Theresia Gouw is a founding partner at Acrew Capital. In 2014, she co-founded Aspect Ventures. Prior to Aspect, Theresia was a Managing General Partner at Accel. Theresia has been fortunate to work with many successful companies through IPOs or acquisitions including: Forescout (FSCT), Imperva (IMPV), Trulia (TRLA), Hotel Tonight (Airbnb), Astro (Slack: WORK), LearnVest (Northwestern Mutual), Jasper Designs (CDNS) and Kosmix (WMT).

As an entrepreneur, Theresia was founding VP of Business Development and Sales at Release Software, a venture-backed company that provided SaaS to enable digital rights management and payment technologies for the software industry. Earlier, she worked at Bain & Company and as product manager at Silicon Graphics.

Theresia led early investments in Cato Networks, Deserve, Exabeam, The Muse, Crew, ShieldX Networks and PredictHQ.

Theresia is a first generation immigrant and a passionate supporter of educational causes and increasing diversity in the tech industry. Theresia was named to Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list, has been recognized 8 times on the Forbes Midas List, including 2019, was named one of the 40 most influential minds in tech by Time Magazine, as well as being named to the Carnegie Corporation’s annual Distinguished Immigrants list.

Actress Yvette Nicole Brown currently stars as Oscar Madison’s no-nonsense assistant on CBS’ hit revival of "The Odd Couple,” which is currently in its second season.

Brown began her entertainment career as a recording artist signed to Motown Records as a teen and has since successfully become one of the most sought-after character actresses in Hollywood. She’s appeared and often recurred on numerous hit TV shows including “The Office,” “Drake and Josh,” “Entourage” and most recently as the beloved Shirley on the NBC fan favorite, “Community” among others.

On the big screen, Brown voiced a character in the recent animated feature “Yellowbird”. She’s also appeared in the family film “Percy Jackson & the Sea of Monsters” as well as the blockbuster “Tropic Thunder” to name a few.

She’s also become a talk-show staple; making the rounds on various daytime shows like “The View” and “Anderson Cooper” along with repeat appearances on the daytime hit “The Chew,” a full season of guest co-hosting “The Jeff Probst Show” and multiple appearances on the Chris Hardwick hosted hit, “Talking Dead,” which is the popular companion show to AMC’s “The Walking Dead”.

Brown is honored to be a part of the DonorsChoose Board and looks forward to helping out wherever needed.

Charles Best is the pioneer of crowdfunding and the founder of DonorsChoose, a nonprofit organization that has inspired 5 million people to give $1.3 billion to fund 2 million classroom requests created by public school teachers. Charles launched DonorsChoose in 2000 at a Bronx high school where he taught history, and while the organization was still operating out of his classroom, it got a boost from Oprah Winfrey, who declared DonorsChoose one of her "ultimate favorite things." To date, teachers at 85% of all U.S. public schools have created classroom requests on the site, and DonorsChoose has become an increasing force for equity in American education. Charles recently moved from crowdfunding to making the learning materials that teachers most want for their students, as the next CEO of Lakeshore Learning.

I grew up in Binghamton, NY—a small city in the middle of New York. I attended public school through 12th grade. I even had some of the teachers who taught my father when he went to the same middle and high school 40 years before me. I wasn’t even an average student because I was more interested in learning magic, locksmithing, and how to repair pinball machines and jukeboxes. Today, I am a passionate magician and have performed all over the world. I specialize in card magic, but also do some large and dangerous stage effects. I still pick locks and enjoy combining that with escape magic whenever possible. (Please do not try this at home!) And of course, I still play one of my favorite pinball machines every chance I get.
I started college at the local State University in my hometown and eventually graduated from Northwestern University. I majored in Economics and Computer Studies. I have always been very interested in computers and learned to program in many languages. After college, I worked in a number of computer programming jobs and ended up leading the technology division for a large Wall Street trading firm. I spent the last 20 years doing technology work for another large financial firm until I retired in 2010 so I could focus on DonorsChoose and other non-profit causes that are important to me and my family. I helped to start Peak Rescue Institute, which teaches advanced search and rescue techniques to first responders. I also helped start the Connected Warrior Foundation, which assists wounded veterans.
In my free time, you can find me and my wife riding our tandem bicycle. We’ve been riding tandems for over 30 years now... but I’m still not sure my wife is always pedaling!

Amanda Calzada is an English Language Program teacher who teaches in the heart of the Little Village neighborhood in Chicago, IL. She first began as a kindergarten teacher in 2013, serving low-income bilingual students in the community. She graduated Suma Cum Laude as a first-generation college student with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from DePaul University in 2013. She then earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and ESL from Olivet Nazarene University and graduated Suma Cum Laude in 2016. She was the first in her family to earn a master’s degree.

Amanda believes a high-quality education has the power to transform lives and attributes her success to the sacrifices her parents made. Arriving to the United States as young immigrant children from Mexico, her parents worked hard to provide her and her sister with an excellent education and a better quality of life they never had. Experiencing firsthand how a quality education can open the doors to many opportunities, Amanda has dedicated her career to working with underserved and marginalized groups. She now teaches in the community where her parents once lived as children.

Amanda works hard to build a classroom community that is accepting, respectful, and nurturing because she believes that children learn best when they feel safe, loved, and celebrated. She loves to incorporate song, dance, and creativity into her teaching and designs much of the curriculum she teaches herself. She leads her school’s bilingual program for all English language learners including newcomer students in grades K through 8. She is also active in the school’s yearbook committee and leads classroom management workshops for her fellow teachers.

Maria Moats is a seasoned public accounting and governance leader, bringing over 30 years of experience from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), an international accounting and professional services firm. As a partner in the firm for over 20 years, Maria led PwC’s Governance Insights Center from 2021 to 2024. She also held previous leadership roles as its Vice-Chair, Mexico & US Assurance Leader from 2016 to 2019, where she oversaw PwC’s national assurance practice and served on its US and Global Assurance Executive leadership teams, and was PwC’s Chief Diversity Officer from 2011 to 2016. Throughout her career, Maria regularly provided accounting, financial reporting, investigations, and M&A services to both private and public clients across the retail, consumer, and industrial products industries. She was also named number two on Fortune magazine’s inaugural ‘50 Most Powerful Latinas’ List.

Stephen Colbert is best known as the host, writer and executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. His long-running Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning series "The Colbert Report" aired on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014 and was nominated for 40 Emmys, winning a total of 6. The show was also twice honored with the prestigious Peabody® Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

Dr. Aileen Gendrano Adao is a distinguished educator and leader with over 18 years of experience in English and theatre education. As a National Board Certified Teacher, she is committed to fostering equitable and culturally relevant learning environments while advancing professional development for educators in urban schools. Aileen specializes in using Restorative Practices to cultivate positive school cultures and promote social-emotional learning across classrooms and communities.

In 2023, Aileen earned her Doctorate in Education from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, with her dissertation focusing on the wellness and sustainability of teachers of Color. She also holds two Master’s degrees in Education from UCLA, one in administration and the other in single-subject English instruction. Additionally, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Education from California State University, Long Beach, graduating cum laude.

Aileen’s exceptional contributions to education were recognized in 2018 when she was named LAUSD Teacher of the Year, a testament to her impact on students, educators, and the broader community.

Currently, Aileen serves as an adjunct professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at California State University, Los Angeles, where she mentors aspiring educators on instructional strategies, culturally responsive teaching, and assessment design. Concurrently, she teaches English and serves as a Restorative Justice Coordinator at Eagle Rock Junior and Senior High School, supporting student interventions and fostering social-emotional learning initiatives for both students and staff. Aileen’s enduring commitment to educational equity, teacher advocacy, and community empowerment continues to inspire transformative change in schools and beyond.

W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian and the host and executive producer of the Emmy Award winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. His latest stand-up comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau wrote a book with the easy-to-remember title, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. He’s the ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice and serves on the advisory boards of Hollaback! and DonorsChoose.

Richard Lovett is president of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world’s leading entertainment and sports agency, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Nashville and Beijing. Lovett’s personal clients are among the world’s most accomplished actors, directors, writers and producers.

Lovett began his career in the mailroom at CAA, rising the ranks to become president in 1995. Since then, he has led the company in unprecedented innovation and growth, creating a new model for client representation in the 21st century. In addition to representing many of the most successful professionals working in film, television, music, video games, theater, and digital media, CAA provides a range of strategic marketing and consulting services to corporate clients.

Under Lovett’s leadership, CAA has also launched a highly successful investment banking affiliate, Evolution Media Capital (EMC); a private equity firm, Star Avenue Capital; five venture-financed Internet companies, including comedy content creator Funny or Die; and a digital media and consumer technology venture fund.

In 1996, Lovett and his partners created the CAA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the agency. Lovett has received numerous awards for his activism, including the Shoah Foundation’s Ambassador for Humanity Award, presented by Steven Spielberg.

A native of Milwaukee, Lovett attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Shan-Lyn Ma is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Zola, the wedding company reinventing the wedding planning experience by combining compassionate customer service with smart tools and technology. Since launching in 2013, Zola has supported millions of couples on their journey from engagement to wedding and newlywed life. Zola has been named one of the Wall Street Journal’s Top 25 Tech Companies to Watch, and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.

Before founding Zola, Shan was Chief Product Officer of Chloe + Isabel. Prior to that, Shan was Gilt Groupe’s first Product Lead where she led key new business launches, including their successful foray into mobile. Additionally, she was Creator and General Manager of Gilt Taste, the brand’s food and wine division. Before her time at Gilt, Shan held product and marketing roles at Yahoo!. She holds a degree in BCommerce with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and an MBA from Stanford University.

Valisa Mitchell is an elementary Computer Science/STEM teacher. She teaches grades PreK-5 at Cooper-Carver Elementary School, Terrell County School System in Dawson, Georgia. She has spent 36 years teaching in the school system from which she graduated in 1984. She has worn many hats at Cooper-Carver Elementary which includes teaching grades PreK-5, Parent Liaison, PBIS Coach, Intervention teacher, grade-chairperson, Teacher of the Year and Local School Governance Team member.

She graduated from Albany State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She returned to ASU to complete her Early Childhood certification. She graduated from the University of Phoenix with a master’s degree in Curriculum and Technology. She also has ESOL and Computer Science Endorsements. She was the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Her teaching philosophy is “You can go anywhere from the halls of the Terrell County School System”. Her teaching motto comes from her heart: If other schools can, the students of Terrell County can as well! She believes it is her job to prepare the students in Terrell County for a future in our evolving technological world. This is her passion.

It has been a privilege and an honor to have had a hand in educating our children in Terrell County for the past 36 years.

Pedro Noguera is the Dean of the Rossier School of Education at USC. Previously he held endowed chairs at UCLA, NYU, Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of 15 books. His most recent book 'A Search for Common Ground' with Rick Hess was the winner of the American Association of Publishers Prose Award in 2021. Noguera serves as an advisor to several states, school districts, foundations, NGOs and nonprofits. In 2014 he was elected to the National Academy of Education and Phi Delta Kappa honor society. In 2020 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Born in NY City to Caribbean immigrants, Noguera is the father of five children, and grandfather to five.

Nasir Qadree is Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners, a leading mission-driven venture capital firm in Washington, DC that invests in high-growth, early-stage businesses across the future of learning and work, financial technology, and health equity categories. He guides the firm’s focus, leads investment activities, and manages post value-creation strategies for its portfolio companies. Zeal is focused on executing a differentiated investment mandate coined “Inclusive Investing™," which allows Zeal to cast a wide scope when sourcing companies, while keeping outsized returns and impact front-and-center. The firm has been touted as one of the ImpactAssets 50 for three years in a row.

Prior to Zeal, Qadree served as Associate Director for AT&T's Aspire Social Investment Fund, where he oversaw direct investments in education and employment technology companies. Prior to AT&T, he led Village Capital's US Economic Opportunity portfolio and served as its Global Head of Education investments. Qadree began his career in the public markets at Goldman Sachs and State Street Corporation.

He’s a 2023 graduate of Kauffman Fellows, an internationally acclaimed venture capital fellowship. Qadree is deeply involved in philanthropy, through his mission to completing 51 marathons, in all 50 states and D.C.--having completed 19--to raise $1million in scholarship funding for first-generation college students. Qadree has been named a 2024 DEIC Power100 Asset Manager honoree, a 2022 Venture Capital Journal Rising Star, a 2018 Washington Business Journal 40-under-40 recipient, and a 2023 & 2024 Washingtonian Tech Titan. He has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Fortune Magazine.

Outside of Zeal, Qadree is an avid vinyl collector and DJ’s 100% vinyl records. He holds a BA from Hampton University, from which he graduated magna cum laude. The Atlanta native currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife Chloe and son Myel.

Kelvin Beachum, a Mexia Texas native, graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 2010 with a BA in Economics and a minor in Sports Management. In 2012, he completed a Master of Liberal Studies in Organizational Dynamics and delivered the commencement address for the Simmons School of Education and Human Development. Beachum is entering his 9th season in the NFL and has played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and most recently, the New York Jets.

In addition to his commitments with the NFL, Beachum is known for his dedication to end hunger by working directly with advocacy groups like World Vision and supporting community food banks across America. He also sits on the Entertainment Council for Feeding America. Beachum is an Executive Board member for the Simmons School of Education and the Lyle School of Engineering at SMU. He is an alternate union rep for the NFLPA and a member of the NFLPA Brand Ambassador Program as well as a Players Inc. Advisory Committee member. Beachum is a member of the advisory board for the OneTeam Collective and a founding member of the NFL Players Coalition. Beachum sits on the Brookings Council and the Donors Choose Advisory Board.

Beachum is committed to helping young people, especially minority and disadvantaged youth, develop skills for success. He has a special focus on encouraging minority youth to engage STEM-centric disciplines and STEM careers. Beachum is a professional speaker and an active investor, focusing mainly on the technology ecosystem.

A man of strong faith, Beachum is devoted to glorifying God in everything he does and uses his time and influence to encourage others by advocating education, faithful devotion and being of service to others. Beachum resides in Arizona with his wife, Jessica, and their three children.

Anil Dash is the CEO of Glitch, the friendly developer community where coders have collaborated to create and share millions of web apps. He is recognized as a leading advocate for more humane, inclusive and ethical technology through his work as an entrepreneur, activist and writer.

He serves as a board member for organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the pioneering nonprofit organization defending digital privacy and expression, The Markup, the leading nonprofit investigative newsroom pushing for tech accountability, Data & Society Research Institute, which researches the cutting edge of tech's impact on society, and the Lower East Side Girls Club, which serves girls and families in need in New York City. Dash was an advisor to the Obama White House’s Office of Digital Strategy, served for a decade on the board of Stack Overflow, the world’s largest community for coders, and today advises key startups and non-profits including Medium, The Human Utility, DonorsChoose, and Project Include.

As a writer and artist, Dash has been a contributing editor and monthly columnist for Wired, written for publications like The Atlantic and Businessweek, co-created one of the first implementations of the blockchain technology now known as NFTs, had his works exhibited in the New Museum of Contemporary Art, and collaborated with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda on one of the most popular Spotify playlists of 2018. Described by the New Yorker as a “blogging pioneer”, his Webby-recognized personal website has been cited in sources ranging from the New York Times to the BBC to TMZ, and in hundreds of academic papers.

Dash is based in New York City, where he lives with his wife Alaina Browne and their son Malcolm. He has never played a round of golf, drank a cup of coffee, or graduated from college.

Sharif El-Mekki is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, which exists to ensure there will be equity in the recruiting, training, hiring, and retention of quality educators that reflect the cultural backgrounds and share common socio-political interests of the students they serve. CBED’s core work is (re) building a National Black Teacher Pipeline.

The Center is developing a nationally relevant model to measurably increase teacher diversity and support Black educators through four pillars: Professional learning, Pipeline, Policies, and Pedagogy. The Center also carries forth the freedom or liberation school legacy by hosting a Freedom School that incorporates research-based curricula and exposes high school and college students to the teaching profession.

Prior to founding the Center, El-Mekki served as a nationally recognized principal and U.S. Department of Education Principal Ambassador Fellow and served as a volunteer member of the Biden-Harris Education Policy Committee.

El-Mekki’s school, Mastery Charter Shoemaker Campus, was recognized by President Obama and Oprah Winfrey, and was awarded the prestigious EPIC award for three consecutive years as being amongst the top three schools in the country for accelerating students’ achievement levels. The Shoemaker Campus was also recognized as one of the top ten middle school and top ten high schools in the state of Pennsylvania for accelerating the achievement levels of African-American students.

El-Mekki has served as a part of multiple U.S. delegations to international conferences on education. He is also the founder of the Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice, an organization dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and developing Black male teachers.

El-Mekki blogs on Philly’s 7th Ward, is a member of the 8 Black Hands podcast, and serves on several boards and committees focused on educational and racial justice.

Born and raised in New York City, Whoopi worked in theatre and improvisation in San Diego and the Bay Area, where she performed with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theatre troupe. It was there that she created the characters which became "The Spook Show" and evolved into her hit Broadway show, Grammy Award-winning album and the HBO special that helped launch her career.

Whoopi Goldberg is one of a very elite group of artists who have won the Grammy ("Whoopi Goldberg," 1985), the Academy Award ("Ghost," 1991), the Golden Globe ("The Color Purple," 1985 and "Ghost," 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC's "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," 2002 and a Daytime Emmy for "The View" in 2009) and a Tony (Producer of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," 2002).

In addition to the Oscar, the Grammy and two Golden Globe Awards, Whoopi has been honored with multiple NAACP Image Awards, numerous People's Choice Awards (including a special tribute in 1998) and five Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards as "Favorite Movie Actress," as well as various awards and honors for her many humanitarian efforts.

In 1992, Whoopi made her debut as an author with her first children's book, "Alice." Her second literary endeavor, simply entitled "Book," became a bestseller in the U.S. and around the world. Hyperion Books published "Whoopi's Big Book of Manners" in 2006 and launched the "Sugar Plum Ballerinas" book series for young readers in 2008 with "Plum Fantastic," followed by "Toeshoe Trouble," "Perfectly Prima" and "Terrible Terrel." Her most recent book for adults include "Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There?" in 2010 and "If Someone Says 'You Complete Me'…Run!!!" in 2015.

Lisa Hom is a product development, merchandising, supply chain, & operations executive with 25+ years of experience working with fashion, kids and lifestyle brands. Currently, Lisa leads the Product Design, Supply Chain, and Operations teams at KiwiCo Inc., the company that designs and delivers unique hands-on STEAM toys and projects to kids 0-16+.

Prior to KiwiCo, Lisa was the CEO of Parasol Co, and has managed departments at Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Mervin’s. She has launched eCommerce brands and established relationships with wholesale partners and licensors to launch products at mass, specialty, and grocery/drug retailers. Lisa holds a BS degree in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Michelle Kydd Lee is the Chief Innovation Officer for Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world's leading entertainment and sports agency, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Nashville, and Beijing. In this role, she provides strategic leadership that builds upon the agency’s renowned culture of collaboration, excellence, and client service, and crafts state-of-the-art approaches to empower, develop, and inspire employees across the company. This includes creating growth opportunities for CAA’s people and culture, inside and outside the agency.

Until 2014, Kydd Lee directed the CAA Foundation since helping to found it in 1995. The CAA Foundation uses the resources of the entertainment and sports community to create positive social change. In addition to having led the Foundation, Kydd Lee personally serves as a consultant to clients, executives and corporations on their philanthropic and pro-social initiatives.

She has served on numerous charitable organization boards and currently sits on the board for Communities In Schools of Los Angeles, and the advisory boards for the MIT Media Lab, FEED, IDEO.org, and DonorsChoose.

Michelle resides in Santa Monica Canyon with her husband and two sons.

Genein Letford is an award-winning educator, best-selling author and international speaker on the Intercultural Creativity® and NeuroSomatic Creativity®. She is proud to have been the first teacher board of director for Donorschoose.org and remains dedicated to serving students' creative and cultural growth. As a TEDx speaker and top neurocreativity trainer, she has inspired many leaders and educators to be aware of their brain’s influences on their cultural lenses and creative abilities in order to produce innovative ideas for the classroom and workspace. She is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of CAFFE Strategies, LLC which trains administrators, educators, leaders and employees to unleash their Intercultural Creativity® for themselves and in their classrooms.

Pulling from her fifteen years of working with creative geniuses (her students), her unique curriculum utilizes neuroscience, metaphorical strategies, heightened observation techniques and the creative arts to reawaken intuitive thinking in her attendees. She recently published her first children’s book I AM CREATIVE! with her 4-year-old son, Shawn Letford to show how creative thinking develops. Her latest book, The Future Classroom Of Intercultural Creativity: Building Students Who Connect and Create Together has been labeled groundbreaking for education in the 21st century. Genein believes creative thinking paired with cultural awareness are critical 21st Century skills and she is often called ‘America’s Creativity Coach’ for her work in reigniting Intercultural Creativity® and in our youth and in our workforce.

Bio: Craig Newmark is a Web pioneer, philanthropist, and a leading advocate on behalf of trustworthy journalism, veterans and military families, and other civic and social justice causes. In 2017 he became a founding funder and executive committee member of the News Integrity Initiative, administered by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, which seeks to advance news literacy and increase trust in journalism.

In 2016 he created the Craig Newmark Foundation to promote investment in organizations that effectively serve their communities and drive broad civic engagement at the grassroots level. Amid growing concerns about the proliferation of “fake news” in the context of the presidential campaign, one of the foundation’s first donations went to the Poynter Institute to create the Craig Newmark Chair in Journalism Ethics. Newmark is widely credited for his leadership in promoting “news we can trust.”

Craig serves on the board of directors of a range of nonprofits including Blue Star Families, Center for Public Integrity, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, Girls Who Code, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Poynter Foundation, Sunlight Foundation, VetsInTech, and nWomen in Public Service Project. He also serves on the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Journalism Review. He serves on the advisory board of nearly twenty other nonprofit organizations including Donors Choose, EFF, New America Foundation, Voto Latino, Wikimedia Foundation, Women Who Tech, and many others.

In 1995 Craig started curating list of San Francisco arts and technology events he personally emailed to friends and colleagues. People were soon calling it "Craig's List,” and when Craig turned it into a company he monetized minimally, opting for a business model that prioritized "doing well by doing good." Today more than 5 billion ads have been posted on the site, the vast majority for free. While Craig remains chairman of craigslist, he has not been involved in management since 2000.

In 2015 craigslist received an award from the FBI in recognition of its undisclosed cooperation with the bureau in combatting human trafficking. Craig was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2013 he was named “Nerd-in-Residence” by the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1952, Craig earned degrees in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. He lives in San Francisco and enjoys bird- and squirrel-watching, science fiction, TV, and Dad jokes.

Craig communicates regularly through his own blog at craigconnects.org and through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, and HuffPost. He also travels the country speaking about issues and appearing on behalf of organizations he supports.

Alexis was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD. He's written a national bestselling book, Without Their Permission, has long advocated for the open internet, STEM education, and paid family leave. Alongside Garry Tan, he co-founded Initialized Capital—a seed stage venture fund with over $500M under management and a portfolio with $36B in market value so far). Alexis also co-founded Reddit.

Joy-Ann Reid is the host of “The ReidOut with Joy Reid,” which airs Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC. She is also a political analyst for MSNBC.

Reid is the author of several New York Times best sellers including “The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story” (Harper Collins, 2019); “Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons and the Racial Divide” (William Morrow/Harper Collins, 2015); and “We Are the Change We Seek: The Speeches of Barack Obama” (Bloomsbury, 2016), which she co-edited with Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne. Reid most recently published “Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America,” which debuted in February 2024 at #1 on The New York Times best-seller list.

Previously, Joy hosted the MSNBC show “AM Joy,” offering distinctive analysis and insight on the news every weekend morning. She also previously hosted the weekday program “The Reid Report.” From 2011 to 2014, Reid served as the Managing Editor of theGrio.com, a daily online news and opinion platform devoted to delivering stories and perspectives that reflect and affect Black audiences, while also serving as an MSNBC contributor. She has worked in local and national TV news, talk radio and as a press secretary during two presidential campaigns, including Barack Obama's Florida campaign in 2008. Her columns have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Miami Herald, New York Magazine and The Daily Beast.

Reid graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in film in 1991. She taught a course on “race, gender and media” at Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications’ New York City annex from 2017 through 2018. Reid and her husband Jason own a documentary film production company. They reside in Maryland and have three children.

Laura Swihart, a partner in Dechert's global finance practice, focuses on commercial real estate finance and securitization matters. Ms. Swihart regularly represents issuers, underwriters, mortgage loan sellers and subordinate bond buyers in connection with commercial mortgage backed securitization transactions. She has represented joint ventures and entities in connection with the creation of commercial mortgage loan origination platforms, including the negotiation of organizational documents, the creation of internal underwriting and closing processes and the creation of form closing documents.

In addition, Ms. Swihart has represented financial institutions and funds as both seller’s and purchaser’s counsel in connection with the sale and purchase of whole mortgage loans and mezzanine loans and the creation, sale and purchase of pari passu, junior and senior interests in mortgage loans and mezzanine loans. She represents both borrowers and lenders in connection with commercial mortgage loan warehouse facilities and repurchase facilities. Ms. Swihart has also represented numerous borrowers, lenders, issuers and underwriters in connection with the negotiation of repurchase facilities and securitizations secured by non-performing commercial mortgage loans and REO properties.

Ms. Swihart is recommended in The Legal 500 (U.S.) 2015 for structured finance and her work within CMBS and was named a "2016 Client Service All-Star” by BTI Consulting Group. In 2017, Ms. Swihart was named among the Women Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Angie Thomas was born and raised in Mississippi, but now calls Atlanta her home. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed.

Angie is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, THE HATE U GIVE, started as a senior project in college. It was later acquired by the Balzer+Bray imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in a 13-publisher auction and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, winning the ALA’s William C. Morris Debut Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (USA), the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize (UK), and the Deutscher Jugendliterapreis (Germany). THE HATE U GIVE was adapted into a critically acclaimed film from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr.

Angie’s second novel, ON THE COME UP, is a #1 New York Times bestseller as well, and a film is in development with Paramount Pictures with Angie acting as a producer. In 2020, Angie released FIND YOUR VOICE: A Guided Journal to Writing Your Truth as a tool to help aspiring writers tell their stories. In 2021, Angie returned to the world of Garden Heights with CONCRETE ROSE, a prequel to THE HATE U GIVE focused on seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter that debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. The AFT champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for students, their families and communities. The AFT and its members advance these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through members' work.

Prior to her election as AFT president in 2008, Weingarten served for 12 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, representing approximately 200,000 educators in the New York City public school system, as well as home child care providers and other workers in health, law and education. In 2013, the New York Observer named Weingarten one of the most influential New Yorkers of the past 25 years. Washington Life magazine included Weingarten on its 2013 Power 100 list of influential leaders.

Weingarten has launched major efforts to place real education reform high on the nation's and her union's agendas. She created the AFT Innovation Fund, a groundbreaking initiative to support sustainable, innovative and collaborative education reform projects developed by members and their local unions. At Weingarten's direction, the AFT developed a model to transform teacher evaluations from a way of simply rating teachers to a tool for continuous improvement and feedback, and is using this model to align tenure and due process so that tenure serves as a guarantee of fairness, not of a job for life. Weingarten led an AFT committee that called for all prospective teachers to meet a high entry standard—as in medicine or law—so that they're prepared from the day they enter the classroom.

Weingarten oversaw the development of the AFT's Quality Education Agenda, which advocates for reforms grounded in evidence, equity, scalability and sustainability. She promotes what she calls "solution-driven unionism"—an approach to collective bargaining and collective action that unites the interests of union members and those they serve in the pursuit of solutions that benefit students, schools and communities.

The AFT and a broad array of parent and community partners have collaborated on events across the country to advance a community- and educator-driven agenda for public school reform. Parents and many others have joined the AFT's efforts to end the overuse and misuse of standardized tests, and to fix—not close—struggling schools, something Weingarten has advocated since her involvement in the creation of New York City's Chancellor's District, which dramatically improved achievement in what had been some of the city's lowest-performing schools.

In 2012-13, Weingarten served on an education reform commission convened by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which made a series of recommendations to improve teaching and learning. She was appointed to the Equity and Excellence Commission, a federal advisory committee chartered by Congress to examine and make recommendations concerning the disparities in educational opportunities that give rise to the achievement gap.

From 1986 to 1998, Weingarten served as counsel to UFT president Sandra Feldman, taking a lead role in contract negotiations and enforcement, and in lawsuits in which the union fought for adequate school funding and building conditions. A teacher of history at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood from 1991 to 1997, Weingarten helped her students win several state and national awards debating constitutional issues.

Weingarten's column "What Matters Most" appears in the New York Times' Sunday Review the third Sunday of each month. You can follow her on Twitter at @rweingarten or on Facebook.

Weingarten holds degrees from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Cardozo School of Law. She worked as a lawyer for the Wall Street firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan from 1983 to 1986. She is an active member of the Democratic National Committee and numerous professional, civic and philanthropic organizations. Born in 1957 and raised in Rockland County, N.Y., Weingarten now resides on Long Island and in Washington, D.C.

Reese Witherspoon is an award-winning actress, entrepreneur, producer, and New York Times bestselling author. She won an Academy Award® for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line and was later nominated in that same category for Wild in 2014, which she also produced. Witherspoon also starred in beloved films Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde, and Election, as well as award-winning television series’ “Big Little Lies,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” and “The Morning Show.” Other film credits include Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, Universal Pictures’ animated musical comedy Sing and Sing 2. In addition to her acting and producer roles, Witherspoon is an author and entrepreneur. In 2016, she established Hello Sunshine, a media brand and content company dedicated to female authorship and storytelling across all platforms. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese’s Book Club and Reese’s YA Book Club, which focuses on storytelling with women at the center. Witherspoon recently sold Hello Sunshine to Blackstone in September 2021. Now Hello Sunshine is the cornerstone of a larger media company called Candle Media. Witherspoon is an advocate and activist for women’s issues across the globe.

Tony is the Co-Executive Managing Member of Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP. He joined Davidson Kempner in August 1999 and became a Managing Member in January 2004, Co-Deputy Executive Managing Member in January 2012, the sole Deputy Executive Managing Member in January 2013 and Co-Executive Managing Member in January 2018.

Tony received a J.D. from Columbia Law School and an M.B.A. from the Columbia Graduate School of Business Administration in 1999. He earned an A.B., cum laude, from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1996.