Seth Andrew

Superintendent, Democracy Prep

Seth serves as superintendent of Democracy Prep Public Schools which he founded in 2005 to ensure that every single student would work hard, go to college, and change the world! Democracy Prep is a network of no-excuses schools in Harlem educating students in grades K-12 to become responsible citizen-scholars prepared for success in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship. Democracy Prep is a "Straight A" school and was ranked the #1 middle school in NYC in 2010.

Follow Seth on twitter: @DemocracyPrep

Ivonne Baki

Secretary of State, Yasuni-ITT
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Dialogue Among Cultures

Ivonne A-Baki is an artist, painter, diplomat, peace negotiator, humanist, and politician. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, of Arab Lebanese parents, she became involved in the world of the arts at a very young age and discovered its magic and power to unite ideals, cultures, people and nations. As a diplomat, Ambassador A-Baki was instrumental in helping Ecuador and Peru reach a peace agreement on October 26, 1998.

Jake Barton

Principal and Founder, Local Projects

Jake Barton is founder and principal of Local Projects, an award-winning media design firm for museums and public spaces. Jake is recognized as a leader in the field of interaction design for physical spaces, and in the creation of collaborative storytelling projects where participants generate content.

Follow Jake on twitter: @Jake_Barton

Scott Belsky

CEO, Behance

Scott Belsky believes that the greatest breakthroughs across all industries are a result of creative people and teams that are especially productive. As such, Scott has committed his professional life to help organize creative individuals, teams, and networks. Behance is a company that develops products and services for creative industries. Behance's premier service is the Behance Network, the world's leading online platform for creative professionals.

Follow Scott on twitter: @scottbelsky

Bina48 with Bruce Duncan

Bina48 (Android)

Bina48 is one of the world's most advanced social robots commissioned by Dr. Martine Rothblatt and created by Hanson Robotics Inc. based on the information about a real person. Using video interview transcripts, laser scanning life mask technology, face recognition, artificial intelligence and voice recognition technology, Bina48 was created to demonstrate "(1) a conscious analog of a person may be created by combining sufficiently detailed data about the person (a "mindfile") using future consciousness software ("mindware").

Bruce Duncan

M.Ed., Terasem Movement Foundation Inc.

Bruce Duncan, M.Ed., is Managing Director of the Terasem Movement Foundation Inc. and project leader for the LifeNaut Project. As part of the LifeNaut Project he is responsible for the ongoing development of Bina48, the worlds first advanced humanoid robot based on the mindfile information of a real person.

Kevin Carroll

Founder, The Katalyst Consultancy

Kevin Carroll is the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC and the author of three highly successful books published by ESPN, Disney Press and McGraw-Hill. As an author, speaker and agent for social change (a.k.a. the Katalyst), it is Kevin's "job" to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals - from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren - to embrace their spirit of play and creativity to maximize their human potential and sustain more meaningful business and personal growth.

Follow Kevin on twitter: @kckatalyst

Khadim Diop

Performing Artist, Impact Repertory Theater

Khadim Diop is an American thespian and songwriter. Born August 18, 1997 in Harlem, A prodigy of performing arts, Khadim made his stage presence felt as early as preschool with his performances at The Learning Tree Cultural Preparatory School in The Bronx, NY, where he attended from then through the 8th grade. Gaining notability with his performances of The Black Man and Gulla, he joined the Academy Award-Nominated IMPACT Repertory Theater in 2009.

Robin Chase

Founder and CEO, GoLoco

Robin Chase is a transportation innovator. She is co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar (the largest carsharing company in the world) and GoLoco (the first company to combine ridesharing, social networks, and easy payment). She writes, consults, and gives talks about the future of transportation and how to actually get there. She also founded and leads Meadow Networks, a consulting firm that advises city, state, and federal government agencies about wireless applications in the transportation sector, and impacts on innovation and economic development.

Follow Robin on twitter: @rmchase

Tim Duggan

Architect, Make it Right Foundation

Tim Duggan is a landscape architect currently developing the sustainable landscapes program for the Make It Right Foundation based in New Orleans. The Make It Right Foundation was started by Brad Pitt, who wanted to help the residents of the Lower 9th Ward rebuild their community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Duggan's professional career began in the midwest with BNIM Architects where he collaborated on a wide range of projects, from complex community planning initiatives to green urban designs.

Mayor John Fetterman

Mayor, Braddock, PA

Meet Braddock's Mayor John Fetterman ... six-foot-eight, 350 pounds. There's no chamber of commerce kind of shiny spin that you can put on a community that has endured the kind of chaos and upheaval that a place like Braddock has. Fetterman said, "This is the tragic end result of what happens when a region, a town, a street, a house is effectively allowed to fail." He's a man whose dreams for this shattered town matches his mammoth figure. The 40-year-old Fetterman wears Braddock's past, literally, on his sleeves -- the zip code tattooed on one arm, the dates of murders on the other. Just one look at Fetterman and it's hard to believe he was born into a wealthy family in Eastern Pennsylvania, or that he has a master's degree in public policy from Harvard.

Thelma Golden

Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum

Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem. Culling an interest in art history from a childhood board game, Thelma Golden knew her dream job even before she knew what to call it. She stumbled upon the title and role she was looking for -- curator -- at the age of 12, and started up the ladder early, landing at the Whitney Museum in 1991, four years out of college. In 2005, Golden became Executive Director for the Studio Museum in Harlem, re-dedicating the institution to forward-facing art from all corners of the African Diaspora.

Follow Thelma on twitter: @studiomuseum

Grant McCracken

Author, Professor MIT

Trained as an anthropologist (Ph.D. University of Chicago), Grant has studied American culture and business for 25 years. He started the Institute of Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum, where he did the first museum exhibit on youth cultures. He has taught at the University of Cambridge, MIT, and the Harvard Business School. He is a long time student of culture and commerce. He has explored this theme in two books: Culture and Consumption I, and Culture and Consumption II. Two years ago, he published a book called Chief Culture Officer that argues that culture now creates so much opportunity and danger for the organization that it needs senior managers who focus on it full time.

Follow Grant on twitter: @Grant27

Dr Alim Muhammad

General Surgeon, Physcian

Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad is a fully trained general surgeon with over 37 years experience as a licensed physician serving the Washington, DC area. His results oriented approach to medicine led him to the use of alternative therapies with good nutrition serving as the basis for good health. As an influential advocate for social justice and equity in health, Dr. Muhammad is a recognized champion for poor and underserved communities around the world. One of his most notable accomplishments is his cutting research and development of effect alternative therapies in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Marcus Samuelsson

Chef, Owner Red Rooster

Marcus Samuelsson is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, philanthropist and food activist. His most recent restaurant is New York City. The acclaimed Red Rooster Harlem, which opened in December 2010. The restaurant celebrates the roots of American cuisine in one of New York City's liveliest and most culturally rich neighborhoods. Chef Samuelsson has been featured on Iron Chef, Chopped All-Stars, Top Chef Masters, 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, The Martha Stewart Show, the Today show, and his own television show, The Inner Chef, on Discovery Network.

Follow Marcus on twitter: @marcuscooks

Peggy Shepard

Executive Director/Co-founder, WE ACT

Peggy Shepard is Executive Director and Co-founder of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Founded in 1988, WE ACT was New York's first environmental justice organization created to improve environmental health and quality of life in communities of color. Based in Northern Manhattan, WE ACT advances its mission through research, public education, advocacy, organizing, government accountability, litigation, legislative affairs and sustainable economic development.

Matthew Spitzer, MD

President, Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins Sans Frontieres

Dr. Matthew Spitzer, a family physician, joined MSF in 1999, establishing primary care services and training medical providers in Khampa Tibet, southwestern China. He worked in Sierra Leone as a field coordinator, in a project that gauged the medical needs of asylum seekers in detention in the United States, and in Cambodia, coordinating MSF’s response to epidemic dengue. Elected to the Board of Directors of MSF-USA in 2006, he chaired the Program Committee and was elected President in 2008.

Gallim Dance

Founded in 2007, Gallim Dance is a New York-based contemporary dance company dedicated to creating and performing original work by Andrea Miller, nurturing the careers of young artists, and stimulating the imagination of a diverse international audience. Miller’s work embodies fearless physicality grounded by deep humanity, and expressed through the madness and joy of the imagination.

Vy Higgensen and the cast of Mama I Want to Sing

Harlem native Vy Higgensen is a trailblazing writer, director, producer, and media personality. Her play Mama, I Want To Sing is the longest-running African-American Off-Broadway musical in history. In 1998, she created the Mama Foundation for the Arts to “preserve and save the music.” The program’s award-winning Gospel for Teens choir was recently profiled on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

Taylor McFerrin

Taylor McFerrin is redefining the term “one-man show.” Combining his skills as a producer and performer, Taylor is making music heads around the world take notice as he seamlessly builds songs from scratch with his ambitious solo project. Vocals, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, samples, and beat boxing are meshed together in his Brooklyn studio as Taylor builds from his roots deep in ‘60s soul to his vision of future hip-hop.

Blitz the Ambassador

With a lightning-fast mind, the political boldness of Chuck D, and the sixth groove sense of Fela Kuti, the Ghanaian-born, New York-based MC, composer, and producer unleashes psychedelic Afrobeat colors and triple-time rhymes. Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Blitz the Ambassador grew up to the sounds of Afro-Beat, Highlife, Jazz, and Motown. But when his older brother introduced him to Public Enemy’s classic album, It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, as a young boy, he was changed forever.

Majora Carter

Radio host, Environmentalist

Majora hosts the Peabody Award winning public-radio series: The Promised Land. She has a long list of awards and honorary degrees, including a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship. She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 when few were talking about "sustainability"; and even fewer, in places like The South Bronx. Since 2008, her consulting company, MCG has exported Climate Adaption, Urban MicroAgriBusiness, and Leadership Development strategies for Business, Government, Foundations, Universities, and economically under-performing communities.

Follow Majora on twitter: @marcuscooks

Carlos Dominguez

Senior VP, Cisco

Carlos Dominguez is a Senior Vice President at Cisco and a technology evangelist, speaking to and motivating audiences worldwide about how technology is changing how we communicate, collaborate, and especially how we work. Dominguez gives humorous, highly animated presentations full of deep insight into how technology, and the right culture, can create winning companies. Drawing from his 20 years at Cisco, he talks about how technology is changing the rules of businesses and how not to get left behind.

Follow Carlos on twitter: @carlosdominguez

Coltrane Curtis

Founder & Creative Director, Team Epiphany

Coltrane Curtis is the owner, founder and creative director of Team Epiphany, a NYC-based influencer marketing and public relations agency. Coltrane's unique talent for brand-building, strategic focus and program implementation has been recognized by the clients he has brought on board.

Follow Coltrane on twitter: @ColtraneCurtis