Stacey Abrams is a political leader, business owner and bestselling author. A tax attorney by training, she served as Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and was the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022. She has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, national and local voter engagement, tackling social issues, and building a more equitable future in the South.
Abrams co-founded and served as Senior Vice President of NOWaccount Corp., a financial services firm. She also co-founded Nourish, Inc., a beverage company with a focus on infants and toddlers, as well as other entrepreneurial ventures. She co-founded Insomnia Consulting to specialize in development, investment and consulting for complex infrastructure projects, including transportation, waste-by-rail transfer, energy, facilities and water. In 2021, Abrams and her business partner published a guidebook for entrepreneurs based on their experiences called Level Up. Formerly, Abrams served as Deputy City Attorney for the City of Atlanta. Prior to her tenure at the City, she was Special Tax Counsel at Sutherland, with a focus on tax-exempt organizations, health care and public finance.
Abrams is the CEO of Sage Works Production, Inc, a production company for television and film projects. A voting rights advocate, she served as a producer on the Academy Awards-shortlisted documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy and wrote the New York Times bestselling books Our Time is Now and Lead from the Outside. She is also the author of two children’s books, the political thrillers While Justice Sleeps and Rogue Justice, and several romantic suspense novels. She has been nominated for an Emmy and received the NAACP Image Award in 2021 and 2022.
Abrams sits on both nonprofit and corporate boards, and she is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Abrams holds degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and Yale Law School. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she and her five siblings grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi and were raised in Georgia, where she currently resides.
Co-Director for Policy and Public Affairs, Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia
Chair, Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions
Melody Barnes is the chair of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and Opportunity Youth Forum. She is executive director of the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy where she is also the J. Wilson Newman Professor of Governance at the Miller Center of Public Affairs and a senior fellow at the Karsh Center for Law & Democracy. Melody was Assistant to the President and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Administration of President Barack Obama. Prior to her tenure in the Obama Administration, she was executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress and chief counsel to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Currently, Melody serves on the boards of Ventas, Booz Allen Hamilton, the Hewlett Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also narrator and host of the podcast, LBJ and the Great Society and co-editor of Community Wealth Building & The Reconstruction of American Democracy. Melody earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she graduated with honors in history and her J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Founder and CEO
WEPOWER
Charli Cooksey is a proud and committed native and resident of North St. Louis City.
Charli developed a passion for political change and grassroots movement building early on in her journey. During college, she helped lead several initiatives involving hundreds and sometimes thousands marching and protesting to demand voting rights for Black and young folks. She also ran for the elected school board in Waller County, Texas, to ensure that Black and Brown families had a voice in public education policy decisions.
After completing her studies at Prairie View A&M University, she returned to St. Louis as a Teach For America (TFA) corps member. During her second year in the classroom, Charli co-founded inspireSTL, which existed to ensure city students from under-resourced backgrounds had access to transformative college-prep high schools and opportunities that would put them on a path toward college completion. inspireSTL grew from a small group of volunteers into a high-performing team that has supported hundreds of scholars with gaining access to top-performing high schools, college acceptance, securing scholarships, and matriculating through some of our nation’s top universities like Stanford, Saint Louis University, and Washington University. Ultimately, inspireSTL merged with Wyman Center (a local youth development agency with national impact). While navigating the merger, she successfully ran for the St. Louis City Board of Education, working to realize educational equity through policy change. After transitioning from her role as the Executive Director of inspireSTL, Charli served as an Executive in Residence focused on education innovation at the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
This commitment to equity further deepened after the death of unarmed Michael Brown Jr. in 2014. Charli spent many nights protesting on the streets of Ferguson. She also partnered with other local young leaders to launch an initiative to mobilize and elevate youth voices during regional discussions about how to respond to the Ferguson Uprising.
Before launching WEPOWER, Charli served as the interim Executive Director/Lead Catalyst of Forward Through Ferguson. She partnered with the team, board, and many others across the region to develop action strategies to catalyze the Ferguson Commission report to become a tool for action and impact.
In 2018, Charli founded WEPOWER. WEPOWER’s mission is to activate community power to redesign systems to be just and equitable for all. Through this work, Charli and her team and many excellent partners work with everyday folks to support them with building political and economic power in service of community-led systems change.
To date, WEPOWER has contacted over 200,000 voters, activated over 300 community members who have launched four different advocacy campaigns, completed comprehensive policy design to improve K12 education, early childhood education, and economic policy change, and are leveraging entrepreneurship to spark job growth across the St. Louis region.
In partnership with a beloved community of Black and Latinx entrepreneurs and changemakers, WEPOWER has secured over $15 million in public funding for early childhood education, helped businesses increase their revenue 3.5x, launched a nationally recognized multi-million dollar investment fund, and grown multiple coalitions led by residents and community-based organizations committed to economically just policies such as Community Benefits Agreements. She is grateful to engage in hard but high-impact work daily with oppressed communities full of brilliance and resilience.
Performing Artist
N/A
Performance piece: People Make the World Go Round
Bio: Melody, a Memphis native, is a creative force dedicated to advancing social justice, economic mobility, and black liberation. With over a decade of experience, she champions impactful initiatives, fosters cross-sector collaborations, and drives policy into action. Armed with a Bachelor's in Sociology and a Master's in Education, she started her journey as an AmeriCorps VISTA and has since spearheaded various large-scale initiatives. Melody is known for driving innovative solutions in the public sector. Beyond her advocacy work, she channels her creativity through music, composing and performing songs that amplify her message. She finds joy in traveling with her husband and three daughters, embracing every opportunity to make a difference through her art and activism.
Creative Jobs Collective Impact Initiative Program Lead
Arts For L.A.
Originally from Chicago, IL – Gabriel Gutierrez is an adult adoptee, first generation street dance artist, founder of MoFundamentals, and artivist dedicated to highlighting the resiliency of the foster and adoptee community. His work centers on elevating narratives and lived experience of artists and culture bearers in Los Angeles who belong to the: street dance, houseless, former foster, and adoptee communities. Gabriel brings important ancestral practices from his P’urhépecha lineage into his artist + advocacy work.
Across 10 years, his contributions at the intersection of dance artivism, healing practices, and foster youth advocacy have led to: hosting the first foster youth dance festival in the U.S., representing LA City District 1 as an ACTIVATE Cultural Policy Fellow, recruitment to pilot a re-entry through performing arts program, and being a 2022 DanceUSA Fellow to continue cultivating opportunities for the next generation of foster and adoptee artists.
CEO
FSG
John Harper is the CEO of FSG, a global nonprofit consulting firm that partners with foundations and corporations to create equitable systems change. Throughout his career, John has been a thoughtful and inclusive leader with a deep commitment to advancing equity, shifting power, and uplifting the voices of historically marginalized communities. With a strong commitment to place-based approaches, John has supported efforts in cities like Cleveland and St. Louis and has enabled cross-sector collaboratives to achieve collective impact and sustain meaningful change. He has also advised national and multinational corporate clients on ways to drive social impact and business value both within traditional CSR approaches and as an integrated enterprise-wide strategy. With a leadership approach grounded in continuous learning, John has successfully led engagements with notable organizations such as W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, Ares Charitable Foundation/Ares Management, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and numerous multinational corporations. John is also a highly sought after speaker who has presented talks for many groups, including Northern California Grantmakers, New Leaders Council, Community Foundations Leading Change, and more. He regularly writes and speaks on topics of systems change, place-based philanthropy and collaborative civic infrastructure, and translating global corporate purpose into local impact.
Executive Director – Collective Impact Forum
FSG
Jennifer Splansky Juster is Executive Director of the fielding-building initiative the Collective Impact Forum. She is one of FSG’s leaders in collective impact field building, has worked on multiple collective impact engagements, designed training opportunities for thousands collective impact practitioners, and frequently speaks on the topic. Jennifer has co-authored multiple publications on collective impact, including the report Guide to Evaluating Collective Impact and the articles “Centering Equity in Collective Impact,” “Committing to Collective Impact: From Vision to Implementation,” and “Essential Mindset Shifts for Collective Impact.” Over the course of her career, Jennifer has also worked with a range of foundations, nonprofits, government agencies, and corporations across sectors on issues of strategy, evaluation, and program design. Former clients include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Girard College, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Silicon Valley ALLIES. A California native, Jennifer is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband and two daughters.
Harpist
Myron Leonard, is a 15 year old sophomore at Charles R. Drew Charter School in. Atlanta, Georgia. Myron began playing the harp when he was 11 years old. His school offered a harp class that was available through the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. This class is taught by Dr. Molly O’Roark and Jennifer Betzer. He joined the Talent Development program in 2020 while he was in the 7th grade. He takes lessons from ASO’s principal harpist, Elisabeth Remy Johnson. Myron went to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Summer Camp in 2022. During the 3 week camp, he was a part of the Interlochen Symphony Orchestra and was selected as Principal harpist for the Intermediate age group. Myron won the Atlanta Harp Composition Competition on the lever harp in 2021. His winning composition is called Follow the Wind and a digital PDF is available for purchase on the Atlanta Harp Center website. Myron received Superior ratings from the Solo and Ensemble performances in fall of 2022 and 2023. Myron also is interested in conducting and composing. He is also a member of the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is the principal harpist for this orchestra. Myron attended the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in the summer of 2023. He played for the TDP 30th Anniversary concert at Spivey Hall in fall of 2023. Myron also auditioned into the GMEA All State 9/10 Full Orchestra, and 9/10 Concert Band.
Managing Director
Women's March
Tamika is the Managing Director of Women's March. She is an organizer, doula, midwifery apprentice, writer, and unschooling mama who is passionate about and active in struggles that affect Black women’s lives. Tamika has organized for abolition, reproductive justice, and for domestic workers’ rights. She is a consultant with Winds of Change Consulting, and a founding member of the Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid (MAMA) Fund and JustGeorgia. She serves as a Community Advisory Board member of Critical Resistance, a Leadership Team member of the Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective and as treasurer of OHRD.)
Vice President
The Aspen Institute
Monique Miles is a Vice President of the Aspen Institute, the Director of the Opportunity Youth Forum, and Managing Director of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Prior to joining the Forum for Community Solutions, Monique was the Director, Postsecondary Achievement at the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC). In her role at NYEC, Monique oversaw the Postsecondary Success Initiative, a national pilot that supported Community Based Organizations (CBOs) across the country to design and implement postsecondary programming, in partnership with local institutions of higher learning, for students who were disconnected from education. Monique began her career in education reform working as a Literacy Instructor at Youth Opportunity Boston. In this role Monique worked directly with students remanded to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) to teach basic literacy skills. Monique went on to serve the same population of students through political advocacy initiatives at the Commonwealth Corporation (CommCorp). Monique earned a Bachelor of Science from Springfield College and a Master’s in Education, Policy & Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Monique serves on the board of Independent Trust and Jeremiah Program.
Harpist
Axum Nickerson is a 10th grade student at Drew Charter School. He's a member of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. He started playing harp in 6th grade, and has been playing for 5 years. Axum has performed for a State of the City breakfast, performed at a school-wide TEDx talk, and has written a piece for his ensemble to play. In addition to harp, He participates in many extracurricular activities, including martial arts, boy scouts, and a leadership organization called Jack and Jill. Also, Axum enjoys watching shows and playing recreational sports, and hopes to be an engineer.
Harpist
Rhyland O'Neill is a 10th-grade student at Charles R. Drew Charter Senior Academy. He is an exceptional student and is devoted to his education. O’Neill has played the harp for 5 years, is a part of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, and is a member of the Georgia chapter of the American Harp Society. Rhyland performs bi-annually with the UYHE at their Winter and Spring concerts. In 2022, he performed “We Shall Overcome” for harp ensemble, band, and choir for the Black Lives Matter Mural Celebration as well as the high-profile PGA Tour Tournament Breakfast. In 2023, he performed for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Pre-Party at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center as a part of his quartet, 188 Strings. Outside of harp, O’Neill plays basketball for the Drew Charter Varsity team. He also plays club soccer in the SCCL Premier 1 Division for North Atlanta Soccer Academy and plays Varsity soccer for Drew Charter. Rhyland is an avid participant in engineering and is a part of the Georgia Tech Bridge to Employment program. He strives to improve at everything he does and is eager to expand his prowess.
Harpist
Alexandra Price, a dedicated 10th-grade scholar enrolled at Drew Charter School, exhibits a profound enthusiasm for her academic endeavors, particularly in the domains of Mathematics and Science. Her exceptional commitment to scholastic excellence has consistently earned her a distinguished place on the honor roll.
Over the past five years, Alexandra has been an integral and vivacious member of the esteemed Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, where she has contributed her musical talents and passion. In the year 2022, Alexandra undertook a rigorous audition process, securing a coveted placement for free private harp lessons with the esteemed Mrs. Hairston, facilitated by the First Presbyterian Church. Alexandra's diligent pursuit of musical excellence continued through the 2022-2023 academic year under Mrs. Hairston's expert guidance.
Alexandra's musical prowess extends beyond her lessons, as she actively engages in performances for both nonprofit organizations and private paid events. Notably, she graced the stage in a harp concert, sharing it with her teacher, Dr. O’Roark, at prestigious venues such as the Atlanta Harp Center and Spivey Hall at Clayton State University.
Presently, Alexandra maintains her dedication to harpistry while studying under the tutelage of the accomplished Molly O'Roark within the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. Additionally, she has enriched her musical portfolio by participating in the GMEA Solo and Ensemble competition and winning 9 superior medals and recently participated in the GMEA All State Participating in the 11-12 Full orchestra.
In the year 2023, Alexandra distinguished herself further by successfully securing a coveted spot in the Talent Development Program, where she now hones her musical talents under the expert guidance of Mrs. Ellen Foster. Her multifaceted talents extend beyond music, as she boasts a stellar athletic record, having devoted seven years to competitive swimming. Currently, Alexandra is a proud member of DeKalb Aquatics, excelling in events such as the 200 free, 100 fly, and 100 free.
In addition to her musical and athletic achievements, Alexandra actively contributes to the Drew Charter Volleyball team, showcasing her passion for volleyball. Her unwavering curiosity and eagerness to explore new horizons mark her as an individual committed to personal growth and development.
As Alexandra Price looks toward her future, she harbors ambitious aspirations to continue her scholarly and performance pursuits within the realm of music, with a forthcoming major in music on the horizon. Her unwavering dedication and outstanding talents solidify her position as a standout student and performer, both academically and in her diverse array of extracurricular pursuits.
President
James S. McDonnell Foundation
Dr. Jason Purnell joined the James S. McDonnell Foundation as president in 2023 after leading the community health improvement strategy at BJC HealthCare. He created health equity programs with colleagues and partners and introduced an anchor institution agenda focused on investments in high-poverty communities of color. This work built on his scholarship at Washington University’s Brown School, where in 2014, he and his collaborators released the seminal “For the Sake of All” report on African American health in St. Louis, inspiring policy changes and programmatic innovations. Dr. Purnell’s BA is from Harvard, and his PhD is from Ohio State University.
Executive Director
Indigenous Women Rising
Rachael Lorenzo (Mescalero Apache/Laguna Pueblo/Xicana) is a queer, nonbinary parent of two and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They were born in Las Cruces, New Mexico to young parents and were raised on their father's ancestral land in Laguna, New Mexico.
Rachael graduated with a BA in political science and a Masters in public administration, focusing on public health; both degrees are from the University of New Mexico. Rachael studied political campaigns, participated in policy analyses, and has been consulted for their expertise in public health policies that could impact Indigenous communities.
Rachael was not only raised on traditional values but also on politics. Throughout their academic career, Rachael volunteered for political campaigns, ranging from city council elections to presidential campaigns. Rachael was selected as a fellow for President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign, Obama For America (OFA). Currently, Rachael funds abortion through an Indigenous-led reproductive justice organization, Indigenous Women Rising, and serves as Assistant Commissioner of Cultural Resources at the New Mexico State Land Office.
In their spare time, Rachael writes short stories and poems, is a photographer, and tries to adopt cats without their husband finding out.
Senior Advisor
Leading Inside Out/The Collective Impact Forum
Have spent the past 7 years working with collective impact efforts on building better strategy and culture. Spent 21 years before that leading Public Allies, a national leadership development and community building organization. Was a social innovation advisor to Obama administration. Dad and cook for a family with 5 teen and young adult children, passionate about politics and social justice, music fanatic (don't get me started), voracious reader (mostly history), and lover of great TV and movies (I would have given best picture to Minari or Sound of Metal, best actor to Chadwick Boseman, and Best Actress to Andra Day). Never bored.
Artist
Tyke T
Tyrone Stroble, better known as Tyke T, has differentiated himself within Memphis’ crowded hip-hop scene by expertly combining classic Southern rap with elements of New Jack Swing. In 2013 he released his debut EP “The Overlooked” through his own imprint Driven By Music. The momentum continued with his sophomore effort, The Prelude, which debuted in the Top 15 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Tyke T is no stranger to the sync industry. With over 100+ placements, Tyke's music has been featured in several television shows, including the CW/Netflix's hit show All-American , Starz’s Power, VH1’s Black Ink Crew, Love & Hip Hop Atlanta and more.
In 2023 Tyke T was featured in the prestigious Forbes Magazine, highlighting his independent momentum in hip hop and spotlighting Tyke's historic show that he held at the legendary Orpheum Theater in Memphis, TN. During the show, Tyke was awarded "Honorary Professorship" by his alma mater MTSU for his industry success and dedication to music education and giving back to his community.
Senior Manager of Movement Building Programs
Building Movement Project
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, raised in Festac, Nigeria, grounded in her legacy of organizers, farmers and healers, Adaku (any pronouns) harnesses her seasoned skills as a political strategist, holistic healer, transformative facilitator, somatics coach and ritual artist as an act of love and commitment to her community. She enjoys co-cultivating social justice leaders and organizations to be more strategic, sustainable, and impactful. For over twenty years, their work has centered on movements for radical social change, with a focus on gender, reproductive, race, youth, and healing justice.
She most recently was the Organizing Director at the National Network of Abortion Funds, building and mobilizing organizing power and movement building efforts with 90+ member organizations, thousands of individual members, and network leaders across the country and world.
For the past 9 years, they have also been co-facilitating Harriet’s Apothecary, an all-Black collective of healers, organizers, and artists committed to embodying Harriet Tubman’s legacy of centering abolition and healing justice in how we organize to create and sustain liberation and transformation.
She is a Senior teacher and coach with BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity), a national leadership training program designed to help rebuild Black social justice infrastructure to organize Black communities more effectively and re-center Black leadership in the U.S. social justice movement. She also teaches and coaches with Generative Somatics, a national organization that supports social and climate justice movements in achieving their visions of a radically transformed society by bringing somatic transformation to movement leaders, organizations, and alliances.
Principal
junious williams consulting, inc.
Mr. Williams is the principal of Junious Williams Consulting, Inc. (JWC), a firm specializing in research and policy analysis, collaboration management and facilitation, program and strategy development focused on increasing equity and social justice (www.juniouswilliams.com). He has worked extensively over the past 25 years on a variety of multi-stakeholder, multi-sector collaborations and collective impact initiatives providing guidance and support in design, implementation, facilitation, management and program improvement for initiatives addressing complex social issues ranging from full-service community schools to cradle-to-career pathways; from opportunity youth education and employment to improving outcomes for boys and men of color. He is currently a senior advisor to the Collective Impact Forum (http://collectiveimpactforum.org/). He holds a Juris Doctorate in Law and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Michigan, where he also pursued graduate studies in education administration.
From 1998 through 2016 he served as President and CEO of Urban Strategies Council, a research and policy focused social justice impact organization in Oakland, California. In addition to private law practice, his career includes: founding and directing the Saginaw Student Rights Center and co-founding the Ann Arbor Student Advocacy Center; work on school desegregation, disparate student discipline and race and gender equity as associate director of the Programs for Educational Opportunity at the University Of Michigan School of Education; Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at CSU, Fresno; Executive Director of Student Attendance and Discipline for the Detroit Public Schools; and assistant compliance monitor for a federal consent decree on employment discrimination in the building trades. He has worked on community building initiatives, education and criminal justice reform, improving outcomes for boys and men of color and equitable workforce and economic development efforts including negotiating landmark community benefits agreements on major development projects in Oakland and San Francisco. He is co-founder and Board Chair of the Oakland Community Land Trust and Board Chair of the Center for Law and Education.
Nanette Antwi-Donkor
Senior Program Manager, Data, Equity & Impact for the Forum for Community Solutions
Aspen Institute
April Callen
Vice President, Racial Equity Programs and Narrative Strategy
Purpose Built Communities
Cecilia Cortes Vila
Senior Program Officer, Economic Security and Justice
New York Women's Foundation
cheryl dickson
Associate Dean Health Equity
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine
