Full-Time
Margaret Anadu is a Senior Partner at The Vistria Group where she heads Real Estate. She is based in New York City. Margaret has devoted her career to investing which not only generates strong economic returns, but importantly has a demonstrable positive impact on underserved individuals, families, and communities. Margaret is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on equitable access to capital having invested over $10 billion across hundreds of transactions throughout the United States and was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. commercial real estate by Commercial Observer. Margaret has been a trusted advisor to many senior government officials at the federal, state, and local levels on utilizing private capital to create more equitable communities. As an experienced investor and thought leader on public-private partnerships, Margaret is often asked to share her views including on CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC and Yahoo Finance. She was named to 40 Under 40 lists by Fortune, Black Enterprise and Crain’s. Prior to joining Vistria, Margaret was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where she was the Global Head of Sustainability and Impact for Asset Management and Chair of the Urban Investment Group (GSUIG), the first impact investing platform at a major U.S. financial institution and Goldman Sachs’ primary impact investing business. Under her leadership, GSUIG’s portfolio was primarily comprised of real estate with a focus on workforce, affordable, and mixed-income housing, but also included investments in community facilities, educational space, industrial facilities, green infrastructure, student loans, and small businesses. Margaret ultimately grew the business to over $2 billion of investments annually. While at Goldman Sachs, Margaret was the chief architect of the One Million Black Women investment strategy, the Firm’s $10 billion capital commitment to narrow opportunity gaps for Black women in the United States and by extension their families and broader communities. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she led a $2 billion relief effort for small businesses. In April 2022, Margaret was appointed chair of the board of directors of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. She also serves on the boards of the Low-Income Investment Fund, the Center for an Urban Future, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Africa Center.
Steve Benjamin is an Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President and Director of Public Engagement. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Benjamin was the Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina from April 2010 through December 2021. Benjamin has served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (2018-2019), as President of the African American Mayors Association, Vice Chairman of the Global Parliament of Mayors, Executive Chairman of Municipal Bonds for America, Chairman of the FirstNet Authority, a Member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee, and as a member of several corporate and nonprofit boards. Mayor Benjamin served as the Spring 2022 Richard L. and Ronay A. Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina’s top ranked Honors College teaching a course titled “Columbia, South Carolina: Building a Great City” and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities. Benjamin is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he served as President of Student Government and as President of the Student Bar Association. He is married to the Honorable DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Benjamins are the proud parents of two daughters and are members of the Saint John Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina.
Alaina Beverly is an expert in urban policy, civil rights, and racial equity.
Alaina is the Executive Vice President of the Black Economic Alliance (BEA) Foundation, the nation’s leading organization harnessing the collective expertise and influence of Black business leaders and to advance work, wages, and wealth across the Black community.
Before joining BEA Foundation, she served as the Assistant Vice President for Urban Affairs in the Office of Federal Relations at the University of Chicago, where she was responsible for driving action on the University’s research, scholarship, and models of urban investment through engagement with policymakers and national partners. She is the founding director of Urban America Forward, an annual program that convenes practitioners from across the country who are committed to advancing racial equity and economic inclusion in America’s cities.
Previously, Alaina served the Obama Administration as Associate Director for the White House Office of Urban Affairs. In that role, she laid the foundation for President Obama’s urban office by identifying models to make cities more sustainable, competitive, and inclusive. She was also a Principal at The Raben Group, a prestigious public policy and advocacy firm in Washington DC.
Alaina began her career as a voting rights attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and Advancement Project. She went on to serve on the 2008 Obama for America Campaign as the National Deputy Director for African-American Outreach. In that role she developed the national campaign strategy for engaging African-American voters and grass-top leaders.
Alaina is a graduate of Stanford University and University of Michigan Law School.
As the 58th Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Justin M. Bibb is committed to putting people and neighborhoods first, delivering high-quality city services and leading bold change. The Bibb Administration is building a stronger and safer Cleveland and modernizing City Hall to improve outcomes for all Clevelanders.
Mayor Bibb and his team have made major progress on a wide range of initiatives including unprecedented support for public safety through the Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone (RISE) Initiative and a robust plan for the revitalization of Cleveland’s Southeast Side.
Mayor Bibb serves as chair of the national bipartisan coalition Climate Mayors, vice president of the Democratic Mayors Association and is a proud member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors advisory board, the Ohio Mayor’s Alliance and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition. Mayor Bibb’s vision is for Cleveland to be a national model for city management, public safety, and neighborhood revitalization.
Tawanna A. Black is an award-winning architect of racially inclusive and equitable talent, supply chain, philanthropy and marketing strategies that yield transformational results for businesses, their consumers, and the communities they work in. For more than 20 years, she has earned the trust of executives by mobilizing teams to create and execute strategies that benefit diverse workers, consumers, and business owners and drive growth and fiscal health.
As Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Economic Inclusion (the Center) and Living Truth Enterprises, Ms. Black is on a mission to fuel racially inclusive and equitable regional economic growth in cities across the country. She has unlocked the formula for responsible corporate action to build shared economic growth while increasing consumer, shareholder, and investor trust and loyalty. Since founding the Center in 2017, Ms. Black has expanded the services, revenue, and employee-base annually, and today leads a team of 32 with an annual budget of $6 million. She has become a nationally recognized thought-leader, elevating the economic imperative for corporate action to close racial wealth gaps and build shared prosperity. Ms. Black is a skilled public-private partnership strategist and has helped companies, including Mutual of Omaha, ConAgra Foods, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, and Cox Communications harness the power of government, community, and philanthropic partnerships to develop ESG solutions that reward communities, employees, and shareholders.
Ms. Black’s urban planning and economic development experience, coupled with her keen understanding of the intersection between business goals and community needs, made her uniquely positioned to lead Destination Midtown, an unprecedented public- private partnership in Omaha, Nebraska. Her accomplishments and civic leadership have been recognized with many awards and commendations. Highlights include Women Presidents’ Organization- JP Morgan Chase- 100 Black Men of America- Women of Color Achievement Award (2022); Women Elevating Women- Entrepreneurial Women of Impact (2023), Executive Leadership Council – Community Leadership Award, Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Person of the Year (2022), Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Nonprofit Community Impact Award (2021), Twin Cities Business Magazine’s 100 People to Know (2021, 2020, 2017).
Melissa L. Bradley is the Founder and Managing Partner of 1863 Ventures, a business development program that accelerates New Majority entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth and Co-founder of New Majority Ventures, a purpose-driven media brand featuring content that is entertaining, inspirational and actionable so that these entrepreneurs and their businesses survive and thrive. Melissa serves as General Partner of 1863 Venture Fund, Venture Partner at NextGen Ventures and as an advisor to Reign Ventures, New Voices Foundation, as well as the Halcyon Fund. She is a board member of Ureeka, a small business platform company she co-founded and sold, as well as Eat the Change, Motley Fool Foundation, and AEO. She is also a member of the Milken Institute Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Asset Management Initiative, Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women Advisory Council, Launch with GS Advisory Council, Fast Company Executive Board, Square & Forbes Small Business Advisory Team, as well as the Target Accelerators Entrepreneurs Advisory Council. Melissa is the former Co-Chair of the National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and was named to the 2022 Forbes 50 Over 50 list for social entrepreneurship. Melissa is a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University where she teaches impact investing, social entrepreneurship, P2P economies, and innovation. Over the last two years, she was commended with the Peter W. Gonzalez, Jr. Award for Excellence in Adjunct Faculty Teaching and The Ideas Worth Teaching Award which celebrates exceptional courses that are preparing future business leaders to tackle society’s largest challenges and create a more inclusive, just, and sustainable version of capitalism. Melissa's educational background includes graduation from Georgetown University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the School of Business and a Master’s degree in Business Administration in Marketing from American University in 1993.
John Hope Bryant is an American entrepreneur, prominent thought leader, author, philanthropist, and a leading expert in financial literacy and economic inclusion. Referred to as the “conscience of capitalism” by numerous Fortune 500 CEOs, Bryant is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE, Inc. the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of financial literacy services to youth and adults. Bryant is also chairman and chief executive officer of John Hope Bryant Holdings, Bryant Group Ventures, Bryant Group Advisors, and executive chairman of The Promise Homes Company, the largest for-profit minority-controlled owner of institutional-quality, single-family residential rental homes in the U.S.
John Hope Bryant is responsible for financial literacy becoming the official policy of the U.S. federal government. He is the only American citizen to ever inspire the renaming of a building on the White House campus; from the US Treasury Annex Building to the Freedman’s Bank Building, in honor of Lincoln’s unfinished work to teach freed slaves about money, in 1865. Bryant also inspired the Treasury Department to host a Freedman’s Bank Forum, which has continued annually under successive administrations.
Bryant was named in 2024 by TIME Magazine to their inaugural list of The Closers, 18 global leaders working to close the racial wealth gap, he is a CNBC Contributor, host of the iHeart Radio podcast, “Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant,” a member of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Council and the CNBC CEO Council, and a best-selling author of six books, including Financial Literacy For All, released April 2024. He is one of the only bestselling authors on economics and business leadership in the world today who is African American. John Hope Bryant’s financial empowerment work has been recognized by five U.S. Presidents. He has served as an advisor to three sitting U.S. presidents representing both political parties. Bryant has received hundreds of awards and citations for his work, including Oprah Winfrey’s “Use Your Life” Award, and the “John Sherman Award for Excellence in Financial Education” from the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Jonathan Capehart is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associate Editor of The Washington Post. Since 2007, he has been an opinion writer at The Post. He was a member of The Post’s editorial board until 2022. He hosts the weekly Post podcast “Capehart” and the weekly Post Live show “First Look.” At MSNBC, Capehart is the anchor of “The Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart,” which debuted on Feb. 18th, and “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart,” which has been on the air since 2020. His MSNBC special “A Promised Land: A Conversation with Barack Obama” was nominated in 2021 for an Emmy for “Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis.” His MSNBC special “Pride of the White House” won a GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding TV Journalism - Long Form” in 2022. At PBS, Capehart serves as a political analyst on “The PBS Newshour” and is featured on the popular Friday segment “Brooks and Capehart.” From 2002 to 2004, Capehart was deputy editorial page editor of the New York Daily News and served on that paper’s editorial board from 1993 to 2000. In 1999, his 16-month editorial campaign to save the famed Apollo Theater earned him and the board the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. Capehart left the Daily News in July 2000 to become the national affairs columnist at Bloomberg News, and took a leave from this position in February 2001 to serve as a policy adviser to Michael Bloomberg in his first campaign for New York City mayor.
Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity: how we can give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding? Chetty’s work has been widely cited in academia, media outlets, and policy discussions in the United States and beyond. Chetty received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003 and is one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field, and Harvard’s George Ledlie prize, awarded for research that made the most valuable contribution to science, or in any way for the benefit of mankind.
Sherri Chisholm joined Leading on Opportunity as its executive director in September 2020, bringing nearly a decade of experience as an educational and nonprofit strategist to the role. She has worked in senior leadership at national nonprofits and major school districts across the country, where she drove transformation through strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and leadership development. Prior to joining Leading on Opportunity, Sherri served as the founding Executive Director of Urban Alliance Detroit, a national youth workforce development nonprofit that aims to expand access to economic opportunity for youth from under-resourced neighborhoods through paid internships, job skills training, and mentoring. She is also the founder and CEO of FreeSpace Consulting Group where she has worked to guide and support districts and nonprofit organizations across the country seeking to effect positive change in public education. Sherri holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Studies and Spanish from the University of Michigan; a Master of Arts degree in Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education; and a Master of Arts degree in Education Leadership from the Los Angeles-based Broad Center for the Management of School Systems. Sherri is a proud native of metro-Detroit. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and daughter.
Nyla Choates, C’2025, has been making waves in the world of entrepreneurship and social change as the author, founder and CEO of the children’s book and nonprofit organization My Roots Are Rich. Due to her work in making an impact on children across the world, she was recently honored as a 2023 Mcdonald’s Black & Positively Golden Change Leader A native of Milpitas CA., Choates is a motivated English major, President of the Spelman Entrepreneurship Club, 2022 Spelpreneur Pitch Competition 1st place winner, Amazon Black is Entrepreneurial 1st place winner, Black Girl Ventures Student Visionary, Blackstone Launchpad Fellow, Center for Black Entrepreneurship Scholarship recipient, RICE Stakeholder, and Target Scholar. Nyla’s favorite quote is “you have to be the change that you want to see in the world.” She wants to be that change.
A trifecta of community, commerce and compassion, Pinky Cole is a serial entrepreneur, brand strategist and CEO/founder & visionary of Bar Vegan, Slutty Vegan – a nationally acclaimed, Atlanta-based burger joint offering creative takes on plant-based burgers with names like PLT, Fussy Hussy and One Night Stand – and The Pinky Cole Foundation - a charitable organization dedicated to empowering under- served populations with the resources to help break cycles of poverty. Born and raised in East Baltimore, Cole started her entrepreneurial journey early through creating business plans and side-hustles with friends and family members during high school. She moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University, and while she quickly became enamored with the city, she decided to pursue acting in Los Angeles upon graduation and later worked as a successful television producer in New York City and Connecticut. Pinky made national headlines for raising 25 million in series A funding and the company has been valued at over 100 million. Pinky has graced the cover of Essence Magazine & INC 5000 , as well as featured in Business Insider, Washington Post, People Magazine, Forbes, and dozens more media outlets as one of the world’s most prominent and outspoken celebrities in food and philanthropy. Pinky opened new Slutty Vegan locations in 2022 including the latest in Birmingham, Alabama & Brooklyn, New York with another 10 planned for 2023. Pinky Cole has also taken her expertise to the literary world with her new book released in Fall 2022, just nominated for an NAACP Award. In May 2019, Pinky established The Pinky Cole Foundation. In partnership with another philanthropist, she has paid rent for struggling local businesses, paid the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta University students, purchased a car and life insurance for the family of Rayshard Brooks who was murdered by a police in 2020. Pinky has been recognized by prestigious organizations all over the U.S., including being named to Restaurant Hospitality’s 2021 Power List, Forbes Next 1000, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Powerful Women in Business List, LA Wire Influential Women of 2020 and most recently, Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 List and PETA’s 2021 Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrities List.
Tony Coles, M.D., has served as the Cerevel Therapeutics chairperson of the board of directors since December 2018 and previously was also the chief executive officer of Cerevel from September 2019 to June 2023. Prior to joining Cerevel, Dr. Coles co-founded and served as the chairperson and chief executive officer of Yumanity Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on transforming drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Before co-founding Yumanity Therapeutics, Dr. Coles served as the chairperson and chief executive officer of TRATE Enterprises, LLC, a privately-held company. Previously, Dr. Coles served as president, chief executive officer and chairperson of the board of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until its acquisition by Amgen. Prior to joining Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he was president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before joining NPS Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Coles was senior vice president of commercial operations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., and earlier, held several executive positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc. In addition to having previously served as a director of Onyx and NPS, Dr. Coles was formerly a director of CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Campus Crest Communities, Inc. and McKesson Corporation. He also previously served as a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows. Dr. Coles currently serves on the board of directors of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is the Council Chair for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.; a member of the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, non-partisan membership organization, think tank and publisher. In 2022, Dr. Coles was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Coles earned his bachelor’s degree at Johns Hopkins University, a medical degree from Duke University, and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. He completed his cardiology and internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School.
X. Eyeé is an award-winning expert in AI. X is a Senior Policy Advisor for the Goldman School at UC Berkeley, and the CEO of Malo Santo - an AI consulting firm. Over the past 17 years, X has served as an engineering leader, product manager, and researcher for companies like Microsoft, Google, and the Department of Defense. At Microsoft, X worked on cutting-edge Ambient Intelligence solutions that combined blockchain, AI, and IoT for Fortune 500 companies around the world. At Google, X worked across all of Google’s AI products & research to ensure they were built responsibly & ethically. X created novel research teams, including the Skin Tone team, which developed techniques to improve AI's ability to recognize diverse skin tones. This work set new industry standards for measuring skin tone in AI & enhanced products like the Pixel phone’s camera & Google’s Image Search. Now, as CEO of Malo Santo, an AI consulting firm, X empowers companies to build AI that scales - across geographies, cultures, and within communities. In its first 6 months, Malo Santo has provided AI education, governance & development services to companies like L’Oreal, Mozilla, and the Emmy award-winning production company Hillman Grad.
Garnesha Ezediaro has over two decades of experience serving as a catalyst for individual, community and organizational transformation. With a passion for agility, Garnesha has worked across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to design, direct and scale mission-focused programs and content that inspire change and build brands. She currently leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' Greenwood Initiative — an effort to accelerate the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and address systemic underinvestment in Black communities. Since launching in September 2020, the portfolio has already invested more than $250 million to help ease the debt burden of Black medical students and equitable access of COVID-19 vaccines within Black communities. Investments also supported access to racial wealth equity data; historic underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields; and partnering on programs to help city leaders prioritize economic equity agendas for Black and Brown residents. Prior to her current role, Garnesha led Global Leadership Development Programs at Verizon Media, as well as public service roles including serving as the Communications Director and spokesperson for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and as Director of Marketing at Brick City Development Corporation in Newark, NJ under the leadership of former Mayor Cory Booker. Garnesha also has more than 15 years of experience as a trained facilitator and holds coaching certifications for the Leadership Circle Profile, Insights Discovery, and the Energy Leadership Index.
Darrick Hamilton, Founding Director: Darrick Hamilton is a university professor, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, and founding director of the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School. Considered one of the nation’s foremost public intellectuals, Professor Hamilton has been profiled in the New York Times, Mother Jones, Bloomberg’s Business Week and the Wall Street Journal. Professor Hamilton was named a Freedom Scholar by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the Group Health Foundation. He has been involved in crafting policy proposals that have garnered media attention and inspired legislative proposals at the federal, state, and local levels, including baby bonds, guaranteed income, and a federal job guarantee. He has testified before several Senate and House committees, including the Joint Economic Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. He was born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and received a PhD in Economics from the University of North Carolina.
Eric Holder advises clients on complex investigations and litigation matters, including those that are international in scope and involve significant regulatory enforcement issues and substantial reputational concerns. Mr. Holder, who was a partner at Covington from 2001 to 2009, rejoined the firm after serving for six years as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. Before his service as Attorney General, Mr. Holder maintained a wide-ranging investigations and litigation practice at Covington. Among numerous significant engagements, he led the firm’s representation of a major multi-national agricultural company in related civil, criminal, and investigative matters; acted as counsel to a special investigative committee of the board of directors of a Fortune 50 technology company; successfully tried a complex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a leading financial services company; and represented several life sciences companies in litigation and investigations. Mr. Holder served as Attorney General from February 2009 to April 2015. As the third longest serving Attorney General in U.S. history and the first African American to hold that office, Mr. Holder is an internationally recognized leader across a broad range of regulatory enforcement, criminal justice, and national security issues. In 2014, Time magazine named Mr. Holder to its list of 100 Most Influential People, noting that he had “worked tirelessly to ensure equal justice.” Including his tenure as Attorney General, Mr. Holder has served in government for more than thirty years, having been appointed to various positions requiring U.S. Senate confirmation by Presidents Obama, Clinton and Reagan.
Representative Horsford is a proven champion for Nevada’s working families. In the 118th Congress, he is committed to getting Nevada's economy back on track and restoring public faith in American institutions.Rep. Horsford understands the challenges many families in Nevada’s Fourth face each and every day. He fights for responsible gun control and background checks. He lost his father when he was 19 and empathizes with those who have experienced the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. His work has focused on ending the school-to-prison pipeline and providing the safety net children and families need to succeed. He has worked to strengthen children, families, and communities because these are priorities for so many Nevadans. For more than a decade, Rep. Horsford led the Culinary Training Academy, the largest job training program in Nevada, helping thousands of workers find quality careers in the hospitality industry. A unique partnership between labor and business, the Culinary Training Academy under Rep. Horsford’s leadership placed over 80 percent of graduates into good-paying jobs and completed a multi-million capital construction campaign.Rep. Horsford made history as Nevada’s first African-American State Senate Majority Leader and he delivered. He passed the "Clean Energy Jobs Initiative" and positioned Nevada as a leader in renewable energy. When Nevada’s economy was devastated during the recession, Rep. Horsford worked across party lines to solve the worst budget crisis in state history. While previously representing Nevadans in our nation's capital, Rep. Horsford worked to ensure veterans, senior citizens, and all Nevadans received the benefits they deserved, authored and passed the Nevada Lands Bill to create jobs across the state, and fought to protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions. Most recently a small business owner, in partnership with Intel, Horsford worked to bring the first-of-its-kind workforce development program for youth and young adults to North Las Vegas. He helped to launch a food recovery program with Three Square and major employers like MGM Resorts to address food insecurity among needy children, families and seniors. He brings a principled focus on job creation, community development, and skills development to Congress. Born and raised in Las Vegas to an immigrant mother, Rep. Horsford has worked hard to raise and nurture his three children.
Lisa P. Jackson is Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. She oversees Apple’s efforts to minimize its impact on the environment by addressing climate change through renewable energy and energy efficiency, using greener materials, and inventing new ways to conserve precious resources. She also leads Apple’s $200M+ Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, focused on education, economic empowerment, and criminal justice reform — and is responsible for Apple’s education policy programs, its product accessibility work, and its worldwide government affairs function. From 2009 to 2013, Lisa served as Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the first Black person to hold the position. Appointed by President Barack Obama, she focused on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination, and expanding outreach to communities on environmental issues. She has also served as chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and as commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection. Lisa has been recognized as a leader in business and sustainability in a number of leading publications including TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders in Business (2023), Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, Vogue’s Game Changers, InStyle’s Badass Women, Newsweek’s Most Important People, TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World (2010 & 2011) and Ebony’s Power 100 lists. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Princeton’s James Madison Medal, Tulane University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Achievement Award, the Corporate EcoForum’s C.K. Prahalad Award for Global Sustainability Business Leadership and The Captain Planet Foundation’s Protector of the Earth Award. Lisa serves as Board Chair of the Waverly Street Foundation. She also serves on the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and on the boards of Tulane University, Conservation International and the American Film Institute. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Letitia “Tish” James is the 67th Attorney General for the State of New York. With decades of experience and a long record of achievements, she is a powerful, effective attorney and lifelong public servant. When she was elected in 2018, she became the first woman of color to hold statewide office in New York and the first woman to be elected Attorney General. In her first term, Attorney General James focused on protecting vulnerable New York residents and ensuring that individuals or companies that broke state laws were held accountable. She secured more than $7.5 billion for New York from those who broke state laws and took advantage of New Yorkers, including more than $2.5 billion from opioid manufacturers and distributors for their roles in the opioid epidemic. Under her leadership, the Office of the Attorney General helped remove more than 4,000 guns from New York communities, took down dozens of dangerous drug and gun trafficking rings throughout the state, and took legal action to stop the proliferation of ghost guns. Before serving as Attorney General, Letitia James was the Public Advocate for the City of New York. When she was elected in 2013, she became the first woman of color to hold citywide office. As Public Advocate, her office passed more legislation than all previous Public Advocates combined, including a groundbreaking law that banned questions about salary history from the employment process to address the pervasive gender wage gap. Prior to serving as Public Advocate, Letitia James represented the 35th Council District in Brooklyn in the New York City Council for ten years. As a Council Member, she passed the Safe Housing Act, legislation that forced landlords to improve living conditions for tenants in New York City’s worst buildings. Before her election to the City Council, Letitia James was head of the Brooklyn Regional Office of the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Letitia James began her career as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society. A proud Brooklynite, she is a graduate of Lehman College and Howard University School of Law.
In February 2023, Raymond A. Jetson launched Aging While Black, a movement designed to amplify the value and experiences of Black elders by exploring the intersection of aging and race. The movement is being advanced through community building around three essential pillars: Recalibrating the Village, Embracing Innovation and Rapid Change, and Leaning into Sankofa. These pillars center the wellbeing of Black elders by promoting the overhaul of the systems that support Black life, adapting new technologies and their potential, and embedding the wisdom of the elders into the fabric of the culture. A serial social innovator, he is the catalytic force that has powered the evolution of the Baton Rouge based social enterprise MetroMorphosis, a community centered change model that seeks to transform inner city neighborhoods through racial, social and economic equity. He has a rich history of pubic service and impacting people. Previously he served as CEO for the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, a nonprofit focused on supporting the recovery of families impacted by disasters. Prior to this, Jetson was the deputy secretary for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). In this capacity, he provided leadership for the state’s largest agency. Raymond served as the state Representative for District 61 in the Louisiana House of representatives for more than 15 years. And for 23 years he served as the pastor of the Star Hill Church. Raymond has continually emerged as a leading voice on community change strategies, social innovation, and authentic community engagement. He has served as a source for USA TODAY, The New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc and a self-identified golf addict.
Broderick Johnson is the EVP, Public Policy & EVP, Digital Equity for Comcast Corporation. Broderick oversees the company’s Public Policy team and holds overall responsibility for Comcast’s role in the digital equity space. Comcast is a leader in solutions to bridge the digital divide, and Broderick works closely with our partners in government and other stakeholders to support our shared goal of connecting as many Americans as possible to the Internet, and to shape our corporate policies that allow our businesses to continue to grow and innovate. Broderick has more than three decades of experience as a lawyer, policy advisor, and political strategist, most recently with the international law firm of Covington & Burling. He has served under two U.S. Presidents, as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs under President Clinton, and as Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Cabinet under President Obama. Broderick also served as chief counsel for several committees in the U.S. House. Broderick is a highly respected and trusted leader in Washington D.C. and across the nation, and he has advised hundreds of clients on a wide array of policy issues, including telecommunications and tech matters. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross. He sits on numerous boards, including the boards of directors of the Obama Foundation and the Black Economic Alliance. He also chairs the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Advisory Council.
Jenn currently serves as the Vice President, Government Affairs at AARP.
Jenn leads a team of senior lobbyists representing the views of AARP before Congress, the White House, regulatory agencies, and state governments, on a broad range of financial and consumer issues, including Social Security and pensions, banking and finance, taxes, appropriations, employment, transportation, housing, energy, and telecommunications.
Prior to joining AARP, Jenn served as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Biden-Harris Administration. She was responsible for a staff of more than 8,000 dedicated to providing affordable housing and services for poor and working-class people.
Prior to joining HUD, Jenn was the Chief of Membership & Policy for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), a 35-year-old grassroots network of housing, community and economic development organizations fighting to increase the flow of private capital into traditionally underserved communities.
Van Jones is a U.S. media personality, entrepreneur and world-class change maker. Jones has a rare track record of bringing people together to do hard things -- in areas as diverse as clean energy solutions, criminal justice reform and racial inclusion in the tech sector. In 2007, Van was the primary champion of the Green Jobs Act, signed into law by George W. Bush. In 2009, he worked in the Obama White House as the Special Advisor for Green Jobs. In 2018, he helped pass the FIRST STEP Act – which the New York Times calls the most substantial breakthrough in criminal justice in a generation. In 2021, Jones was the first recipient of Jeff Bezos’ Courage & Civility Award. Van is a CNN host, an Emmy Award-winning producer and a 3X New York Times best-selling author.
Kimberlyn Leary is the Executive Vice President of the Urban Institute, having previously held the position of Senior Vice President of Research Management and Program Development there. Dr. Leary also serves as an Associate Professor at both the Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Additionally, she is a Senior Fellow at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, where she co-directs leadership programs for new mayors, government officials, and senior executives. Additionally, Dr. Leary has served in multiple policy roles. Most recently, she was a Senior Policy Advisor to the Biden White House Domestic Policy Council and a Senior Equity Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget. Previously, she was an advisor to the Obama White House Council on Women and Girls.
Christopher Lyons is President, Web3 Media at a16z crypto. Prior to joining the team at a16z crypto, he co-founded the firm’s Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF) and was instrumental in launching the first Seed Fund. Lyons started his career in the music industry working for Grammy-Award-winning producer Jermaine Dupri as a sound engineer. He then launched his first startup, a mobile app and digital menu offering called PictureMenu. Lyons joined a16z in 2013, first as chief of staff to co-founder Ben Horowitz.
Kwasi Mitchell is the chief purpose officer at Deloitte. He is responsible for leading the organization-wide strategy that powers Deloitte’s commitment to purpose and drives a broader impact for our clients, people and the communities in which we live and work. Kwasi built and oversees the organization’s first dedicated Purpose Office focused on addressing some of the world’s most complex societal issues including diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability and climate change, education and workforce development, and technology trust ethics. In his role, Kwasi creates pathways of opportunity for our people and clients to find purpose in their work and harness their skills to drive a collective impact that addresses systemic societal issues. His belief in the power of a purpose-driven organization has led Deloitte to strategically invest $1.5 billion over 10 years to address equity for those facing the greatest barriers to prosperity and his passion for creating a more equitable society has earned him a board seat on several national and global nonprofits. Kwasi’s leadership brings focus to the shared impact and lasting change we can have on society at large when we put our purpose into action and embrace the differences that unite us. Prior to being named Deloitte’s chief purpose officer, Kwasi was the diversity, equity and inclusion leader, the pro bono and social impact lead for Deloitte’s 50,000+ person Consulting practice and served as the Strategy Offering leader for Deloitte’s Government & Public Services practice where he advised clients within both the government and commercial sectors. His insights of building a purpose-driven organization have been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Business Insider, Fortune and more. Kwasi has a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University, an MBA from Drexel University and sits on the board of several national and global nonprofits focused on building a more equitable society. He lives in Washington, D.C. where he spends time with his lovely wife, Kathleen.
Marc Morial, one of the few national leaders to possess “street smarts,” and “boardroom savvy,” is the transformative President and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization. He served as the highly successful and popular Mayor of New Orleans as well as the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Marc previously was a Louisiana State Senator and was a lawyer in New Orleans with an active, high-profile practice. He is a leading voice on the national stage in the battle for jobs, education, housing, health, voting rights, equity, and entrepreneurship. Marc is a published author; his leadership book, Gumbo Coalition: 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, United, and Achieve has been widely acclaimed, and his column entitled To Be Equal, reaches hundreds of thousands. He is the host of the weekly syndicated television show, America’s Black Forum. A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics and African American Studies, he has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony Magazine, one of the top 50 Non-Profit Leaders by the Non-Profit Times, one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in America and he has also been inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta, GA. Marc and his father, the late Ernest “Dutch” Morial, are history makers as the first African American father/son mayors in the U.S. and were the subject of a Double Jeopardy question on the legendary Jeopardy television game show in the 1990s.
Michael Neal is a Senior Fellow in the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Mr. Neal’s research intersects racial equity, homeownership, and wealth building. He has assessed the challenges associated with accessing homeownership, benefiting from it as well as passing wealth down to future generations. His work has been cited by major news outlets, government entities as well as private sector organizations. Prior to Urban, Mr. Neal was a Director of Economics in Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Division and before that, he was an Assistant Vice President in the Economics and Housing Policy Department at the National Association of Home Builders. Mr. Neal has a bachelor's degree in economics from Morehouse College and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also studied finance at Princeton University and economics at the University of Oxford.
Michele Norris is one of the most trusted voices in journalism. She is the author of the New York Times Best Selling book, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race And Identity (Simon & Schuster Jan 2024.). Michele’s critically-acclaimed book explores these cultural issues during the period bookended by the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump and punctuated by a global pandemic, the overturning of Roe v Wade and the storming of the nation’s Capitol. Michele is also a Columnist for The Washington Post Opinion Section, the Host of the Audible Original podcast, Your Mama’s Kitchen, and her voice will be familiar to followers of public radio, where from 2002 to 2012 she was a host of National Public Radio’s afternoon magazine show, All Things Considered. Norris is also the Founding Director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award Winning narrative archive where people around the world share their experiences, questions, hopes, dreams, laments, and observations about identity --in just six words--as the starting point for conversations about race and belonging. Her Work at The Race Card Project was the foundation for her new book. Norris is also National Geographic Storytelling Fellow. She has received numerous awards for her work, including Emmy, Peabody and Dupont Awards. In 2022 she received the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. Norris was named "Journalist of the Year" in 2009 by the National Association of Black Journalists. Before joining NPR in 2002, Michele spent almost ten years as a TV correspondent for ABC News in the Washington Bureau covering politics, policy and the dynamics of social change. She has also worked as a staff writer for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Norris was a Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University and has served as a Sine Fellow at American University. In 2022 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She is a judge for The Chancellor Awards and a board member for the Peabody Awards. She is also a board member of The National Archives Foundation Board, and the President Obama oral history project at Columbia University as well as the storytelling committee for the Obama Presidential Center under construction on the South Side of Chicago.
Shawyn Patterson-Howard is the 30th Mayor of Mount Vernon, New York; making history as the first woman elected to the position in 2019. Her re-election in 2023 marked a significant milestone, as it was the first time in two decades that a sitting mayor had been re-elected. During her term, Mayor Patterson-Howard has navigated the complexities of governing through various crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and public safety reforms. Her approach to leadership is collaborative and focused on creating systemic solutions that benefit marginalized communities. Under her leadership, the city has secured over $350 million for infrastructure projects, seen the redevelopment of Memorial Stadium, and upgraded the City’s fleet of Police, Fire and Public Works vehicles among other key achievements. Mayor Patterson-Howard's advocacy extends to environmental justice, climate change, public health, and financial empowerment. Her efforts have garnered attention on both national and international stages, enabling Mount Vernon to collaborate with notable organizations like Bloomberg, Harvard, The Gates Foundation, and The National League of Cities. She holds several prestigious positions in various organizations, such as President of the African American Mayor’s Association and National Co-Chair of Everytown’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Mayor Patterson-Howard's commitment to her city and its residents is matched by her dedication to volunteerism and community involvement. She is happily married to her husband of 36 years, Marvin Howard, and has one daughter, Nia.
Andre M. Perry is a Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro, a scholar-in-residence at American University, and a professor of practice of economics at Washington University. A nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education, Perry is the author of the book “Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities,” which is currently available wherever books are sold. Perry is a regular contributor to MSNBC and has been published by numerous national media outlets, including The New York Times, The Nation, The Washington Post, TheRoot.com and CNN.com. Perry has also made appearances on HBO, CNN, PBS, National Public Radio, NBC, and ABC. Perry’s research focuses on race and structural inequality, education, and economic inclusion. Perry’s recent scholarship at Brookings has analyzed Black-majority cities and institutions in America, focusing on valuable assets worthy of increased investment. Prior to his work at Brookings, Perry has been a founding dean, professor, award-winning journalist, and activist in the field of education.
Pamela Perry is vice president of equitable housing, leading initiatives that support Freddie Mac’s strategic efforts to expand access to homeownership in communities of color. In this role, Pam works to build a more equitable housing finance system by leading Freddie Mac’s business strategy to help more consumers establish credit, build generational wealth and access housing opportunities. Prior to this role, Perry served for nine years as a senior associate general counsel in Freddie Mac’s Legal division primarily focusing on fair lending and access to credit for minority borrowers. Before Freddie Mac, she advised on complex transactions with firms such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and the government of District of Columbia, where she served as deputy attorney general overseeing counsel on large scale community development projects, such as Nationals Park and the D.C. Wharf. She also managed policy and government relations for a nonprofit focusing on consumer credit and financial protection issues. Ms. Perry holds an A.B. in economics from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as the managing editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.
Charles Phillips is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Recognize, a technology investment and operating firm focused on software engineering services with over $1 billion in assets. He is the former CEO and Chairman of Infor, the third largest business software applications company which realized a $13B enterprise value exit in 2020. Prior to Infor, Phillips was President of Oracle Corporation and a member of its Board of Directors and the company tripled in market capitalization during his tenure.. Before Oracle, Phillips was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley in the Technology Group and served on its Board of Directors. Phillips served as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines at Camp Lejeune in a line of three generations of military service. Phillips holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a J.D. from New York Law School, and an MBA from Hampton University and is a member of the Georgia State Bar Association. Phillips serves on the Boards of Paramount Global, American Express, and the Council of Foreign Relations and is Chairman of The Apollo Theater. Phillips previously served on President Obama’s Economic Recovery Board and board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Charles W. Scharf has been chief executive officer and president of Wells Fargo & Company, and a member of its Board of Directors, since October 2019.
A financial services veteran with more than 25 years of experience in leadership roles in the banking and payments industries, Charlie served as chief executive officer of Bank of New York Mellon from July 2017 to October 2019 and the chairman of its board from January 2018 to October 2018. He also was chief executive officer and a director of Visa Inc. from November 2012 to December 2016.
Previously, he was a managing director of One Equity Partners at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and chief executive officer of Retail Financial Services at JPMorgan Chase. He also was chief executive officer of the retail division of Bank One Corp., chief financial officer of Bank One Corp., chief financial officer of the Global Corporate and Investment Bank division of Citigroup, and chief financial officer of Salomon Smith Barney and its predecessor company.
Charlie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from New York University.
He is a director of Microsoft Corporation and is a member of The Business Council. He lives in New York City.
Shelley is a senior partner and leader in McKinsey & Company’s Growth, Marketing and Sales practice. He leads growth-focused transformations in privately held and publicly traded companies. Additionally, Shelley leads the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, a think-and-do-tank focused on catalyzing solutions to improving economic outcomes for Black individuals and families. He has published numerous articles, the media widely covers his work, and he is a noted speaker on the topic. Shelley is also on the Board of the Brooklyn Community Foundation, the first and only public foundation solely dedicated to Brooklyn's charitable community. In 2023, he was selected as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2022, he was named a Notable Black Leader by Crain’s New York Business as well as one of the Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America by SAVOY magazine. Shelley is a member of the Executive Leadership Council. Previously, he served on the Board of Directors of the National Black MBA Association. Before joining McKinsey, Shelley worked in the financial-services industry. Shelley has a BA in Economics from Boston College, an MBA from Columbia University an MPA from Harvard University and Honorary Doctorate from the University of New Haven
Samantha Tweedy is an accomplished executive, fundraiser, strategist and Yale Law-trained attorney who has spent two decades working to increase economic mobility and opportunity for Black people.
Prior to being named the first-ever Chief Executive Officer of BEA, Samantha served as the inaugural President of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation – leading the organization’s efforts to produce cutting-edge research, practical solutions, and programming to create better access to good paying jobs, livable wages, and wealth creation for Black people.
Before joining BEAF, Samantha was the first Chief Partnerships and Impact Officer at the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations. She developed and directed the Power Fund to invest in nonprofit leaders of color and the High-Quality Schools Fund to support innovative school models for New York City’s most under-resourced communities. She was instrumental in creating the NinetyToZero partnership among America’s leading companies and organizations, including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, ACLU, and The Wharton School, to combat the racial wealth gap through increased investment in Black talent and Black businesses.
Samantha brings a unique mix of on-the-ground and executive experience to her leadership. She served as the first Chief Advancement Officer at Uncommon Schools, a network of over 50 public charter schools serving historically disadvantaged students of color who go on to graduate from four-year colleges at higher rates than students from the wealthiest American households. She also founded and directed an elementary school that won the National Blue Ribbon School Award for its success in closing racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps.
After graduating from Yale Law School and Duke University magna cum laude, Samantha began her career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where she worked on landmark school equity litigation to close the public-school spending gaps that disproportionately impact students of color and practiced commercial litigation.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Samantha lives in Bed Stuy with her husband and two children, Stokely and Evers. She is a Pahara Fellow and serves as a board and advisory member for a number of organizations dedicated to racial and economic justice, including Amsale Aspire, Coney Island Prep, The Highland Project, and Next100.
As Head of Community Impact & Investment at Capital One, Kerone Vatel leads the organization responsible for creating thriving communities that are inclusive and equitable by harnessing the skills, resources, and partnerships across the Capital One community. She oversees the socioeconomic mobility mission and leads Capital One’s multiyear, $200 million Impact Initiative, which seeks to build livable and thriving communities, advocate for inclusive products, and ensure that individuals and families have the financial tools to develop dynamic financial futures. Prior to Capital One, Kerone served as Senior Advisor to the Head of Corporate Responsibility and Global Head of Business Resiliency at JP Morgan Chase and held several operational roles in technology transformation, analytics, risk management, and strategy at Goldman Sachs. Kerone’s career has brought her full circle, having started as a Business Analyst in Capital One’s Card division aer graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She serves on the boards of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, City Harvest, and Halcyon House, and is very involved with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She has two children, Taylor and Jackson, and resides in Brooklyn.
Alicia Wilson, Esq. is the Managing Director and Head of Regional Philanthropy for North America for JPMorgan Chase. At JPMorgan, Alicia oversees the local philanthropic strategies across 40+ markets in North America, collaborating intentionally with senior leaders across the firm’s corporate responsibility and business units to drive meaningful impact across JPMorgan’s business footprint in the U.S. and Canada. This includes helping to steward the $2 billion philanthropic commitment as part of the firm’s broader Racial Equity Commitment.
Prior to joining JPMorgan, Alicia served as Vice President of Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System and Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland. At Johns Hopkins, Alicia led a core cross-institutional team focused on developing and implementing Hopkins’ institution-wide strategies and initiatives as an anchor institution in and around its campuses both within the United States and abroad. Alicia spearheaded the elevation and expansion of Hopkins signature commitment to its communities through investments in real estate, economic and neighborhood development, healthcare, and education.
Alicia is actively involved in civic and charitable organizations. She currently serves on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Visitors, the CollegeBound Foundation, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and the France-Merrick Foundation. She is also co-founder of the Black Philanthropy Circle at the Baltimore Community Foundation. Alicia is also Chair of the CollegeBound Foundation and as such is the first CollegeBound Foundation alum, first woman, first African-American and youngest Board Chair in the thirty history of the organization. Alicia also serves as Parliamentarian within the Harbor City Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
For her accomplishments and public service, Alicia has received over fifty professional awards and honors. Most recently, Alicia was recognized as Pro Bono Partner of the Year for 2022 by the Equal Justice Council and was selected as the 2022 Whitney M. Young Award recipient for her service to youth by the Boys Scouts of America, Baltimore Area Council. In mid-2022, Savoy Magazine recognized Alicia as one of the “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America”.
Dalila Wilson-Scott serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. In this role, Dalila oversees all Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives and philanthropic strategy for the corporation with a focus on advancing digital equity and economic mobility through Project UP, the company’s $1 billion commitment. Dalila also leads Comcast’s community impact initiatives, working across the organization to provide strategic leadership throughout all aspects of its corporate social responsibility programs, including employee engagement and volunteerism. In addition, Dalila oversees efforts to utilize Comcast’s world-class media platforms to bring greater attention to the work of our philanthropic partners. Over the last three years, Comcast NBCUniversal has provided nearly $1.5 billion in total cash and in-kind support to over 5,000 nonprofit partners sharing Comcast NBCUniversal’s commitment to creating a more connected and equitable world. Dalila joined Comcast in 2016 after more than 16 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she served as Head of Global Philanthropy and President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. She led the firm’s philanthropic and economic opportunity initiatives, including the firm’s $100 million commitment to Detroit’s recovery, while helping to set the company’s overall corporate responsibility strategy. Prior to joining the Office of Corporate Responsibility, she served in the firm’s Corporate Merger Office as an integral member of the team managing the integration of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One. Currently, Dalila serves on the boards of Main Line Health, City Year, CodePath, OceanFirst Bank, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern NJ and the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. In September 2023, Dalila was honored as WICT Woman of the Year in recognition of her work to help develop women leaders who transform the media, entertainment and technology industry. She has been named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” by Cablefax Magazine; one of the “Most Powerful Women in Business” by Black Enterprise; and an “Innovative Rising Star: Building Communities” by Forbes magazine. She was also recognized by ColorComm as one of the "28 Black Women in Communications Making History Now;” and named a “2022 Wonder Woman” by Multichannel News.
Errin Haines is a Founding Mother and Editor at Large for The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering the intersection of women, politics and policy, and an MSNBC Contributor. An award-winning political journalist focused on issues of race, gender and politics, Errin was previously the Associated Press' National Writer on Race and Ethnicity. She has also worked at The Washington Post, The Orlando Sentinel and The Los Angeles Times. Errin was a Fall 2019 Ferris Professor at Princeton University, teaching a class on black women and the 2020 election. She joins Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics as a fellow in their fifth anniversary class in Fall 2020. Originally from Atlanta, Errin is based in Philadelphia with her dog, Ginger.