Leadership

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We’ve assembled a dynamic team of change-makers willing to disrupt the system to make all kids future ready.

FOUNDED BY PHARRELL WILLIAMS

Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. He has been a creative force in the music industry and beyond for more than two decades.

In 2008, Pharrell founded From One Hand To AnOTHER (FOHTA), which provided thousands of children across the US with summer camps focused on STEM learning. In 2020, Pharrell launched YELLOW, an organization to “EVEN THE ODDS” for all youth through education.

YELLOW

TEAM

Stacey Owsley

Executive Director

Stacey Owsley

Executive Director

With over 20 years of experience in operations and business management, Stacey Owsley has spent the majority of her career serving youth around the United States. As a childhood friend of Pharrell, Stacey has been the lead organizer and connector behind his non-profits. With a passion for helping others — wanting people to use their skills to their maximum potential — Stacey understands the importance of community support.

Stacey was the Chief Operating Officer of From One Hand To AnOTHER, a 501(c)(3) non-profit designed to provide youth the tools and resources they need to succeed in the future. As the lead of the organization, Stacey had to ensure both local and national programmatic excellence, lead and develop a high-performance team, foster local community and national partnerships, and oversee all day to day operations.

Her problem-solving capabilities, project management skills, and desire to see everyone win makes her an asset to the organization. Stacey has a commitment to building her local community from the inside out and is optimistic about the success of future generations.

To this day, Stacey attributes her desire to learn and compassion for others to her travels around the world.

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Dr. Carolyn Williams

Senior Education Advisor

Dr. Carolyn Williams

Senior Education Advisor

A native of Virginia Beach, Carolyn Hoggard-Williams, Ed.D., was born and raised in Princess Anne County, VA. Dr. Williams attended and graduated from the Virginia Beach Public School system. Her higher education includes an Associate’s Degree from Tidewater Community College; Bachelor of Education, Masters of Education and Certificate of Advanced Study from Old Dominion University; Certificate of Graduate Studies and Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Regent University. Dr. Williams’ credentials cover diverse areas of Elementary Education, Library Science, Middle School Education, Supervision and Administration.

Dr. Williams retired after working more than 30 years within the Virginia Beach City Public School System. Dr. Williams was affiliated with many professional education organizations in and out of the school system. She was a member of and graduated from the Futures Academy (VBCPS), served as President of Virginia Beach Library Association, sponsor of Diversity Leaders (VBCPS), and worked at individual schools. Dr. Williams was a member of National Education Association, Virginia Education Association, and Phi Delta Kappa. At Faith World Ministries, she was a Praise Team and Choir member. Dr. Williams served as Board Chair and Director of Education for From One Hand to Another, a non-profit that provided supplemental education to under-served youth.

Education is an integral part of Dr. Williams’ life; she has great enthusiasm for both attaining and sharing knowledge. Her other great love is her family, which she enjoys participating in their lives, whether traveling together, celebrating their accomplishments, or just a family setting, laughing and having a “meeting of the minds.”

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Dr. Shameka Gerald

Vice President of Learning

Dr. Shameka Gerald

Vice President of Learning

Dr. Shameka N. Gerald is an innovative leader who works to develop learning environments that meet the needs of each student and prepare them to enter an ever-changing world. She believes that schools are the heart of communities and that the rich experiences each student, family, and staff member bring are contributions to the learning environment and are essential to meaningful learning.

As the Vice President of Learning Dr. Gerald leads the work to codify, support and assess YELLOWHAB’s innovate learning ecosystem. She also oversees organizational learning, strategic plan development, and measurement of organizational impact to ensure the work continuously meets the needs of our local, national, and global community. Her passion for creating equitable learning environments — combined with her experience in education innovation — allow her to co-create learning systems that amplify the unique strengths of each learner.

Dr. Gerald began her career in 2005 as a 9th grade Mathematics Teacher at Booker T. Washington High School where she earned the 2008 United States Department of Education Star of Teaching for eliminating opportunity gaps in mathematics across all student populations. In 2010, Dr. Gerald joined Newport News Public Schools as the Assistant Principal for instruction at Denbigh high school, where she supported significant increases in student performance in mathematics. She is most proud of her six year tenure as the “Wild Principal” of Heritage High School, Newport News, VA. As a member of the leader of the #5800Family, Dr. Gerald partnered with students, staff, families, and community members to positively disrupt the status quo, change the narrative, and shift systems to meet the needs of each student.

A native of Chesapeake VA, Dr. Gerald began her studies at Tidewater Community College, moved on to study Applied Mathematics at Old Dominion University, and earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She currently resides in Newport News with her husband, son, and dog. A good cup of black coffee, post-it notes, and datasets are her love language.

Stephanie Walters

Director of Engagement + Communications

Stephanie Walters

Director of Engagement + Communications

As a graduate of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University, Stephanie Walters has edified her skills in storytelling, production, and leadership through education and experience.

As YELLOW’s Director of Engagement + Communications, Stephanie is responsible for establishing relationships between community and civic organizations, implementing, developing, and overseeing programming and special projects at the local and national level, and creating and guiding YELLOW’s digital footprint and press. Her passion for connecting with others and commitment to ensuring partnerships are thriving–combined with her experience in media–allow her to maximize her potential in this position, ensuring all projects have long-term impact.

Stephanie was the former Program Manager for From One Hand To AnOTHER–a 501(c)(3) non-profit designed to provide kids the tools and resources they need to succeed in the future–where she oversaw programming and trainings for its S.T.E.A.M.M. Summer Camps around the country. Prior to joining YELLOW, Stephanie was the STEM & Entrepreneurship Program Specialist for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, curating programs for historically marginalized in-school and out of school youth, overseeing and training teacher mentors at all sites, and facilitating educational events and workshops.

Stephanie enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and friends, and hosting and producing television shows.

Anita Patel

Special Projects

Anita Patel

Special Projects

Anita leads Special Projects at YELLOW, a role that lends her expertise and thought leadership across multiple functions of the organization – with a core focus on cultivating strategic partnerships, experiential programming & production and spatial design. She is passionate about building impactful initiatives through a multi-disciplinary 360° approach and has led MarComm projects on local, national, and global scales. With over 20 years of leadership in brand development and social impact campaigns, Anita has led initiatives and special projects for Gordon Ramsay, Zaha Hadid and spent 7 years honing her craft at Louis Vuitton Europe, Louis Vuitton Americas and thereafter independently for brands across the LVMH and Kering portfolios, as well as a range of Fortune 500 organizations.

Anita is driven by delivering projects that build cultural currency, center communities and amplify voices and stories. She was born and raised in London, and a graduate of the University of London; Chelsea College of Arts and Central Saint Martins.

Catherine Kimmel

Lead Strategic Consultant

Catherine Kimmel

Lead Strategic Consultant

Catherine is a skillful connector who harnesses her unique and powerful network of global leaders across diverse sectors to transform the philanthropic landscape. She produces strategic impact campaigns and fundraises for some of the world’s most renowned artists, political figures and nonprofit organizations.

Prior to co-founding the Artemis Agency, Catherine had her own strategic consulting firm, CK/LA where she helped clients achieve success by utilizing the private sector and cultural influencers to amplify important social messages. After starting her social impact career with President Mikhail Gorbachev (Global Green Cross International) she currently serves as a lead consultant for Bono’s ONE and (RED) campaigns, Pharrell Williams’ Yellow, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, Jose’ Andres’ World Central Kitchen, The Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation and Global Witness.

Her commitment to raising public awareness and elevating the profile of various non-profits has enabled her to direct a number of national and global advocacy projects for organizations including “24 Hours of Reality” with former Vice President Al Gore– a 24 hour global event in 265 countries to awaken citizens to the full truth, scope and scale of the climate crisis. She has produced a variety of national political policy initiatives including events at the 2012 Democratic National Committee Convention with Former U.S. President Bill Clinton. She has also proudly worked with Action Against Hunger International, Malaria No More, The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz and AMREF Health Africa International.

Catherine is passionate about theater and storytelling and began her professional career at the Mark Taper Forum theatre in Los Angeles.

Sarah Adolphson

Lead Strategic Consultant

Sarah Adolphson

Lead Strategic Consultant

Sarah is an expert in entertainment strategy & engagement with extensive philanthropic experience working with many of the world’s leading global celebrities. Her work mirrors the agency’s proficiencies—from advising clients on public/private partnerships, to organizational strategy, to brand building and measurement, to creating a corporate social responsibility program.

Drawing on a broad array of multi-faceted local, national and international relationships, Sarah has collaborated with foundations, corporations, NGOs and The White House across numerous issue areas, including improving the quality of America’s public education system, the passage of the Affordable Care Act and increasing economic support and employment opportunities for veterans.

Before joining The Artemis Agency, Sarah led all philanthropic efforts for WME|IMG, working with high-profile clients to create successful, robust charitable initiatives designed to raise awareness about their individual causes and interests. She also established all of the structure and programming for employee charitable matching, company drives, corporate event sponsorship models, and WME|IMG’s global company-wide day of service (Walk the Walk), which facilitated volunteer activities for nearly 5,000 employees in more than 130 communities around the world.

Sarah began her career by serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia where she developed a passion and commitment to community engagement and philanthropic service. She is a graduate of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. Her thesis, which reported on the smart practices of public engagement through mobile government solutions, was nominated for the John Randolph and Dora Haynes Foundation Recognition Award. Sarah is a member of the Pi Alpha Alpha and Nu Lamda Mu honor societies, and serves on the boards of The Art of Elysium, Imagination Foundation and the Artists & Athletes Alliance.

YELLOW

BOARD

Pharrell Williams

Visionary Recording Artist, Producer, Songwriter, Philanthropist, Fashion Designer, and Entrepreneur

Pharrell Williams

Visionary Recording Artist, Producer, Songwriter, Philanthropist, Fashion Designer, and Entrepreneur

Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. He has been a creative force in the music industry and beyond for more than two decades.

Over the years, Pharrell has been honored with 13 Grammy Awards, including 2004’s, 2014’s and 2019’s Producer of the Year, and ASCAP’s prestigious Golden Note Award in 2012. In 2014, his original song “Happy,” featured in Despicable Me 2, also received an Academy Award nomination. In 2017, he received an Academy Award nomination for co-producing Best Picture-nominated Hidden Figures (2016), as well as a Golden Globe nomination for co-scoring the film. In June 2021, Williams will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame along with Chad Hugo for their work as The Neptunes.

In 2008, Pharrell founded From One Hand To AnOTHER (FOHTA), a foundation that provides over 1,700 children across the US with summer camps focused on S.T.E.A.M.M. – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Motivation. Serving predominantly at-risk and low-income elementary, middle and high school students. In 2020, Pharrell launched YELLOW, an organization that is focused on “evening the odds” for every student to have access to a first rate education.

In addition to his musical and philanthropic endeavors, Pharrell narrated Universal’s 2018 remake of the classic film THE GRINCH, authored the book A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, and released a new Netflix Original series with his producing partner, Mimi ValdОs, titled Brainchild (2018). Past projects include Dope (2015) and Roxanne Roxanne (2017). Next up, Williams and ValdОs will team up with Kenya Barris for a stage musical inspired by the Juneteenth African American holiday tradition celebrating the final day of United States slavery.

Not stopping there, Pharrell has excelled as a fashion designer with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel brands, the textile company Bionic Yarn, Adidas and Chanel. This past fall, he opened a restaurant and cocktail lounge called Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami’s Design District.

In April 2019, Pharrell launched the first ever SOMETHING IN THE WATER, a multi-day music festival and cultural experience on the beach in his hometown of Virginia Beach. The festival’s mission was to unite the community and celebrate the diversity and magic of Virginia Beach. It was an opportunity to bring the best of what Pharrell has encountered around the world back to his hometown. The weekend celebrated opportunity and the chance to empower everyone from the youth to the small business owners. Some of the world’s biggest musicians, personalities, scholars, students, artists, activists and athletes converged on Virginia Beach to activate and amplify, collaborate and co-author, shift and shape the future.

Most recently, Williams released “Letter to My Godfather,” an original song for Netflix’s Black Godfather about the legendary music executive, Clarence Avant. Williams also produced five songs on the soundtrack for Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King including, “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” “Hakuna Matata,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and “Mbube.”

Geoffrey Canada

Board Chair, YELLOW and Educator, Social Activist & President, Harlem Children’s Zone

Geoffrey Canada

Board Chair, YELLOW and Educator, Social Activist & President, Harlem Children's Zone

Geoffrey Canada is a leading advocate for children and innovator in the field of education.

Canada grew up in one of the most devastated communities in the United States, the South Bronx, raised by a single mother. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, and eventually went on to earn a master’s degree at Harvard University. He vowed to help children who grew up in disadvantaged circumstances to succeed through education.

Canada created the Harlem Children’s Zone, a birth-through-college network of programs that today serves more than 13,000 low-income students and families in a 97-block area of Central Harlem in New York City.

The unprecedented success of the Harlem Children’s Zone has attracted the attention of the media and leaders around the world. In 2011, Canada was named one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine and as one of the 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine in 2014. President Barack Obama created the Promise Neighborhoods Initiative to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone model across the country,

Canada has been profiled extensively in the media, including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Forbes, among others. He was featured in the documentary about the dire state of American education Waiting for Superman, and has received more than 25 honorary degrees including ones from Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania.

He has also influenced a new generation of education reformers through his writings, having published essays in The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Chronicle of Philanthropy as well as two critically acclaimed books on poverty and violence: Fist Stick Knife Gun and Reaching Up for Manhood.

After 30 years with the organization, Canada stepped down in 2014 as Chief Executive Officer of the Harlem Children’s Zone but continues to serve as President.

In June 2020, Canada founded The William Julius Wilson Institute (WJW), which will serve as the national platform to help communities impacted by poverty across the country design and implement their own place-based programs —and its first initiative will be to combat the devastation of COVID-19 in the Black community.

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Ted Sarandos

Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Content Officer, Netflix

Ted Sarandos

Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Content Officer, Netflix

Nicole Avant

Ambassador, Political Activist, Producer

Nicole Avant

Ambassador, Political Activist, Producer

Jane Rosenthal

Producer, CEO and Co-Founder of Tribeca Enterprises

Jane Rosenthal

Producer, CEO and Co-Founder of Tribeca Enterprises

Jane Rosenthal is an Oscar and Emmy nominated producer and CEO and Co-Founder of Tribeca Enterprises, a global media company that encompasses the Tribeca Film Festival and award-winning branded content division Tribeca Studios.

In 2002, following the September 11th attacks, Rosenthal and Robert De Niro established the Tribeca Film Festival to revive lower Manhattan through the healing power of film and storytelling.

When COVID-19 shut down all in-person gatherings in 2020, the 19th Tribeca Film Festival immediately pivoted to continue supporting the industry and its audience online. Under Jane’s leadership, Tribeca produced a 10-day online film festival in collaboration with YouTube and 21 international film festivals. Additionally, Tribeca launched a national Drive-In series in partnership with the NFL, AT&T, Heineken and Walmart.

Most recently, she produced Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award nominated “The Irishman,” as well as the Emmy nominated limited series “When They See Us,” directed by Ava DuVernay. Her more than 50 credits include producing one of the highest-grossing comedy franchises of all time: “Meet the Parents” (2000), “Meet the Fockers” (2004), and “Little Fockers” (2010.)

Jane has spent quarantine producing “Mask Up, America” PSAs for Governor Cuomo and the Ad Council.

Dominic Ng

Chairman and CEO of East West Bank

Dominic Ng

Chairman and CEO of East West Bank

Dominic Ng is Chairman and CEO of East West Bank, the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California. He transformed a small savings and loan association with $600 million in assets in 1991 into one of “America’s Best Banks” with over $52 billion in assets.

Mr. Ng serves on the board of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) and the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Widely recognized for his business achievements, civic and community leadership, Mr. Ng was named one of the 100 most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Times. He received numerous prestigious honors including American Banker’s Banker of the Year recognition, the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Global Award and the Anti-Defamation League’s Humanitarian Award, among many others.

For almost two decades, Mr. Ng served in several leadership roles as a board member of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. In that capacity, he honed policy insights, built philanthropic support and promoted advocacy to address specific issues of education to combat poverty. In addition, Mr. Ng is a staunch champion of bridging the U.S. and Asia through music, arts and culture.

The University of Houston honored Mr. Ng for his lifelong dedication for student academic support with the naming of the Dominic and Ellen Ng Academic Center for Excellence.

Andrew Nikou

Founder and CEO, OpenGate Capital

Andrew Nikou

Founder and CEO, OpenGate Capital

Andrew Nikou is a seasoned entrepreneur who believes in the importance of getting involved to tackle some of our world’s biggest problems.

As Founder and CEO, Andrew has spent 15 years expanding OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm based in Paris and Los Angeles.

Andrew founded the Andrew Nikou Foundation (ANF), a resource for big ideas to improve the lives of people who are disconnected, oppressed, and left-behind.

Through strategic investments and partnerships, ANF works side by side with people who are driving solutions to make a difference.

Andrew’s goal is to empower young people to fulfill their untapped potential even when systems are working against them.

Andrew’s philanthropic and social impact work is rooted in his personal experience of being severely bullied for being shorter than most children.

Despite the difficulties of being different from others around him, Andrew credits his parents for encouraging him to pursue his ambitions of becoming a successful entrepreneur and an advocate working to make our world a better place.

Bob Pilon

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bob Pilon

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bob Pilon is designing and leading a new strategic partnerships function at Bloomberg Philanthropies to mobilize leadership, financial resources, and attention for priorities across Bloomberg’s global ecosystem, including protecting the environment, racial wealth equity, arts and culture, and other programs and projects important to its founder, Mike Bloomberg.

Prior to Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bob spent 20 years advocating for some of the most pressing issues of our time including extreme poverty and global health, criminal justice reform, and public-school and arts education. He’s worked alongside many of the world’s leading philanthropists, cultural influencers, creatives, and corporate brands raising hundreds of millions of dollars and producing events and campaigns to spur the public to take meaningful action.

Bob’s executive leadership experience most recently includes being founding president of the REFORM Alliance — a criminal justice reform organization co-founded by Jay-Z, Meek Mill, and Michael Rubin — chief development and partnerships officer at The ONE Campaign and (RED) — a global advocacy organization co-founded by U2’s Bono — managing director at Malaria No More, and vice president of strategic partnerships at the Herbie Hancock Institute. He was also a senior development officer at Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation after starting his career as a product development analyst at Bloomberg LP.

Bob was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Penn State University where he was first introduced to the purpose and power of philanthropy through the Penn State Dance Marathon.

Ted Colbert, III

Executive Vice President of The Boeing Company, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Ted Colbert, III

Executive Vice President of The Boeing Company, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Ted Colbert is executive vice president of The Boeing Company and president and chief
executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, which provides solutions for defense, government, space, intelligence, and security customers worldwide. Beyond the United States, the Defense, Space & Security department has prominent operations in Australia, India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. Colbert is a member of Boeing’s Executive Council.
 
Previously, Colbert was president and chief executive officer of Global Services with
responsibility for leading Boeing’s aerospace services development and delivery model for
commercial, government and aviation industry customers worldwide, focused on global supply chain and parts distribution, aircraft modifications and maintenance, digital solutions, aftermarket engineering, analytics and training.
 
Prior to that role, Colbert was chief information officer and senior vice president of Information Technology & Data Analytics. In this role, he led all aspects of information technology, information security, data and analytics. He also supported the growth of Boeing’s business through IT- and analytics-related revenue-generating programs.
Before his role as CIO, he led the Information Technology Infrastructure organization and was responsible for developing and maintaining network, computing, server, storage, collaboration and infrastructure solutions across the enterprise. Before that, he led the IT Business Systems organization, where he managed the computing application systems that support Boeing Finance, Human Resources, Corporate and Commercial Capital business units as well as the company’s internal systems.
 
Before joining Boeing in 2009, Colbert was senior vice president of Enterprise Architecture at Citigroup. Prior to that, he spent 11 years in Ford Motor Company’s Information Technology organization, where he held roles of increasing responsibility in the areas of program management, infrastructure engineering and operations, application development, portfolio management and process reengineering. Colbert completed the Dual Degree Engineering Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Morehouse College with bachelor degrees in industrial and systems engineering and interdisciplinary science.

YELLOW

ADVISORS

Tom Vander Ark

CEO, Getting Smart

Tom Vander Ark

CEO, Getting Smart

Tom Vander Ark is an advocate for innovations in learning. As CEO of Getting Smart, he advises schools, districts, networks, foundations and learning organizations on the path forward. A prolific writer and speaker, Tom is author of Getting Smart, Smart Cities That Work for Everyone, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place, and Difference Making at the Heart of Learning and has published thousands of articles and papers. He writes regularly on GettingSmart.com, Forbes, and LinkedIn.

Previously he served as the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tom served as a public school superintendent in Washington State and has extensive private sector experience. Tom is a board member for Education Board Partners, Director for 4.0 Schools, Digital Learning Institute, Latinx Education Collaborative, Mastery Transcript Consortium and eduInnovation.

Greg Gunn

Founder at Lingo Ventures, Lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education

Greg Gunn

Founder at Lingo Ventures, Lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education

Greg Gunn is a leader in using technology, innovation, and venture capital investing to promote progress in education. As founder of Lingo Ventures, he makes early-stage investments in education and workforce technologies. In 2000, Gunn co-founded Wireless Generation (now called Amplify), a leading educational software company serving millions of students annually with groundbreaking assessment and instruction products. He was named one of Fast Company magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” in 2012.

Gunn is the board chair of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and a director of Education Leaders of Color, FHI 360, Bridgespan, and City Year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Chicago, a Master of Science in management and a Master of Science in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

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Ryan Shadrick Wilson

Founder & CEO, Boardwalk Collective Chair, Territory Foods

Ryan Shadrick Wilson

Founder & CEO, Boardwalk Collective Chair, Territory Foods

Ryan Shadrick Wilson has been referred to as “the good food whisperer” because of the quiet yet significant role she has played in launching many of the innovative ideas and companies shaping the food revolution. Throughout a career that has spanned law, civil rights, public policy, marketing, philanthropy, and finance, Ryan has maintained a devotion to creating a healthier, happier, and more equitable future.

Ryan is the founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and the Chairperson of Territory Foods—a healthy meal delivery food tech company. She serves on the Board of Directors of public company Acon S2 — a sustainability-focused acquisition company. And, she serves on the advisory boards of numerous companies, including Apeel Sciences, Brightseed, Plenty, RightRice, and Treasure 8, as well several nonprofit organization boards, including Feeding America and ReFed. In addition, as a Senior Advisor to the Milken Institute, Ryan launched — and now serves as Chairperson of — Feeding Change, an effort to catalyze a more nourishing, sustainable, and equitable food system.

Previously, Ryan served as Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel of Michelle Obama’s Partnership for a Healthier America, where she worked with CEOs, celebrities, government officials, and health experts to improve health in all communities. During this time, Ryan was an architect of the innovative FNV campaign, which engaged over 85 celebrities in a humorous, national campaign to promote fruits and vegetables.

Ryan began her career at international law firm Hogan Lovells, where she counseled food and agriculture companies around the globe. While at the firm, she also maintained a commitment to a robust pro bono practice, handling civil rights, death penalty, and political asylum cases.

Ryan is a proud graduate of Virginia Beach Public Schools and graduated with honors from Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

Angela K. Mwanza

Co-Founder of Evergreen Wealth Management at UBS Private Wealth Management

Angela K. Mwanza

Co-Founder of Evergreen Wealth Management at UBS Private Wealth Management

Angela Mwanza is Co-Founder of Evergreen Wealth Management at UBS Private Wealth Management, where she has achieved immense success as a Private Wealth Advisor and Family Office Consultant by focusing on the intersection of family, finance, and philanthropy. She serves on UBS’ Sustainable Investing Advisory Council and was selected as a UBS Global Visionary Ambassador in recognition of her leadership at UBS in driving innovative solutions to societal issues, which she addresses through sustainable and impact investments, bridging the divide to philanthropy, and working closely with families and family offices to build sustainable enterprises that will thrive across generations.

Ms. Mwanza was named as one of “46 Leaders in Sustainable Investing” by Forbes, a recipient of the “Women of Power and Influence Award” by the Natural Organization of Women (alongside Janet Yellen), listed as one of the City and State of New York’s top 100 in CSR (2017) as well as one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth Management” by Private Asset Management Magazine (2015).SC Johnson Cornell College of Business awarded Angela the Wilbur Parker Award for her work in diversity, and most recently she was awarded the Robert J. Swieringa Service Award. Ms. Mwanza holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA/MA in Linguistics from the University of Konstanz in Germany. She is fluent in German.

Ms. Mwanza frequently speaks about financial markets and their intersection with environmental, social, and governance issues at various conferences and on television with Bloomberg and CNBC. She has also been featured in multiple print publications, including Barron’s and Bloomberg Markets.

Ms. Mwanza currently serves on the board as well as the Risk and Audit Committee of Jumia (Ticker: JMIA, that trades on the NYSE), an e-commerce company often called “the Amazon of Africa.” She also serves on multiple non-profit boards that are mainly focused on public health and medical research, an area she is passionate about having grown up in Sub-Saharan Africa at the height of the AIDS crisis and she lost her sister to the disease. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Investment Committee for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation ($1.8B endowment), on the Board of Directors of Grace Farms Foundation, and recently joined the Board of Advisors of the SC Johnson Cornell College of Business. She formerly served on the boards of Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Global Health Alliance (formerly MDF Health Alliance) that was an initiative of the UN Special Envoy for Health, Beespace, Grassroot Soccer, and FORWARD Impact (formerly Good Films Foundation). She was also selected to be 1 of 10 Founding Members for the United Nations Foundations’ Global Entrepreneurs Council.

She is a member of the Economic Club of New York and The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. She is also an avid runner with six marathons behind her and has scaled Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Grassroot Soccer. She lives with her husband and son between Brooklyn and Ithaca.

Tommy Cerja

Interdisciplinary Studies Major at Norfolk State University

Tommy Cerja

Interdisciplinary Studies Major at Norfolk State University

Tommy Cerja is a local Virginia Beach resident and currently a senior Interdisciplinary Studies Major at Norfolk State University. Tommy is passionate about community improvement and is a current member on Mayor Dyer’s, of Virginia Beach, African American Roundtable that is seeking to address systemic issues and sew unity in the city. He loves going out to the beach with his friends and is probably watching Desus and Mero right now.

Lisa Peddy

Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, Partner at Close Reach Partners

Lisa Peddy

Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, Partner at Close Reach Partners

Lisa is an entrepreneur and angel investor with over 30 years of executive and strategic leadership across a variety of businesses and industries. She believes in getting involved and making the world a better place for children and people today and for future generations.

In 2002 she co-founded Close Reach Partners, providing advisory services to CEOs, boards and executive teams of public and privately held companies to improve business strategy and fuel profitable growth. During this time from 2009 – 2018 Lisa was strategic advisor to Zumba Fitness, working closely with the owners and executive team to grow Zumba into the largest branded fitness program in the world.

From 1996-2001 Lisa was co-founder, an investor and Executive Vice President of Consumer Financial Network (CFN), which created the first online financial services marketplace. She and her team created relationships with 80 financial services providers, developed product marketplaces that were marketed to over 5 million employees of major corporations, and raised over $300 million in venture capital from outside investors including GE Capital and Chase Capital Partners. In September 2001 the business was sold to a global insurance company.

From 1992 to 1996 Lisa was an executive at Equifax, Inc. (NYSE: EFX), an information services company. Lisa was involved in the successful turnaround of a large, unprofitable division which subsequently spun out as a separate NYSE company, ChoicePoint Inc. ChoicePoint was later purchased by RELX Group. Lisa began her career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co. from 1986 to 1992 as an Audit Manager and CPA.

Lisa is a current Board Member and the immediate past Board Chair of the Strategic Forum in South Florida. She is an investor and board observer for Anatomie (www.anatomie.com) and sits on the advisory boards of several entrepreneurial companies. From 2010-2012 she was a Board Member of Renaissance Charter Schools overseeing a dozen charter schools at Charter Schools USA. She and her husband Courtland are active philanthropically and have two children, Alexis and Beckton.

Elizabeth Thompson

President of The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education

Elizabeth Thompson

President of The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education

As President of The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (The CAFE), Liz is deeply engaged in the non-profit community and passionate about youth development and education. The CAFE is focused on college access and success and career readiness and attainment. Also, through the foundation, Liz mentors and supports students and young professionals as they transition through life.

Liz grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini Green housing development and credits her parents and a strong community for shaping her values and vision. When others wonder how she somehow “beat the odds” as a product of Cabrini, Liz firmly declares that her success is because of where she came from, not in spite of it.

Liz began working with non-profits in 1993 as founding Executive Director of City Year Chicago, a national service organization that was the template for the AmeriCorps Program. Then in 1995, Liz served as Executive Director of a Montessori school in Denver, where she led a multi-million-dollar expansion of the Early Head Start program. In 1998, she became active with non-profit boards in the San Diego area, which further fueled her interest in philanthropy and education.

Prior to following her passion for youth development and education, Liz had a ten-year career with Ameritech Corporation after receiving an Electrical Engineering degree from Purdue University.

Liz is a Director and Secretary for Chicago Public Media/WBEZ and a National Director for Braven and Chair of Braven’s Chicago Board. She serves as Vice Chair of the Partnership for College Completion, co-chair of Purdue University Minority Engineering Program Advisory Panel and Special Advisor to OneGoal. She is an alumnus of the Non-Profit Leadership Program of Denver and of Leadership Greater Chicago, where she served on the Board for 10 years. Liz is a past Trustee of the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Most recently, Liz joined a distinguished cohort of Aspen Institute Global Leaders as a 2019 Pahara Education Fellow. She received the Outstanding Community Leader Award from The Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Dream Builders Award from the Chicago Child Care Society, the John J. Dugan Award from OneGoal and was featured in Make It Better Magazine as one of Chicago’s Top Black Women of Impact. She has appeared as a keynote speaker for the National Center on Family Philanthropy, the Forefront Annual Luncheon, the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, and the Chicago Venture Summit.

In addition to her commitment to serving Chicago’s students, professionals and communities, Liz is the co-founder with her husband, Don Thompson, of Cleveland Avenue, LLC – a food and beverage focused venture fund. Cleveland Avenue provides financial resources, expertise and individual support to entrepreneurs as they grow and scale their businesses.

Liz has been married to Don, retired CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, for 30 years. They have two adult children and live in the southwest area of metropolitan Chicago.

Dianne M Whitty

Executive Director and Global Head of The Philanthropy Centre

Dianne M Whitty

Executive Director and Global Head of The Philanthropy Centre

Diane Whitty, Executive Director and Global Head of The Philanthropy Centre, joined J.P. Morgan in 2010. The Philanthropy Centre is focused on providing clients with insights and services to help meet their financial and philanthropic goals through innovative advice, thought leadership and collaborative opportunities.

Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Diane served over the past 30 years as a senior executive in the corporate and non-profits sector. Ms. Whitty has held leadership positions at Save the Children as Senior Vice-President of corporate relations and Executive Vice-President of marketing, communications and development at the US Fund for UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund). During her tenure, she spearheaded many global health and development initiatives, but most notably, campaigns to eliminate maternal and neo-natal tetanus, iodine deficiency, address the incidence of HIV/AIDS and improve access to education for girls in developing countries.

Under her leadership at UNICEF, Diane and her teams were responsible for growth in revenue exceeding 327%. Prior to her non-profit work, Diane spent 17 years at Avon products as a Senior Sales and Marketing Executive.

Cary Leitzes

Founder and President of LEITZES&CO

Cary Leitzes

Founder and President of LEITZES&CO

Cary Leitzes is the Founder and President of LEITZES&CO, a creative agency that specializes in blockbuster partnerships between creatives and brands that drive cultural relevancy. Her roster of clients and projects span across all sectors and include the likes of Target, NBC Universal, Karl Lagerfeld, Lady Gaga’s Workshop at Barneys, Diplo, Cindy Sherman, MAC Cosmetics, Sephora, Jimmy Choo, Coca-Cola and more… A publishing veteran, prior to founding LEITZES&CO, Cary was an editor at W Magazine and the Director of Photography at Harper’s Bazaar for over 10 years and marking the youngest ever in the publications history.

Darla Vaughn

Culture Council, Director of Strategy Development, Emerson Collective 

Darla Vaughn

Culture Council, Director of Strategy Development, Emerson Collective 

In June 2021, Darla Vaughn joined Emerson Collective’s Culture Council: an asymmetric, culture-focused EC resource created in response to the Golden Age of art and activism. She leads, advises, supports, serves, and collaborates on a wide variety of projects with innovative and creatively inspiring problem-solvers—internally and externally—in pursuit of a more just, equitable, and inclusive society.

Darla served 3.5 years as Head of Brand Marketing at i am OTHER, the creative collective founded by Pharrell Williams —responsible for implementing an array of Pharrell-led initiatives and businesses from concept to reality.

Prior to joining i am OTHER, Darla spent over 20 years in energy marketing, branding, and product-centric roles at NIKE, Inc. where she pursued unprecedented convergences of design, art, music, culture and sport

Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, & Culture, University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, & Culture, University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She studies Black historical excellence within educational communities with the goal of reframing curriculum and instruction today. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. She has also received numerous national awards and is the author of the best-selling book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy.

The responsive Education Model has been adopted across U.S. school districts. In 2022 she was named among the top 1% Edu-Scholar Public Influencers, recognized the 200 university-College of Education Researcher of the Year, the 2020 American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division K Early Career Award, and the 2021 NCTE Outstanding Elementary Educator in the English Language Arts. She has led a federal grant with the United States Department of Education to study culturally and historically responsive literacy in STEM classrooms.