CEO & President

Having served as an economic & social justice advocate for more than 25 years, Melenie L. Campbell is an expert and passionate advocate on issues impacting African Americans, women, immigrants and youth and the intersection of how politics, public policy, race, gender, class and age impacts quality life for all Americans. Media includes: CNN Paula Zahn, Washington Journal (C-SPAN), National Public Radio, Tom Joyner Morning Show, Bev Smith Show, XM Radio, Pacifica Radio, BET, Television, Print, Radio.

SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of History

Leah Wright Riguer is an expert in race and politics, US political and social history, African American politics and history, and riots and American backlash, and holds a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University. At the Harvard Kennedy School, Leah teaches courses on race, riot and backlash in the US; the civil rights movement and current racial and social justice movements. Media includes: CNN, MSNBC, CBS News, PBS, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Political Strategist, Community Organizer & Author

Charlene Carruthers currently serves as the national director of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), an activist member-led organization of Black 18-35 year olds dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. Her passion for developing young leaders to build capacity within marginalized communities has led her to work on immigrant rights, economic justice and civil rights campaigns nationwide. Media includes: NPR, MSNBC, World BBC News, and WGN TV, Television, Print, Radio.

Founder/Distinguished Lecturer

Shanelle Matthews currently serves as a the Lead Communications Strategist for the Black Lives Matter National Network, Black Lives Matter is an international network of more than 30 chapters working to rebuild the black liberation movement and focuses on imposing a call to action and response to state-sanctioned violence against black people, as well as the virulent anti-black racism that permeates our society. Media includes: Al Jazeera, KPFA, RH Reality Check, Feministing, Racialicious, The Frisky, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Acting Principal Deputy Director

In 2016, Michelle M. Garcia joined the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants as its director. Michelle has trained internationally on various topics, including stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and dismantling oppression. Media includes: Washington Post, USA Today, C-SPAN, HuffPost Live, Voice of America , Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Professor of Political Science

Dr. Christina M. Greer is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham University - Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus. Her research and teaching focus on American politics, black ethnic politics, urban politics, quantitative methods, and public opinion. Media includes: New York Times, ABC Channel 7, NBC Nightly News, Fox 5 Good Day New York, WFUV, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Freelance Journalist

Chagmion Antoine is an award-winning journalist, producer and actor. She was an anchor and reporter for CBS News, where she was a pioneer in covering intersections of gender, race and politics­­ particularly in the lesbian, bi­sexual and transgendered communities. She has been included in various lists as a notable personality in the LGBT and black history. Media includes: CBS News, The Logo Channel, AfterEllen, Sirius Satellite Radio, Curve Magazine,Television, Print, Radio, Online, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Professor, Author, Journalist

The author of three books (including I See Black People: Interviews with African American Owners of Radio and Television and Black Women's Lives: Stories of Power and Pain), Kristal Brent Zook speaks regularly on popular culture and gender, multiracial identity and blackness, as well as social justice issues involving health, the environment and criminal justice. Media includes: New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, FOX, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Trial Lawyer, former prosecutor and Assistant Attorney General for MD Member, Supreme Court Bar

Debbie Hines is a Washington, DC based practicing trial attorney, former Maryland prosecutor and member of the Supreme Court bar who is an expert in criminal law, high profile criminal cases, gun laws, death penalty cases and voting laws. She often addresses legal issues at the intersection of race and crime. Media includes: MSNBC, Al Jazeera America, BET, C-Span, NPR, CCTV- America, TV One, Fox 5 (WTTG), Huffington Post, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Professor of English

Koritha Mitchell is an associate professor of English at Ohio State University. Her research centers on African American literature, racial violence in United States history and contemporary culture, and black drama and performance. Media includes: WBNS-10TV, PBS, ColorLines.com, Michael Eric Dyson radio show, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Professor in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and in African and African American Studies

Imani Perry is a Professor in the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. She is an interdisciplinary scholar who studies race and African American culture using the tools provided by various disciplines including: law, literary and cultural studies, music, and the social sciences. She is the author of the forthcoming book More Terrible, More Beautiful, The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the U.S. Media includes: Print, Online.

Director of Campaigns

Celeste Faison is the Black Organizer Cordinator at National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-founder of the Blackout Collective. She is a community organizer and direct action trainer. Cutting her teeth as a youth organizer, she was the lead organizer at Youth together and the co-director of Project Fame. Media includes: KPFS, NBC News, AlterNet, USA Today, San Francisco Bay View, Tides Blog, Metroactive Music, Radio, Online.

Reporter, Writer

Dani McClain writes and reports on race, reproductive health, policy and politics. She is a contributing writer at The Nation and a fellow with The Nation Institute. McClain’s feature reporting has received awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. Media includes: Slate, Talking Points Memo, Al Jazeera America, Colorlines, EBONY.com and Guernica, Print, Radio, Online.

Former President and CEO

A highly sought-after speaker, C. Nicole Mason has spoken nationally on American Politics, Youth and African-Americans, immigration, affirmative action, hip-hop culture, and economic security, among other topics. Her forthcoming book, Myth of the Neutral State examines whether or not full social and political equality is possible for racial and ethnic minorities, women, and others in America given historic patterns of discrimination. Media includes: NPR Talk of the Nation, NPR Washington, D.C. local affiliate, NPR Los Angeles, NPR Wisconsin, The Progressive, Women’s e-news.

Executive Director

Deborah Richardson is the Executive Vice President of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights leading its fundraising and program development. She was Chief Program Officer at Women’s Funding Network in San Francisco, Director of Program Development for Fulton County Juvenile Court, founding Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Fund (now Youth Spark) and Managing Director of the National Black Arts Festival. Media includes: Huffington Post, Women's Media Center, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Public TV, WSB TV, Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Best-selling Author, Higher Education Leadership and Race Relations Expert, President Emerita of Spelman College

Scholar, teacher, author, administrator and race relations expert Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum is a clinical psychologist whose areas of research include black families in white communities, racial identity in teens, and the role of race in the classroom. For over 20 years, Dr. Tatum taught her signature course on the psychology of racism. Media includes: The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, C-SPAN, Today Show.

Executive Director

Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder is a sociologist and scholar specializing in diversity, race relations and gender issues. Dr. Wilder’s sociological expertise was highly sought after during two recent high profile cases: the Trayvon Martin murder trial and the recent “loud music” murder trial of Jordan Davis. Media includes: 20/20, Nightline, The New York Times, National Public Radio, The Grio, Huff Post Live , Television, Print, Radio, Online.

Former Associate Director, Communications & Engagement, WITNESS

Matisse Bustos-Hawkes serves as Associate Director, Communications and Engagement at WITNESS. WITNESS is a nonprofit organization that trains and supports people worldwide to use video for human rights change. Matisse leads WITNESS’ communications, media relations and manages the organization’s strategic efforts to reach influential networks of human rights advocates, activists and more with their tools and resources. She has secured coverage for WITNESS in The New York Times Magazine, PBS Newshour, WIRED, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now!, MSNBC, among others.

Program Manager

Madeleine Blair leads the WITNESS Media Lab, which is dedicated to addressing the challenges of sourcing, verifying, and contextualizing eyewitness video to advance its use as a tool for human rights. An award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and thought leader, she is an expert on human rights video advocacy, ethics, and the role of citizen video in exposing abuse and bringing about justice. Media includes: HuffPost Live, Chicago Public Radio, Smile Jamaica, MediaShift, Huffington Post

Dean Emerita

Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker has served as general counsel of the National Security Agency (1984 – 1989), principal deputy legal adviser at the U.S. Department of State (1989 – 1990), and general counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency (1990 – 1995). Later, while a cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, she argued successfully twice before the Supreme Court of the United States. Media includes: NPR,New York Times,Washington Post,US News & World Report,Financial Times.