Devin H. Cotten
Founder, Universal Basic Employment
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
Author and Professor
Jonathan Eig
Pulitzer-winning Author and Journalist
Michael Forman
Chairman and CEO, FS Investments
Stacy Hawkins
Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Piper Stege Nelson
Executive Director, I Live Here I Give Here
Michael A. Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia
Bret Perkins
Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs, Comcast
Kasim Reed
Former Mayor of Atlanta
Batya Ungar-Sargon
Opinion Editor, Newsweek
Ali Velshi
MSNBC Chief Correspondent
Joe Winston
Producer and Director
Dalila Wilson-Scott
EVP and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast
Kathryn Wylde
President and CEO, Partnership for NYC
Devin H. Cotten
Founder, Universal Basic Employment
Devin Cotten is a community and economic development professional who has spent the majority of his career serving Cleveland, Ohio’s most disinvested communities. He has held positions on regional policy coalitions, resident-led task force, and spearheaded work that bridged the gap between community and institutions to drive systems change.
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
Author and Professor
Michael Eric Dyson has authored more than 20 acclaimed books and is a widely celebrated professor, prominent public intellectual, ordained Baptist minister, and noted political analyst. The two-time NAACP Image Award winner also won the American Book Award for Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. Dyson’s book The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America was a Kirkus Prize finalist, and he co-authored Unequal: A Story of America and Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote with Marc Favreau. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jonathan Eig
Pulitzer-winning Author and Journalist
Jonathan Eig won the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life and authored five other books, including four bestsellers. Eig’s works have been translated into 20 languages and received numerous awards. His biography of Muhammad Ali inspired a Ken Burns PBS documentary, with Eig serving as a producer on the film. He is currently working on a biography of George Soros.
Michael Forman
Chairman and CEO, FS Investments
Michael founded FS Investments, a Philadelphia-based alternative investments asset manager, in 2007 after a successful career as both a corporate and securities lawyer and a serial entrepreneur. The firm is an outgrowth of Michael’s simple vision: help investors access alternative investments historically available only to large institutions and the wealthiest individuals.
In 2019, Michael co-founded Fitler Club, a diverse and civically engaged private lifestyle club located in Center City, Philadelphia. Then in 2021, he co-founded the Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) with his wife, Jennifer Rice, to connect and support artists and cultural organizations in Philadelphia. He also serves as the Founding Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Equity Alliance. A native of northern New Jersey, Michael attended the University of Rhode Island and went on to earn a JD from Rutgers Law School.
Stacy Hawkins
Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Stacy Hawkins is the former Vice Dean of Rutgers Law School in Camden, where she currently teaches Constitutional Law, Employment Law and an original seminar on Diversity and the Law. She’s won numerous awards for leadership in DEI, social justice and the classroom. Hawkins has testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, been interviewed and quoted in global media outlets, advises and trains public and private sector clients, and serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, the Advisory Board of the Public Interest Law Center, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association Diversity Team.
Piper Stege Nelson
Executive Director, I Live Here I Give Here
Piper joyously serves as the Executive Director of I Live Here I Give Here, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging giving in Central Texas. Her previous roles include Chief Strategy Officer at a large NGO, school board candidate, magazine publisher, and middle school teacher.
Michael A. Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia
Michael A. Nutter was two-term mayor of Philadelphia and 15-year veteran of Philadelphia City Council. Since leaving public office in 2016, he has remained active in public policy, government and civic life. Nutter is the inaugural David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and holds fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago and Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. He is also the co-host of The Philadelphia Citizen’s acclaimed podcast, How to Really Run a City.
Bret Perkins
Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs, Comcast
Bret Perkins is Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs for Comcast Corporation, where he’s integral in developing and launching Internet Essentials, the company’s Internet adoption program for low-income Americans. Prior to joining Comcast, he worked in leadership roles for health systems. The recipient of National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Vanguard Award for Young Leadership, one of the cable industry’s highest honors for its next generation of leaders, also serves as a Trustee of Temple University, and a board member of: Temple University Health System, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Citizen, among other organizations.
Kasim Reed
Former Mayor of Atlanta
Kasim Reed served as the Mayor of Atlanta for two terms, from 2010 to 2018. Reed was credited with increasing core city services while reducing Atlanta’s spending during the worst recession in 80 years. He also hired more than 900 police officers, creating the largest police force in his city’s history, oversaw a 37 percent drop in crime, improved fire rescue response times and re-opened all the city’s recreation centers as safe havens for young people. He is also the co-host of The Philadelphia Citizen’s acclaimed podcast, How to Really Run a City.
Batya Ungar-Sargon
Opinion Editor, Newsweek
Batya Ungar-Sargon is the opinion editor of Newsweek and co-host of Free Press Live. She is the author of Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy and Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women.
Ali Velshi
MSNBC Chief Correspondent
Ali Velshi is the host of Velshi and Chief Correspondent for MSNBC and a weekly economics contributor to NPR’s Here And Now. He has covered multiple U.S. midterm and presidential elections and global news, including extensive reporting from Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion. Velshi hosts the Velshi Banned Book Club on MSNBC and is known for interactive discussions with small groups in his series Velshi Across America. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera America and CNN.
Joe Winston
Producer and Director
Winston has been working in documentary film and television since 1990. He produced and directed What’s The Matter With Kansas? which Roger Ebert named as one of the “10 Best Documentaries of 2009.” He edited Flannery which aired on American Masters in 2021 and was adapted into Ethan Hawke’s biopic Wildcat earlier this year. In 2013, he field-produced Citizen Koch which was nominated for a Grand Jury prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He produced and directed Punch 9 for Harold Washington which chronicles the captivating rise, surprising reign, and enduring legacy of Chicago’s first Black Mayor.
Dalila Wilson-Scott
EVP and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast
Dalila Wilson-Scott is Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. In these roles, she oversees diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and philanthropic strategy for the corporation, focusing on advancing digital equity and economic mobility through Project UP. Wilson-Scott leads Comcast’s community impact initiatives and oversees efforts to bring greater attention to the company’s philanthropic partners. Before joining Comcast, she was Head of Global Philanthropy and President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
Kathryn Wylde
President and CEO, Partnership for NYC
Kathryn Wylde is President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization and is the primary liaison between New York City business and local government, providing private sector expertise and resources to public agencies and programs. Areas of focus include education, transportation, infrastructure, public safety and economic opportunity. Prior to taking over as Partnership CEO in 2000, Wylde led the organization’s citywide affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization and business investment programs. She is an urban policy expert and a frequent spokesperson for the New York business community.
Devin H. Cotten
Founder, Universal Basic Employment
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
Author and Professor
Jonathan Eig
Pulitzer-winning Author and Journalist
Michael Forman
Chairman and CEO, FS Investments
Stacy Hawkins
Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Piper Stege Nelson
Executive Director, I Live Here I Give Here
Michael A. Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia
Bret Perkins
Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs, Comcast
Kasim Reed
Former Mayor of Atlanta
Batya Ungar-Sargon
Opinion Editor, Newsweek
Ali Velshi
MSNBC Chief Correspondent
Joe Winston
Producer and Director
Dalila Wilson-Scott
EVP and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast
Kathryn Wylde
President and CEO, Partnership for NYC
Devin H. Cotten
Founder, Universal Basic Employment
Devin Cotten is a community and economic development professional who has spent the majority of his career serving Cleveland, Ohio’s most disinvested communities. He has held positions on regional policy coalitions, resident-led task force, and spearheaded work that bridged the gap between community and institutions to drive systems change.
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
Author and Professor
Michael Eric Dyson has authored more than 20 acclaimed books and is a widely celebrated professor, prominent public intellectual, ordained Baptist minister, and noted political analyst. The two-time NAACP Image Award winner also won the American Book Award for Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. Dyson’s book The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America was a Kirkus Prize finalist, and he co-authored Unequal: A Story of America and Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote with Marc Favreau. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jonathan Eig
Pulitzer-winning Author and Journalist
Jonathan Eig won the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life and authored five other books, including four bestsellers. Eig’s works have been translated into 20 languages and received numerous awards. His biography of Muhammad Ali inspired a Ken Burns PBS documentary, with Eig serving as a producer on the film. He is currently working on a biography of George Soros.
Michael Forman
Chairman and CEO, FS Investments
Michael founded FS Investments, a Philadelphia-based alternative investments asset manager, in 2007 after a successful career as both a corporate and securities lawyer and a serial entrepreneur. The firm is an outgrowth of Michael’s simple vision: help investors access alternative investments historically available only to large institutions and the wealthiest individuals.
In 2019, Michael co-founded Fitler Club, a diverse and civically engaged private lifestyle club located in Center City, Philadelphia. Then in 2021, he co-founded the Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) with his wife, Jennifer Rice, to connect and support artists and cultural organizations in Philadelphia. He also serves as the Founding Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Equity Alliance. A native of northern New Jersey, Michael attended the University of Rhode Island and went on to earn a JD from Rutgers Law School.
Stacy Hawkins
Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Stacy Hawkins is the former Vice Dean of Rutgers Law School in Camden, where she currently teaches Constitutional Law, Employment Law and an original seminar on Diversity and the Law. She’s won numerous awards for leadership in DEI, social justice and the classroom. Hawkins has testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, been interviewed and quoted in global media outlets, advises and trains public and private sector clients, and serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, the Advisory Board of the Public Interest Law Center, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association Diversity Team.
Piper Stege Nelson
Executive Director, I Live Here I Give Here
Piper joyously serves as the Executive Director of I Live Here I Give Here, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging giving in Central Texas. Her previous roles include Chief Strategy Officer at a large NGO, school board candidate, magazine publisher, and middle school teacher.
Michael A. Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia
Michael A. Nutter was two-term mayor of Philadelphia and 15-year veteran of Philadelphia City Council. Since leaving public office in 2016, he has remained active in public policy, government and civic life. Nutter is the inaugural David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and holds fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago and Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. He is also the co-host of The Philadelphia Citizen’s acclaimed podcast, How to Really Run a City.
Bret Perkins
Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs, Comcast
Bret Perkins is Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs for Comcast Corporation, where he’s integral in developing and launching Internet Essentials, the company’s Internet adoption program for low-income Americans. Prior to joining Comcast, he worked in leadership roles for health systems. The recipient of National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Vanguard Award for Young Leadership, one of the cable industry’s highest honors for its next generation of leaders, also serves as a Trustee of Temple University, and a board member of: Temple University Health System, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Citizen, among other organizations.
Kasim Reed
Former Mayor of Atlanta
Kasim Reed served as the Mayor of Atlanta for two terms, from 2010 to 2018. Reed was credited with increasing core city services while reducing Atlanta’s spending during the worst recession in 80 years. He also hired more than 900 police officers, creating the largest police force in his city’s history, oversaw a 37 percent drop in crime, improved fire rescue response times and re-opened all the city’s recreation centers as safe havens for young people. He is also the co-host of The Philadelphia Citizen’s acclaimed podcast, How to Really Run a City.
Batya Ungar-Sargon
Opinion Editor, Newsweek
Batya Ungar-Sargon is the opinion editor of Newsweek and co-host of Free Press Live. She is the author of Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy and Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women.
Ali Velshi
MSNBC Chief Correspondent
Ali Velshi is the host of Velshi and Chief Correspondent for MSNBC and a weekly economics contributor to NPR’s Here And Now. He has covered multiple U.S. midterm and presidential elections and global news, including extensive reporting from Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion. Velshi hosts the Velshi Banned Book Club on MSNBC and is known for interactive discussions with small groups in his series Velshi Across America. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera America and CNN.
Joe Winston
Producer and Director
Winston has been working in documentary film and television since 1990. He produced and directed What’s The Matter With Kansas? which Roger Ebert named as one of the “10 Best Documentaries of 2009.” He edited Flannery which aired on American Masters in 2021 and was adapted into Ethan Hawke’s biopic Wildcat earlier this year. In 2013, he field-produced Citizen Koch which was nominated for a Grand Jury prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He produced and directed Punch 9 for Harold Washington which chronicles the captivating rise, surprising reign, and enduring legacy of Chicago’s first Black Mayor.
Dalila Wilson-Scott
EVP and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast
Dalila Wilson-Scott is Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. In these roles, she oversees diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and philanthropic strategy for the corporation, focusing on advancing digital equity and economic mobility through Project UP. Wilson-Scott leads Comcast’s community impact initiatives and oversees efforts to bring greater attention to the company’s philanthropic partners. Before joining Comcast, she was Head of Global Philanthropy and President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
Kathryn Wylde
President and CEO, Partnership for NYC
Kathryn Wylde is President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization and is the primary liaison between New York City business and local government, providing private sector expertise and resources to public agencies and programs. Areas of focus include education, transportation, infrastructure, public safety and economic opportunity. Prior to taking over as Partnership CEO in 2000, Wylde led the organization’s citywide affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization and business investment programs. She is an urban policy expert and a frequent spokesperson for the New York business community.
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