Marilyn is the CEO of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Medicine and the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and the Co-Director of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center, a partnership of the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, the Arthur Ashe Institute, and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. 

Since 2018, Shauwea Hamilton has served as the Executive Director for Bottom Line’s New York City region.  Bottom Line supports first-generation students from low-income backgrounds in getting into college, graduating, and going far in life.

As a first-generation college graduate, she understands the challenges students face as they seek access to and persistence through college.

Born and raised in The Bronx, Markell was selected as one of two students at IS 116 to apply for the Oliver Program. After his acceptance his educational journey led him to Loomis Chafee and then Wesleyan University and back home to the Bronx where he has been an educator at several public schools and at the Horace Mann School for 23 years.

Melody Capote is executive director of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute.  Instrumental in developing CCCADI into a vital institution dedicated to the preservation of African Diaspora culture she has ushered this next chapter with a renewed commitment to advancing racial and social justice.

Born on the Island of Trinidad, Keston was raised on a farm by his grandmother. From the beginning he has associated farming with family and working together.  He immigrated to Brooklyn NY in the mid 80’s, where he settled in Crown Heights.

Jessica Santana is one of the co-founders and CEO of America On Tech (AOT), a nonprofit organization on a mission to prepare the next generation of technology leaders in order to decrease the economic and racial wealth gap in underestimated communities.

Jadayah Spencer is an alumna (Tanzania, 2011) past volunteer, board member, and now the Executive Director of the International Youth Leadership Institute (IYLI). She is an advocate for improving access to opportunities that enhance the lives of youth, people of African descent, and indigenous people worldwide.

Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer is the Executive Director of the Queens Council on the Arts and is an experienced grant reviewer for foundations and corporate philanthropies around the country. She is a proud Queens girl and writes about how to create a rich life at www.hoongyee.com

Gary Clemons started at Friends of the Children – Portland in 2008 as a Friend to eight boys. In 2014 Gary became Chief Program Officer of the National entity, aiding the network in growing from 8 to 15 locations by helping to raise seed capital and bringing the program model to new cities.

Erika Halstead is a nonprofit leader dedicated to closing the opportunity gap through education. She has been the Executive Director of Minds Matter NYC since 2015. Her career traverses the whole educational cycle from bilingual elementary school teacher to university lecturer in BIPOC literature.

Erica Ford dedicated her life to the liberation of her people from oppression & racism on December 12, 1987 and hasn’t looked back. She is a humble servant for her people.  As CEO & Co-Founder Of LIFE Camp Inc she has played a major role in architecting of The New York City Crisis Management System, The New York City Mobile Trauma Units & New York City Peace Week.

Dominique Jones was recently name Executive Director of Global Kids, Inc. in 2021.  She has dedicated her career to ensuring that all New York City youth have access to opportunities that enable them to chart a path towards future success.  Dominique served for over six years as Executive Director of Boys & Girls Club of Harlem. 

Claudia Espinosa has been working with young Latinas for the past eleven years. Her work with this population has enabled her to learn directly from these young women the needs that must be addressed to ensure they can reach their full potential.

Aracelis Lucero became the Executive Director of Masa in 2013 but had been involved with the organization in various capacities since 2007. She is a proud South Bronx Native, daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, and mom to a beautiful human named Yaocuauhtli.

Angela Diaz, MD, PhD, MPH is the Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor of Pediatrics and Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. As Director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, a unique program that provides comprehensive, integrated, interdisciplinary primary care, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, dental, and health education services to adolescents for free with an emphasis on wellness and prevention.