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David A. Wilson

Managing Editor

David A. Wilson is the managing editor and founder of theGrio.com. David began his career at the assignment desks for local news. He worked on the award-winning CBS News program 48 Hours, where he researched and developed content for the news magazine show. He also served as lead producer and oversaw newsroom operations for NNS (Network News Service), a national news gathering service, and an ABC, CBS, and FOX News conglomerate.

David also directed and wrote the critically acclaimed MSNBC documentary, Meeting David Wilson, a film that chronicled his personal journey to find answers to today's racial disparities in America.

Daniel Woolsey

theGrio.com

Dan Woolsey is originally from Washington D.C. and has been a television producer, film producer and cinematographer. He currently lives in Manhattan.

Barion L. Grant

theGrio.com

Barion L. Grant started his professional career at MTV Networks where he would spend years honing his craft as a News & Documentaries producer. Most notably, he served as associate producer and researcher for “Tupac: Resurrection,” (which received an Oscar Nomination for Best Documentary in 2005) and as segment producer for “All Eyes On: Jay-Z”, a special on the superstar rapper and entrepreneur. The talented producer and filmmaker has also developed programs for MTV2, FUSE, Current TV and VH1.

Grant is the producer of “Meeting David Wilson”, which chronicles the story of David Wilson, an African-American journalist who journeys to North Carolina to meet his namesake, a descendant of the slave master who once owned his family and currently owns the plantation where his ancestors were enslaved. The critically acclaimed documentary premiered on MSNBC in April of 2008.

Sonia Narang

theGrio Staff Editor

Sonia Narang, a digital journalist at TheGrio.com, shoots and edits video stories for the site. Originally from California, Sonia has covered international stories, business, and environmental issues for Frontline/World, the San Jose Mercury News, Forbes, and the New York Times Magazine. She's a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism and produced a documentary in India last year.

Keosha Johnson

theGrio.com

Keosha Johnson is a budding multimedia producer. A native Floridian, Keosha moved up the East coast to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. Keosha has worked at NBC News in New York City, where she was produced mutlimedia for thegrio.com and produced segments at the Today Show, MSNBC and Dateline. She has since returned to Washington, D.C. and works at the local NPR station WAMU 88.5 FM as an online news editor and producer. As a freelance writer, she has written articles featured in The Grio, AARP’s The Bulletin, msnbc.com and other media outlets.

Tony Anderson

theGrio Staff Editor

Tony Anderson, originally from Philadelphia, attended Delaware State University, graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. He joins theGrio from NBC Channel One News. As a correspondent, he has traveled internationally to report on important and historical issues. From Australia to Los Angeles to Washington DC, Tony has interviewed a host of recognizable figures in entertainment as well as in the worlds of sports and politics such as Bono, Beyonce, Howard Dean and Lebron James.

theGrio

theGrio.com

TheGrio.com is the first video-centric news community devoted to providing African Americans with stories and perspectives that appeal to them but are underrepresented in existing national news outlets. TheGrio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles, and blogs on topics from breaking news, politics, health, business, and entertainment, which concern its niche audience.

Rev. Al Sharpton

President of National Action Network

Reverend Al Sharpton is one of most-renowned civil rights leaders in the country.  He is the founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), a not-for-profit, civil rights organization based in Harlem, New York with over 45 chapters nationwide, and is the co-founder of the Education Equality Project (EEP), a non-partisan group of elected officials, civil rights leaders and education reformers that collaborate to help ensure America bring equity to an educational system that, 54 years since Brown v. Board of Education, continues to fail its highest-need students.  

Rev. Sharpton is also a nationally-syndicated radio host, T.V. personality and columnist, with three popular radio shows broadcasted throughout the country, a regular television show featured on TV One, and a column that appears in national newspapers and is facing syndication.

Dr. Boyce Watkins

Author and Finance Professor at Syracuse University

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good.” For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com

Anthony Calypso

Writer

Anthony S. Calypso is a writer from Nyack, New York. He holds an MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Calypso began reporting as a general assignment stringer for the Journal News. Since then his work has appeared in Essence, Black Enterprise, Black Enterprise.com, and Uptownlife.net. He has written about religion, culture, technology, and business. In addition he has also published short fiction. In 2006, he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for the nonfiction essay, “Kung-fu.” He currently teaches at The New School and is at work on a novel.

Ni'kita Wilson

Vice President and Partner at Cosmetech Laboratories, Inc

Ni’Kita Wilson is a cosmetic chemist and beauty writer. She is Vice President and Partner at Cosmetech Laboratories, Inc., a leading consulting company serving the personal care industry in Fairfield, NJ. Ni’Kita writes for Sister 2 Sister magazine and one of the most respected magazines for the personal care industry, Cosmetics & Toiletries; she also blogs at theb-spot.com. Because of her passion for and knowledge of formulating, Ni’Kita is regarded as an expert in the field and is frequently used as a source for beauty editors and can be found quoted in major beauty magazines such as O and Allure. She holds several patents and speaks at industry conferences around the country.

Lola Adesioye

Deputy Editor

Lola Adesioye is a socio-political writer and Deputy Editor of theGrio.com. She also writes a weekly column for The Guardian, is a contributor of commentary to major publications including The Economist and The Huffington Post and appears regularly on CNN and other stations such as the BBC and BET. Her area of expertise is race, politics and popular culture from a Generation Y perspective. Born and raised in London and of Nigerian descent, Lola also brings an international perspective to her work.

Marlo David

Assistant Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Purdue University

Marlo D. David, an assistant professor of English and women’s studies at Purdue University, researches the lives and literature of contemporary black women, the politics of gender and sexuality, and popular culture. She is working on her first book Mama’s Gun: Transgressive Narratives of Race, Gender and Nation in Black Literature and Culture.

Seth Johnson

Conservative political activist

Seth Johnson, 24, is a native of Pittsburgh, PA and lives in Washington, DC where he works in government relations. He is a 2007 graduate of The American University in Washington, DC with a degree in political science. While at American he worked for the student newspaper, The Eagle, as an opinion writer and opinion page editor. He also interned with DCI Group, the Republican Governors Association, and the Laura Ingraham Show. Active with the AU College Republicans as communications director and secretary, he helped campaign for Bush-Cheney ’04, Rick Santorum, Michael Steele, and George Allen, and also appeared on Fox News’s O’Reilly Factor.

Noel Anderson

Associate Professor Political Science Department - City University of New York

Dr. Noel S. Anderson is an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department and School of Education (with permission) at the City University of New York - Brooklyn College, teaching courses on the Politics of Education, Urban Politics, Education Policy Analysis and Research Methods in Social Science.

Dr. Anderson also lectures nationally and internationally on issues of racial and urban politics and educational equity in the U.S. as well as in South Africa. In the summer of 2009, he is completing his research with visits to the Netherlands to examine the links of Dutch educational theories to Apartheid education

Noel Anderson is the co-author of "Our Schools Suck: Students Talk Back to a Segregated Nation on the Failures of Urban Education" and "Education As Freedom: African-American Educational Thought and Activism"

Melissa Harris-Lacewell

Associate Professor of Politics & African American Studies at Princeton

Melissa Harris-Lacewell is Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, (Princeton 2004). And she is currently at work on a new book: Sister Citizen: A Text For Colored Girls Who've Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn't Enough.

Professor Harris-Lacewell's writings have been published in newspapers throughout the country. She has provided expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender issues for many television, radio and print sources both in the United States and around the world. She is a regular guest on The Rachel Maddow show, a regular contributor on NPR, a columnist for The Nation and she keeps a political web log titled The Kitchen Table. She travels extensively and works on behalf of local and national efforts for justice.

Eisa Ulen

Writer & Author

Eisa Nefertari Ulen is the author of Crystelle Mourning, a novel described by The Washington Post as “a call for healing in the African American community from generations of hurt and neglect.” Her essays exploring African-American culture have been widely anthologized, and she has contributed to Essence, The Washington Post, Ms., Health, and CreativeNonfiction.org. www.EisaUlen.com.

Marcia L Dyson

Reverend and social activist

The Reverend Marcia L. Dyson has been hailed as one of our nation's foremost religious figures, spiritual writers and noted civic-social activist. In 1992, she was appointed by Mayor Richard Daley to serve as the Public Information Officer for the Mayor's Office of Special Events for the City of Chicago. President William J. Clinton selected her to be on his 2008 Clinton Global Initiative delegation team which traveled to Africa and Mexico. Former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, selected Dyson to be on the Women’s Global Summit Leadership board in 2007. Dyson is busy at work on several books, including a novel entitled Don't Call Me Angel that explores the spiritual development of an African-American woman, as well as the cultural and racial elements of the sixties and seventies; The Women Who Would Be King: Female Socio-Civic Activists, and a memoir of her travels as a surrogate for Senator Clinton for President entitled The Rough Side of the Mountain: Trials on the 2008 Presidential Primary Trail.

Dyson is a Presidential Scholar at Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C. In addition, she is a contributor to Essence Magazine, womensradio.com, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Brain Trusters’ New Deal 2.0 blog site, and theroot.com where she addresses issues concerning race, gender inequality, international and national concerns.

Zuhairah Scott

Business commentator

Zuhairah Scott is a business commentator and digital journalist. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School; a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School; and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated magna cum laude and was named outstanding senior of her graduating class of over 10,000. Zuhairah has received numerous professional accolades and was most recently recognized as being one of DC’s “Top 35 Under 35” rising stars in commercial real estate. Previously she was the Vice President and Regional Manager for one of the leading real estate investment management firms in the United States, managing more than $11 billion in urban real estate assets.

Kevin A. Pemberton

Chief Executive Officer of Mission Possible

Kevin A. Pemberton is a Vice President at a leading asset management firm in New York City. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Mission Possible, an advisory firm designed to provide planning assistance and strategic consulting to struggling cultural arts organizations and non-profits throughout the United States. He is also the Founder and past President of the Brooklyn Vanguard, a dynamic group of Library patrons between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-something committed to expanding the role of Brooklyn Public Library in the intellectual life of the City of New York. Having been profiled in a number of NYC’s leading newspapers and journals, he has been invited to sit on the Board of the Brooklyn Arts Council, the umbrella for Brooklyn’s range of cultural groups and individual artists working in the visual, performing, media and literary arts. He is also a trustee at Explore Empower Charter School, less than a mile from the library where he once read as a child. Explore’s mission is to provide its students with the academic skills and critical thinking abilities they need to succeed in a college preparatory high school.

Paul Brunson

Executive Director & Co-Founder of educational activist organization LevelTen

Paul Carrick Brunson is a writer and activist on issues related to education equality. He serves as the Executive Director and Co-founder of LevelTen, a grassroots organization focused on creating awareness of education equality issues and empowering community members to play a part in closing the achievement gap. He holds degrees from both Old Dominion University and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Donna M Owens

Award winning journalist

Donna M. Owens is an award-winning multimedia journalist whose byline has appeared in such outlets as NPR, O, the Oprah Magazine, the Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Essence, Black Enterprise, BET.com, AOL's Black Voices and MSNBC.com, to name a few. Owens previously held staff positions as a producer and investigative reporter for CBS and NBC stations nationwide, and was a political and general assignment reporter for several Maryland newspapers. A frequent globe-trotter, Owens recently co-authored a Fodor's travel guide on Maryland and Virginia.

Terry Wynn II

Writer

Terry Wynn II, born in Houston, Texas, is a freelance writer and tv personality living in New York City. Mr. Wynn served as an award-winning columnist for his college newspaper, The Xavier Herald, while also hosting a syndicated radio program on 87.5 PuLSE FM in London, England. After taking time off to complete his graduate studies, he began his television career as an assistant producer at NBC News before leaving to pursue his dreams of becoming a television commentator and personality. While appearing frequently on television as a social commentator, Mr. Wynn has produced television stories for Dateline NBC, MSNBC and A&E Biography, and his writings have appeared on msnbc.com and abcnews.com. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Xavier University in Louisiana and a master's degree in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Hillary Crosley

Writer

Hillary Crosley is an NYC-based freelancer, Editorial Director of ParlourMagazine.com and co-host of "I'm Sayin' Radio with Chloé and Hills!"

Kenyon Farrow

National Public Education Director for Queers for Economic Justice

Kenyon Farrow is a writer and activist living in Brooklyn, NY. He is the National Public Education Director for Queers for Economic Justice, and blogs at www.kenyonfarrow.com.

Cheo Tyehimba

Author & Activist

Cheo Tyehimba is writer, producer, activist, and author of the recently published “Like Loving Backward,” a collection of slightly supernatural stories about how black men learn to love. Find him at www.likelovingbackward.com

Latoya Peterson

Editor of Racialicious.com

Latoya Peterson is the Editor of Racialicious.com, a site devoted to discussing race and pop culture. When she isn't freelancing, she's spending way too much time on Twitter.

Santita Jackson

Host of “Santita Jackson Show” on Chicago’s WVON-AM

Santita Jackson is the midday host of the top-rated “Santita Jackson Show” on Chicago’s WVON-AM, the nation’s leading urban talk radio station. She is also the Executive Producer, Writer and occasional host of one of the fastest growing radio programs in the country, the nationally-syndicated Keep Hope Alive with Rev Jesse Jackson radio show, broadcast on the Premiere Radio/Clear Channel Network. Most recently, she has assumed the duties as host of the WYCC Forum, an issues forum on Chicago City Colleges’ PBS television station. She is the former Director of the P.U.S.H. Television Studio, which is located at the National Headquarters of the Rainbow/P.U.S.H. Coalition in Chicago, Illinois. While operating in that capacity, Santita was the Senior Producer, Researcher, and Voice Over talent for the Up Front with Jesse Jackson television show. Telecast on the WORD Network, the nation’s largest urban religious television network, Up Front with Jesse Jackson reaches more than 35 million American homes, 75 million African homes and 6 million homes throughout the Europe and the Caribbean. Santita Jackson is also an accomplished singer.

theGrio via AP

Associated Press

theGrio.com and the Associated Press have partnered to bring you the most up to date and relevant news from around the globe.

Milton Kent

Media & women's basketball writer for Fanhouse.com

Milton Kent has covered the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball and college basketball, as well as the movies and popular music for the Baltimore Sun. He currently covers the media and women's basketball for AOL's Fanhouse.com and is a freelance writer. He and his wife live in suburban Baltimore.

Dr. Icilma Fergus

Head of Cardiology at the Harlem Hospital Center

Dr. Icilma Fergus is Head of Cardiology at the Harlem Hospital Center. Her current academic appointment is Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, New York and Assistant Professor of Weill/Cornell Medical Center, New York. Dr. Fergus is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. She has served on several committees at her prior institution and now at Harlem Hospital center, she serves on the P&T committee and HHC Hypertension and Diabetes guidelines committee.

She has authored or coauthored numerous articles on various topics related to heart disease and congestive heart failure in peer-reviewed journals. She is co-author of a chapter about cardiovascular imaging in “Cardiovascular Disease in Ethnic Minorities” published by Elsevier in December 2008. Her current research interests involve Hypertension and Diastolic Dysfunction and the associated co-morbidities, LV dysynchrony and heart disease in women. Dr. Fergus is an active member of many professional memberships, including the American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Echocardiography, and the American College of Cardiology. In addition, Dr. Fergus sits on the board of directors for the Association of Black Cardiologists serves as secretary on the Executive Board and Chair for Community Programs. She is also a member of the Harlem Healthy Eating Healthy Living Committee.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Journalist, author and broadcaster.

Dr. Jeff Gardere

Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Jeff Gardere is a clinical psychologist, television commentator and author of several books including “Love Prescription, Ending The War Between Black Men and Women,” Dafina Press.

Lester Spence

Assistant Professor of Political Science, John Hopkins University

Lester Spence is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. His specialties include racial politics, black politics, urban politics, and racial politics. His book Stare in the Darkness: Rap, Hip-hop, and Black Politics will be published in August 2010 by the University of Minnesota Press. The first black social scientist to maintain a blog, he is currently at work on a project interrogating the neoliberal turn in black politics.

G'Ra Asim

Writer & Novelist

G'Ra Asim, 22, is a writer, novelist and singer-songwriter. His commentary has also appeared in Salon.com, The Daily voice.com and Ebonyjet.com. He is currently writing a novel.

Kellee Terrell

Writer

Kellee Terrell is a Brooklyn-based journalist, editor and blogger who writes about health, pop culture, gender and race issues. Her work has appeared in Essence, Real Health: The Guide To Black Wellness , POZ , The Advocate and XXL: Hip Hop Soul.

M.K. Asante Jr

Author, Filmmaker, Professor at Morgan State University

M.K. Asante, Jr. is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and professor. The author of three celebrated books, Asante is the recipient of the 2009 Langston Hughes Award. His latest book, It's Bigger Than Hip Hop, was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "An empowering book that moves you to action and to question status quo America." His other books are the award-winning poetry collections, Beautiful. And Ugly Too and Like Water Running Off My Back, winner of the Academy of American Poets Jean Corrie Prize. An acclaimed filmmaker, Asante wrote, directed and produced The Black Candle, a film narrated by Maya Angelou and winner of Best Documentary at the Africa World Documentary Film Festival. Asante also wrote and produced the film 500 Years Later; winner of five international awards including the Breaking the Chains award from the United Nations. Asante is a professor in the Department of English and Language Arts at Morgan State University. More info at www.mkasante.com

Dr Thavolia Glymph

Associate Professor of African & African-American Studies and History at Duke University

Dr. Glymph is Associate Professor of African and African American Studies and History. Professor Glymph is the author of several essays on slavery, emancipation and the U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction, economic history, and southern women . She is co-editor of Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1861, ser. 1, vol. 1; The Documentary of History of Emancipation, 1861-1867, ser. 1, vol. 3; The Wartime Genesis of Free Labor: The Lower South and Essays on the Postbellum Southern Economy. Her most recently published work is Out Of the House of Bondage: The Transformation of the Plantation Household (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Her current writing and research focuses on women in the Civil War, the geography of the plantation household, and Civil War veterans in Egypt.

Shamara Riley

Editor of BookerRising.net

Shamara Riley is the webmaster at Booker Rising (http://www.bookerrising.net), a blog news site for black moderates and black conservatives.

Chay Lee

theGrio Correspondent

Chay Lee is a correspondent for theGrio.com. The former local news reporter has worked on projects for MTV and BET. Chay also is a stand up comedian who performs all over New York City. Chay graduated from Howard University.

Jason Ravin

Writer & Activist

Jason Ravin is a writer and activist on issues related to social and economic justice. He received his formal education from Howard University and The London School of Economics.

Cameron McCall

theGrio

Ronda Racha Penrice

Author of African American History For Dummies

Ronda Racha Penrice is a former Associate Editor of the now defunct magazine, Rap Pages, as well as the author of African American History For Dummies. Her work on music has appeared in Creative Loafing, Urban Network, The Source and Vibe.

Benjamin Todd Jealous

NAACP President & CEO

Benjamin Todd Jealous is the 17th President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP, and the youngest person to hold the position in the organization’s nearly 100-year history.

Martina Correia

Sister of Troy Davis and anti-death penalty activist

Farai Chideya

Author of 'Kiss The Sky' and journalist

Farai Chideya is a novelist, journalist and former of host NPR's News & Notes. Chideya was also one of the earliest pop culture bloggers, founding PopandPolitics.com in 1995. The site continues as a student-run blog and training program at the University of Southern California. She has written three non-fiction books, Don't Believe the Hype, The Color of Our Future, and Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters.
Her new novel, "Kiss the Sky," follows a black rock star struggling with fame.

Keli Goff

Political Analyst & Writer

As an expert on youth and minority voters Keli Goff emerged as one of the most recognizable political pundits of the 2008 presidential election cycle. She has appeared on numerous national programs including: “The CBS Early Show,” CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” and BET’s “The Truth with Jeff Johnson,” for which she served as a regular contributor. She is a featured essayist in the forthcoming book “The Speech: Race and Barack Obama’s ‘A More Perfect Union’” (Bloomsbury, 2009) and the author of the critically acclaimed book Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (Basic Books, March 2008). One of the first books to explore the rise of “Generation Obama,” Party Crashing received favorable coverage in a host of outlets including The Washington Post and EBONY Magazine. Arianna Huffington declared that Party Crashing “Should be on the nightstand of candidates on either side of the political aisle.” A popular blogger, Keli is a regular contributor to “The Huffington Post” and previously served as an editorial contributor to “RushmoreDrive.com.” She also penned the cover story for UPTOWN Magazine’s Obama Issue, featuring her interview with filmmaker Spike Lee. Keli holds a B.A. from New York University and a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications from Columbia University. A native of Texas, she now resides in New York City.

Brentin Mock

Environment Reporter

Brentin Mock is a freelance reporter who worked most recently as a writing fellow for The American Prospect focusing on environmental justice and policy issues. His work has also been published in Essence, GOOD, Next American City, Intelligence Report, XXL.com and The Source. He is a 2008-09 Metcalfe Institute Diversity in Environmental Reporting Fellow, and a 2009 USC Annenberg Institute Justice and Journalism Fellow for environmental justice reporting.

Talia Whyte

Journalist & Activist

Talia Whyte is a freelance journalist who writes about social justice issues around the world. She has been writing about human rights issues as they relate to politics, trade policy and globalization, media and technology matters, pop culture and all things Africa for over ten years. She blogs regularly at Global Wire. Whyte is also the founder of Global Wire Associates, an international initiative that looks at grassroots uses of innovative communication for advancing social justice. Her website is www.taliawhyte.com.

Dr Pamela D. Reed

Assistant Professor of English composition & African-American literature at Virginia State University

Dr. Pamela D. Reed is an assistant professor of English and African American Literature at Virginia State University. Holding the Ph.D. in African American Studies, with emphasis on Cultural Aesthetics, from Temple University and the M.A. in Communications-Public Relations from the University of Louisiana-Monroe, she is uniquely equipped to dialogue on matters of race and culture. She has presently widely in the areas of diversity and cultural studies, including at the Oxford Round Table in the United Kingdom. Dr. Reed, a widely published cultural critic and public intellectual, is a contributor to both the Encyclopedia of Black Studies and the Encyclopedia of African Religions. Her writings have appeared in/on The Daily Voice.com, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, and other national publications. Additionally, she serves on the editorial board of the Affirmative Action Register. Presently she is working on a manuscript: “The First Black President and the Racial Mountain (and other essays on Barack Obama, Race and American Culture).

Justin Ervin

Filmmaker

Keesa Schreane

Personal Finance and Business Journalist

Keesa Schreane is an award-winning personal finance and business journalist. She most recently worked as a vice president with a leading financial services company, and has worked with other Wall Street firms including Smith Barney. She has a Master’s degree in Journalism and French Studies from New York University, and teaches continuing education to adult college students at The College of New Rochelle in New York. She writes for publications including Black Enterprise Magazine and Essence Magazine on subjects ranging from homeownership and foreclosure prevention to bankruptcy avoidance and savings tips. In 2006, she won the New York Association of Black Journalists award for her general features article “My First Home” in Black Enterprise which highlights key steps to buying a first home. Additionally, in 2009 Schreane was awarded by The Coalition for Debtor Education for her work toward combating poverty and debt in underserved communities in New York City. As a sought after speaker and lecturer, Schreane carries the message of financial empowerment to religious institutions, community groups and school programs. She hosts a personal finance show on Radio Soleil in New York City, and has participated in national economic discussions as a panelist in venues such as The Wall Street Project Economic Summit (New York City, 2009) and Today’s Financial Challenges for Women on Their Own Roundtable (Washington DC, 2009).

C. Frank Igwe

Executive Director of City ACES (Athletes Changing Expectations)

C. Frank Igwe is the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, City ACES (Athletes Changing Expectations). City ACES utilizes professional athletes in the NBA/NFL/MLB/NCAA to motivate and inspire Middle-School aged youth residing in underperforming school districts, and distressed communities across the United States towards academic achievement. For more information, visit www.cityaces.org.
Dr. Igwe’s life and work have been featured in Yahoo News, Christian Science Monitor, Foxsports.com, Chronicle of Higher Education, and several other outlets.
Dr. Igwe received his Ph.D. in Information Sciences and Technology, and his Masters in Business Administration, both from Penn State. He also received his Masters in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, and B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. C. Frank Igwe is a 2008 Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University.

Mara Schiavocampo

NBC News Digital Correspondant

Award-winning journalist Mara Schiavocampo is the Digital Correspondent for "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams," the first reporter of her kind in network television. A pioneer of new media journalism, Schiavocampo travels the world producing, shooting, reporting and editing video pieces, blogging and shooting still photos.

Rinku Sen

Executive Director of the Applied Research Center & publisher of ColorLines magazine

Rinku Sen is the Executive Director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and the publisher of ColorLines magazine. Her latest book is The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization.
A leading figure in the racial justice movement, Rinku has positioned ARC as the home for media and activism on racial justice. She has extensive practical experience on the ground, with expertise in race, feminism, immigration and economic justice. She also has significant experience in philanthropy, as Vice Chair of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and an Advisory Committee member of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. Previously, she was the Co-Director of the Center for Third World Organizing.
Rinku has written for a wide variety of publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Huffington Post, Jack and Jill Politics, AlterNet, Tompaine.com, and ColorLines. Her book, Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing (Jossey-Bass) was commissioned by the Ms. Foundation for Women and released in the fall of 2003. Her latest book, The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization (Berrett-Koehler) won the Silver Medal in the Nautilus Book Award.

Terrie M. Williams

Author and President & Founder of The Stay Strong Foundation & Terrie Wiliams Agency

Terrie Williams is an advocate for change and empowerment and has utilized her influence and communications expertise for more than 30 years to educate and engage audiences in causes that affect the community, the nation and the world. She launched The Terrie Williams Agency in 1988 with superstar Eddie Murphy and the late jazz legend Miles Davis as her first clients. Since then, her agency has developed and implemented public relations and communications strategies for some of the biggest personalities and businesses in entertainment, sports, business and politics. As an author, Williams has written four successful books and countless articles. Terrie’s latest work, a book entitled Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting (Scribner 2008) reveals her personal struggles with depression and the impact the stigma of this and other mental illnesses have on the African-American community. Williams is frequently featured and quoted in the national press, college textbooks, industry publications and novels. She is one of the country's most highly sought-after executive and inspirational speakers, addressing a variety of topics including public relations and communications, business communications and networking, demystifying mental illness, and creating balance in your personal and professional life.
Terrie’s honors include The 2009 Dr. David Satcher Mental Health Trailblazer Award from The Jackson State School of Social Work/Southern Institute for Mental Health Advocacy, Research and Training, The Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural & Minority Medicine’s 2006 Eagle Fly Free Award for her work as a depression survivor and her efforts to bring widespread attention to the topic. She has also received The New York Women in Communications Matrix Award in Public Relations—the first woman of color to receive this award in the award’s 70-year history, the PRSA New York Chapter’s Phillip Dorf Mentoring Award, and The Citizen’s Committee for New York Marietta Tree Award for Public Service. In 1996 she was the first person of color honored with the Vernon C. Schranz Distinguished Lectureship at Ball State University, and in 1998 she donated her papers to the Howard University Moorland-Springarn Research Center Archives.
Terrie has a B. A. (cum laude) in Psychology and Sociology from Brandeis University, and an M.S. in Social Work from Columbia University.

Julia Mayes

Correspondant

Kyle Harvey

Kobina Aidoo

Filmmaker: The Neo African-Americans

Kobina Aidoo is originally from Ghana and currently works as a public affairs consultant in Washington, DC.
He initially came to America to study Broadcast Communications at Barry University in Miami and later continued with MBA studies. He has worked as a new media producer for Warner Bros. Publications and for Intel Computer Clubhouse, an after-school initiative of the Boston Museum of Science and the MIT Media Lab which helps under-served youth become technologically fluent. He has also performed economic consulting work for the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates. He holds a Master of Public Policy degree with a specialty in International Trade and Finance from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he also served as Co-Chief Editor of Africa Policy Journal. He doesn't think of himself as a filmmaker; he considers himself a public policy analyst with a camera.

Uduak Oduok

Attorney, Journalist & Model

Uduak Oduok is a California based attorney, journalist and model. She has a keen interest in the intersection of fashion, music, film and the arts through a legal framework. She is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ladybrille Magazine, a magazine connecting today’s young, vibrant and globally chic American and European woman to Africa’s equally young and vibrant fashion, film and music industries. You can visit Ladybrille Magazine at www.ladybrillemag.com

Jennifer Oluoch

Humanitarian services provider

Born in Kenya, Jennifer Oluoch holds a Bachelor of Education (majoring in Home Economics) at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya and a Masters Degree in Management of International Organizations from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.
She is multi-lingual speaking fluently: Luo (her ethnic language), Kiswahili, English and Arabic (Juba). Since 1998, she has worked in the humanitarian field in development, conflict /post conflict countries, which include Sudan (Darfur and south Sudan), Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, East Timor, Pakistan, Kenya and now in Malawi. While at Wagner, Jennifer also worked as an intern at the World food Program NY, (WFP NY) as a Liaison Assistant she attended meetings on global food security at the UN and reports on the deliberations to the WFP headquarters in Rome and the NY offices.

Leigh Davenport

Writer and multimedia producer

Leigh Davenport is a Harlem-based writer and multi-media producer. After graduating from Spelman College with an English degree, Leigh began her career at VH1and quickly began freelance work for several other networks including BET, TV ONE, Sprint and internationally at Channel O. She offers further commentary African-American issues and pop culture on her blog Theoreticaleigh Speaking; and as host of the internet radio show "That's what we say." She is currently pursuing her MA in Media Studies/Management at The New School University.

John A Powell

Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

John A. Powell, is an internationally recognized authority in the areas of civil rights, civil liberties, and issues relating to race, ethnicity, poverty and the law. He is the Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. He also holds the Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at the Moritz College of Law.

He has written extensively on a number of issues including structural racism, racial justice and regionalism, concentrated poverty and urban sprawl, opportunity-based housing, voting rights, affirmative action in the United States, South Africa and Brazil, racial and ethnic identity, spirituality and social justice, and the needs of citizens in a democratic society.

Stephen Menendian

Senior Legal Research Associate: The Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity

Stephen Menendian works as a senior legal research associate for the Kirwan Institute. His work involves analysis and advocacy around civil rights, human rights, anti-discrimination law, and citizenship. In 2004, he worked as a law clerk for the Equal Justice Foundation. Stephen is a licensed attorney and a proud member of the Ohio Bar. He received his J.D. from the Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University and a B. A. in Economics from Ohio University.

Monica Land

Writer

Monica Land is originally from Chicago and has been writing for more than 20 years. An award-winning writer, she interned at the Chicago Defender and Chicago Tribune newspapers, as well as the Goodman Theater, WGN-TV and WBEZ-FM, also in Chicago. As an extensive researcher in black history, she was a producer of several television biographies on Dorothy Dandridge including Entertainment Tonight and A&E’s “Biography.” She’s interviewed and worked with numerous celebrities and Civil Rights figures including Rosa Parks, Mamie Till-Mobley, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Leo Branton, Jesse Jackson and James Meredith. She just completed an essay for an upcoming book on women of the Civil Rights Movement and is currently developing a documentary on the same subject matter.

Mariama Eversley

Writer

Allen Herbert

Vice President of Jaka Consulting

Allen Herbert is the vice president of JAKA Consulting Group, a government relations, business development and strategic marketing firm helmed by former NFL standout Ken Harvey in Reston, VA. Specializing in sports and science, health and wellness, . It is also one of the only African American firms involved in the burgeoning commercial space industry. Mr. Herbert has a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California and has also lived and co-owned businesses in Southern Africa. Mr.. Herbert believes that this is the time for entrepreneurial businesses and organizations not traditionally involved with the space industry, to become a part of this new growth segment. He would like to see everyone have the opportunity to succeed in what ever space development can offer.

Mark Anthony Neal

Author and Professor of African-American Studies at Duke University.

Mark Anthony Neal is the author of several books including New Black Man and Songs in the Key of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation. He is a professor of African-American Studies at Duke University.

Roland Laird

Author of "Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans"

Roland Laird is the author of "Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans", a critically acclaimed work with an impressive scope: the entire history of Black America told in an accessible 216 page graphic-novel form. Originally published in 1997, it was recently updated and now extends from the arrival of the first Africans in 1619 right through to Senator Barack
Obama's groundbreaking presidential campaign. Compared by many to Art Spiegelman's Maus, "Still I Rise" is a breathtaking achievement that celebrates the collective African-American memory, imagination, and spirit and the book has been embraced by colleges and schools throughout the country. Laird is also the CEO of Posro Media, an entertainment production company that explores African American history and culture in a variety of formats including comics, books, radio, video, and film. Learn more at www.posro.com.

David McQueen

Speaker & Social Commentator

David McQueen is a businessman, interntional speaker and social commentator based in the UK. He runs a company specialising in helping adults communicate effectively for professional success and is also a champion of youth development and mentoring. David is married with two children.

Farah Griffin

Professor of English and Comparative Literature and African-American Studies; Director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University.

Professor of African-American Studies and Director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University.

Kumasi Aaron

Correspondent

Kumasi Aaron is a contributing Digital Journalist for TheGrio.com; she reports, shoots, edits and produces original pieces. Kumasi currently works at NBC Nightly News, and has worked at WABC-TV, NY1 News, and Good Morning America.

David Brown

Correspondent

Essence Magazine

The Network Journal

Black professionals and small business magazine

UrbanAmerica.com

Rashod D. Ollison

Cultural Critic

Rashod Ollison covered urban-pop music for six years at the Baltimore Sun, writing CD and concert reviews, news features, trend stories, critical essays, profiles and a weekly column. He has also written for the Journal News, the Dallas Morning News, PBS-TV, Essence and Uptown magazines and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has also written liner notes for labels such as Sony-BMG, Rhino and EMI. His notes include compilations on Aretha Franklin, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, Phyllis Hyman, Luther Vandross, the Isley Brothers, Freddie Jackson and an upcoming collection on Bill Withers.

Robert A. George

Political columnist

Robert A. George is a contributor to NBCNewYork.com and an editorial writer for the New York Post. Previously, he was a Senior Writer to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and coalitions director for the Republican National Committe. Mr. George has appeared as a political analyst on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NPR and many other media outlets. Born in Trinidad and raised in the UK and US, he currently lives in New York. Follow him on Twitter.

Colorlines.com

JackandJillpolitics.com

Ron Allen

NBC News correspondent

Ron Allen is an NBC News correspondent based in New York. Allen contributes regularly to NBC News and MSNBC.

Black Voices

John Baiata

NBC News Senior Editor

Cynthia Gordy

Essence Magazine White House Correspondent

Michael Arceneaux

Political and pop culture writer

Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated freelance writer now based in Los Angeles. When he's not covering pop culture and politics for sites like BET.com, The Root, and TV One Online ,he's comparing his Uncle to Rick James, and sharing fun facts like which pop artist resembles a Teddy Graham on his site, The Cynical Ones.

R. Dwayne Betts

Author & Juvenile Justice Activist

At the young age of 16, R. Dwayne Betts—an honor student—attempted a carjacking in Virginia with a friend. Despite the fact that he had never held a gun before that day, he was arrested, charged as an adult, and sentenced to nine years in prison. Less than five years since his release, Dwayne is now an accomplished and award-winning poet as well as a vital and influential juvenile justice activist. Dwayne is a national spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice and a highly sought after speaker on behalf of juvenile justice reform. He graduated community college with honors and received a full academic scholarship to the University of Maryland where he was recently given the honor of addressing his fellow graduates at this year’s commencement. As he writes in his memoir, “there are people who are willing to judge me by who I have become, and not by my moment of insanity.” For more information go to: www.rdwaynebetts.com

Wendy L. Wilson

Megan Tady

Writer with expertise in media, the internet and the digital divide

Megan Tady is a writer, video producer and campaign coordinator for Free Press. She blogs at SavetheInternet.com and SavetheNews.com. Additionally, she writes a monthly media column for InTheseTimes.com about media consolidation, Net Neutrality and the digital divide. Prior to joining Free Press, Megan was a national political reporter for In These Times, a staff reporter and editor for The New Standard, and worked extensively as a freelance journalist.

Erika Wood

Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice

Erika L. Wood is the Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice where she directs the Right to Vote project and works on redistricting reform as part of the Center’s Government Accountability project. She has authored several groundbreaking reports, numerous articles and is a frequent speaker and commentator on voting rights, racial justice and criminal justice reform. Ms. Wood is an Adjunct Professor at NYU School of Law where she teaches a public policy advocacy clinic.

Paul Taylor

Kristen Clarke

Co-Director of the Political Participation Group at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Kristen Clarke is Co-Director of the Political Participation Group at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund where she oversees and coordinate the organization's legal program in the area of voting rights and election law. She frequently comments on issues concerning race, law and democracy. Her work has appeared in a number of leading law journals and publications. Her new book, Barack Obama and African American Empowerment: The Rise of Black America's New Leadership (co-edited Dr. Manning Marable), will be released by Palgrave MacMillan this fall.

Glenn Minnis

Sports contributor

Glenn Minnis is a seasoned journalist who has covered sports and culture for well over a decade in the major markets of Chicago and New York City for the likes of AOL Sports, ESPN and Hoop Magazines, The Chicago Tribune and Defender Newspapers and B.E.T. and CBSNews.com.

Carla K. Johnson

Morgan Whitaker

Correspondent

Dr. Rebecca Lee

Director of the Texas Obesity Research Center

Dr. Rebecca E. Lee serves as director of the Texas Obesity Research Center in the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Houston, and is an associate professor in the Department and holds a courtesy appointment at the University of Texas School of Public Health. She is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Women’s Health and the American Journal of Health Promotion. She has authored and co-authored numerous studies in peer-reviewed publications, serves as a charter member on the Community Level Health Promotion Study Section for the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institute of Health, and has received many honors and awards, including the College of Education Research Excellence Award in 2005 and 2008, at the University of Houston, the Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Texas Council on Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Stroke, and is a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She is principal investigator for several federally and privately funded research grants including the International Health Challenge in Second Life, funded by the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

Joy Bryant

Writer and actress

Shartia Brantley

Financial Contributor

Shartia Brantley produces segments for Street Signs, works on CNBC Reports and writes for CNBC.com. Shartia has an MBA from The Ohio State University, an M.S. from The Journalism School at Columbia University and a B.S. in Accounting from Albany State University.

Barry Carter

Star-Ledger Columnist

Charlton McIlwain

Professor, Author & Co-Director of the RaceProject.org

Charlton McIlwain is Associate Professor of Media, Culture & Communication at New York University. He is the co-author of the forthcoming book, Race Appeal: The Prevalence, Purposes, and Political Implications of Racial Discourse in American Politics (Temple, 2010), and is the co-director of the Project on Race in Political Communication (RaceProject.org). Professor McIlwain has provided expert commentary on a wide range of racial issues for state, national and international media such as CNN, the New York Times, NPR, Associated Press, Reuters TV, O Globo (Brazil), Le Monde (France), CTV (Canada) and many others. Professor McIlwain worked a short stint in politics as Press Secretary for Ed Crocker’s 1996 campaign against former Congressman J.C. Watts, as communications director for Laura Boyd, a former state legislator running for governor against incumbent Frank Keating, and as communications director for the Oklahoma Democratic Party.

Lenny McAllister

Author of “Diary of a Mad Black PYC (Proud Young Conservative)"

Lenny McAllister is the author of new book, “Diary of a Mad Black PYC (Proud Young Conservative): Editorials, Essays, and Articles from a Hip Hop Republican.” He appears regularly as a political commentator on outlets including CNN, Fox Television, CNN.com, XM Radio, and the CBC. He has guest co-hosted “Fox News Rising”, the popular Charlotte morning show, where he appears weekly as the resident political commentator. McAllister’s weekly VEOs (Video Editorials Online) are found at Fox Charlotte’s website and www.lennymcallister.com. In addition to appearing on shows including “CNN Saturday Morning” and “CNN Newsroom”, Lenny regularly writes for multiple sites online including The Root, Rushmore Drive, AOL, The Loop 21, and Russell Simmons’ Global Grind. He is a leading force behind “Hip Hop Republicans”, a group often mentioned by RNC Chairman Michael Steele and was featured during the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Courtney Young

Writer

Courtney Young is currently completing two books, the first of which is entitled Color Me Color Struck: How Colorism Marginalizes Women of Color in Popular Culture of which she serves as the editor. The second book is a collection of essays about the ways in which Black women are represented in media and pop culture and will be published by the Feminist Press in mid 2010. She blogs athttp://thethirtymilewoman.wordpress.com.

David Steele

Sports Writer

David Steele was a sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun from 2004 to 2009. Before that he spent nine years at the San Francisco Chronicle, the last five as a columnist. Over more than two decades in newspapers, he has won
awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Florida Sports Writers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the California News
Publishers Association. In July he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Black Media Workers in Baltimore. He has co-authored two books, including Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of
Tommie Smith, which was nominated for a 2008 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Biography/Autobiography.

Dr. Tyeese Gaines Reid

Emergency Medicine Resident Physician at Yale-New Haven Hospital

Dr. Tyeese Gaines Reid is a physician-journalist with over 8 years of print and broadcast experience. She has appeared as a medical expert on ABCNews.com and written for Boston Magazine, Black Reign News and NBC6 in Miami. Dr. Ty is currently practicing as an emergency medicine resident physician at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. In addition to her doctorate in medicine, she holds degrees in African-American Studies and Journalism. Dr. Ty is also the author of a time management book for women, entitled “The Get A Life Campaign.”

Lisa Jackson

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

Administrator Lisa P. Jackson leads EPA’s efforts to protect the health and environment for all Americans. She and a staff of more than 17,000 professionals are working across the nation to usher in a green economy, address health threats from toxins and pollution, and renew public trust in EPA’s work. As Administrator, Jackson has pledged to focus on core issues of protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination in our communities, and reducing greenhouse gases. She has promised that all of EPA’s efforts will follow the best science, adhere to the rule of law, and be implemented with unparalleled transparency. Jackson is the first African-American to serve as EPA Administrator. She has made it a priority to focus on vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, and low-income communities that are particularly susceptible to environmental and health threats. In addressing these and other issues, she has promised all stakeholders a place at the decision-making table. Before becoming EPA’s Administrator, Jackson served as Chief of Staff to New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and Commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Prior to joining DEP, she worked for 16 years as an employee of the U.S. EPA.
Jackson is a summa cum laude graduate of Tulane University and earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She was born in Pennsylvania and grew up a proud resident of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

Political Scientist & Radio Host

Wilmer J. Leon III, Ph.D. is a Political Scientist whose primary areas of expertise are Black Politics, American Government, and Public Policy. He is a Teaching Associate in the Political Science Department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Leon is also the host/producer of the nationally broadcast call in talk radio program On With on Sirius/XM Satellite radio channel 169 “The Power”. Dr. Leon earned a BS degree in Political Science from Hampton Institute, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Howard University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Howard University.

The Daily Voice

a web site for African American news and opinion.

Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr.

Religion Contributor

Dr. DeForest "Buster" Soaries is the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey. From January 12, 1999 to January 15, 2002, Dr. Soaries served as New Jersey's 30th Secretary of State making him the first African American male to serve as a constitutional officer of the state. Dr Soaries is also the former chairman of the United States Election Assistance Commission. Dr. Soaries earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Fordham University; a Master of Divinity Degree from Princeton Theological Seminary; and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from United Theological Seminary.

Joey Cole

Today Show Producer

Marguerite Hattouni Spencer

Senior researcher - The Kirwan Institute for Race & Ethnicity

Marguerite Hattouni Spencer is a senior researcher at the Kirwan Institute. She spent the previous six years at the Institute on Race & Poverty at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she specialized in education and housing integration, welfare reform, and disparities in the criminal justice system. Currently, she is working on white privilege and spirituality. Her most recently published work, Brown is not Brown and Educational Reform is Not Reform if Integration is Not a Goal, was co-authored with Prof. john a. powell. She received her J. D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and her A.M.R.S. degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Lyneka Little

Writer

Lyneka Little holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Howard University, and has written for numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, MainStreet.com, Frontdoor.com, Filife.com, Learnvest.com, Walletpop.com, an AOL personal finance blog. Her work has appeared on Yahoo! News, CNN, and AOL’S homepage.

Nazenet Habtezghi

Essence writer

Walter Dawkins

Writer for Daily News

Robert Borrelli

Elkhart Truth Reporter

Robert Borrelli is a video producer for The Elkhart Truth of Elkhart, IN. Borrelli's achievements include an Edward R. Murrow broadcast award for Breaking News coverage and Indiana Associated Press Broadcast Reporter of the Year.

Tim Vandenack

Elkhart Truth Reporter

Tim covers Elkhart County government and other assorted matters for the Elkhart Truth, including immigration.

Emily Monacelli

Elkhart Truth Reporter

Emily covers public safety and health care in Elkhart, Indiana.

Todd Johnson

theGrio.com Producer

Todd Johnson is a digital journalist for theGrio.com. He earned his masters degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He is a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists and Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc.

Kenya N. Byrd

Essence Reporter

Michelle Chen

RaceWire Contributor

Doug Stoddart

Producer for NBC News, Atlanta

Doug Stoddart is a producer in the NBC News Atlanta Bureau. Doug is an Emmy Award winning producer for his contribution during NBC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Andrew Grant-Thomas

Deputy Director of Kirwan Institute of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University

Andrew Grant-Thomas is Deputy Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. His research interests include structural racism and implicit bias, alliance-building between immigrants and African Americans, African American males and gender dynamics within the African American community, and the promotion of systems thinking.
Andrew serves as Associate Editor of the Institute’s journal, Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts. He also edited Twenty-first Century Color Lines: Multiracial Change in Contemporary America, published in 2008 by Temple University Press. He is a regular contributor to Racewire.org and WOSU radio and sits on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and various social justice initiatives. Previously with the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, he directed the Color Lines Conference and managed a range of policy-oriented racial justice projects. He received his B.A. in Literature from Yale University, his M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago.

Al Bell

Chairman of the Memphis Music Foundation

Al Bell is the former owner and chairman of Stax Records, and former president of Motown Records. He currently is chairman and CEO of Al Bell Presents, and also serves as chairman of the Memphis Music Foundation.

Tanya Acker

Author, Attorney, & Political Analyst

A frequent guest on national television and radio broadcasts (including “Good Morning America,” “CBS Morning News” “Larry King Live,” “Anderson Cooper 360,” “Headline News,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell,” “Hannity and Colmes,” Your World With Neil Cavuto,” and “CNBC Reports”) Tanya Acker is presently a member of the panel of experts on SheSource.org, a resource for news media seeking experts on a range topics.

Javier E. David

Writer

Javier E. David is a native New-Yorker and a professional with a combined 10 years of experience in the high-stakes realms of finance, public policy, media and strategic communications. He spent five years as a journalist for the international news agency Reuters, where he covered macroeconomics, capital markets, corporate governance and regulatory matters for the major U.S. exchanges, frequently covering prominent market participants and international public officials. His past experience includes work as an analyst at a major investment bank, and is a veteran of the U.S. Army. Javier holds a bachelors degree in Economics and Political Science from Long Island University, and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University.

Andrew Malcolm

LA Times writer

Annette Freeman

Producer at NBC News and Dateline

Annette Freeman is a Producer at NBC News Peacock Productions / Dateline NBC. Some of her most notable projects include documentaries such as “Inside the Obama White House with Brian Williams” (NBC); “Decision 2008 - Meet the Candidates: Barack Obama” (MSNBC); “Virginia Tech: Eyewitness to Tragedy”(A & E); Annette has been a visiting journalism professor at Emerson College in Boston and has taught long-form journalism at the New York Film School.

Terrence Romney

Editor / Media Manager for NBC Universal

Terrence Romney - Editor / Media Manager for NBC Universal. With more than 10 years of television broadcast experience, Terrence enjoys producing human interest, cultural and travel stories. Born and raised in Nyack, New York his hobbies include flying small aircrafts, photography and adventure sports....

Christine M. Gordon

Essence Writer

R. L’Heureux Lewis

Assistant Professor of Sociology & Black Studies at The City College of New York

R. L’Heureux Lewis is a young scholar with a fresh take on issues facing African-Americans and the African Diaspora. With specializations in race and ethnic relations, he concentrates his research and activism in areas such as education, youth culture, public policy, and mental health. Dr. Lewis is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at The City College of New York - CUNY. His commentary has been featured in media outlets such as US World News Report, Diversity in Higher Education, National Public Radio, theRoot.com and the Detroit Free Press.

Christina Brown

MSNBC anchor and a host of NBC’s “Early Today.”

Christina Brown serves as an msnbc anchor and a host of NBC’s “Early Today.” Prior to working at msnbc, Brown spent five years as an anchor and reporter at KTNV, in Las Vegas, Nevada, but Brown’s journalism career began in the military. Brown joined the United States Air Force and spent two years as a military broadcaster, reporting for American Forces Network, from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

Michelle Brown

Chris Wilson

Assistant Editor at Slate in Washington, D.C.

Christopher Cannucciari

Film Director

Courtney Haden

Writer - Birmingham Weekly

Michelle Bernard

MSNBC political analyst

Michelle D. Bernard, host of “About Our Children”, is the president and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) and an MSNBC political analyst. Bernard is a regular panelist with MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and The McLaughlin Group, as well as a Sunday columnist with The Examiner. Ms. Bernard, author of the Women's Progress: How Women are Wealthier, Healthier, and More Independent than Ever Before (Spence Publishing) and is a contributing author to the National Urban League's State of Black America (2009) and Lifetime Network's Secrets of Powerful Women: 25 Successful American Politicians Tell How They Got Where They Are - And What It's Like (Hyperion Books/February 2010.)

Jessica Shim

Correspondent

Jessica Shim, originally from Washington D.C., is a digital journalist at TheGrio.com. She graduated from New York University with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and International Politics, and a minor in East Asian Studies. She previously interned for NBC’s Nightly News and Weekend Today, NY1 Assignment Desk, and Cox-TV’s Washington DC Bureau. Jessica has also been on-air in the Czech Republic for Radio Prague, reporting on religious missionaries in Prague.

Sala Udin

President and CEO of the CORO center for civic leadership, Pittsburgh

Politician and activist Sala Udin was born Samuel Wesley Howze on February 20, 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to William and Mary Howze. Raised in the Hill District of the city, he was one of eleven children. In 1961, Udin graduated from Port Richmond High School in Staten Island, New York and joined the Freedom Rider campaign that same summer.

Yasmeen Muqtasid

Marketing & PR professional

Yasmeen is an experienced marketing, public relations, corporate communications and business development/sales professional with a passion for discovering and empowering African American achievement. She has worked for flagship global corporations such as Nestle USA, Studley and AECOM managing public relations, advertising, community relations and internal employee communications.

Dr. John D. Márquez

Assistant Professor of African American and Latino Studies, Northwestern University

Dr. John D. Marquez specializes in comparative twentieth century race and ethnic relations with a specific
focus on relations between African Americans and Latinas/os. His other areas of expertise/specialization
include: social theory, critical race theory, globalization, and anti-racist movements.

Brandon Brice

Political contributor & Republican strategist

Brandon Brice is a graduate of Howard University and is a former fellow of the New Jersey Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, New Brunswick campus. As a long time member of Republicans for Black Empowerment, Brandon is an active contributor to HipHopRepublicans.com and is a regular contributor on Fox News. He has been featured on Fox News Strategy Room; Fox & Friends, Hannity, CBC, C-SPAN’s Road to the White House 2004, BET and Hot97 with host Lisa Evers.

Kat Noel

Multimedia blogger

Kat Noel is a New York-based multimedia journalist and blogger who writes about relationships, wellness, race and socio-political issues. Her work has been featured on Forbes.com and in Real Health: The Guide To Black Wellness and POZ.

Karanja Gaçuça

Freelance filmmaker, writer, blogger and Political Consultant.

Karanja Gaçuça currently lives and works in New York City as a freelance filmmaker, writer, blogger and political consultant. Educated in Nairobi, London, Paris and New York, Karanja who is multi-lingual, attended the London School of Economics for his graduate degree in New Media and Management, NYU for film and Middlesex University in London for his undergraduate degree in Sociology and French, with a year spent abroad in France. “Politics is my first love, inspired by my passion to fight against ignorance as concerns my people in all their various shades and expressions, with the aim of improving our quality of life, and gain greater access to equality and justice through access to quality education, healthcare, as well as economic opportunities wherever we are.”

Derrick Boles and Hakim Hazim

Derrick Boles is President of L.E.A.D.E. R.S.H.I.P. 1st LLC; Hakim Hazim is the founder of Relevant Now Consultancy.

Hakim Hazim is the founder of Relevant Now Consultancy. He holds a BA in sociology from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and a Master of Arts in national security studies from California State San Bernardino University. He is also a certified Crisis Prevention Institute Senior Trainer, and QMRP (Qualified Mental Retardation Professional).

Derrick Boles is Founder and President of L.E.A.D.E. R.S.H.I.P. 1st LLC, a social development company based in Nampa, Idaho that focuses on educational initiatives. The mission is to engage schools, teams, businesses and the faith based community and empower communities to develop leaders and youth accomplish their goals, dreams, aspirations and “do the right thing.”

Lori L Tharps

Assistant professor of journalism at Temple University

Assistant professor of journalism at Temple University

Rani G Whitfield

The Hip Hop Doctor

Rani G. Whitfield, M.D., a board certified family physician with a Certificate of Added Qualification in sports medicine, has become known as "Tha Hip Hop Doc" or "H2D" to many of the young adults in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he practices medicine.

Brian Smith

Multimedia consultant

Brian Michael Smith, founder of What's Left Out, is a multimedia consultant who specializes in media literacy program development. He has used his love of film, television and music encourage critical thinking and community problem solving in inner-city communities.

Charisse Carney-Nunes

Author: I Am Barack Obama

Charisse Carney-Nunes, writer, speaker and social entrepreneur, is the award-winning author of the children’s books: I Am Barak Obama (2009), I Dream for You a World: A Covenant for Our Children (2007) and Nappy (2006), as well as Songs of a Sistermom: Motherhood Poems (2004).

Alton Parker

SEO

David A. Love

Writer and human rights advocate

David A. Love is a writer and human rights advocate based in Philadelphia. He is an editorial board member of BlackCommentator.com, and a contributor to the Huffington Post, the Progressive Media Project, McClatchy-Tribune News Service and Philadelphia Independent Media Center. He also blogs at Daily Kos, NewsOne, and Open Salon. He contributed to the book, States of Confinement: Policing, Detention and Prisons (2000). Love received a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies from Harvard College, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He also completed the joint program in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. Love served as a law clerk to two African American federal judges. His website is davidalove.com.

Nika C. Beamon

Author of "Didn't Work This Hard Just to Get Married"

Nika is the author of the new non-fiction project, I DIDN'T WORK THIS HARD JUST TO GET MARRIED. It was published on May 1, 2009 by Chicago Review Press. Through lively and revealing interviews with women from various walks of life, Nika Beamon explores the challenges and issues affecting single black women who defy expectations to achieve a happy, single life. In 2000, she published her first novel, Dark Recesses. In 2002, she completed her second novel, Eyewitness.
She has been a reviewer for Publisher's Weekly Magazine and QBR: The Quarterly Black Book Review Magazine, as well as various websites. She is also a member of the Writers Guild of America East and the National Association of Black Journalists. She won a Peabody Award for ABC News' coverage of the September 11th Attacks and been honored by various organization including the New York Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. She has also been credited as a reference in the several books on television news including: Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalist Report on September 11 by Alison Gilbert and News is People: the Rise of Local TV News and the Fall of News from New York by Craig M. Allen.

Ralph Richardson

Filmmaker

Ralph Richardson is a filmmaker who lives with his wife and son in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. www.SexDrugsandComedy.com

Melissa Harris-Lacewell and James Perry

Associate Professor of Politics & African American Studies at Princeton

Melissa Harris-Lacewell is Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. James Perry is Executive Director of Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center and a candidate for mayor of New Orleans.

Bonnita Spikes

Union representative for schools in Montgomery Maryland

A retired nurse, Spikes worked as a union representative for schools in Montgomery Maryland as well a union representative for hospitals and nursing homes around the Maryland region. With an extensive history of working on social justice issues she is currently working with Maryland Citizens Against State Executions as a organizer, forming murder victim families who believe and support repeal of the death penalty. From 2005-2007 she received an Open Society Baltimore Community Fellow in to work on the Repeal of the Death Penalty.
Spikes has lended herself to the NAACP, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Teamsters Black Caucus Women Committee, and the Washington, DC and Baltimore Metro Labor Councils, and League of Women Voter.
Spikes is originally from Chicago and now resides in Maryland.

Maya Rock

Writer

Maya Rock is a freelance writer who works in book publishing New York. Other pieces of hers have appeared at YouTango.com and in Marie Claire. She graduated from Princeton.

Jamal Simmons

Principal, The Raben Group

Jamal Simmons is a principal at The Raben Group, a Washington, DC public affairs firm. Simmons received his B.A degree from Morehouse College and his Master of Public Policy degree from the Kennedy School at Harvard University. His opinion writings have been published in major national news outlets including the New York Times, and he is a regular writer for The Politico.

Khaliah Ali

Philanthropic activitist and author

Khaliah Ali has successfully carved out a diverse and well-defined path of her own, but like her father, Muhammad Ali, is committed to helping people around the world.

Among her numerous philanthropic activities are serving as board member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters International; on-air spokesperson for Youth at Risk, Inc.; Advisory Board Member and spokesperson for Help, USA; chairwoman for the Friends of The Statue of Liberty Foundation; director of development for the Urban Retrievers Program; youth entertainment consultant to the ElizabethPediatric Aids Foundation; and senior staff member with the Job Core Program, Inc.

A former FORD Model, Khaliah is committed to helping young women develop and nurture positive self image and self esteem. She shared her lifelong struggle and triumph in controlling and maintaining a healthy body weight in her enormously successful book, Fighting Weight (HarperCollins). An in-demand motivational speaker on weight issues, Khaliah has shared this message coast-to-coast as a spokesperson for Allergen Pharmaceutical’s Moment of Truth Campaign, which strives to identify solutions to the continuing national obesity problem.

With a fine eye for detail, design and presentation, Khaliah is also the creator of Diversity by Khaliah Ali, a plus size fashion collection created for the Home Shopping Network. The launch proved so successful that she has expanded her collection and now designs an additional line for Simplicity sewing patterns.

Khaliah has also worked on a number of television programs whose subjects range from sports, fashion, children’s rights, to young adult issues. She has reported for ESPN’s Cold Pizza and was host of the weekly BET teen roundtable program Teen Summit. Khaliah received an Emmy Award nomination for hosting Education is Paramount, a Philadelphia based public affairs weekly broadcast.

Michael E. Ross

Culture Critic

Michael E. Ross writes frequently on race issues, politics and American popular culture. He has been a reporter, critic and editor at various news outlets, including The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News and msnbc.com; and an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of Journalism. His reviews, essays and commentary have appeared in The New York Times, The Times Book Review, Essence, Wired, Entertainment Weekly, the San Jose Mercury News, Konch, Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Loop21, PopMatters, The Root and other publications. Formerly editor and producer of msnbc.com’s Race & Ethnicity section, he’s the author of the novel “Flagpole Days” (2003); “Interesting Times” (2004), a collection of political writing; and “American Bandwidth,” a collection of online writing bridging the 2004 election and the first 100 days of the Obama administration. He also contributed to the anthologies “MultiAmerica” (1997), edited by Ishmael Reed; and “Soul Food” (2000), edited by Eric Copage. He blogs frequently on national affairs at culchavox.blogspot.com.

Ashley Richardson

Video Journalist

Ashley N. Richardson is a Westchester, NY native who received a Masters in Public Communications from Fordham University and a B.A in Visual Anthropology (with a concentration in Black Studies) in a self determined honors program from Skidmore College. Ashley has done various internships for NBC’s Weekend Today Show, Easy Coast NBC Agency Network & Promotions, the 2008 Democratic Convention coverage, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° Show. She continues to freelance in video and film production in hopes of becoming a television producer who can create television documentaries concerning cultural issues.

Zeb Holt

William A. Darity and Darrick Hamilton

Educators

William A. Darity is the Arts & Sciences Professor of public policy studies and professor of African and African American Studies and economics at Duke University. Darity’s research focuses on inequality by race, class and ethnicity, stratification economics, schooling and the racial achievement gap, the economics of reparations and the social psychological effects of unemployment exposure.

Darrick Hamilton is an assistant professor of management and urban policy at Milano – The New School, and an affiliated faculty member in the department of economics at The New School for Social Research, and an affiliate scholar at the Center for American Progress. His work focuses on the causes and consequences of racial and ethnic inequality in economic and health outcomes, and disparities in: wealth, home ownership, and labor market outcomes.

Beti Gathegi

Contributor

Beti Gathegi is a Kenyan-American and native of California. She graduated from Temple University with honors, where she majored in Communications and minored in Sociology. She is pursuing an Master in Liberal Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. Having worked in public relations and non-profit arts institutions, she is also a writer who has contributed pieces to publications such as Philadelphia STYLE Magazine, The Florida Courier, Scheme Magazine as well as Bay Area Businesswoman News. She has spent time living abroad in both London and Kenya and currently works for Spectrum Productions.

Dr. Janet Taylor

Psychiatrist

Dr. Taylor is Psychiatrist in private practice in NYC. She is on the frontline battling the emotional and economic impact of mental illness. She holds a M.D. from the University of Louisville, completed her psychiatric residency at New York Medical College and obtained an MPH from Columbia University “s Mailman School of Public Health in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She is the Board Chair of the National Black Women's Health Imperative, and a former Board Member of the PepsiCo Blue Ribbon Health and Wellness Board. She has a column in Family Circle Magazine, “Ask Dr. Janet” and serves as the Multicultural Editor of BeWell.com. Dr, Taylor is also frequently featured on CBS “Early Show” and NBC “The Today Show” and CNN’s “Nancy Grace.”

Sophia A. Nelson

Political commentator and author

Sophia Nelson is a political commentator and author. She writes for NPR, Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Essence, and many other outlets. You can follow her blog at Politicalintersectionblog.com.

Bonnie Davis

Associate Professor Virginia Commonwealth University

Bonnie Newman Davis is an associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications as an associate professor in 2004. At VCU, Davis teaches courses in news writing, media ethics and online journalism. She also is academic director of the University’s Urban Journalism Workshop, an intense two-week journalism program for high school students that is cosponsored by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund.

Deidra Robey

Blogger

Deidra Robey is a 25 year old single mother of a beautiful 9 month old daughter. She is a recent college graduate and will be going back to school in the Sp of 2010 to further her education and take her blog - Black and Missing www.blackandmissing.org - to the next level by majoring in Forensic Science. She hopes to work with missing and unidentified cases in a crime lab while utilizing their resources to help families of missing black women, children and men.

Hakim Hazim

Founder of Relevant Now Consultancy

Hakim Hazim is the founder of Relevant Now Consultancy. He holds a BA in sociology from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and a Master of Arts in national security studies from California State San Bernardino University. He is also a certified Crisis Prevention Institute Senior Trainer, and QMRP (Qualified Mental Retardation Professional).

Myranda Stephens

TV reporter

Myranda Stephens is a reporter for the Fox affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a “newbie” to the online publishing world, but has a decade of experience in television news, having worked for stations all across the country. She even made history in Lewiston, Idaho, becoming KLEW-TV’s first African-American news anchor. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Myranda holds a B.S. in Telecommunications & Film from Eastern Michigan University. She is also a recognized poet and blogger. You can follow her blog about politics, pop culture and personal pet peeves at myrandasrant.blogspot.com.

Mac William Bishop

Television producer and infantryman in the reserves

Mac William Bishop is a former active duty Marine, currently serving as an infantryman in the reserves. He is a freelance television producer based in New York City.

Karen Earl and Angela Parker

Executive Director and Director of Youth Programs - Jenesse Center

The Jenesse Center's overall goal is to change the pattern of abuse in the lives of women and children. Jenesse’s commitment to providing a comprehensive, centralized base of support for women and children is evident by the programs and services provided for the women and children who seek our assistance. jenesse.org

Clarence Haynes

Writer for VIBE, Newsday, The Source, Publishers Weekly, and Giant Magazine.

Clarence Haynes has worked for several years as an editor and writer in a variety of publishing venues and formats. He graduated from Columbia University with a double concentration in psychology and African-American studies, focusing on representations of race and gender in literature and popular culture. He has worked as an editor with the teen publishing organization Youth Communication and as an editor of both fiction and nonfiction with the imprint Harlem Moon and the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group.

Clarence has also written or edited for VIBE, Newsday, The Source, Publishers Weekly, Giant Magazine, City Limits, and Black Issues in Higher Education. In addition to his publishing work, Clarence is also a model, dancer and performance artist. He resides in Brooklyn

Brenda L. Jones

Executive Director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri

Brenda Jones is the Executive Director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri where she oversees complex legal, public education, and legislative programs. She is a communications professional with many years’ experience in program development, strategic communications, and organizational development for non-profit cultural institutions and social justice agencies. In the past, she served as the Public Relations Director for the African American Historical and Cultural Museum of Philadelphia; Associate Secretary of Information and Interpretation for the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia; Communications Manager for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra where she created the IN UNISON outreach program; Executive Director of the Missouri Art’s Council; founded African American Cultural Initiative; and Director of Communications for the Missouri Botanical Garden. Ms. Jones has a strong personal and professional commitment to diversity and has devoted much of her career to helping traditionally under-represented constituencies gain fuller access to some of America’s finest institutions.

Lamonia Brown

President of Gilchrist Entertainment

Lamonia Brown is the founding partner and President of Gilchrist Entertainment, a company that specializes building bridges between the corporate and entertainment worlds through creative strategic marketing alliances, as well as artist management.

Lamonia currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the New York chapter of the National Alliance of Market Developers (NAMD), where she is also the Chapter Development Chair. She also holds a corporate position of Program Producer at New York Women In Film & Television. Lamonia served on the executive committee for National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment (NABFEME) for many years as their Senior Director of Strategic Marketing, and she is a huge supporter of African American Women In Cinema (AAWIC).

Lamonia attended Fordham University, Lincoln Center campus, where she was a Film major concentrating on screenwriting, and minored in Creative Writing.

Karl Bostic

London bureau NBC News producer

Karl Bostic is an NBC News producer based in the London bureau. He has spent most of his time for NBC covering events in the Middle East. He is a native of Washington, D.C.

Christopher Chambers

Professor of Journalism at Georgetown University

Christopher Chambers is a Professor of Journalism at Georgetown University, where he lectures on media and culture, and the rise of punditry. He is also a bestselling author who has written novels, graphic novels and biographies for Random House, MacMillian/Tor and Picador Press.

Ethyln Harris

Multi-Media Journalist

Ethyln Harris is an award-winning multi-media journalist. She has spent the bulk of her career in television news. She has worked as a producer, on the assignment desk and as a video editor. Her heart, however, is in reporting. Crime and political stories are her specialty. She particularly loves doing stories that raise awareness for those in society whose voices aren’t otherwise being heard.

Kimberly Hurns

Business Instructor at Washtenaw Community College

Kimberly Hurns is a business instructor at Washtenaw Community College and a doctoral student studying management and leadership. She has research interests in management learning and social media marketing. She is part-owner of the mini-blog website www.divasranting.com. Her community outreach interests include business development in Africa and character education for elementary age black males.

Giacinta Pace and Elizabeth Chang

Digital journalist and Columbia University Political Science student

Giacinta Pace (Gia) is a digital journalist who makes her home in New York City. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and was brought up on Long Island in a small town called Mastic. Giacinta is a graduate of Hofstra University where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Cum Laude with High Honors. She currently works for NBC News where every day is a new and exciting adventure. Besides TheGrio.com, Giacinta has been published in several other publications and websites including Tonic.com, Bibi Magazine, Q, Filmfare, Back Stage and The History Channel Magazine. She writes regularly for MSNBC.com’s charity section, "Giving," and produces the weekly webpage "Cause Celeb." In addition, she occasionally contributes video pieces to NBC Mobile's News 2 GO and still photos to NBCU Photo Bank and The Today Show's allDAY Blog.

Elizabeth Chang is currently a senior in Columbia College at Columbia University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science, with a concentration in Economics. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, she was brought up in San Diego but still speaks fluent Chinese. She has interned for NBC News since September 2008 and enjoys having the opportunity to work at and experience 30 Rock. In addition to TheGrio.com, Elizabeth has contributed an article to MSNBC.com's charity section, "Giving," as well as the weekly column "Cause Celeb."

Willis Edwards

National Board Member of the NAACP

Willis Edwards serves as a National Board Member of the NAACP and the 1st Vice President of the NAACP Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch. He is also the Vice President of Development and Planning for the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute in Detroit.

Seth Wessler

Researcher at the Applied Research Center

Seth Wessler is a researcher at the Applied Research Center in New York City. Seth has written extensively on immigration, criminal justice, economic inequality and the racial politics of national security.

At ARC, he coordinates Race and Recession, a report and a multimedia project on the impact of economic recession in communities of color. He recently co-authored a ColorLines magazine investigative series on families torn apart by deportation from New York to Jamaica.

Seth’s writing has appeared in ColorLines, Huffington Post, the Root, Alternet, In These Times, Common Dreams and dozens of online publications and blogs. He presents at conferences, leads workshops and classes and speaks to the press about racial justice and structural inequity.

John McWhorter

Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute

John McWhorter, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist/blogger for The New Republic, earned his PhD in linguistics from Stanford University in 1993 and became Associate Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley after teaching at Cornell University. He is currently a Lecturer at Columbia University teaching linguistics and in the Core Curriculum. His academic specialty is language change and language contact. He is the author of The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, on how the world’s languages arise, change, and mix, and Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music in America and Why We Should, Like, Care. He has also written a book on dialects and Black English, The Word on the Street, and three books on creole languages. The Teaching Company released his 36-lecture audiovisual course The Story of Human Language in 2004. Beyond his work in linguistics, he is the author of Losing the Race, an anthology of race writings, Authentically Black, and Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America. He has written on race and cultural issues for The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The New Republic, The Washington Post, Forbes, Ebony, Vibe, The New York Daily News, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal, The National Review, The Los Angeles Times, The American Enterprise, Books & Culture, and City Journal, and was a weekly columnist for the New York Sun from 2006 to 2008. He has appeared on Meet the Press, The Colbert Report, Dateline NBC, Politically Incorrect, Talk of the Nation, Today, Good Morning, America, The Jim Lehrer Newshour, C-SPAN BookNotes In Depth, The Charlie Rose Show, the Bill Moyers Journal and Fresh Air, does occasional commentaries for All Things Considered, appeared weekly on NPR’s News and Notes, and has appeared regularly on Bloggingheads.TV. His academic linguistics book Language Interrupted: Signs of Non-Native Acquisition in Standard Language Grammars appeared in 2007, as did, in 2008, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: Untold Stories in the History of English and All About the Beat: Why Hip Hop Can’t Save Black America, as well as a second Teaching Company audiovisual course, The Science of Language.

Daria Shelton

Producer for NBC's North East bureau

Daria Shelton is a producer for NBC's NE bureau, formerly she was the producer for CNBC's On the Money. Prior to returning to the east coast in early 2009, Daria launched and produced the successful local lifestyle daytime talk show entitled, "The View from the Bay." Daria started her journalism career at CNN, for five years she produced for the Special Projects team and CNN Presents: Investigative. She graduated from Spelman College with a BA in Political Science and enjoys covering politics, international affairs, and pop culture. Daria has traveled extensively around the world and previously lived in Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia.

Alex Presha

Digital journalist

Alex Presha is originally from Atlanta, GA and works as a correspondent for theGrio.com. He received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University. Before joining NBC News, he worked as a reporter at WLNS in Lansing, Michigan.

Abdul Ali

Writer

Abdul Ali is a freelance writer residing in the District of Columbia. He works in the arts sector and has written for The Root, Essence, Black Issues Book Review, and has contributed to National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation. He blogs at Words Matter (www.abdul-ali.com)

Gil Griffin

Freelance writer, editor and journalism educator

He is a native New Yorker who also spent part of his childhood in Washington, D.C. His award-winning professional journalistic career has spanned nearly 20 years and has included writing, reporting, editing and consulting positions in newspapers, magazines, the Internet and radio stations around the world. Throughout his career, Griffin has freelanced for several publications, including the magazines Time, Billboard, Sport Diver, Baseball America, the Crisis and the Australian Football League Record and newspapers such as the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. He also has written, voiced and produced radio features, most recently for KPBS-FM, in San Diego, where his work also aired on National Public Radio.

Gil Robertson

Author and Writer

Gil L. Robertson IV is not your average journalist. In the world of media and public relations marketing, he wears many hats. As a leading media consultant, Robertson is an entrepreneur, journalist and lecturer with the vision to develop academic curriculum and learning tools necessary to stimulate growth in mass media-related vocations. He is also an author. Robertson, who received a B.A. in Political Science from Cal State Los Angeles, also serves as CEO and Founder of the 10-year old national syndicated Arts & Lifestyle column, The Robertson Treatment. The column appears in 30 newspapers across the country boasting a national readership in excess of 2 million. Mr. Robertson's byline has also appeared in a long list of publications that includes Essence, Billboard, The Source, the Los Angeles Times and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Terrell Starr

Ukraine-based Journalist

Terrell J. Starr is currently a Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine working on a project that explores the cultural nuances of and societal impacts on interracial marriage between Ukrainians and immigrants to the country. He earned his bachelors degree in English from Philander Smith College, a historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. After graduating from Philander Smith in 2002, Terrell was accepted into the Peace Corps and served as a English teacher volunteer in the former Soviet country of Georgia. After that, he earned two masters degrees in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (the first black person in the school’s history to do so) and a second in journalism from the University of Illinois in May of 2009. An expert on the former Soviet Union, Terrell has traveled the region extensively and specializes in African/Soviet Union relations. He was born and raised in Detroit, MI.

Suzanne Rust

Book critic

As a former staff editor for Real Simple Magazine, Suzanne was a frequent
contributor to NBC's Today Show and has appeared in segments on CNN,
WABC, WCBS, WB11, NY1, FOX, PBS and The Tyra Banks show.
Rust spent many years as a contributing editor for Black Issues Book Review.
Suzanne, a native New Yorker and graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, has an eclectic background. While living in Rome for several years, she worked in film production and wrote for Variety and Italian Elle. Fluent in Italian, she has been an on-air reporter for one of Italy's leading radio stations where she interviewed celebrities and covered trends and cultural events.

Marlie Hall

Reporter

Marlie Hall is an awarding-winning Broadcast Journalist, TV Host and Documentarian. After a decade working in the television industry, Marlie has worked at numerous major media outlets including WCBS-TV, Food Network and HDNews just to name a few. She’s earned several Journalistic awards including a Telly for her ground-breaking reporting in Haiti.

Marlie is also the Founder, Executive Producer and Host of “Island Insider” - a TV show about Caribbean lifestyle and culture. She also directed and produced a feature documentary exposing the Healthcare crisis in Haiti. The film, “Mission to Sassier”, was screened at several film festivals.

Marlie earned a degree in Journalism from St. Johns University in New York City where she is currently an Adjunct Professor of Communications. She also earned an MBA in Management from Dowling College in Oakdale, New York.

Marlie’s top three passions in life are television, travel and food. She is proud to be a HAitian-American living in New York City.

Mandisa Washington

Rachel Lloyd

Executive Director & Founder, Girls Educational & Mentoring Services

In 1998, with only a computer and $30, Ashoka Fellow, Reebok Human Rights Award winner and leading child sex trafficking advocate Rachel Lloyd established GEMS: Girls Educational and Mentoring Services to support American girls and young women victimized by sex traffickers.

Since its inception as a one-woman outreach program in 1998, GEMS has grown steadily, building its services and programs and garnering increased visibility and recognition under Lloyd’s leadership. Now the nation’s largest organization offering direct services to American victims of child sex trafficking, GEMS’empowers girls and young women, ages 12-21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking to exit the sex industry and develop to their full potential.

Lloyd is a nationally recognized expert on the issue of child sex trafficking in America, and played a key role in the successful passage of New York State’s groundbreaking Safe Harbor Act for Sexually Exploited Youth, the first law in the country to end the prosecution of child victims of sex trafficking. Her trailblazing advocacy is the subject of the critically acclaimed Showtime documentary “Very Young Girls”,the upcoming memoir “Acceptable Victims” (Harper Collins), and a feature film currently in development at Participant Productions and Lifetime Networks.

Adam Howard

News Editor

Nadege Fleurimond

Business owner and community activist

Nadege Fleurimond is the owner and business manager of Fleurimond Catering, Inc. in New York City. A strong community activist, Nadege gives much of her time to social causes, especially those dealing with the Youth. To that end, she founded Young Culinary Masters and serves as Executive Director. YCM aims to educate young people and bring about a positive change in their eating habits and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

With varying interests in business, government, and social issues, Nadege graduated with a degree in Political Science from the prestigious Columbia University. Upon graduation, she worked for the New York City Council serving as project manager and community liaison. However, she also had a strong love of cooking. That love led her to start her own catering company. Fleurimond Catering has created extraordinary eating experiences for renowned clients such as Wyclef Jean, Anheuser-Busch, the Manhattan Borough President, New York Times Best Selling Author Jill Nelson, the American Council on Science and Health, and various other individuals and institutions throughout the Northeast.

The Haitian Times

Haiti's daily news source

Rodrigue Vital

Author and journalist

Anthony Coley

Political Commentator

Anthony Coley is the former communications director and chief spokesman for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. A native of LaGrange, North Carolina is a graduate of Morehouse College and the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. He currently works as a director at Brunswick Group.

Rod McCullom

TV news producer, writer, culture critic

Rod McCullom is a television news producer, magazine writer and pop culture critic. He has written or produced news at ABC News' World News Now and Good Morning America, as well as local news at New York's ABC 7 and Chicago's NBC 5 and a worked on several talk shows. Rod's writing has appeared at The Huffington Post. The Advocate, Advocate.com, Out.com, Washington Blade. Poz, Real Health, The Chicago Reader and other media. He blogs on pop culture, politics and LGBT news at Rod20.com, the largest blog for black gay men

Aysha Hussain

TheGrio

Sen. Harry Reid

U.S. Senate Majority Leader

Sen. Harry Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, and has been the Senate's Majority Leader since January 2007.

Spirit Trickey-Rowan

Park ranger and playwright

Spirit Trickey-Rowan gives tours at the Little Rock Central High School Museum, her name is often a topic of conversation. Trickey-Rowan's mother is Minnijean Brown-Trickey - one of the nine African-American teenagers who attended the all-white Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. Born and raised in Canada, Trickey-Rowan moved to Little Rock when she was 22, and began working as an interpretive park ranger for the Central High School National Historic Site. In 2002, she wrote a play in college retelling the story of the Little Rock Nine from the perspective of her mother as a 15-year-old girl.

Karyn Langhorne Folan

Author

Karyn Langhorne was born at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland on August 24, 1964. She is the eldest of four children born to military parents. The family moved around a bit in her growing up years, and in addition to schools in the Washington-area, Karyn went to schools in Long Island, New York, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and Columbus Georgia. She graduated from Spencer High School in Columbus, Georgia, then went on to Mercer University in Macon, Georgia where she was senior editor of college paper, The Cluster, before being accepted to Harvard Law School.

Robert G. Thompson

Journalist and filmmaker

Robert G. Thompson is a multimedia journalist, writer, filmmaker, and general good guy, currently living in Johannesburg, South Africa. He cut his journalistic chops contributing to various networks in New York City, including CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, and MTV News.

Brian Williams

NBC NIghtly News anchor

Patrick D. Shaffer

Pastor, City of Faith Christian Church of Chicago

Patrick D. Shaffer is fast becoming one of the most profound and insightful voices of his generation, involved with community and religious coalitions since he was a child. He consistently challenges his generation and the generations to come to confront issues of gender, equality, race, human rights, health, disease prevention, teen homelessness and poverty to name a few.

In 2005, he founded the “City of Faith Christian Church of Chicago”, one of the fastest growing churches in Chicago. In 2006, the City of Faith was profiled by Chicago Public Radio for being a “Pentecostal Smart Church”. Described as a “more open, less traditional” faith community with vastly different views on social, cultural and religious issues, offering a fresh perspective. As a testament to the City of Faith’s “out-of-the-box” theological philosophy, the church currently holds its weekly worship services at one of Chicago’s most historic Jewish Synagogues (KAM Isaiah Israel).

Pastor Patrick is also founder of “Urban Advantage” which seeks to provide life coaching and mentoring center to help young people navigate and escape the lures of the streets. Pastor Patrick is one of the most promising and unique voices of his generation and is blazing a new trail of spiritual and social leadership. In July 2010, he will release his debut book, LOVE AGAIN: A SPIRITUAL MEMOIR.

Hazel M. McFerson

Associate Professor of International Studies at George Mason University

Hazel M. McFerson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of International Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Prior to joining Mason in 1991, Dr. McFerson taught at several universities in the U.S. and abroad, and has extensive experience in development assistance, including as Social Science Program Officer at USAID in Somalia. The author or co-author of four books and some twenty plus articles in development, ethnicity and international politics, her many awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, under which she taught at the University of Asia and the Pacific in Manila, and a recent Fulbright Specialist Award.

Monica Thorpe

Freelance journalist

Monica Thorpe was born in Atlanta, GA and currently resides in Newark, NJ. Before moving to NJ, she attended Clark Atlanta University where she graduated with a degree in Mass Media Arts/ Journalism.

Maya Pope-Chappell

Freelance Writer and Multimedia Journalist

Maya Pope-Chappell is a freelance writer and multimedia journalist from Oakland, CA. She is the Editor-In-Chief of INSIGHT magazine and has been featured in ESSENCE, NBCNewYork, Latina, and host of other blogs and websites.

Lindsey Granger

TheGrio contributor

Lindsey Granger assists in the production of MSNBC Dayside programming and The ED Show. Her work has been published on websites such as: The Long Island Press, MyPHL-17, and NBC10. Lindsey is a graduate of Temple University’s Journalism program and a New York-based multimedia journalist.

Kiratiana Freelon

Travel writer

Kiratiana Freelon is a Harvard Graduate who has traveled to more than 25 countries. The Chicago native's passion for sports, travel and culture led her to work on Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games for three years. She experienced the Olympic Spirit for the first time when she attended the Beijing Olympic Games as a spectator. She is now launching a series of "Black" destination travel guides and hopes to inspire people to “lose” themselves in travel. Her first book will be "Kiratiana's Travel Guide to Black Paris." She blogs at kiratianatravels.com and tweets at @kiratiana.

Giacinta Pace

Digital Journalist

Giacinta Pace (Gia) is a digital journalist who makes her home in New York City. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and was brought up on Long Island in a small town called Mastic. Giacinta is a graduate of Hofstra University where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Cum Laude with High Honors. She currently works for NBC News where every day is a new and exciting adventure. Besides TheGrio.com, Giacinta has been published in several other publications and websites including Tonic.com, Bibi Magazine, Q, Filmfare, Back Stage and The History Channel Magazine. She writes regularly for MSNBC.com’s charity section, "Giving," and produces the weekly webpage "Cause Celeb." In addition, she occasionally contributes video pieces to NBC Mobile's News 2 GO and still photos to NBCU Photo Bank and The Today Show's allDAY Blog.

Karen Finney

Political analyst

Karen Finney is an independent consultant working with political and corporate clients in the United States and globally in the areas of political and communication strategy, message development, media training, crisis communications, branding, leadership development and public affairs. Karen brings more than 16 years of experience in national politics and campaigns ranging from the Clinton Administration to Hillary Clinton's first race for US Senate in New York, as well as the public and private sectors where she worked to improve public education and lead corporate branding and business development projects for one of America’s leading children’s media companies. Finney was the first African American spokeswoman for the democratic party where she served as Director of Communications during the 2006 and 2008 election cycles. Karen is a member of the French American Foundation’s prestigious “Young Leaders” program and an adviser to Music National Service Corps. Finney is also a contributor to Politico's "The Areana", the Huffington Post, and is a political analyst for MSNBC.

Marc Morial

President and CEO of the National Urban League

Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League

Gabe Pressman

Senior correspondent for WNBC-TV

Senior correspondent for WNBC-TV. Pressman has been a journalist in the New York City area for over 60 years. He is considered one of the pioneers of United States television news.

Janice K. Bryant

Freelance writer

Janice K. Bryant is a freelance writer and editor, working at Uptown and Interview magazines. She has written for Essence magazine and the Fortune Society, a nonprofit organization that helps formerly incarcerated persons reenter society. Janice is the former copy chief of Essence.

Marcus Vanderberg

Sports and social commentator

Marcus Vanderberg is an online producer for BET.com and author of the Playa Hater sports blog. Prior to working at BET.com, he previously worked at AOL Black Voices and has written for ESPN.com, MLB.com and iVillage. A graduate of Hofstra University, Marcus currently resides in Los Angeles.

Ziad Jaber

theGrio Contributor

Ziad Jaber is a digital journalist and a News Associate at NBC News. He graduated from Doane College with a degree in Economics. In 2008, he worked extensively on Election '08 coverage for DCTV and KDNE News in Crete, Nebraska, and reported live from the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Originally from Amman, Jordan, Ziad currently lives in New York City.

BlackWeb2.0

mleas

BlackWeb20.com is the premier destination for African-American’s in Technology and New Media. We cover culturally relevant Technology industry news; mainstream Technology industry news; & African-American Technology and New Media Executives, Entrepreneurs, and Influencers. We also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.