Sherrell Dorsey is an award-winning data journalist, entrepreneur, speaker, and author teaching the world to redefine who gets to create and participate in the future.
 

She founded The Plug in 2016, the first Black data-driven tech news publication to syndicate on the Bloomberg Terminal, which was acquired in 2023 by ImpactAlpha.
 

As the TED Tech podcast host, Sherrell provides her in-depth analysis and commentary on technologies changing society, and how these advancements can provide opportunities for more underserved Americans to participate in an increasingly automated and digital world.
 

Her first book, Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us, published by Wiley in 2021, connects everyday people and communities to opportunities and resources to upskill or retrain for in-demand careers both present and future so that they do not get left behind in the sweeping changes technology is bringing across industries.

She has graced the stages as a keynote speaker, host, and moderator at some of the leading companies in the world, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Accenture, Bloomreach, Cisco, and others.
 

Her work has been featured in VICE, The Washington Post, Seattle Times, The Information, Columbia Journalism Review, and more.
 

She earned her stripes working for companies like Uber and Google Fiber. She holds a Master's degree in data journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in international trade and marketing from the Fashion  Institute of Technology.

Mayor Leonardo (Leo) Williams is a former teacher and school administrator. He was elected to the Durham City Council in December 2021 and sworn in as mayor in December 2023. Mayor Williams is a proud graduate of North Carolina Central University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a master's degree in Educational Leadership. While attending NCCU, Leo met his wife, Zweli, and they are the proud parents of their son, Izaiah Williams.

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Mayor Williams was recognized twice by Durham Public Schools as Teacher of the Year and was also recognized by the Triangle Business Journal with a “40 Under 40” award for producing innovative practices in education. He transitioned from full-time educator to full-time small business owner when he and his wife opened Zweli's, the first full-service authentic Zimbabwean restaurant in the United States.

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While serving on the City Council, Mayor Williams continues to apply his experience and passion in education, entrepreneurship, and commitment to addressing deep social issues to make Durham a united community that provides safety and prosperity.

Amir Kirkwood is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Justice Climate Fund. Bringing more than two decades of experience in local economic development investment, Kirkwood will lead the nonprofit as it implements its Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program, part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) program.

Before joining JCF, Kirkwood was President and CEO of Locus, a leading CDFI. His extensive experience includes serving as the Chief Lending and Investment Officer for the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN); First Vice President for Commercial Banking at Amalgamated Bank, where he was also Senior Advisor to the Amalgamated Foundation; Partner at Next Street; and Director in Citigroup’s Municipal Securities Division. While at Citi, and in partnership with OFN and Calvert Impact Capital, Amir helped create the Communities at Work Fund, LP, a national $200 million commitment to finance the general operating needs of CDFIs.

As President & CEO of Appalachian Community Capital, Donna J. Gambrell is responsible for attracting and directing investments to Community Development Financial Institutions (or CDFIs) and other mission-driven lenders in Appalachia. These lenders, in turn, use the investments to make loans to small business owners, including to minority- and women-owned businesses in underserved communities throughout the region. Since 2015, when it first began lending, ACC has deployed $47 million in loans to ACC members. The members, in turn, have leveraged this capital 5 times or more the amount of their original loans and they are recirculating the capital back into the region. 

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In 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it had selected ACC to receive a $500 million grant as part of its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is focused on the hardest hit communities in the country. Ms. Gambrell is a member of several CDFI boards: Opportunity Finance Network, Raza Development Fund, Fahe, and Southern Bancorp. She also serves as board chair for the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, a nonprofit organization with over 80 members committed to closing the racial wealth gap in the United States. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University (Maryland) and a Master of Science degree from New York University (New York).

Lenwood V. Long, Sr., is the President/CEO of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, a coalition of CEOs of Black-led Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) loan funds, credit unions, and venture capital funds representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Alliance members are united in their commitment to social and economic justice for African American communities.

The Alliance is a membership-driven organization that leverages the decades of experience, relationships, and intellectual capital of African American CDFI CEOs, with a mission to change the odds and outcomes for African Americans in underserved communities. The organization provides technical support, professional development, grants, and resource sharing for members along with engaging in critical policy advocacy to support Black-led CDFIs.

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He has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC, a Master of Science in Urban Administration from Georgia State University, and specialized training from programs including Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Education Program. He is also a recipient of The Order of Long Leaf Pine by the Governor of North Carolina, a recently retired Senior Pastor Emeritus of New Bethel Baptist Church in Rolesville, NC, and a United States Army Veteran.

Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne is CEO of Wocstar Capital and Co-founder of the Wocstar Fund, an early-stage venture fund using a female arbitrage strategy ​​by investing in women of color tech entrepreneurs (“Wocstars”). Gayle (pronounced: Gay-lä) was named "10 Women Changing the Landscape of Leadership" by the New York Times, March 2021, Top 10 Women of Influence in Venture Capital by Venture Capital Journal, July 2022, One of the Top Black Venture Capitalists by Business Insider, February 2024, and One of Forbes’ “50 over 50,” August 2024. Gayle has over 30 years of Wall Street and tech experience. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business and the University of Michigan, she began her career at Sun Microsystems and later served as a mergers and acquisitions banker at JPMorgan.

Wilson Lester, Co-Founder/Managing Partner, Partners in Equity. Mr. Lester is an accomplished entrepreneur and leader and is widely regarded as a community finance and economic development expert. Mr. Lester previously built and led Piedmont Business Capital, a regional CDFI in North Carolina. He has extensive experience in Federal program management. Throughout his career, Mr. Lester has built and led organizations that focus on solutions that move customers and communities forward. A strong believer in the role philanthropy plays in building communities, Mr. Lester supports and serves on the boards of directors for the North Carolina Downtown Association, Greensboro College Board of Trustees, and Cone Health Foundation Board. Mr. Lester received his undergraduate degree from Greensboro College and his Master’s in Business from the Eli Broad School of Management at Michigan State University.

Tammie resides in Durham, NC where she serves as the Assistant County Manager for Community Prosperity providing executive leadership countywide for Library Services, Cooperative Extension Services, Veteran Services and Supplier Diversity teams. In 2017, she was selected to the lead the Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) and Assistant to the Secretary for HUB Outreach for the State of North Carolina. She has over 25 years of experience in government and spent eight (8) of those years as a Congressional Policy Advisor. Tammie successfully executed the first grant business program (RETOOLNC) for small historically underutilized businesses with over $40 million in capital relief efforts to sustain these businesses during the pandemic in partnership with two (2) nonprofit entities. 

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Tammie is a proud graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Finance. She served on the UAPB National Alumni Association Board of Directors for over eight (8) years to include service as the President. She was staff liaison for the Andrea Harris Task Force and the Governor’s Advisory Council for Historically Underutilized Businesses, Board Member at Global Scholars Academy in Durham, NC., Raleigh Durham International Airport Board of Directors Vic-Chair, and Dominion Energy Environmental Advisory Council Member.

Thom Ruhe is President and CEO of NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to helping North Carolinians realize their full entrepreneurial potential. He is an entrepreneur, investor, mentor, and philanthropist who works with entrepreneurs, governments, universities, and NGOs around the world to embrace the entrepreneurial ecosystems and mindset needed to grow equitable, vibrant economies. He spent the first 18 years of his career in various startups and high-growth companies and the last 18 years helping others do likewise. During his seven-year tenure at the Kauffman Foundation, he directed the Foundation's programs addressing entrepreneurship education, mentoring, access to capital, and fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems.

An urban innovator, Talib draws on his vast expertise in technology, finance and real estate to build vehicles that launch, fund and help support Black entrepreneurial enterprises across the USA. From his time in Silicon Valley to the Aspen Institute and in the Research Triangle, Talib combines his experience in the corporate world with his accomplishments as a serial entrepreneur. He served as a Google Entrepreneur-in-Residence (2015–2017), founded a CDFI-backed HBCU Entrepreneurship Center, designed an education and career readiness non-profit called Knox St. Studios, and built from the ground up Black Wall Street Homecoming, an organization that connects black-owned businesses with the venture capital, start-up capital, and equity capital need to connect and thrive. In his work with Partners in Equity, Talib concentrates his energy on securing owner-occupied real estate and supporting ownership within the historically overlooked Black entrepreneurial ecosystem across the USA., whether it be in the tech space or with Main St. brick-and-mortar businesses. Talib Graves-Manns serves as Managing Partner– Partners in Equity, Founder & Executive Director– Knox St. Studios, Co-Founder, Autopilot Worldwide, and serves as a ResilNC Fellow as well as Planning Commissioner for the City of Durham.