Motivation & Inspiration
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Motivation & Inspiration
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Founded Target H.O.P.E.
Euclid Williamson, founder of Target H.O.P.E., a nationally acclaimed academic achievement and high school retention model for Chicago area schools. Mr. Williamson’s Target H.O.P.E. is a nonprofit college preparatory academy…
Senior Vice President, U.S. Strategic Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement, Nielsen
Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior vice president for U.S. community alliances and consumer engagement with Nielsen, a global information and media company. For more than 11 years, Pearson-McNeil has worked with Nielsen…
Award Winning TV Host and Producer, and Former Host of Bravo TV's Top Chef Spin-off, Top Chef Masters
Kelly Choi is a multiple Emmy Award–winning journalist, producer, and TV host and contributing editor to Eat This, Not That! The former host of Top Chef Masters, she is also…
Author, Speaker, Consultant and Founder and Executive Director of Us Foundation
Marilyn Tam, Ph.D. is a Speaker, Author, Consultant, Board Certified Executive/Corporate Coach, CEO of Marilyn Tam & Co. and Founder and Executive Director of Us Foundation. She was formerly the…
Renowned Human Rights Activist, musician and Cambodian Genocide Survivor
Internationally-renowned human rights activist, community organizer, and musician Arn Chorn-Pond inspires change through his incredible stories of surviving the Cambodian Khmer Rouge genocide. Subject of the Emmy-nominated documentary, The Flute…
Actor, Television Host, Stand-Up Comedian, Author, Keynote Speaker, Radio Host and Political Activist
Suzanne Whang is a multi-talented entertainer with a career spanning two decades as an actor, television host, and stand-up comedian. Since 1999, Whang has been hosting House Hunters, the #1…
CEO & Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, Culture Book Creator and Consultant at Zappos
Jenn Lim is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a company she and Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos.com) co-founded to inspire science-based happiness, passion and purpose at…
Executive Vice Chairman at NYSE Group; Former News Anchor at Bloomberg Television
Betty Liu is the Executive Vice Chairman for NYSE Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE). Liu oversees the NYSE marketing strategy, including customer-centric messaging, brand, digital…
Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter Activist
DeRay Mckesson is an organizer, activist, and educator focused primarily on issues of innovation, equity and justice. Born and raised in Baltimore, he graduated from Bowdoin College and has advocated…
Former Creator and Executive Producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “How To Get Away With Murder” and “Scandal”
Shonda Rhimes is the prolific writer, executive producer and creator of the hit ABC series “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Scandal.” In addition to creating the “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff series “Private Practice,”…
Seattle Seahawks Quarterback
Russell Wilson, the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year for the 2012 season, became the first rookie in NFL history to lead his team to an undefeated home record. The…
General, U.S. Army (Ret.), and Former Commander of U.S. Central Command
Lloyd J. Austin III General, U.S. Army (Ret.), and Former Commander of U.S. Central Command General Austin is a retired U.S. Army General with nearly 41 years of military service.…
Author, Life Coach and Reality Television Personality
From welfare mother to New York Times best-selling author, from the Brooklyn projects to Emmy Award winner, from broken pieces to peace, Iyanla Vanzant is one of the country’s most…
Former Special Assistant to President Obama and Social Secretary
A Philadelphia native, Deesha Dyer’s unconventional story is woven together by themes of heart, dedication, and an incessant quest for excellence. After graduating from Milton Hershey School, a private philanthropic…
Singer-Songwriter and Child Prodigy; "Isn't She Lovely" and "Superstition"
American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer, Stevland Morris AKA Stevie Wonder, is one of the most celebrated and prominent figures in popular music, who at the age of 13, was…
Former Secretary of Homeland Security
Jeh Charles Johnson was sworn in on Dec. 23, 2013, as the fourth Secretary of Homeland Security. Prior to joining DHS, Secretary Johnson served as general counsel for the Department…
Professor, Author and Activist
Charles M. Payne is the Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor in the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, where he is also an affiliate of…
Founder and Executive Chairman, Econet Group. He Is Considered One Of Africa's Most Generous Humanitarians
Strive Masiyiwa One of Africa’s most influential businessmen and Zimbabwe’s first billionaire The founder of the global telecommunications firm, Econet Wireless. Masiyiwa, a cell phone pioneer, fought a landmark constitutional…
14th Librarian of Congress
Dr. Carla Hayden is the first ever African American and first female to be appointed to the role at the Library of Congress, which holds more than 162 million items,…
Grammy-Winning Singer & Cookbook Author
Beautiful, simply does not describe the incomparable force known to the world as Patti LaBelle. As time continues to evolve, the soulful songbird’s name has become synonymous with grace, style,…
Selma Executive Producer
Paul Garnes has served as producer, line producer and/or production manager on films and television series for Disney, Dreamworks, HBO, ABC, NBC, BET, Sony/Screen Gems, Magnolia Films, and Paramount Pictures.…
Scholar, Teacher, Author, Administrator and Race Relations Expert
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum is a psychologist, administrator, and educator who has conducted research and written books on the topic of race, focusing specifically on race in education, racial identity…
Award-Winning Actress
Classically trained, award-winning actor, Viola Davis has conquered every medium from stage to television to film.
Composer, Lyricist & Star of Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an award-winning composer, lyricist, and performer, as well as a 2015 MacArthur Foundation Award recipient. His most recent musical, Hamilton - with book, music and lyrics by…
Author of Queen of Katwe & Former Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated
Tim Crothers is a former Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated and teacher at University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism. His most recent publication, The Queen of Katwe: One Girl’s…
Grammy Award Winning Hip-Hop Artist and Author of the Autobiography, Unashamed
Lecrae is a two-time GRAMMY Award winning hip-hop artist whose 2014 album, Anomaly, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, Rap, Digital, Christian, Gospel, and Independent charts.
First African American Woman United States Senator & Former United States Ambassador
In an historic effort, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun was elected to serve as the only black member of the United States Senate in 1992, and the first and only woman…
Award-Winning Author & Novelist
Novelist, essayist and cultural critic Zadie Smith was born in North London in 1975 to an English father and a Jamaican mother. She studied English at Kings College, Cambridge, where…
Urban Revitalization Strategist
Majora Carter is a visionary voice in city planning who views urban renewal through an environmental lens. The South Bronx native draws a direct connection between ecological, economic and social…
Award-Winning Filmmaker. He won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for Directing O.J.: Made in America (2016)
Ezra Edelman is an award-winning filmmaker. In 2016, he directed O.J.: Made In America, which won both Academy Award for Best Documentary and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing. It…
TV Persona, Entrepreneur and President & CEO of Emmitt and Pat Smith Enterprises
Pat Smith, a successful television personality and inspirational speaker, is President & CEO of Pat Smith Enterprises. The company manages Smith’s many business interests, chief among them Treasure You a…
Activist for Civil Rights & Social Justice. Former President of the NAACP
Cornell W. Brooks, president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In May 2014 Brooks became the 18th president of the NAACP,…
American Soccer Player and Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist
Abby Wambach is a retired forward of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Champion U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. One of the world’s greatest players of all time, Wambach is the…
Former NFL Player, Equality Advocate & Educator
Former NFL player Wade Davis is a thought leader, writer, public speaker, and educator on gender, race, and orientation equality. Davis played for the Tennessee Titans, the Washington Redskins, and…
U.S. Army Veteran, Amputee & Finalist on "Dancing With The Stars"
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Sergeant Noah Galloway was assigned to the 1st of the 502nd Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during Operation Iraqi…
World’s Foremost Undersea Explorer, Archaeologist, Author, Pioneer
Robert Ballard is Founder and President of the Ocean Exploration Trust Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration and Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School…
Award-Winning Columnist
A former writer for Casey Kasem's radio program "American Top 40," Leonard Pitts, Jr. was a pop music critic at the Miami Herald where he began writing about race and…
From the Emmy-Winning Show “Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
Nick Tokman, also known as “Sunshine” from the Emmy-winning show “Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel), is someone known for going after what he wants in life. For the past four years,…
Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Activist and Co-Founder of WeAreSoze
Michael Skolnik is an entrepreneur, an activist, a storyteller and a proud father. From 2009-2015, Michael served as the President of GlobalGrind.com, a multi-million dollar news website founded by hip-hop…
Three-time competitor and champion on CBS’s SURVIVOR
Parvati Shallow, won a million dollars on the international television show SURVIVOR, and is widely considered to be the best to ever play. Her elegant approach to the chaos of…
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist and Immigration Reform Advocate
The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, immigration reform activist and renowned speaker, Jose Antonio Vargas. Vargas admitted he was an undocumented immigrant in a groundbreaking essay published in The New York…
Recognized As One Of The Nation’s Top Motivational Speakers and Educators. Founder of the White Privilege Conference (WPC)
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. has pursued and achieved success in academia, business, diversity, leadership and community service. In 1996, he started America & MOORE, LLC to provide comprehensive diversity, privilege…
Educator, Social Activist and Author. Inner-City Youth & Education Advocate
Geoffrey Canada has been president and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, for the past 20 years. Canada is nationally recognized for his pioneering work helping children and families in…
Best-Selling Author, LGBTQ Campus Pioneer and Civil Rights Champion. He is founder and executive director of Campus Pride, the leading national LGBTQ
Shane L. Windmeyer, M.S., Ed. is a best-selling author, LGBTQ campus pioneer and civil rights champion. He is founder and executive director of Campus Pride, the leading national LGBTQ organization…
Legendary Civil Rights Activist and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Civil rights and diversity speaker Morris Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit group specializing in lawsuits involving civil rights violations, domestic terrorism, and hate-motivated…
Human Rights Activist; Nobel Peace Price Winner
Rigoberta Menchu-Tum was born on January 9, 1959 to a poor Indian peasant family and raised in the Quiche branch of the Mayan culture. In her early years she helped…