Dr. Uché Blackstock is a Harvard-educated physician, who is passionate about equity and justice in healthcare and society. As a child, she watched her mother, Dr. Dale Blackstock, a Black woman in medicine, navigate the world with the odds squarely stacked against her. Raised by a single mother with six children, on public assistance, Dr. Blackstock’s mother was the first person in her family to attend college. She died at only 47 years old.

Over the last ten years, Dr. Blackstock has had first-hand experience with the healthcare system and the deleterious impact of health disparities on our marginalized populations and communities. Her mother’s legacy has inspired Dr. Blackstock to use her voice to advance health equity and to address the detrimental effects of structural racism on the health status of our communities.

Dr. Blackstock is also the founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity which partners with healthcare organizations and institutions to address the critical factors that contribute to health inequity, through talks, educational trainings and racial equity culture analytics.

Dr. Blackstock is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency at NYU School of Medicine, where she is also the Faculty Director for Recruitment, Retention and Inclusion in the Office of Diversity Affairs.  She is a founding member of Times Up Healthcare, a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to unify national efforts to advocate for gender equity and against sexual harassment in the healthcare workplace.

Lauren Smith Brody is the founder of The Fifth Trimester movement and consulting, which supports the transition back to work after baby to keep women in the workplace and foster gender equality. Her book, The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Success After Baby (Doubleday/Anchor), was a simultaneous best-seller in the Amazon categories of motherhood, women and business, and cultural anthropology. The Fifth Trimester has been featured in The New York Times, on Good Morning America, CNN.com, and dozens more outlets, and Brody has been a featured speaker at companies and organizations including Facebook, Fried Frank, The New York Times, Google, American Express, The Wing, GLG, Rackspace, Liberty Mutual, PwC, Fisher Phillips, The Wharton Women’s Summit, and more. As an entrepreneur who can’t quit journalism, Brody writes regularly about the intersection of business and motherhood for, among others, The New York Times, Slate, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Elle. She is on the board of the nonprofit Docs for Tots.
 
Current ongoing engagements include:

• a monthly motherhood column for Harper’s Bazaar;

• an eight-city work/balance coaching program for the law firm Baker Hostetler;
• editorial direction of Glamour’s Women of the Year awards 2019

A longtime leader in the women’s magazine industry, Lauren was previously the executive editor of Glamour magazine. Raised in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two young sons.

Rebecca Brown joined the Innocence Project in 2005 and directs its federal and state policy agenda, which seeks to prevent & reveal wrongful convictions and assure compensation for the wrongfully convicted upon release from prison. Rebecca’s team has successfully lobbied the passage of more than 200 laws at the state-level. Previously, she served as a Policy Analyst for the Mayor's Office in New York City and as a Senior Planner at Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), where she conducted research, evaluation and planning work around its alternative to incarceration programs.

Rebecca has presented at judicial conferences, state bar associations, and diverse criminal justice & academic conferences, and has been sought out as a subject matter expert by such high-profile media outlets as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, VICE, Slate, BBC, CBS News, NPR and the American Bar Association Journal. 

Rebecca graduated from Barnard College and holds a Masters in Urban Planning, with a concentration in economic and community development from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, where she was the recipient of the Public Service Scholarship.

Executive Director & Founder of ProjectExplorer
Long before the existence of YouTube or widespread online video, Jenny Buccos founded ProjectExplorer, a web-based video creator and platform, as a means to educate children and families about global cultures and histories. To date, she has directed and produced more than 500 webisodes viewed by a global audience of over 6 million viewers.

Her first TV series Crash Test World - a family-focused show exploring the biggest challenges of our time is to be broadcast worldwide beginning Autumn 2019. She serves as the Show's Creator and Executive Director.

Jenny is a three-time recipient of the prestigious GOLD Parent’s Choice Award for Excellence in Educational Programming. She is a 2010 recipient of the National Award for Citizen Diplomacy; honored alongside Academy Award winner Robert Redford for her exemplary work as a citizen diplomat. In July 2012, she was named a White House Champion of Change. In February 2013, Jenny was recognized as one of the National School Board Association’s 20 to Watch - an award seldom given to those outside of the teaching profession. This award recognizes emerging leaders within the EdTech community who will “impact the field for the next 20 years.”

While in Africa, Danielle Butin had an epiphany as she witnessed unimaginable human suffering due to the lack of basic medical supplies. With extensive health care experience, she was keenly aware of federal regulations for medical industry waste in the US.  Determined, she founded the Afya Foundation which is a medical surplus recovery organization located in Yonkers, NY. Since 2007, Afya has shipped over 350 40-foot containers packed with recovered humanitarian and medical supplies to more than eighty countries. In addition to saving lives, 9.5 million pounds of mostly supplies and equipment have been diverted from the US waste stream.

Afya provides customized relief supplies to meet the unique needs of each community they serve. They also avoid common relief organization delays and struggles as they rely on their characteristic fervor to deliver supplies directly to doctors and trusted sources.

To do this lifesaving work around the globe, Afya has built an exceptional community of volunteers. Drawing from her occupational therapist background, Ms. Butin has established award-winning programs that have enhanced the lives of the elderly, special needs citizens, veterans, high school students and more.

Widely acknowledged, Ms. Butin was recognized by the New York State Senate as a Woman of Distinction, by the Voices of African Mothers and the Clinton Foundation for her Ebola relief efforts in Sierra Leone, and received the Brava Smart CEO Award.

With a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from New York University and a Master’s in Public Health with a specialization in Geriatrics and Gerontology from Columbia University, where she is an adjunct faculty member, Ms. Butin was the Director of Health Services for the East Region of Senior and Retiree Services for United Health Care, and the Manager of the Health Promotion and Wellness Department at Oxford Health Plans.

Refreshingly human and a high energy CEO, Ms. Butin’s incredible story has been featured on the Katie Couric Show and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, Family Circle, and more.

Harriette Cole is the founder of DREAMLEAPERS, a multi-pronged educational platform designed to help people access and activate their dreams. Since 2016 she has been conducting workshops and seminars in Harlem to inspire people to take the proper steps to manifest their heart’s desire. She hosts a weekly radio show on WBAI, a Pacifica network, entitled DREAMLEAPERS® with Harriette Cole on which she interviews individuals who have successfully manifested their dreams about their journey.

Cole is a life stylist, nationally syndicated advice columnist, best-selling author, media trainer and executive presence coach. She has worked for more than 20 years supporting entertainers, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and high-potential managers to align themselves effectively with their brand promise. Clients include BET Networks, Universal Records, Warner Music, Sony Music, ZenithOptimedia, Moxie, Digitas, Cornell University, Thurgood Marshall Academy, National Urban League, and more.

For three years Cole executive-produced and hosted the web series The Root Live: Bring it to the Table, a weekly talk show about lifestyle, business and money. She is the author of seven books about how to live an honorable life, including Jumping the Broom: The African American Wedding Planner, How to Be and 108 stitches: words we live by. For the past 17 years, COLE has written a daily nationally syndicated advice column, Sense & Sensitivity. Cole formerly was the Fashion Director of ESSENCE, founding Editorial Director of UPTOWN and Creative Director and Editor-in-Chief of Ebony.

Cole serves as chair of the board of trustees of The PRASAD Project, an international humanitarian charity. She also serves on the board of MADI at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cole is the president and creative director of Harriette Cole Media, Inc.

Dr. Robyn Stein DeLuca has spent her professional life applying her training as a psychologist and feminist scholar to the advancement of women. Her work supports positive cultural images of women, and women’s advancement in the working world. She began with fifteen years on the faculty at Stony Brook University researching postpartum depression and teaching coursework on gender, health, and reproduction. Her research showed that for most women, postpartum depression is predicted by psychological and social factors like having a previous depression or low social support. This confirms that when women are emotionally and tangibly supported during this transition, their mental health benefits. At Stony Brook, she also served as the Executive Director of the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Program, providing mentoring, research opportunities and scholarships to female undergraduates talented in STEM fields.

Robyn’s positive vision of women’s mental health has connected with a worldwide audience. She laid waste to the myth that all women are at the mercy of their hormones, and presented the hard evidence that most women function intellectually and emotionally at a high level the great majority of time. Her 2014 TEDx Talk “The Good News About PMS” was viewed by over 1.4 million people, translated into 24 languages. Her provocative book, The Hormone Myth: How Gender Politics, Junk Science, and Lies About PMS Keep Women Down, was released by New Harbinger Publications in 2017.

To help to expand the opportunities of women in the working world, Robyn served in 2015 as a mentor and professional development program co-leader for the Moxxie Foundation, which provides support for young professional women in career advancement. In a six-month weekly class, participants sharpened their networking, negotiating, and presentation skills.

In the culmination of her training and expertise, in 2018 Robyn founded her company, Back to Business, based in NYC. Back to Business provides maternity leave support programs to women and their managers to navigate this major life transition. Robyn contributes to change in workplace culture by consulting with supervisors on managing pregnant and returning employees, and coaching women on coping with the myriad new responsibilities working motherhood brings. She also promotes accommodating the needs of working pregnant women and mothers by speaking to the human resource community on the many organizational benefits these progressive policies bring. Her 2018 talk “Disrupting Schedules After Parental Leave: Cost or Benefit?” was featured in the international DisruptHR video series. In 2019, she presented her webinar “Best Practices for Managing Pregnant and Returning Employees” to the NYC chapter of the Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM).

Robyn’s work has been covered by national and international media outlets like Newsweek, The London Times, The International Business News, and Yahoo Finance. She has been interviewed by Fox5NY News, CBSNY, Yahoo Finance, and Sirius XM, for her advice about women, work, relationships, and work/life balance. Robyn was born in Queens and now lives in Manhattan with her partner. She recently served as a co-organizer of the Feminist Freethinkers of NY, where you can find lively debate about the status of women in all aspects of life.

Dr. Elsa-Grace Giardina, is Professor of Medicine at the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons Columbia University, and is recognized nationally as a pioneer in raising concerns about women’s health. In 1996, during Women’s History Month, she was awarded the “Award of Excellence” by Governor George Pataki of New York State for research advancements on cardiac disease in women and for founding and developing the Center for Women’s Health, a unique multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program in women’s health at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

She has been a staunch proponent of gender equity in education and clinical care for all women. Her research interests encompass concerns about education and assessment of women, children, and minorities regarding cardiovascular risk, the biological effects of medications and hormones, and the unique presentation and management of women with cardiac disease. Her current research focuses on intergenerational obesity among a diverse population of women and their children.

At Columbia, Dr. Giardina has been named a Virginia Apgar Fellow, an honor recognizing not only individual achievement in teaching, but also full commitment and participation in the mission of the academic medical center. She is a Trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine whose mission is health equity.

Kelly K. Hallman, PhD (Cherokee Nation) is a health policy researcher focusing on indigenous empowerment, sexual violence prevention, adolescent well-being, and equity of access. Dr. Hallman’s research explores how programs can be more culturally relevant, impactful, and sustainable. She has designed, evaluated, and strengthened programs for Mayan communities in Mexico and Guatemala, and has led health policy research initiatives throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Kelly’s research has demonstrated that:  girls’ access to education, training, and community resources shrinks at the time of puberty due to threats of sexual assault; female social networks help reduce girls’ risks of sexual assault; the sexual partner types of poorly educated adolescent girls have more complex underpinnings than previously recognized; and gender role restrictions, poverty, and care responsibilities—not Indigenous ethnicity—are the largest barriers to Mayan girls’ schooling in Guatemala.

Dr. Hallman is the Founding Director of IMAGEN, the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network. IMAGEN’s aim is to work with Native American communities to rebuild their historical matrilineal protective structures through neighborhood-based “Girl Societies.” Girls meet weekly in groups that are facilitated by local Native women and occur in existing, hyper-local, neighborhood facilities that are reclaimed as matrilineal spaces. Society meetings allow girls to destress, bond, and feel valued. Girls learn their tribal history and acquire a diverse set of resiliency skills, including resolving interpersonal conflict, preparing for anticipated challenges, and accessing available opportunities.

Girl Societies may also serve as an early warning system, and preventive measure, against the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) crisis. Girls are followed up on if they unexpectedly miss a weekly meeting or have not been seen recently in the community.

Kelly is a Senior Associate at the GIRL Center for Innovation Research and Learning and serves as an advisor on various panels, studies and Institutional Review Boards. She is a consulting advisor to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and to the StrongHearts Native Helpline. She received her doctorate degree in economics from Michigan State University, and her bachelors from Northern Arizona University.

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, conservation strategist, and Brooklyn native. She is founder and CEO of Ocean Collectiv, a strategy consulting firm for conservation solutions grounded in social justice. Her new venture is Ocean Policy Lab, a think tank focused on coastal cities. She also holds appointments as an adjunct professor at New York University, as a science scholar at Pioneer Works, and mentors next generation ocean leaders.

Previously, as executive director of the Waitt Institute, Ayana co-founded the Blue Halo Initiative and led the Caribbean’s first successful island-wide ocean zoning effort, resulting in the protection of one-third of Barbuda’s coastal waters. She then led the growth of this initiative, launching it on Curaçao and Montserrat, in partnership with the governments and stakeholders. Prior, Ayana was Director of Science and Solutions at the Waitt Foundation, managing a diverse portfolio of ocean grants. She has held policy positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Her volunteer work focuses on building community. Ayana was co-director of partnerships for the March for Science, creating a coalition of over 300 organizations that inspired over 1 million people around the world to take to the streets to support the role of science in policymaking. She serves on the boards of the Billion Oyster Project and World Surf League's PURE, and is an advisor to Environmental Voter Project, Azul, Green 2.0, and Oceanic Global. To develop a local network of ocean professionals, she founded Team Ocean NYC.

Ayana earned a B.A. from Harvard University in Environmental Science and Public Policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology, with a dissertation on the ecology, socio-economics, and policy of sustainably managing coral reefs. For her research, she was awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Switzer Foundation, and American Association of University Women. The fish trap she invented to reduce bycatch won the first Rare/National Geographic Solution Search. She has been a resident at TED, a scholar at the Aspen Institute, and named to the Grist 50 and UCSD 40 Under 40 Alumni.

She is the proud daughter of a teacher/farmer and an architect/potter. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Outside Magazine, and Nature Magazine. Her op-eds have been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and Huffington Post, and she blogs with Scientific American and National Geographic. She is a passionate advocate for coastal communities, and builds solutions for ocean justice and our climate crisis. Find her @ayanaeliza.

Michele Kong is originally from the island of Borneo and went to Canada in pursuit of her medical degree. She graduated from the University of Calgary, Canada and furthered her training as a pediatric critical care physician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Kong is the co-founder of KultureCity, a national nonprofit with the mission to rethink accessibility to create acceptance and inclusion for all individuals regardless of their challenges and diagnosis. Her passion stems from her personal journey with her child who was diagnosed with autism, and numerous encounters with other special needs children and families. Under her leadership, KultureCity has grown as a grassroots movement that has directly impacted communities and pushed the boundaries of accessibility and inclusion. She also practices medicine as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Alabama and is a NIH funded physician scientist at UAB. She is a highly regarded speaker, and well published in high-impact medical and non-medical journals. She was recently awarded the 2019 Woman of Impact Award, which recognizes the honoree’s personal and professional contributions to the State of Alabama that have moved the needle across business, government and non-profit sectors. At UAB, her contribution to the field, and service to the community was recognized with the UAB Dean’s Excellence Award in Service, UAB Outstanding Woman in the Community Award, and the Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award. Michele is also an avid ultrarunner and aims to compete in a 100 mile race at the end of this year.

Artistic Director Barbara Zinn Krieger founded New York City Children’s Theater during her 22-year tenure as Executive Director and Founder of New York’s Tony Award-winning Vineyard Theatre. NYCCT produces plays, musicals, dance and puppetry productions for children 2-8 years old. Our education programs include theater and music residencies, anti-bullying workshops, and a multi- sensory musical that serve over 100 elementary schools, homeless shelters and community centers annually in all 5 boroughs.

Barbara has been writing children’s operas and musicals for more than 20 years.  She is currently librettist for Clara: The Life and Loves of Clara Schumann, music composed by Victoria Bond, which premiered in April 2019 in Baden-Baden Germany. Barbara is a recipient of the Opera America Distinguished Service Award.

Veronica Loomis has been described as a trendsetter, innovator, community activist and advocate for women’s rights. She began her career in the Criminal Defense Division at The Legal Aid Society. During her tenure, she became very engaged in the rights of all people and assisted those in need of legal assistance. She has held several administrative positions at various companies, including Clausen Miller, PC, Goldman Sachs, Newsweek Magazine and is currently the Executive Assistant for the Chief People Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Veronica takes pride in being a founding contributor of the New York City Department of Education/Lincoln Center’s summer boot camp, which is an intensive two-week program that prepares Middle School students who are interested in auditioning for the Arts High Schools. In 2009, she received a proclamation from the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office in recognition of her implementation of a women’s health symposium entitled A New Day, A New You. In 2015, she was the recipient of Lincoln Center’s President’s Award for Excellence.  Veronica reflected on adversities she faced in her life and in 2019 she and her daughter, Mikayla formed a nonprofit organization named It’s a She Thing, Inc., which serves women and girls who have encountered traumatic experiences. One of the organization’s first initiatives was an Empowerment Camp for Girls. She is a member of The National Notary Association and is also the Assistant Director of Stepz 2 Success Childcare Center, Inc.  in Brooklyn, NY. Veronica graduated from York College and holds a bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Dana Marlowe can turn a moment into a movement. What began with her spontaneous question of “What can I do with my old bras?” led to the creation of I Support the Girls, a non-profit organization that provides a source of dignity, self-esteem, empowerment, and support to marginalized womenvia the donation of bras and menstrual hygiene products.

As a human rights advocate in the intersections of feminism, menstrual equality, health, and dignity, Dana works tirelessly to better the lives of the most invisible populations. These women and girls areoften overlooked by mainstream society. Dana can’t fix the larger societal issues that create insecurity, like homelessness and living paycheck-to-paycheck, but she can combat feelings of worthlessness by encouraging an accommodated period and properly fitting bra. 

In her tenure as the Executive Director and Founder at I Support the Girls, Dana has worked behind the scenes and beyond borders, not only facilitating donations, but also visiting countless shelters to connect with women experiencing homelessness, hearing their stories and using these experiences to become a stronger advocate. 

I Support the Girls is Dana’s passion project. She is also the founder and principal partner of Accessibility Partners, an IT company making technology accessible for people with disabilities. Dana promotes equal access to technology and full inclusion of people with disabilities in technology usage. When she is not sorting bras or striving for inclusivity, she can be found at playgrounds with her sons, walking her new puppy, or attending early morning dance raves.

Aija Mayrock is the #1 bestselling author of The Survival Guide to Bullying. Aija started writing her book at 16 years old, after having been bullied. Aija initially self published her book before it was acquired by Scholastic and published around the world. “The Survival Guide to Bullying” soon became an international bestseller.

Aija has traveled all over the U.S. to speak to students, educators, community leaders, and politicians. Aija has performed poetry for and spoken to over four million people in the last four years including at venues like Madison Square Garden, SXSW, Girl Boss Rally, the United Nations General Assembly, amongst many other venues.

Aija has written, performed, and filmed a series of poems that have all gone viral racking up viewership in the tens of millions. Her poetry talks about gender equality, female empowerment, female leadership, amongst many other topics. She has built a global community of hundreds of thousands of women who follow her.

Aija has spoken at corporations like Instagram, WPP, Warner Brother’s, AT&T around creating gender inclusive environments.

Aija was on the cover of the Saks Fifth Avenue Fashion Book for the September Issue and part of the Fearless Women campaign. Aija has also been part of the movement to register young people to vote, joining forces with DO SOMETHING for their voter registration campaign, where she was able to register thousands of her fans.

Aija was named one of the Today Show’s heroes of the year for 2018 for her writing, poetry, and activism.

Aija’s work has been published and featured on Good Morning America, The View, NowThis, Buzzfeed, Nylon, The Today Show, Teen Vogue, Seventeen Magazine, amongst many other platforms.

In May 2019, Aija graduated from NYU. In June 2019, Aija sold her next book in an auction. It will be published in spring 2020.

Dr. Jennifer H. Mieres is a leading expert in the fields of nuclear cardiology, cardiovascular disease in women and patient-centered healthcare advocacy. As Senior Vice President of Northwell Health’s, Center for Equity of Care, Dr. Mieres serves as the health system’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, with oversight of all diversity and health equity initiatives and is a member of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health at Northwell Health.
Dr. Mieres is also the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and a professor of cardiology, at The Zucker School of Medicine.

A graduate of Bennington College and Boston University School of Medicine; she is a Fellow of The American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), and Master of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and served as the first female President of the ASNC in 2009.

Dr. Mieres’ clinical focus and research are centered on the elimination of health and gender disparities and her current research is focused on cardiovascular disease in women. She is a leading advocate for patient-centered healthcare and medical education reform and has authored/co-authored over 60 scientific publications, including as lead author of the 2005 and 2014 AHA cardiac imaging guidelines for women. As an international speaker, she has presented her research as distinguished faculty at over 100 forums and conferences; both nationally and internationally including scientific sessions of the ACC, AHA, ASNC, the International Conference of Nuclear Cardiology and IHI/BMJ International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare.

A true patient and community advocate; Dr. Mieres is actively involved in service. She serves as a national spokesperson for AHA’s Go Red For Women movement and has served as chair of several national AHA committees as well as the Scientific Advisory Board for WomenHeart.
A prolific communicator; Mieres recently co-authored Heart Smart for Women: Six S.T.E.P.S IN Six Weeks to Heart-Healthy Living, published in October 2017 and the Spanish version of the book, published January 2019. Her previous book Heart Smart for Black Women and Latinas: A Five Week Program for Living a Heart- Healthy Lifestyle was published in 2008. Following her Emmy-nominated documentary A Woman’s Heart, (2001); her creative ingenuity has evolved as an executive producer of a two part documentary series Rx: The Quiet Revolution and Doctors of Tomorrow, (2015). The films have forged a change in narrative while garnering placement on national TV network PBS and in educational institutions. Dr. Mieres is routinely called upon by national and local media for expert commentary and has been designated as a most- credible voice in the healthcare industry.

Dr. Mieres has been recognized as a tireless force working to foster diversity in medical education and to eliminate disparities in the delivery of healthcare to the community. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, which include; one of Crain’s NY Notable Women in Healthcare, September 2018; Good Housekeeping/L’Oreal’s one of ten Humanitarians Over 50, April 2018; Delta Sky Magazine Heart Disease: Calculating Risk, July 2018; CardioSource (ACC) Pioneering African-American Physicians, February 2018 and one of “15 Hospital, Health System Chief Diversity Officers to know” by Becker’s Hospital Review, April 2016.

Dr. Mieres has also received; The Association of Black Cardiologists Walter M. Booker Sr. Health Promotion Award, October 2015, The AHA’s; National Chairman’s Award, November 2014 and Louis B. Russell, Jr., Memorial Award, June 2011.

Jacqueline Y. Pelzer has been Executive Director of Early Steps for the past 31 years. As the descendent of slaves and a child of segregation, Jacqueline has dedicated her life’s work to opening the doors of opportunity through education for young children of color in New York City.

Early Steps, created in 1986 by ISAAGNY (Independent School Admission Association of Greater New York), is a hands-on non-profit organization with the sole mission of promoting racial diversity within New York City independent schools. Early Steps, in partnership with its member schools, works to create a world where the children of doctors and doormen and teachers and the children with one parent and the children with two, all come together in the sandbox and learn to measure people by the content of their character and the interests they share not by the color of their skin or the money in their pockets.

Prior to joining Early Steps, Jacqui has 22 years of classroom and administrative experience in a variety of public and independent school settings; a rural six-room schoolhouse in Vermont, suburban open-space classrooms in Maryland and inner-city schools in Philadelphia. She has taught kindergarten, first grade and worked in admissions at The New Lincoln School and The Day School (now Trevor Day School) both in New York City. 

She currently serves as a Trustee at Trevor Day School, The Parents League of New York and The Town School. She has served as a Trustee of The Brick Church School, Westside Montessori School, Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI) and Grace Church School. Additionally, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) where she was secretary and chaired the Equity and Justice Committee as well as a member of the 92^nd Street Y Parenting Center Advisory Committee. In 2011, the Mid-Manhattan Branch of the NAACP presented her with their Roy Wilkins Outstanding Service Award for her commitment to the education of our children. Also in 2011, Jacqui was honored by the Cathedral School with the Absalom Jones award, for her work in the fields of equity and justice serving as an inspiration for the community.

Jacqui graduated from Cheyney State Teachers College now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. She has done extensive graduate study at the University of Maryland, Temple University and Bank Street College. She is a life member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Illana Raia is a former Skadden Arps lawyer, an occasional guest lecturer at Columbia University, and the founder of Être - a mentorship platform for motivated girls. After an early career in mergers and acquisitions, Illana was named the first Knowledge Strategy Counsel at Skadden, creating internal knowledge sites for more than thirty practices across the globe. She built the Être website with this in mind and thinks of Être as knowledge strategy for girls, curating the resources and role models girls need to change the world. Illana has contributed to the Huffington Post, Medium, Ellevate, and Thrive Global since Être’s launch in 2016, breaking down timely topics for the younger set, and was named a Mogul Influencer in 2017. She was featured in The Balance Project Interviews in 2018 and the #WomenWhoRock photo campaign in 2019 and has been a recent guest on podcasts and radio; Illana’s journey from attorney to founder was also profiled in Forbes, and her first book - Être - arrives Fall 2019. Illana graduated with honors from Smith College and received her JD from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was managing editor of the Legal Forum. She lives happily in NYC and at the Jersey shore with her husband and two children, and is unapologetically nerdy.

Desirée Tunstall is an educator, innovator, technologist, world-traveler, change-maker and philanthropist. She is the Founder and President of The Tunstall Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating educational opportunities for people of color worldwide. Through her work at The Tunstall Foundation, she and her family have financed the development and successful opening of three schools in Africa - two in Senegal and one in Malawi - as part of their 10 Schools, 10 Years Initiative. She is also the Founder of Black Birthright - an immersive travel program that takes Black American high school students to African countries to learn their history, experience the continent's rich culture and develop a stronger sense of self and purpose.

Outside of her philanthropic endeavors, Desirée is a technology professional and has served on the leadership teams of multiple leading marketing technology companies. She is currently a digital marketing educator for MISK - a foundation based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - where she teaches young Saudi entrepreneurs how to build and effectively market their businesses. 

Desirée earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied History and Religious Studies.

Tessa Wayne is a 17 year old high school senior in NYC and the founder and creator of GLAM – Girls Learning Advanced Math. Believing that education is the great equalizer, Tessa hopes to increase gender fairness in STEM through her GLAM program.  Additionally, Tessa is an accomplished athlete and advocate for young women in sports.

Tessa designed GLAM to teach middle school girls (the age where girls start to lose confidence in their math abilities) exciting and challenging math that goes beyond their in class curriculums. It is an all female program, targeting underserved schools, taught by all female instructors with the goal of empowering young girls to feel passionate and strong about their math abilities. Tessa believes that having older female volunteers teach the younger students allows the middle schoolers to more comfortably engage in math and also look up to the instructors as role models rather than teachers.  Tessa has grown the GLAM program to include three schools and a staff of 7. She has raised over $2,200 (that is used to pay for class materials and math contests fees) and is working toward getting GLAM 501(c)(3) status.  Tessa is working on implementing plans for GLAM in nearby metropolitan areas and she plans to bring GLAM to neighboring schools where she attends college.  Concurrent with GLAM, as part of her senior year courses, she created an independent study entitled “Bridging the Stem Gender Gap” which will culminate in Tessa presenting her findings and strategies to the middle school math department at her school.  Tessa was chosen to attend the Columbia University Science Honors Program where she is currently enjoying a math class titled, “Discrete Random Walks.”

Tessa is also an avid athlete - she has been on both her high school Varsity Basketball and Softball teams since 7th grade leading both teams to multiple league championships. She currently serves as Co-Captain of both teams. Tessa scored her 1,000th Varsity high school point in basketball in her sophomore year, played on the USA National High School 18U Women’s Basketball Team at the 20^th World Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2017, and has been named First Team All State (NY Private Schools). Tessa played basketball on both the Riverside Hawks and New Heights AAU teams, and the 92^nd Street Y team during her middle school years. Additionally she has pitched three undefeated league seasons in softball, earning her both the All League MVP award and multiple Team MVP awards.  Tessa is both a leader and an invaluable team player on the court and field.

When not playing sports, Tessa loves KenKen puzzles and has competed in the International KenKen contest finishing as high as fifth place.

Tessa hopes to break down stereotypes about girls in both math and sports.