Guy adami

Director of Advisor Advocacy, CNBC's Fast Money

Guy is an original member of CNBC's Fast Money. He is currently the Director of Advisor Advocacy at Private Advisor Group in Morristown, New Jersey. Private Advisor Group is comprised of a network of nearly 600 advisors with assets approaching $17B.

Guy has held numerous key leadership roles in the financial services industry. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1986 and was quickly promoted to Vice President and Head Gold Trader at the firm. He then joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 as the head gold trader and one of the many proprietary traders within the Fixed Income Currency and Commodity division. In the spring of 2000, Adami joined the U.S. Equities division of Goldman Sachs where he was put in charge of the firm's Industrial/Basic Material group.

Guy is a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America National Board, and served as the Vice Chairman of the NJ Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, who named him "Man of the Year" in 2015. He is also a board member of Invest in Others.

DR. CÉSAR A. CRUZ

Founder, Homies Empowerment Program

Dr. César A. Cruz- From marching 76-straight miles, to hunger striking for 26 days, César has dedicated his life to fighting for justice. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México and migrated to the U.S. at a young age with a single mother and grandmother. He grew up in South Central L.A. and moved to the Bay Area to study. César graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in History. He has been an educator for 25 years. For the last decade he has overseen the Homies Empowerment Program serving gang impacted/involved youth in Oakland, CA. and is now turning it into a full-fledge high school scheduled to open in the Fall of 2020. He is the author of two books, Revenge of the Illegal Alien, and Bang for Freedom. He received his doctorate in Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, becoming the first Mexican immigrant male to do so. The recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and considered by the Christian Science Monitor as one of America's 30 Education Thought Leaders, Dr. Cruz shrugs off the accolades and is proudest to be a husband, and father of three children: Olin, Amaru and Quetzali.

MaTTHEW DESMOND

MacArthur “Genius” and Princeton Sociologist Matthew Desmond’s New York Times bestselling book, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, the National Books Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and numerous other awards.

“Evicted” tells the stories of eight families living in Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods. Desmond dissects the country’s housing crisis, brilliantly laying out how one eviction can lead to a host of other issues and outlining social solutions to the problem.

The principal investigator of The Eviction Lab, Desmond's research focuses on poverty in America, city life, housing insecurity, public policy, racial inequality, and ethnography.

For more information on Matthew Desmond, please visit justshelter.org and evictionlab.org.

Dr. Dean Drosnes

Associate Medical Director and Directive of Chronic Pain programming, Caron Treatment Centers

Dr. Dean Drosnes is Associate Medical Director and Directive of Chronic Pain programming at Caron Treatment Centers in Wernersville, PA. He holds board certification in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and Addiction Medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine, He is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine, the Pennsylvania Society of Addiction Medicine, and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

He holds an appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Penn State University College of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh and his medical education from Temple University. He completed his post-graduate training in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck surgery at Thomas Jefferson University.

Dr. Drosnes completed his Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at the University of Maryland and has worked in the private practice sector, the managed care sector, and the pharmaceutical industry during his diverse medical career. Having many years of experience in head and neck surgery, infectious disease, and pain management, Dr. Drosnes applies a vast spectrum of knowledge and a wide range of clinical skills to treatment of those with substance use disorders. Dr. Drosnes’ practice focuses on the treatment of co-existing substance use and chronic pain disorders. He emphasizes the integrated use of treatment modalities that are compatible with lifelong recovery from addiction.

Kwame Johnson

President and CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta 

Kwame Johnson feels like he has been preparing for the role of CEO his entire life. He knows firsthand the power of mentorship and how relationships change lives. Kwame was appointed CEO of BBBS Metro Atlanta March 2018. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He was Senior Director of Donor Advised Services with Charities Aid Foundation of America of Corporate Relations with Communities in Schools, both based in Washington, D.C. before moving to Atlanta in 2015.

Kwame brings a special perspective to the role of CEO at BBBS of Metro Atlanta. He can identify with the struggles of the youth the agency serves, because he had his own struggles growing up, including facing poverty, neighborhood violence, and poor academic performance. He shares that at age 17, he made a decision that affected his life’s trajectory and led to his arrest. During his incarceration, he decided that he would get his life back on track, so he studied, completing the homework he asked his high school track coach to bring him. He took the SAT, and when he was released, he headed to college. Now, he is committed to the mission of giving back to the Atlanta community and making sure more kids can reach their full potential.

Cheslie Kryst

Miss USA 2019

Cheslie Kryst of North Carolina was crowned Miss USA 2019 this past May 2019, becoming the third woman from North Carolina to win the Miss USA title in its 68 year history. Cheslie is a full-time complex litigation attorney licensed to practice law in two states. Passionate about criminal justice reform, she has worked pro bono with clients serving excessive time for low level drug offenses.

Cheslie earned both her law degree and MBA from Wake Forest University and graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. The 28-year-old Charlotte native is a former Division I athlete, having competed in the heptathlon, long jump and triple jump on South Carolina’s track and field team.

Cheslie runs her own fashion blog "White Collar Glam," that focuses on work wear fashion for women and provides resources for confident apparel in the workplace. Prior to winning Miss USA, Cheslie worked closely with Dress for Success Charlotte, an organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Recently named a Dress for Success Impact Ambassador, Cheslie will continue to advocate for the cause and work with women who benefit from the organization’s resources nationwide.

As Miss USA, Cheslie has relocated to New York City where she will reside during her reign and will represent the United States at the Miss Universe competition later this year.

Photo:

Credit: Miss Universe Organization

Photographer: Frank Szelwach

Follow Miss USA:

Twitter: @MissUSA
Instagram: @MissUSA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MissUSA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/MissUSA

Visit www.missusa.com for more information.

MONICA MARIE JONES

National Trainer and Field Consultant, David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality

Monica Marie Jones is a national Trainer and Field Consultant for the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality as well as the Senior Quality Coach for The Youth Development Resource Center in her hometown, Detroit, Michigan. Her experience includes designing professional development content in the areas of Positive Youth Development, Social and Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care, Restorative Practices, Small Business Development, Organizational Development, and Personal Development.

She also works as a coach with the Youth Driven Spaces Immersion Program for the Neutral Zone Teen Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has done work as an Out of School Time Intermediary Coach for the Wallace Foundation’s Partnership for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative. Her early career included work as a school-day teacher and an after school program director.

Monica received her Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Michigan University and her Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan. In addition to her youth development work, Monica serves as a Personal and Executive Coach for individuals, entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations.

Monica is also an author whose published works include Monday Morning Motivation (Inspiration) and Momentum (Financial Inspiration). She is a contributing author in Chicken Soup for the Girls Soul, New Directions for Youth Development, and Souls of Our Young Sisters: The Next Generation of Women Tell Their Stories, Overcome Their Challenges, and Heal Their Spirits (Souls of My Sisters Inc./Kensington Publishing Corp.)

Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter, Ph.D., M.S.W. 

Executive Director, Leading on Opportunity

Dr. Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter is a longtime leader in the nonprofit and philanthropic communities, devoted to the cause of equal opportunity for all. She is the Executive Director of Leading on Opportunity, charged with addressing the finding that Charlotte ranks last among the 50 largest U.S. cities in upward mobility.

Before taking on her role at Leading on Opportunity, Dr. Cooper-Lewter served as Vice President of Initiatives and Public Policy for the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, which invested more than $67 million over 20 years to reduce poverty. She also previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia - the first Indian American CEO within the United Way of the Midlands community partner network. While living in Minnesota, she worked as a school and hospital social worker, as well as in child welfare. In all, she brings nearly 25 years of experience to her nonprofit and philanthropic service.

DAVID MARTINEAU

Director of Product Design and Innovation, David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality

Martineau has more than 20 years of experience in youth development, social justice education, group facilitation, and social services. He is currently the Director of Product Design and Innovation at the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, a unit of the Forum for Youth Investment that strengthens practice by empowering education and human service leaders to adapt, implement, and scale best-in-class, research validated quality improvement systems to advance child and youth development. After finishing his MSW, he worked with HighScope Educational Research Foundation, the organization that developed the work that became the Weikart Center.

In between, he spent nearly 10 years at NCCJ St. Louis (five of them as Executive Director), a community organization that provides powerful, in-depth training workshops and technical assistance to organizations and individuals who are committed to making systemic changes that promote diversity, inclusion, and equity. In addition to NCCJ, Dave’s served as Diversity Director at HelpSource, Michigan's largest non-governmental social service agency; facilitated for the Anti-Defamation League of Eastern Missouri’s A World of Difference Institute; and studied the impact of intergroup dialogues on MSW students, a subject on which he co-wrote three publications.

Dave earned his MSW from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his BA in French from Western Michigan University. He is happy to return home to Michigan with his partner and their son.

Xavier mcelrath-bey

Senior Advisor & National Advocate, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth

KAREN PITTMAN

President and CEO, The Forum for Youth Investment

Karen J. Pittman is president and CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan “action tank” that combines thought leadership on youth development, youth policy, cross-system/cross-sector partnerships and developmental youth practice with on-the-ground training, technical assistance and support. Karen is a respected sociologist and leader in youth development. Prior to co-founding the Forum in 1998, she launched adolescent pregnancy prevention initiatives at the Children’s Defense Fund, started the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, and served as senior vice president at the International Youth Foundation. Karen was involved in the founding of America’s Promise and directed the President's Crime Prevention Council during the William Clinton administration. Most recently, Karen received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Partners for Livable Cities, joining previous awardees such as President William Clinton and Lady Bird Johnson. Karen was recently selected to join the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development with the Aspen Institute.

Belton Platt

Speaker and subject of the book “Money Rock”

After serving over 21 years in Federal Prison, Apostle Belton L. Platt has now been out for nine years serving in his community and inspiring others across the nation and around the world with his story. His life story and testimony was featured in a six day series in the Charlotte Observer, written by Reporter Pam Kelley, and won first place as the North Carolina Press Association feature story of the year in 2013.  Belton Platt’s story can be found at charlotteobserver.com/moneyrock. His life story is now featured in a newly released book entitled Money Rock: A Family’s Story of Cocaine, Race and Ambition in the New South (The New Press) which was published in October 2018.

Apostle Belton Platt oversees Rock Ministries Church International in Conway, SC and RMCI Charlotte NC; he oversaw the planting of Zion Christian Ministries in Miami, Florida, and currently oversees Restoration of all Nations Ministry in Montreal Canada.

Apostle Platt is a marriage counselor and an author of two books. His first book entitled, "Ministry of the Husband" was published October 2009.  This book has blessed many marriages and families across the nation. His second book “The Authority of God, Walking in God Ordained Power" was published in May 2017. In this book Apostle Platt shows how the church of God has been living far beneath her privileges in Christ and instead of being the conquerors we were destined to be, we have chosen to live weak and defeated lives. He believes it is time for the Church to understand her rightful place in Christ and what it means to be called the sons and daughters of the most High God. He has written 5 other books that he is waiting for the Lord to release him to publish.

He is a youth mentor and counselor to youth from all walks of life. His vision is to help youth reach their full potential in life, to teach them life skills that are necessary to live successful lives; to train them in the area of communicating in a positive, respectful and professional way, and to teach them how to be the leaders of the next generation where truth, honesty and integrity should be the cornerstones of their lives and character.

Apostle Platt sat on the Board of Directors of A Father’s Place in Conway SC and partnered with A Father’s Place as the program coordinator for two community programs; Roots and Wings and Be Proud Be Responsible. He is a community leader and a motivational speaker. Apostle Platt is also a volunteer Chaplain with the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, South Carolina and also ministers in Marion Prison Farms in Marion, SC and Bennettsville Federal Correctional Institution in Bennettsville SC. He was also a mentor and counselor for the Conway Police Department C.S.T.A.N.D. program. The program was launched in Conway in late 2013. The program is an acronym for Conway Starting Toward a New Direction and is an application of the Drug Market Intervention program, coordinated by the United States Attorney’s Office.

He was a panelist on the Bridging the Difference Program with Chief Kerr Putney CMPD and the Keynote Speaker for Big Brothers Big Sisters of The Central Carolinas 2019 Big Breakfast which raised over $250,000. It was said to be one of the best ever in the history of the annual breakfast event here in Charlotte. Apostle Platt is a born entrepreneur.  He is a real-estate investor and the owner of Luii’s Restaurant.

Alisha Shoates James

Assistant Commissioner of Community Supervision, Community Supervision for the Tennessee Department of Correction  

Alisha Shoates James, Assistant Commissioner of Community Supervision, oversees felony probation and parole operations and community corrections programming, with responsibility for more than 1,100 TDOC employees and approximately 77,000 offenders across Tennessee.

Alisha Shoates James began her law enforcement career with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) in January 2005. After working patrol for several years, she was selected to join the Crime Suppression Unit (CSU). While working in the CSU as an undercover detective, Alisha participated in numerous criminal investigations, obtained and served search warrants, participated in undercover narcotics operations, participated in undercover prostitution operations, and conducted surveillance. All of which resulted in several state and federal convictions. In 2010, Alisha was selected to join the elite trainee operations division at the MNPD’s training academy. She assisted with operating a paramilitary style academy that included: physical fitness instruction, classroom instruction on various subjects, and assisting with firearms and defensive tactics for police recruits.

In August 2011, Alisha joined United States Probation and Pretrial Middle District of Tennessee, which is a fully accredited federal law enforcement agency. During her tenure working for the United States District Courts, Alisha provided testimony as to the basis for factual findings and guideline applications and served as a resource to the Court and attorneys. Alisha served as a firearms instructor, non-lethal training ammunitions instructor, and assisted with defensive tactics and scenario-based training for all sworn officers. She served as the training coordinator for both sworn and civilian employees and managed the internship program.

In her current role, she led her team through implementation of one of Tennessee’s most transformational pieces of criminal justice reform legislation, the Public Safety Act of 2016. Under her leadership, her team has strengthened Community Supervision by utilizing a comprehensive supervision model which aided in the reduction of technical violators and in turn saved the state millions of dollars.

James Thomas

Senior Manager, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Programs, Starbucks Corporation

James currently serves as a senior manager of diversity and inclusion programs at Starbucks where he supports the company’s U.S. retail business which currently includes over 17,000 stores and 187,000 partners or employees. In his role, he is charged with helping to operationalize and implement the company’s inclusion and diversity strategies across and throughout the retail business to help create a strategic business advantage for Starbucks.
James is a two-and-a-half-year partner (employee) and has also been a District Manager, supporting a portfolio of stores in the Seattle market.

Prior to Starbucks James spent 20 years at Nordstrom in multiple roles that include being a Store Manager for both the Rack and Full Line division and ten years in the diversity and inclusion division, five leading the company program.
James is a Cornell University certified diversity professional and has his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and graduate degree in Legal Studies.

He has served on a number of nonprofit boards that include Seattle Goodwill, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound and The Choices Education Group.
In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, hiking and riding his motorcycle. He also remains quite busy chasing his triplet boys at home.

Torie Weiston-Serdan, ph.D.

Founder, Youth Mentoring Action Network

Our DEI consultant for the Success360 grant project, and training facilitator for the National Office Equity 101 training held April 2, 2019, is  Torie Weiston-Serdan, Ph.D. 

Torie Weiston-Serdan is a scholar and practitioner with over eleven years of teaching and youth programming experience. She received her Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University at the age of 30 and has dedicated her life and career to teaching and mentoring young people in her community. She does extensive work with community-based organizations in support of their youth advocacy efforts, specializing in training mentors to work with diverse youth populations; i.e. Black, Latinx, LGBTQQ, First Generation College Students and Low-Income Youth.

Torie founded the Youth Mentoring Action Network, a non-profit organization that focuses on mentoring. The organization has served over 600 youth, helping them get to universities like the University of California at Berkeley, American University, Howard University, Clark Atlanta University, and California State East Bay. An expert in youth mentoring, she specializes in training mentors to work with diverse youth populations, i.e. Black, Latino, LGBTQQ, First Generation College Students and Low-Income youth.

As a scholar, she examines how marginalized and minoritized youth are served by mentoring and youth development programs. Passionate about young people and armed with a firm understanding of educational institutions, Dr. Weiston-Serdan is a strong education and community leader who is using her voice to advocate for youth voice. She has given several talks on education and mentoring, including a TedTalk and has published think pieces on mentoring, education and teaching. Torie serves as a member of BBBSA’s LGBTQ National Advisory Council and as a researcher for the California Mentoring Partnership Research Committee. 

AENEAS WILLIAMS

Speaker, Pro Football Hall of Fame

In 1989, New Orleans-raised Aeneas Williams was a junior walk-on defensive back at Southern University. The next year, before earning a B.S. in Accounting, Aeneas tied the NCAA Division I-AA single-season interception record. He was drafted in the third round of the 1991 draft by the Arizona Cardinals and became a St. Louis Ram in 2001.

Aeneas’ remarkable 14-year NFL career has included a Super Bowl appearance, eight Pro Bowls, and four All-Pro selections. On August 2, 2014, he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Off field, Aeneas has devoted his life to sharing the Word of God. He is a beloved St. Louis community leader and role model whose tireless service, outreach, and personal counsel has changed lives. Pastor Aeneas has a passion for helping people fulfill their full potential. In 2007, Aeneas and Tracey, his wife of 23 years, founded The Spirit Church in St. Louis, MO where he serves as senior pastor.

David A. Williams

Policy Director, Opportunity Insights

David A. Williams leads Opportunity Insight’s policy work utilizing “big data” to improve upward mobility and translate these research findings into policy change in communities across the country. Current initiatives include Creating Moves to Opportunity, a housing and mobility initiative with the Seattle and Kings County Housing Authorities and the Charlotte Opportunity Initiative, a community-wide place-based initiative aimed at improving economic opportunity throughout Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Before joining Opportunity Insights, Mr. Williams served as a senior advisor to the Mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, primarily working on issues of economic development, neighborhood revitalization, housing and land use. Mr. Williams received an AB from Harvard College and a JD from Harvard Law School where he served as President of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, focusing much of his energy on anti-foreclosure and anti-eviction law and policy. He also served as an affordable housing and community development attorney in Boston.