DeRay Mckesson is the executive director of Campaign Zero, a social justice organization leading nationwide structural change to create equity and justice in our criminal legal system. Beginning as a youth organizer in Baltimore as a teenager, he has been an advocate and activist on a range of issues impacting people of color for much of his life.

John White began serving as CEO of Great Minds in 2025. He joined the Great Minds team as Chief Success Officer in 2022. Under his leadership, the company more than doubled the size of its services business while also building new customer success, research, and public policy functions. John has also spearheaded partnerships with states across the country, including Texas, where Great Minds provides print, digital, and implementation support for Bluebonnet Math, the new state-approved open education curriculum resource.

John previously served as Louisiana State Superintendent of Education. In that role, John led efforts to unify the state’s fragmented early childhood system, modernize curriculum, improve teacher preparation, and overhaul state educational standards. Over the decade spanning John’s tenure, Louisiana ranked in the top 10 states for improvement on every one of the four main Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) tests.

Before that, John led the Louisiana Recovery School District, helping transform New Orleans schools after Hurricane Katrina, and was Deputy Chancellor for the New York City Department of Education. He served as Executive Director of Teach For America Chicago and Teach For America New Jersey. John started his career teaching high school English in Jersey City, N.J.

John is co-founder of Propel America, a non-profit startup connecting recent high school graduates with good first jobs, and Watershed Advisors, a consultancy to governments scaling high-impact education initiatives. He is a director at the Boston-based training company QBS; at Accelerate, which supports education leaders; and at New Schools for New Orleans. John also is an Education Advisory Council member at the global consultancy Alvarez & Marsal.

John earned a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in public administration from New York University, and doctorate in education from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and three children.

Linnea Conrad Roberts is a former advisory director to Goldman Sachs and is the current Founder & CEO of GingerBread Capital, which builds and invests in women’s entrepreneurial success. As a Managing Partner in the technology sector at Goldman Sachs, she led many a start-up from launch to IPO. She also served as Goldman’s diversity ambassador to recruit, retain and promote more women into leadership positions with the firm and within the finance industry.

David Kenny is the executive chairman at Nielsen and previously assumed the roles of chief executive officer and chief diversity officer. Kenny has spent his career in data science and artificial intelligence, especially focused on the retail, marketing, and media industries.

Christine (Christy) Burton is co-founder and chair of The Burton Family Foundation, an Arizona-based philanthropy and supporting organization of the Arizona Community Foundation. The Burton Family Foundation invests primarily in education and human services organizations across Arizona that advance individual achievement and recognize the dignity of all people. Christine also serves on Teach For America's Phoenix regional board.

Ken Mehlman is a social entrepreneur, with experience driving change via business, public policy, politics & the social sector. He is a Partner & Co-Head of Global Impact at KKR. Since joining KKR in 2008, Ken has architected KKR’s responsible investment efforts that seek to create shared value for KKR investors and other stakeholders. He has also worked to identify investment opportunities by leveraging geopolitical, public policy & sustainability trends.

Since 2018, Daniel R. Porterfield, Ph.D. has served as President and CEO of the Aspen Institute—a global nonprofit organization founded in 1949 to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. He has been recognized as a visionary strategist, leader, and advocate for young people and purpose-driven leadership. A lifelong educator and former college president, he is the author of the 2024 book, Mindset Matters: The Power of College to Activate Lifelong Growth.

Since 2004, Dr. Michael L. Lomax has served as president and CEO of UNCF, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to African American students and a leading advocate of college readiness: students’ need for an education from pre-school through high school, that prepares them for college success. Under his leadership, UNCF has raised more than $3 billion and helped more than 110,000 students earn college degrees and launch careers.

Lindy Schumacher is Chief Executive Officer of Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to having a long-term, meaningful impact on college attendance and graduation rates for students growing up in economically and educationally under-resourced communities in greater Las Vegas.

Steve Mandel is the founder of Lone Pine Capital, a public equity asset management firm that he started in 1997.