures (MDV), an early stage venture capital firm with over $1B under management. While at MDV, Mr. Jones specialized in technology commercialization from universities and national labs.
Previously, Mr. Jones was Founder, Chairman and CEO of Eba Systems, a mobile and wireless application company for customer relationship management (CRM) that was acquired by Iormyx. Mr. Jones was also the founding Vice President of Business Development of CRM software company OnDemand, which was acquired by Chordiant Software.
George Khaldun, COO of Harlem Children'S Zone
George Khaldun, Chief Administrative Officer, joined Harlem Children’s Zone in 1991 as the Program Director of the Truancy Prevention Program. Prior to becoming CAO he also served as the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy to the President. Mr. Khaldun has been instrumental in the planning and expansion of Harlem Children’s Zone's programs and creation of the charter school, Promise Academy. He is currently responsible for the Harlem Children’s Zone’s 21 programs ensuring that these programs meet their numerous objectives. During his 19-year tenure, the Harlem Children’s Zone has more than tripled its number of employees, participants and programs offered. Mr. Khaldun has participated on various panels and has spoken before a number of audiences on strategy, policy and implementation of (HCZ’s) community development initiatives. His professional experience is both as a teacher and a practitioner. Mr. Khaldun was previously an economic development specialist for the national NAACP, a professor at Bermuda College and an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle. Mr. Khaldun holds an AB in Government from Bowdoin College, while there he studied at the London School of Economics. He has a Master’s Degree in Educational Policy from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and has completed Columbia University’s Business School Executive Management Training Program. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and the Charles A. Revson Fellowship.
Lillian Lincoln Lambert, Author, The Road to Someplace Better
Lillian Lincoln Lambert is a passionate speaker who understands the power of storytelling. To this end, Lillian uses her personal story of “achieving the American dream” to inspire her audiences to reach their full potential and be all they can be. Her motto is “If I can succeed, so can you.”
Born on a farm in the segregated South, Lillian sensed in her bones that a better life awaited her. At the age of 18, she journeyed to New York City and Washington, DC, to seek her fortune. After gutting out menial jobs as a maid and typist for a few years, Lillian came to the realization that her journey was internal and that education would be her ticket to a new world. With loans and scholarships in hand, she obtained a BA degree from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. It was at Harvard that Lillian achieved a historical milestone as the first African American woman to receive a Harvard MBA. The year was 1969, an era forever linked with the civil rights and burgeoning women’s rights movements.
After Harvard, Lillian became a barrier-breaking entrepreneur. From 1976 to 2001, she was President and CEO of Centennial One, Inc., a building maintenance company she founded in her garage on a few thousand dollars. She grew the company to $20 million in sales with more than 1,200 employees. Lillian sold the company in 2001, eager to pursue other entrepreneurial opportunities, such as speaking and writing.
In 2003, Harvard Business School awarded Lillian the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest award bestowed on its alumni. The award recognizes recipients for "their contributions they made to their companies and communities, while upholding the highest standards and values in everything they do."
Lillian sits on the Board of Visitors at Virginia Commonwealth University and Board of Directors for Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association.
In her spare time, she enjoys golf, traveling, reading, wine collecting, and listening to jazz. She is active in her community, and she sings tenor in her church choir. Lillian resides in Mechanicsville, Virginia, with her husband, John A. Lambert, Sr.
Harold Martin, Engagement Manager, McKinsey & Company
Harold Martin is an Engagement Manager in the Atlanta office of McKinsey & Company, where he serves clients in consumer-related sectors across a range of functional areas. Building on a deep passion for community development and urban education, Harold recently served a large urban school district seeking to improve student achievement by enhancing teacher and principal quality, implementing school turnarounds, pursuing autonomous school models, and rigorously managing school- and district-level performance.
Harold is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council at Oglethorpe University, the Dean’s Advisory Council at Morehouse College, and the Teach For America Outreach Board. He also advises several education-related non-profits on governance and strategic issues.
Born in Winston-Salem, NC, Harold graduated summa cum laude and Valedictorian from Morehouse College with a B.A. in Business Administration. He earned a JD from Yale Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Heather McLetchie-Leader, Consultant
Heather McLetchie-Leader is a former consultant with Bain & Company, where she worked primarily in Industrial Products, Healthcare, and Private Equity and provided leadership for Bain’s community partnerships, particularly in the area of education. Heather also served as a Director at Citizen Schools, a national education sector non-profit, where she led research and evaluation and worked with senior management to prove impact and build the after-school field. She has an extensive instructional background, having taught both at the K – 12 level, and in several adult and executive education programs. Heather currently works part-time for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and supports capacity-building efforts at two local churches. She is currently in the process of applying to Divinity School, and plans to pursue ministry full-time upon graduation.
Heather holds a B.A. in Engineering from Dartmouth College, a B.E. in Environmental Engineering, and a Master of Engineering Management from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. She lives in Brighton, MA, and spends her free time mentoring youth, helping women and professionals navigate issues of vocation and identity, perfecting her yoga practice, singing and songwriting, and spending time with musicians, artists, and other creative types.
Don T. Moore, President, Burrell Digital
Donald T. Moore has over 20 years of experience in a wide variety of business disciplines including Brand Management, Advertising, Media Sales and General Management of large organizations. During his career, he has repeatedly demonstrated a record of achievement and success in several fast paced, competitive markets.
Most recently, Don was Agency Team Leader for Google with responsibility for business development in the Central and Western Regions of the US for the worldwide agency group WPP. In addition, he was responsible for the management of all multicultural agencies in the US, as well as two of the country’s largest independent Agencies. Under his guidance, Google’s product adoption, new media offerings and revenues with these agencies grew significantly.
Prior to joining Google, Don was the VP of Multicultural Sales for The ABC Radio Network with full P&L responsibility for $60 million in advertising revenues, while managing a network of 30 sales professionals throughout the US. He also launched the nation’s first Hispanic radio network which has now become one of the most successful franchises in the ABC network portfolio.
Before ABC, Don was Senior Vice President for Clear Channel Chicago with full P&L responsibility for three radio properties. Over five years, he and a team of nearly 100 radio professionals significantly increased sales and profits, as one radio property rose to become one of the top ranked stations in the city.
Don began his career in brand management with Johnson & Johnson. During his nearly ten years with the company, he rose quickly through the ranks of the organization eventually becoming Director of Marketing and Sales
Don has a BS in Mathematics from Morehouse College, a BEE in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Wharton. Mr. Moore is a sought after speaker on the topic of multicultural marketing in the digital space.
Martez Moore, Executive Vice President of Operations for Digital Media, BET Networks
Martez Moore is the Executive Vice President of Operations for Digital Media with BET Networks, a VIACOM Company. Mr. Moore is responsible for serving as the chief operating officer for the Digital Media Group, where he manages the operations of the Online, Mobile, Technology, Video-on-Demand, Down-load-to-Own, and Vertical Ad Network business units, crafts business strategy, and executes organic and acquisition growth initiatives. Prior to this role, Mr. Moore was the Head of Business Strategy & Development for BET Networks.
Previously, Mr. Moore was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, a leading international strategy consulting firm, focused on advising Fortune 500 technology and media companies. Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Moore was a principal with TSG Capital Group, a private equity fund with nearly $1 billion under management focused on making control leveraged investments and Morgan Stanley & Company’s M&A Department.
Mr. Moore has also worked at The White House as a Political Affairs Assistant to the President. Mr. Moore received his J.D. from The University of Pennsylvania Law School as a Sweeney B. Scholar and a Dual B.A., summa cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago where he was a Presidential Scholar and Rhodes Scholar finalist.
Tsedal Neeley, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Tsedal Neeley is an Assistant Professor in the Organizational Behavior area at Harvard Business School. She currently teaches the first-year Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD) course in the MBA program. She also teaches in executive education offerings such as the Global Strategic Management Program.Professor Neeley's research focuses on the challenges that international collaborators face when attempting to coordinate work across national and linguistic boundaries, with special emphasis in the impact of language on social dynamics. In particular, she examines the effects of internationalizing firms' policies requiring employees of diverse skill-set to adopt English as their common business language, or lingua franca. In addition to lingua franca adoption behaviors, she studies the influence of cross-cultural intelligence in heterogeneous work environments.
Before her academic career, Professor Neeley spent ten years in industry working for companies like Lucent Technologies and The Forum Corporation in various capacities including strategies for global customer experience, 360 degree performance software management systems, sales force/sales management development, and business flow analysis for telecommunication infrastructures. With extensive international experience, Professor Neeley is fluent in four languages.
Professor Neeley received her Ph.D. from Stanford University's Department of Management Science and Engineering specializing in Organizational Studies. Professor Neeley was a Stanford University School of Engineering Lieberman award recipient for excellence in teaching and research.
Damon Phillips, Vice President, ESPN360.com
Damon Phillips was named Vice President, ESPN360.com in February 2008. In this role, Phillips is charged with general management and strategic oversight of ESPN's online television network. He leads a cross-functional team that oversees product development, operations, programming and production. Phillips also works closely with Disney and ESPN Media Networks and ESPN Consumer Marketing and Sales to provide value to distribution partners and advertisers. Phillips is based in Bristol, Conn., and reports to both John Zehr, senior vice president, digital media production, and John Papa, vice president, strategic program planning.
Phillips is a veteran sports media executive and entrepreneur whose experience spans television, digital media and sports properties. Prior to joining ESPN, he served as the assistant executive director of USA Football, the sport's national governing body, which was founded by the National Football League (NFL) and the NFL Players Association. He led the organization's day to day business operations and strategic planning process.
Phillips founded Sports TV Insider, a sports television viewing recommendation engine. He invented the company's proprietary algorithm that provides recommendations based on user preferences, real-time sports statistics and television ratings. He has also held positions at DIRECTV, Disney Regional Entertainment and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Matthew Platt, Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University
Matthew Platt is an assistant professor in the Department of Government at Harvard University. His current research interests center around four projects: 1) attempting to create a more instrumental view of non-voting political activity; 2) understanding how the content of -- and strategies for -- black agenda setting have changed over time; 3) developing a conceptual framework to provide a more comprehensive understanding of bill sponsorship as an agenda setting tool; and 4) examining how the nature of black representation has changed over time. Matthew is a 2003 graduate of Morehouse College and earned his PhD from the University of Rochester in 2008.
Ayanna Pressley, Boston City Council Member
On November 3, 2009, Ayanna Pressley made history when was elected to an At- Large seat on the Boston City Council. She is the first woman of color elected to the Council in its 100 year history.
Pressley, who had never previously run for office, based her campaign on a leadership platform of what came to be known as the “Three A’s”- accountability, accessibility and advocacy. Though a first time candidate, Pressley successfully raised more than $125,000 and generated support throughout the city.
The only woman in the field, Pressley finished a strong 4th place in the general, collecting 41,000 votes and securing a position on the City Council.
Although newly elected, Pressley is no stranger to public service. Her political career spans more than 16 years, in various behind-the-scene capacities at the federal level of government. Pressley previously worked as a Senior Aide for Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II and United States Senator John Kerry. Immediately prior to her run for office, Pressley was serving as Senator Kerry’s Political Director, responsible for managing his relationships with elected officials at the city, state and federal level and various community leaders.
In addition to her work in government, Pressley has also been an active leader in the non-profit community on issues related to women and girls, civic engagement and diversifying the political pipeline. In 2005, Ayanna Pressley was recognized with a Wonder Woman Award by the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, and in 2008, Unity First Magazine recognized her as a Visionary Woman of Excellence.
Casey Recupero, Executive Director, Year Up Boston
Casey Recupero is Executive Director of Year Up Boston and a member of Year Up’s national leadership team. Under Casey’s leadership, Year Up Boston has expanded by 30%; deepening the impact on the Opportunity Divide facing young people in Boston. Year Up Boston currently serves 280 young adults annually, introducing each one to an internship at one of Year Up Boston’s 50 corporate partners including State Street, Bank of America, Partners HealthCare, and Microsoft. As of January 2010, there are nearly 900 Year Up Alumni in the Boston area.
Casey joined Year Up in 2004 with a wide range of experience strengthening nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and in Africa. Casey spent more than 4 years as a Program Officer at World Education, Inc., where he designed and supported capacity building programs for grassroots organizations overseas. With a portfolio that included programs focusing on HIV/AIDS peer education for Ghanaian youth, small business development in South Africa, and education reform in Malawi, Casey has a unique perspective on the myriad challenges facing disadvantaged populations. Previously, Casey directed a mentoring program for first-year students at Harvard, served on the College's Board of Freshman Advisors, and collaborated on research at the Kennedy School's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations.
Casey has a B.A. in Anthropology and African Studies from Harvard University and is a 2007 graduate of the LeadBoston program. Casey serves on the Selection Advisory Council for the GreenLight Fund, the Boston Rising Advisory Committee, and Mayor Menino’s Success Boston Task Force.
Omar Simmons, Director, Windjammer Capital Investors
Omar L. Simmons is a Director at Windjammer Capital, a middle market private equity firm. Omar joined Windjammer in March 2008 from Reliant Equity Investors, a $120 million private equity fund where he was a co-founder and managing director at the firm. Omar led several control-buyout transactions at Reliant and was responsible for sourcing, analyzing, structuring and managing multiple portfolio investments.
Prior to Reliant, Omar was a Senior Associate at McCown De Leeuw & Co., a $1.2 billion middle market buyout fund, where he played a lead role in identifying and evaluating potential deals as well as negotiating complex financings for new investments and the disposition of existing portfolio investments. His other middle market private equity experience includes working at Summit Partners as an Associate and Littlejohn & Co. as a Summer Associate.
Omar also worked at Marakon Associates, as a Senior Analyst, Physicians Quality Care, a venture-backed health care services company, and Lotus Development.
Omar received an A.B. from The Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy at Princeton University and earned his M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Business School, where he was a Toigo Fellow.
Eric Smith, Managing Director, JP Morgan
Eric Smith is a Managing Director at JPMorgan in the Investment Banking Group, and is responsible for providing client coverage of Fortune 500 companies in the consumer products and retail industry. Mr. Smith joined JPMorgan in 2004, and is primarily focused on structuring debt, equity, and convertible financings as well as providing advisory services for corporate mergers & acquisitions.
Mr. Smith has over 16 years of investment banking experience, and began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1991. While at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Smith focused on a variety of industries, including consumer products, general industrial, healthcare, technology, and telecommunications. Mr. Smith received his B.B.A. in finance from Howard University in 1991 and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1995.
Troy Stanfield, Partner, Castanea Partners
Troy is a Partner at Castanea Partners with deep private equity and consulting experience in the consumer products and business services sectors. Troy joined Castanea in 2002 from Bain & Company, a leading worldwide management-consulting firm. While at Bain, Troy served clients in the information services, consumer products, transportation and manufacturing industries.
Prior to his experience at Bain & Company, Troy was an investment professional at Berkshire Partners, a leading private equity investment firm with $3.5 billion of capital under management. His experience at Berkshire included investment evaluations across a wide spectrum of industries and closed transactions in the business services and consumer products industries.
Troy received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his B.S. in commerce with concentrations in Finance and Management from the University of Virginia.
David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He joined the HBS faculty in 1990 and became a tenured professor in 1998. He is the head of the Organizational Behavior Unit and from 2005 to 2008 served as Senior Associate Dean and Director of Faculty Recruitment
David Thomas is a recognized thought leader in the area of strategic human resource management. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He is the author of two books and over sixty cases studies and articles appearing in leading academic journals and practitioner oriented periodicals. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Executive Development Roundtable’s Marion Gislaison Award for Contributions to Executive Development Theory and Practice, Academy of Management Mentoring Legacy Award for pioneering research on mentoring, and ASQ Scholarly Contribution Award for the most influential management article published between 2001 and 2005.
He is co-author of the best selling Harvard Business Review article “Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity.” His book Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America (with John Gabarro) has met with critical acclaim in reviews by academics and journalists, and is the recipient of the Academy of Management's George R. Terry Book Award for outstanding contribution to the advancement of management knowledge. His most recent book, Leading for Equity (with Stacey Childress and Dennis Doyle), examines urban public school district reform.
Currently Professor Thomas teaches the popular HBS elective Power and Influence.
Theresa Wells, Chief Media Strategist, Rockefeller Foundation
Teresa Wells is currently the Chief Media Strategist at the Rockefeller Foundation. In this capacity she oversees the Foundation's global media strategy and bears primary responsibility for shaping local, national, and worldwide news coverage of its work in print, electronic, and online media. An experienced communications specialist, she served previously as Deputy National Director of Communications for former North Carolina Senator John Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign. Prior to that, she was Traveling Press Secretary to New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine. Wells also worked on the presidential campaigns of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley as a key interface with local and national reporters. She has consulted on statewide political campaigns in Wisconsin, Virginia, and Missouri and began her political career in the Washington D.C. office of New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne. Wells earned a B.A. in Economics from Brown University.
Navarrow Wright, Founder, Global Grind
Navarrow Wright is the President of Maximum Leverage Solutions, a consulting firm that delivers Internet, social media strategy and technology development consulting to its clients. Navarrow also co-founded Global Grind.com with hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, with the mission of creating a social media site catering to the hip-hop perspective. Global Grind received funding from Accel Partners, the primary investors of Facebook.
Before joining Global Grind, Wright was SVP of Technology for Medical Broadcasting Company, a division of the Internet marketing firm Digitas Inc. Prior to that, he served as CTO of Viacom's BET Interactive. At BET.com he created and implemented new technologies growing the Web site 300%, making it the leading entertainment online destination for African Americans.
Wright has appeared on Run’s house, Irv Gotti’s show Gotti’s Way, NPR’s News and Notes and the Steve Harvey radio show. He was picked by Network Journal Magazine as of the their “ 40 Under forty” professionals to watch in 2009 and selected by the Innovation Generation as one of the nation’s top 100 GenerationNEXT and Information Technology leaders.
Keith Wyche, President of CUB Foods, a division of SuperValu and author of “Good is Not Enough”
In January 2010, Keith was named President, CUB Foods, a $3 billion retail grocery chain, part of the $43 billion SUPERVALU family of grocery store banners. In this role, he directs the activities of over 8,000 associates in driving sales and satisfying customers through continued marketing, merchandising and operational excellence.
Before joining SUPERVALU, Keith served as President, U.S. Operations, for Pitney Bowes Management Services. In this role he focused on driving quality improvements and operational plans to ensure that the organization was structured to achieve optimal service performance, financial targets and the overall PBMS growth strategy.
Prior to joining Pitney Bowes, Keith was Group Vice President for Wireless Sales at Convergys Corporation. He was the lead executive for Convergys’ largest vertical market, and was a key architect in developing the company’s call center operations in India and Canada. Keith’s previous experience includes a variety of senior-level positions at Ameritech, AT&T and IBM.
Keith has been recognized for his leadership by Black Enterprise and Ebony magazines and in 2007 was named a “Man of Distinction” by the National Urban League and one of the “Top 50, Under 50” corporate executives by Diversity MBA Magazine. In April of 2008, Keith was inducted into the Martin Luther King J. International Board of Renaissance Leaders.
He is on the Board of Directors of both the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), a professional organization consisting of the top African-American senior corporate executives in the U.S., and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA). Keith received his BBA from Cleveland State University and his MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College. His book “Good is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals” published by Portfolio, was recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award as an “Outstanding Literary Work”.