Session Speakers & Panelists

We are bringing together an amazing assortment of speakers with a wealth of knowledge across the investing industry.


  • After winning $1.3 million in scholarships himself, Christopher Gray founded Scholly, an app that helps students easily find scholarships for college and graduates pay off their student debt. Scholly was featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, landing a deal with Daymond John and Lori Greiner and sparking the biggest fight in Shark Tank history. Scholly maintains over 5 million users and has helped students raise over 100 million dollars. The company was acquired by consumer banking corporation, Sallie Mae, in 2023.

  • Kirk Sims heads TRS’ Emerging Manager Program. Since being established in 2005, TRS has committed $5.9 billion to one of the largest programs of its kind. An additional $4.6 billion has been invested directly with EM Program graduates. Each graduate was selected as a result of consistent outperformance among a group of more than 218 EM managers.

    Sims joined the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on March 1, 2019. Before joining Texas Teachers, he was a Senior Investment Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Sims had oversight and management responsibility of TRS’s Emerging Manager Program, a $750 million evergreen pool of capital designed to identify and invest in emerging investment managers across all asset classes.

    Prior, Sims worked at Prudential Retirement where he was responsible for a manager of manager’s retirement platform as well as an open architecture investment platform. He also has a background in asset management and has held various positions with both large and small asset managers.

    Sims is a CFA charter holder and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University in Washington, DC.

  • Cornell William Brooks is Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations and Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the Director of The William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the School’s Center for Public Leadership. Brooks served as the 18th president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 2014 to 2017.


  • Herman Bulls is Vice Chairman, Americas, as well as an International Director and the founder of JLL’s highly

    acclaimed Public Institutions Division, which specializes in delivering comprehensive real estate solutions to federal,

    state and local governments, nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. Mr. Bulls works with the firm’s

    largest public and corporate clients to devise and implement integrated real estate strategies to lower occupancy

    costs and increase productivity. During over 33 years at JLL, Mr. Bulls has worked in the areas of development,

    investment management, asset management, facilities operations and business development/retention.

  • Malcolm D. Lee is an award winning writer, director and producer of film and television. Lee has directed 11 feature films including his critically acclaimed feature film directorial debut The Best Man, as well as other cultural and box office hits including Undercover Brother; Barbershop: The Next Cut; The Best Man Holiday, Night School, Girls Trip, and Space Jam: A New Legacy to name a few. In 2022, Lee co-wrote and directed Peacock’s The Best Man: Final Chapters, an eight-part series finale to Lee’s iconic The Best Man franchise.

  • Dan Gebremedhin, MD is a Partner at Flare Capital Partners and serves on the Board of Flare portfolio companies Somatus, Eden Health, Positive Development, Vita Health, Oui Therapeutics, and Elektra Health. Prior to joining Flare Capital, Dan served as a Medical Director at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan. Dan spent over 8 years as a practicing Internal Medicine Physician on the Faculty of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, after completing Internal Medicine Residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 2010. Dan served on Former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s Board of Nursing Home Administrators from 2016 to 2020. He has served as a Senior Health Policy Advisor for the Campaigns of Former Governor Charlie Baker, Former Congressman Joseph Kennedy III and Congressman Jake Auchincloss. Dan earned a BS from the University of California, San Diego, an MD from the Morehouse School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

  • As an entrepreneur, Six Sigma black belt, and technologist, Tynesia helps businesses achieve their true potential through social impact.. As President and CEO of CapEQ, which she founded in 2011, she demonstrated how business and community goals can align towards mutual outcomes, helping Fortune 500 clients like the Carlyle Group, Marriott, and others change the way the world does business. Tynesia has published articles featured in the Washington Post, Forbes and more, and her most recent book is The Social Impact Advantage: Win Customers and Talent By Harnessing Your Business For Good

  • Damien Hooper-Campbell is StockX’s first-ever Chief Impact Officer. In his role, he oversees Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), as well as environmental, social, and community engagement initiatives globally. A tech industry vet, Hooper-Campbell brings over 20 years of expertise in culture, leadership development, DEI, social impact, and community engagement. He served in similar capacities at companies including Google, Uber, Goldman Sachs, and most recently, eBay and Zoom, where he held the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer roles.

    Damien holds a BA in economics from Morehouse College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Harry’s, Inc. and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). He serves as a member of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science Dean’s Advisory Board, the Chelsea Factory’s Advisory Council, and The Steve Fund’s Crisis Response Task Force and Corporate Leadership Council.

  • Mr. Jones is a member of the Private Equity, Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He has led the firm’s private equity diverse manager practice for the past 16 years. As of March 31,2023, the firm has committed $8.7bn to women and people of color in over 230 investments. He also led the firm’s private equity co-investment practice from 2010-2020, which had approximately ~$5bn AUM. His responsibilities include team management, deal sourcing and investment underwriting activities.

  • Kel Jackson founded Clay Ridge Capital out of a passion for entrepreneurship and desire to revitalize American manufacturing. His operational experience, people skills, and analytical capabilities provide the firm with a competitive advantage in sourcing, evaluating, and operating investments.

    Prior to Clay Ridge, Kel worked with Boeing as the Counter-UAS Program Manager at ~1,000-employee subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences. In this role, he owned multiple Profit & Loss businesses and led cross-functional teams to develop, test, manufacture, demonstrate, and deliver multiple aircraft systems, software, and other capabilities for the United States Department of Defense. Prior to this role, he served as Chief of Staff to two consecutive CEOs.

    Prior to Boeing, he spent his career with Pratt & Whitney where he led a 350,000 square-foot forging and machining operation with 120+ employees. The facility produced compressor and turbine blades and vanes for the entire Pratt & Whitney engine portfolio. Prior, he worked as a Process Engineer and then Lead Process Engineer in a jet-engine overhaul shop, where he was responsible for hot and cold section cost reduction and process improvement. The facility overhauled and tested V2500, PW2000, and F117 high-bypass turbofan engines.

    Kel serves on the MBA Interview Board at the Harvard Business School and as a Board Director of the FACTS Initiative, an outpatient mental health center.

    Kel holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

    Kel and his wife Ebony reside in Boston with their 2 daughters.

  • Melissa Bradley is a serial entrepreneur and investor. She sold her tech platform last year and founded 1863 Ventures in 2016. She is also a GP in a family of funds, as well as a Professor of Practice at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.

  • QuHarrison Terry is the bestselling author of The NFT Handbook (Wiley, 2021) and The Metaverse Handbook (Wiley, 2022). He is a 4x recipient of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology award, a notable entrepreneur, and a growth marketer who advises Mark Cuban’s portfolio of 200+ venture companies.

  • Archie L. Jones, Jr., a Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Business School teaches required and elective curriculum in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit and is a co-founder and course head for an elective field course: Scaling Minority Businesses and co-teaches: Investing for Impact. Outside the classroom he is the faculty co-sponsor of the Black Investment Club, faculty advisor to the school’s Social Enterprise Initiative, the faculty lead of the Upswell Forum, and a recipient of the Robert F. Greenhill Award in recognition of his positive impact on the Harvard Business School community.

    As the founder and CEO of NxGen COACH Network™ Archie draws on his own leadership journey and decades of directing successful private equity investments, value creation and corporate M&A transactions for public and private companies, to empower and coach the next generation of global leaders. On the top-ranked podcast, Training Camp for Leaders with Archie L. Jones Jr., Archie provides insights and actionable advice to aspiring and seasoned leaders on topics ranging from leadership to intrapreneurship. He shares deeper insights and expertise on leadership capital in his forthcoming book, The Treasure You Seek: A Guide to Developing and Leveraging Your Leadership Capital. Named one of Savoy Magazine’s “Most Influential Black Corporate Directors,” Archie is a member of The Executive Leadership Council, contributes to Impact Entrepreneur Magazine, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Fleetcor Technologies, Inc.

  • Brickson Diamond leads Spencer Stuart’s commercial DEI efforts and focuses on CEO searches, board effectiveness engagements and supporting PE firms in reinforcing culture in pursuit of maximum value creation. He is the former COO of the Executive Leadership Council, spent 15 years at The Capital Group Companies and is chair of the board of Tides. He was the last solo president of AASU (1998-1999).

  • HBS Senior Lecturer Henry McGee is Chair of the Governance, Sustainability, and Corporate Responsibility Committee of Cencora (NYSE: COR), the global pharmaceutical services firm that is the 10th largest company in the Fortune 500. He also serves as chair of the Governance, Public Policy, and Corporate Responsibility Committee of TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA), the broadcast and digital media company that is the largest affiliate group of the NBC television network. In 2018 the National Association of Corporate Directors named McGee to the Directorship 100, the organization’s annual recognition of the country’s most influential board members.

  • Kristen is a current student at Harvard Business School. Prior to HBS, Kristen worked as a Product Marketing Manager at YouTube and Google. Kristen also interned as an investment associate at Obvious Ventures, an early stage VC with more than $1B AUM.

  • Morgan Stanley in Beverly Hills, CA. Over the last decade he has built a practice that focuses on providing strategic and investment solutions for foundations, institutions, non-profit organizations, endowments as well as ultra-high net worth individuals and families.

    Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Michael was President at MUSE Communications, a Hollywood based advertising agency. Additionally, Michael co-founded the brand marketing agency, Persaud Brothers, where he also served as President and advised c-suite executives of several Fortune 500 companies and brands.

    Michael earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and BS in Finance from University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Michael is a co-founder and current Board Chairman of the Council of Urban Professionals. He is also an active board member with Harvardwood and SteamCoders, as well as serving on the fundraising committee of the Polytechnic School in Pasadena.

    Michael resides in Sherman Oaks, CA with his two daughters.

  • Zuhairah Washington is an awarded technology executive with a track record of driving billion-dollar outcomes across the spectrum—from pioneering startups to Fortune 500 giants like Uber and Expedia Group. With over 15 years under her belt, she has mastered the art of scaling operations in intricate B2B and B2C marketplaces. Her sectors of expertise include consumer retail, transportation, hospitality, and real estate.

    As the CEO of Otrium, Washington oversees all aspects of global operations across the United States and 19 European markets. Otrium leads the transformation within the fashion industry by convincing premium brands to sell, rather than burn, last season’s merchandise. Prior to her role as CEO, Washington served as Otrium’s President and COO.

    Previously, as SVP & GM at Expedia Group, she led a thousand-person global team, steering billions in revenue. This role taught her the intricacies of large-scale operations and underscored the importance of individual contributions to collective success. Washington's journey at Uber was transformative; in the DC-MD-VA market, she steered a 1300% increase in trip volume and escalated revenue to a $1B annual run rate in just three years. Beyond the numbers, she was at the forefront of shaping ridesharing regulations, emphasizing responsible growth.

    While she's been acknowledged by renowned platforms like Harvard Business Review, NPR, Forbes, and Fortune, Washington views each day as an opportunity to learn and better herself. With strong academic roots including a JD/MBA from Harvard University and a BA magna cum laude from UCLA, she appreciates formal education but values real-world lessons just as much. Washington sits on two public boards—Five Below and Olo—alongside the national non-profit board of Planned Parenthood.

    Outside of the professional sphere, Washington revels in family time with her three children and husband, finds joy in collecting art, singing, creative writing, traveling, and cheering for the Seattle Seahawks.

  • Ms. Deepa Janha is a Private Equity Real Estate Investment Professional and Investor. She is the CEO and Managing Principal of DPI Advisors, LLC. She formerly led asset management and impact for a Black-owned real estate firm.

    Prior to that, Ms. Janha led DEI initiatives and asset management for CenterCal Properties, a retail led, mixed-use developer. As an entrepreneur, Ms. Janha Co-Founded Hidden Park Advisors, serving clients in real estate, education, non-profit, entertainment and technology. Preceding that, Ms. Janha worked for Equity One, Inc., a national REIT, managing over six million square feet in mixed-use properties across the U.S. with a combined portfolio valuation of approximately $2B.

    Ms. Janha also had a 12-year tenure at AEW Capital Management, where she spent time in Investor Relations, Direct Investments Asset Management, and Accounting. She oversaw a mixed portfolio of over six and one-half million square feet in properties exceeding $5B for direct investments and joint venture institutional clients. Prior to joining AEW, Ms. Janha worked at Goldman Sachs in their Private Wealth Investment Management group.

    Ms. Janha is an avid art enthusiast, collector and philanthropist. She is an advocate for increased diversity in commercial real estate and is an active member of the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC). Her community outreach includes founding four non-profits of her own and being a proud, lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Ms. Janha serves as the Development Board Chair for the DJ Henry Dream Fund and is the Chair of the Board for The Private School Village. She also sits on the Pension Real Estate Association’s (PREA) Social Impact Committee and a member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board.

  • Greg is a partner in Sustainable Investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and serves as head of the Inclusive Growth strategy. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2022 as a partner.

    Previously, Greg served as a managing director at Bain Capital, co-founding the Double Impact Fund, Bain Capital’s private equity fund focused on social impact. Prior to joining Bain Capital, he was a portfolio manager at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo (GMO), and a senior equity analyst in the Global Equity Research group at Columbia Management Group.

    Greg has served on the boards of several nonprofits, including the New England Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Point32 Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, The Boston Foundation and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.

    Greg earned a BS in Political Science with a concentration in Economics from MIT in 1997 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2001.

  • Mark Tatum was appointed NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer on Feb. 1, 2014, following unanimous approval by the NBA Board of Governors.

    Tatum, who joined the NBA in 1999, is responsible for the NBA’s business operations, including leading the league’s international efforts. He oversees the Global Partnerships, Marketing, Communications, Events, Global Strategy & Innovation and Team Marketing & Business Operations, New Business Ventures, and Data & Analytics departments in addition to the NBA G League.

    Prior to joining the NBA, Tatum worked for Major League Baseball in Corporate Sponsorship and Marketing, the Clorox Company as a Regional Sales Manager, Pepsi-Cola Company in their Sports Marketing department, and Procter & Gamble in sales management.

    Tatum sits on numerous boards including USA Basketball, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, General Motors, LA 2028 Summer Olympics, and Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors. He is a board member of the Harvard Business School Club of New York, and a member of the Executive Leadership Council, a national organization that empowers African-American corporate leaders to make impactful contributions.

    Tatum received a B.S. in Business Management from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard University.

  • Monique Rodriguez is the founder and visionary behind Mielle - the fastest growing, Black-founded and women-led beauty brand offering quality, natural products for textured hair consumers. After her own personal healthy haircare journey went viral on social media, Monique launched Mielle in 2014 with just one product, the Mint Almond Oil. Today, Mielle is a global sensation, with orders in nearly 90 countries around the world. The brand’s products can be found in more than 100,000 stores across the U.S. in retailers such as CVS, RiteAid, SallyBeauty, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, and Walmart. Her brand's widespread popularity has amassed nearly 1 million followers on social media, affectionately called Miele Mavens.

    Through education, innovation and transparency, Mielle has earned the trust and loyalty of consumers, has earned the trust and loyalty of consumers, cultivating a devoted community and ultimately attracting the attention and support of investors. In 2021, Monique became the first Black woman to raise a non-controlling, nine-figure investment from Berkshire Partners, and in 2023, Mielle announced its historic partnership with P&G Beauty.

    Monique has been featured in publications including Allure, Business of Fashion, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Glamour, Inc, Vogue, and WWD. She has been a guest on popular national daytime talkshows like Good Morning America,The Steve Harvey Show, The Real, and The Wendy Williams Show. Monique’s accomplishments in the beauty industry have been recognized by the Glossy 50(2021), WWD's Beauty Industry's Next Generation Power Players (2022), Fast Company Brands That Matter (2022), and Beauty Matters Future50 (2023). She also serves on the Executive Leadership Advisory Boards for Hope Chicago and Building Better Futures.

    Monique's success has defined her as a leader in the business community, inspiring women and young girls alike. Driven by her faith and purpose, Monique is passionate about helping women and small business owners around the world reach their potential. From her Secret Sauce to Success annual retreat, to the Mielle Global Education & Entrepreneurship program and the work of the Mielle Cares nonprofit, Monique strives to provide black and brown communities with education, mentorship and financial support.

    When Monique isn’t working tirelessly to position Mielle as“The Textured HairCare Authority,” she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends, and making memories with her husband Melvin and their two daughters.

  • Verdun S. Perry is the Global Head of Blackstone Strategic Partners (“Strategic Partners”), Blackstone’s dedicated secondary fund manager, with over $68 billion of assets under management.

    Since 2000, Strategic Partners has been one of the market’s most prolific investors, having completed over 2,000 transactions focused on the purchase of private equity limited partnership interests and co-investments in leveraged buyout, real estate, venture capital and infrastructure assets. Mr. Perry joined Strategic Partners when it was founded in 2000 and chairs the investment committee for each of Strategic Partners’ funds.

    Mr. Perry received a B.A. from Morehouse College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow.

    Mr. Perry is a member of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees, where he serves as a member of the Financial Sustainability Committee. Mr. Perry also serves on the boards of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) and Partnership for Education Advancement. Mr. Perry founded Blackstone’s Diverse Professionals Network (“DPN”) in 2014 and chaired the network for its first 6 years.

    Mr. Perry was a member of the David Rockefeller Fellows Class of 2016. In 2021, Mr. Perry was selected as a Fellow of the fifth class of the Finance Leaders Fellowship Program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

  • Beatrice Dixon is the CEO, Co-Founder, and Chief Innovation Officer of The Honey Pot Company, the first complete personal wellness brand “made by humans with vaginas, for humans with vaginas.” ®

    Beatrice created The Honey Pot Company in 2014 out of great personal need during an eight-month battle with bacterial vaginosis. The constant symptoms and fruitless search for solutions led her to formulate what became The Honey Pot Company’s first product, a vulva-safe wash. From that product, Beatrice has grown The Honey Pot Company into a plant-derived personal wellness powerhouse, intent on providing humans with better-for-you products made from powerful and efficacious ingredients.

    Unlike other mass market and conventional personal care brands, consumers are able to get all of their plant-derived wellness needs met under one brand as The Honey Pot Company currently offers feminine washes, wipes, tampons, pads, and products for vaginal health and wellness. Today, The Honey Pot Company’s products can be found in 4.6 million U.S. homes and in retailers nationwide, including Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Bed Bath and Beyond, Wegmans, and other retailers.

    Since founding The Honey Pot Company, Beatrice has been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, Worth’s Worthy 100, Forbes Top 100 Female Founders, Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs, Ebony’s Power 100, and Create and Cultivate’s 100. The Honey Pot Company has won a CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women’s) Beauty Creator Award for the last three years, an ESSENCE Best in Black Beauty Award, a Cosmopolitan Holy Grail Award, a Bustle Sexual Wellness Award, a WWD Beauty Inc Wellness Award, Inc. Best in Business Award, a Glamour 100 Award, Health Editor Picks Award, and a Beauty Inc Award.

    Bea resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • Investor and philanthropist, Demond Martin is the co-founder and CEO of Wellwithall, an innovative health and wellness company that pours a significant portion of its profits into health equity for Black, Brown and underserved communities. Prior to becoming CEO of Wellwithall Demond was a senior partner at Adage Capital Management where he invested in the consumer sector for 21 years. Demond joined Adage after graduating from Harvard Business School and received his undergraduate degree in accounting from UNC Charlotte. He subsequently worked as the assistant to President Clinton’s White House Chief of Staff, Erskine Bowles. Demond and his wife Kia through their family foundation focus on erasing gaps created by racial and social injustice in the areas of education and healthcare. Demond has served on a number of non-profit boards including as a trustee at the Berklee College of Music, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Grammy Global Venture Board, and the Obama Foundation

  • Jelani Johnson is a film & television producer. He most recently worked as the EVP of Content Strategy at MACRO and was a founding partner at their sister company M88, an industry leader in talent representation. Before joining MACRO, Johnson spent 4+ years as a Motion Picture Agent at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). While at CAA his clients included: Melina Matsoukas, A$AP Rocky, Cheo Coker, Jesse Williams, Prentice Penny, Lenny Kravitz, Storm Reid, Angel Soto, Solvan “Slick” Naim, Gina Rodriguez, Virgil Williams, Mara Brock Akil and André Holland amongst others. Johnson began his career in entertainment as an intern at CAA and transitioned into talent management at the Santa Monica-based management company Generate. He subsequently co-founded The Mission Entertainment, a management and production company focused on multicultural content creators, before returning to CAA.

    Jelani is a current member of MPTF’s NEXTGEN BOARD OF DIRECTORS and is also a directorial board member for THE BLACKHOUSE; a trailblazing organization that helps Black creative voices and executives gain a better foothold within the entertainment industry. He received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University where he double majored in History and Anthropology.

  • Kym Lew Nelson joined the NOM unit of the Harvard Business School as a Visiting Lecturer in January of 2020. In July of 2020, she became a Senior Lecturer in the Negotiations unit. Prior to joining the faculty, Kym was a guest lecturer in the Negotiations class at HBS for over four years. She has spent the last year writing new cases with the focus on diverse protagonists.

    Twenty years ago, Ms. Nelson started The KLEW Company, a consulting and training firm focusing on strategic sourcing, procurement optimization, negotiations, and supplier diversity. Her customers include Fortune 100 companies, midsize firms, colleges/universities, public entities, as well as minority-owned firms.

    Prior to the formation of KLEW, Ms. Nelson was with the Procter and Gamble Company where she spent over 18 years. More than ten of those years were spent in the area of Procurement/Purchasing where she was involved in a variety of negotiations and contract development around the globe. She was the first African American women to be promoted to Director/VP in the Procurement organization. She also spent eight years in Brand Management/Marketing in the Health Care business unit. In addition, she spent two years at Bain and Company working on corporate strategy development.

    Ms. Nelson has managed global organizations, global suppliers and global Brands. She has extensive experience in developing and implementing both business and procurement strategies with successes in growing the business and significantly reducing costs. Additionally she has many years of experience working with minority companies to enhance their ability to become effective suppliers.

    Kym received her MBA from Harvard Business School in 1983. While at HBS, she was president of the African American Student organization (AASU). Her undergraduate degree is from Stanford University where she majored in Economics. While at Stanford she developed and implemented the Stanford - Howard University student exchange program and attended Howard University for a semester. She was also a member of the Stanford women’s basketball team. Ms. Nelson has two daughters. One is the “Black Forager,” a well known social media star and the other is also in the film industry. She currently commutes between Cincinnati and Boston.

  • Robert L. Greene is President & CEO of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the industry association representing diverse-owned alternative investment firms. Bob is responsible for leading all facets of the association, including capital and policy advocacy, performance research, member services, and strategic alliance development.

  • Alencia Johnson is a social impact strategist and political & cultural commentator, cultivating over 15 years of experience marrying advocacy, politics, corporate & entertainment to disrupt for good. She has worked for the presidential campaigns of President Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren & President Biden as well as Planned Parenthood’s national office where she was the architect behind its “Stand With Black Women” campaign. Alencia founded the social impact consultancy 1063 West Broad, serves on the Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Social Justice Fund & Human Rights First boards, and was appointed to the Virginia Council on Women. Alencia has been recognized by EBONY’s “Power 100” list, PRWeek’s “40 Under 40” & more, and regularly appears on MSNBC and CNN.

  • Shar is the Global Head of Marketing at TIDAL, leading teams across insights, integrated marketing, RISING, marketing operations, and creative. Prior to joining TIDAL in 2022, Shar was VP of Developer and B2B Marketing at a fast-growing gaming company and won numerous awards as the Head of Creator Marketing at YouTube for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

  • Angela Miller-May currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer for the Illinois Municipal

    Retirement Fund, a $52.5 billion pension fund that services a membership of over 457,000

    members and over 3,030 employers. She engages with many boards and organizations and has

    been honored with numerous awards. Ms. Miller-May holds an MBA from Kellstadt Graduate

    School of Business at DePaul University and has earned her BA in Economics from Northwestern

    University.

  • J.Dennis Jean-Jacques serves as Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Ocean Park Investments LP. He is an accomplished and seasoned investor having invested approximately more than $3.2 billion of client capital in the US and European public markets during various market cycles over 20 years. For a decade, prior to Ocean Park, Mr. Jean-Jacques was a Managing Director and portfolio manager at alternative platforms including Verition Fund. Prior to running low net, alternative strategies, Mr. Jean-Jacques was an investor in the Public Equities Division at Olayan Investment Group and apprenticed at Mutual Shares focusing on companies undergoing or likely to undergo significant change, dislocations and other unique special situations with a strategy and asset mix consisting of domestic and foreign equities, arbitrage positions, shareholder activism and bankruptcy positions. For ten years, Mr. Jean-Jacques served as a board advisor and as an actively engaged shareholder in several campaigns including in the operational restructuring of a global industrial company, the outright sale of an American appliance manufacturer, and, at the boardroom level, helped lead the break-up of an S&P 500 conglomerate where his work was profiled in BARRON’s, Business Week and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Jean-Jacques is also an author on portfolio construction, valuation, and risk management where his published work, “The Five Keys to Value Investing” is used at many universities and has been translated into three languages including Mandarin Chinese. He began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in equity research in 1993. Mr. Jean-Jacques received a BSSE from Boston University College of Engineering and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

  • Justin is an experienced leader in the alternative investment space, where he has focused his time building, scaling, and leading differentiated investment platforms in both public and private markets. Throughout his career, he has emphasized developing genuine, long-term relationships across the investment, media, and sports ecosystems. At JAZZ, Justin leads Capital Formation & Investor Relations, in addition to developing creative ways to expand the JAZZ platform and network.

    Prior to JAZZ, Justin spent nearly a decade at TPG, a $150B global alternative investment firm. While at TPG, Justin held various senior leadership roles, including Partner & Head of Fundraising for TPG Public Equity Partners. He also co-founded TPG NEXT, a platform focused on investing in diverse entrepreneurs and investors. Justin helped lead TPG NEXT’s strategic investments in VamosVentures, LandSpire Group, and Harlem Capital.

    Prior to TPG, Justin spent several years at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, where he started his career in Investment Banking.

    Justin graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in History and was a member of Columbia’s Division I-AA Football team for four years. In his final season at Columbia, Justin was an Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award Winner, and was also named to the inaugural National Football Foundation Honor Society.

    Justin is an avid boxer and runner, but his true passion is spending his free time with his wife and two children.

  • Marty Nesbitt is a founding partner and Co-CEO of The Vistria Group, a private investment firm that seeks to deliver both financial returns and societal impact. With more than $10 billion in AUM, The Vistria Group delivers attractive returns and positive outcomes for the lives and livelihoods its portfolio companies support.

    Prior to founding The Vistria Group, Mr. Nesbitt served as CEO of The Parking Spot, an operator of off-airport parking facilities. He conceptualized and co-founded the company and was responsible for all strategic and operating aspects of the company. Mr. Nesbitt also served as an officer of the Pritzker Realty Group, L.P., the real estate group primarily responsible for the Pritzker family business interests. He also served as Equity Vice President and Investment Manager at LaSalle Partners.

    In his various leadership capacities, Mr. Nesbitt has been successful at guiding executive teams toward exceeding goals, maximizing investment returns and trailblazing on the importance of diversity and equity in the workplace.

    Mr. Nesbitt currently serves on the Board of Directors of American Airlines Group and Chewy, Inc. He serves as Trustee of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and Chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago 2016 Olympic Committee and was Treasurer of President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.

    Mr. Nesbitt has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA and honorary doctorate from Albion College.

  • Omar Goff is the President of Mielle - the fastest growing, beauty brand offering quality, natural products for textured hair consumers. In this role, Omar is responsible for delivering top- and bottom-line growth through innovation (R&D), a synchronized supply chain, brand-building and sales. A passionate brand builder and intuitive, strategic business leader, Omar was hand-selected to lead the next chapter for Mielle with Procter & Gamble and expected to lead the brand to new heights unlocking the power of possibilities that exist by bringing the best of both worlds to life. His impact has already yielded breakthrough for Mielle as the brand launched its very first television commercial, signed a historic partnership with the WNBA, and transformed the approach for Mielle’s media planning and buying.

    Omar has a long and proven track-record of transforming opportunities into inspiring results and competitive advantage for P&G. Omar began his career at Procter & Gamble in 2004 after receiving his MBA at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. During Omar’s 19 years with P&G, he has worked in Product Supply-Purchasing for 13 years delivering over $500 Million in Cost Savings and $100 million in cash improvement by developing strategic sourcing strategies that enabled business growth, product innovation/superiority, and capability for P&G spanning every business unit, worldwide. He then moved into Brand Management where he delivered ground-breaking results on the Old Spice brand year-over-year. His passion for winning with multi-cultural consumers has delivered an S-curve for the Old Spice brand as they have joined the Billion Dollar Brand Club at Procter & Gamble fueled by the intentionality and commitment to resonate with Black men. Omar is the brand leader behind Old Spice’s longest running and award-winning campaign, Men Have Skin Too starring Deon Cole, a dynamic partnership with Kevin Hart and his LOL network and the Force for Growth, Force for Good community impact program School of Swagger boldly focused on increasing high school graduation rates in America.

    Committed to empowering people to deliver sustained results, Omar follows brings his alma-mater motto to life into every leadership role he tackles “No excuse is acceptable. No amount of effort is adequate unless it is effective.”

    Omar has won several awards for his craft including but not limited to Effie, D&AD, Clio, and ANA Multicultural Awards of Excellence.

  • Andre Iguodala, a four-time NBA Champion, former NBA All-Star, NBA Finals MVP, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, has had a remarkable 19-season career. Beyond the court, he's a pioneer in venture capital and technology, boasting a portfolio of over 50 companies. Andre has served on the NBPA's Executive Committee, co-founded MOSAIC—a $200 million VC firm—and is a co-owner of the Tomorrow Golf League and Leeds United FC.

    Additionally, he co-owns Bay FC and Athletes First, and serves as the Acting Executive Director of the NBPA. In 2019, he authored "The Sixth Man," a New York Times Best Seller, and in 2022, he co-launched New Amendment, a content production company with Evan Turner and is a co-host on the Point Forward Podcast. Currently residing in California with his family, Andre continues to impact the sports world both on and off the court.

  • Brentt Baltimore serves as a Principal at Greycroft, where he focuses on investment opportunities in software, data, and machine learning.

    Before joining Greycroft, Brentt was on the founding team at TernPro (acquired by Smartsheet), led business development at Operator, an early player in the conversational commerce space, and worked on technology commercialization at Numenta, a machine intelligence research company. Prior to this, he was an Associate at Detroit Venture Partners, and he began his career in investment banking at Credit Suisse.

    He is a Kauffman Fellow, and has led Greycroft’s investments in NextData, Bobsled, Merly, Groundlight, Storyteller, Trullion, Mapped, 1build, Craft, and Sailplan. Brentt received the NVCA rising star award and the Venture Capital Journal rising star award. He serves on the advisory committee of PledgeLA and co-leads the LA chapter of BLCK VC.

  • Erin Teague is a Senior Director of Product Management at Google. In this role, she serves as the product and technical advisor across Google’s Search, Ads, Maps, Bard, Assistant, Commerce, Shopping and Long-term Bets product areas. Prior to this role, Erin was the global product lead across several YouTube verticals including Sports, Film, and TV. She also founded and led YouTube’s Racial Justice, Equity, and Product Inclusion product teams. Erin previously led YouTube’s Virtual and Augmented Reality product team where she was responsible for immersive video and created the YouTube VR app which is rated #1 across multiple platforms. Before YouTube, Erin was the Director of Product for Yahoo’s Fantasy Sports and Product Manager at Twitter. She began her career as a software engineer at Morgan Stanley, where she designed algorithms embedded in electronic trading applications in the firm’s Algorithmic Trading Technology group.

    Erin is the recipient of the BET Her Tech Maven Award and has been recognized as one of the

    “100 Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley” by Silicon Valley Business Journal, “The Next Generation of Tech Stars” by Refinery29, “40 Under 40 in Silicon Valley”. She has also been named one of Glamour Magazine’s “35 Women Under 35 Who Are Changing the Tech Industry” and one of Business Insider's "Silicon Valley 100."

    Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Erin holds a MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Morgan Stanley Fellow, and a BSE in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan, where she graduated with distinction as an Intel Scholar.

  • Kanwulia is a student at Harvard Business School. Prior to HBS, Kanwulia spent five years as an engineer at Cummins, supporting the development and validation of diesel engines and electric powertrains globally. Kanwulia also interned at Bain & Company’s Private Equity Group in their NYC location. Kanwulia is passionate about product development and entrepreneurship.

  • Alternative investment fund pioneer, gallerist, and strategist, Lewis Long has developed an innovative vehicle to invest in art collections and works by contemporary artists. A Harvard Business School alum, White House Fellow and corporate veteran, Long's career began on Wall Street at Prudential Securities issuing closed end bond funds after studying finance at Howard. From that experience, he has steadily pivoted towards roles at the intersection of culture and business. After an extensive corporate career of launching new businesses for big brands, he opened the Long Gallery Harlem, which gained a reputation as a key destination for talented emerging artists. He also helped mastermind the re-launch of Columbia University's Wallach Art Gallery, in its new West Harlem Renzo Piano designed space, and helped curate the Uptown Triennial exhibitions as a Wallach associate director. Now, he is leveraging his extensive network, access and eye for art to realize value across the visual arts eco-system and broader cultural landscape.

  • Virginia A. Caine, MD is the Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Marion County Public Health Department. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine Infectious Diseases Division. She is the President-Elect of the National Medical Association.

  • David Grain is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Grain Management, a telecom-focused Private Equity firm with $9Bn in AUM.

    Prior to founding Grain in 2007, Mr. Grain led Pinnacle Towers (later renamed Global Signal) from bankruptcy to a successful IPO, transforming it into one of the largest independent wireless communication tower companies in the world. Before Global Signal, Mr. Grain served as Senior Vice President of AT&T Broadband’s New England Region and was an Executive Director in the High Yield Finance Department at Morgan Stanley.

    Mr. Grain is the Lead Independent Director of Southern Company’s Board of Directors, Independent Director of Dell Technologies, Director of New Fortress Energy, Trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Advisory Council of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and a member of the Board of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. He is also a Lifetime Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2022, Mr. Grain was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    Mr. Grain holds an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he serves on the Board of Advisors. He holds a B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross, where he served for eight years as a Trustee.

  • Frantz Alphonse is Senior Managing Director at Ariel Alternatives, LLC and a member of its Investment Committee. He brings over 18 years of private equity experience formerly as the Co-founder and Senior Managing Director of APC Holdings, LLC where he served on 11 private company boards. He served in various operational and strategic roles at Procter & Gamble in Latin America and North America. Frantz is an Executive Fellow with the faculty at Harvard Business School and a member of the Young Presidents Organization. He supports Olympic and Paralympic athletes through the USA Triathlon Foundation Board and has contributed to The Prevent Cancer Foundation and The Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida. He holds a BA from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

  • Alternative investment fund pioneer, gallerist, and strategist, Lewis Long has developed an innovative vehicle to invest in art collections and works by contemporary artists. A Harvard Business School alum, White House Fellow and corporate veteran, Long's career began on Wall Street at Prudential Securities issuing closed end bond funds after studying finance at Howard. From that experience, he has steadily pivoted towards roles at the intersection of culture and business. After an extensive corporate career of launching new businesses for big brands, he opened the Long Gallery Harlem, which gained a reputation as a key destination for talented emerging artists. He also helped mastermind the re-launch of Columbia University's Wallach Art Gallery, in its new West Harlem Renzo Piano designed space, and helped curate the Uptown Triennial exhibitions as a Wallach associate director. Now, he is leveraging his extensive network, access and eye for art to realize value across the visual arts eco-system and broader cultural landscape.

  • Melvin Rodriguez is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for Mielle - the fastest growing, Black-founded and women-led global beauty brand offering quality, natural products for textured hair consumers. Melvin oversees the company's operations and strategic initiatives, and has been pivotal in building the brand from a single product when Mielle launched in 2014, to a multi-collection beauty powerhouse with products distributed in nearly 90 countries and available in more than 100,000 stores across the U.S. The brand has also fostered an engaged and active social community with more than 1 million followers.

    Prior to co-founding Mielle with his high school sweetheart and the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Monique Rodriguez, Melvin spent more than two decades as a Project Engineer for United Parcel Service (UPS), where he successfully managed numerous multimillion-dollar projects.

    Always active in lifting his community, Melvin leads with purpose at the forefront and has been a passionate advocate for the brand’s charitable initiatives, including its More Than A Strand program and the Mielle Cares nonprofit which provide Black and brown communities with education, mentorship and financial support. Melvin also serves on the Executive Leadership Advisory Boards for Hope Chicago and Building Better Futures.

    Born and raised in the Chicagoland area,Melvin is a graduate of DeVry University and has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems. Aside from his professional achievements, Melvin is a God-fearing man, a devoted husband to Monique, and a proud father of two beautiful daughters.

  • Solo Ceesay is CEO and Co-Founder at Calaxy, a next-generation social platform redefining the creator-fan relationship. Before co-founding Calaxy with his business partner, Brooklyn Nets star Spencer Dinwiddie, Solo held the position of Securitization Investment Banker at Citi after graduating from the Wharton School of Business. As a 28-year-old tech founder, Solo has successfully spearheaded over $33.5 million in private funding for Calaxy. He was named one of Variety’s Hollywood’s New Leaders of 2022, and has brought his financial expertise to many mainstream audiences including Nasdaq, CNBC, and Cheddar News, as well as on his own video podcast New Money.

  • As a multi-disciplined creative who founded independent distribution company Array, Ava DuVernay has been one of the busiest women in Hollywood in recent years, due to her ever-expanding slate of feature films, documentaries and television series. Most recently was “Origin,” a drama that hit theaters in December through Neon after a buzzy premiere at Venice. “Origin” is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson and her revelatory novel “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” and DuVernay wrote, directed and co-produced the film.

  • Carletta Higginson serves as the EVP, Chief Digital Officer at Warner Music Group, leveraging her extensive expertise to oversee global digital partnerships in recorded music and music publishing. With a creative approach, she navigates deal-making, account management, and heads a team dedicated to commercial innovation and the establishment of new digital collaborations.

    Before joining WMG in 2023, Carletta spent a decade at Google, where she held the position of Global Head of Music Publishing at YouTube. Here, she led the platform's licensing strategy, negotiated digital licensing and partnership agreements, managed existing partnerships, and launched new relationships. Carletta's career began in the legal arena, where she spent 10 years specializing in content, media, and entertainment law, achieving precedent-setting decisions in copyright litigation. Recognized as one of Billboard's most powerful Women in Music in 2018 and 2020, as well as a Variety New York Woman of Impact in 2022, Carletta holds a JD from Columbia Law School and a BA from NYU. She is actively involved in various industry initiatives, including her role on the Advisory Board for Sound Thinking NYC and as a Leadership Music alumna.

  • Leaning into her passion of inclusivity and desire to live a purpose-filled life, Foster launched Be Rooted in 2020 with a mission to empower women of color and create a space for them to see themselves in the stationery they love. With a lineup of colorful journals, planners and writing instruments designed by Black and Brown artists, by 2021 Be Rooted became the first and only Black-owned stationery brand available at retail giant Target.

  • Kurt Summers is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Public-Private Partnership Investments in the Infrastructure Group. In this capacity, Kurt is responsible for investment strategies in partnership with governments, public entities, civic and labor organizations, and broader stakeholders to help advance local infrastructure priorities.

    Previously, Mr. Summers served as Senior Advisor to Blackstone. He was elected and served as Chicago’s 70th City Treasurer until 2019. In this role, Mr. Summers managed a more than $8 billion investment portfolio, served as a fiduciary for nearly $25 billion in pension assets and created the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund, a first-of-its-kind $100 million local investment fund focused on private investments in Chicago neighborhoods.

    Prior to becoming Treasurer, Mr. Summers served in as a Senior Vice President and member of the Office of the Chairman for GCM Grosvenor. Mr. Summers began his career at McKinsey & Company and later worked as an investment banker in both the leveraged finance and industrials groups at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Summers received a BSBA with Management Distinction High Honors in Finance and International Business with a minor in East Asian Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he is the subject of a 2016 published case study entitled “Kurt Summers: Investing in Our Chicago.”