Dr. Regina Benjamin MD, MBA was appointed by President Barack Obama as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service. As ‘America‘s Doctor’, she provided the public with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and the health of the nation. Dr. Benjamin also oversaw the operational command of 6,500 uniformed health officers who served in locations around the world to promote, protect, and advance the health of the American People. Dr. Benjamin is Founder and Former CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama, former Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University Of South Alabama College Of Medicine in Mobile, and Past Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States. In 1995, she was the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. She served as President of the American Medical Association Education and Research Foundation and Chair of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA). In 2002, she became President of the Medical Association State of Alabama, making her the first African-American female president of a State Medical Society in the United States. Dr. Benjamin has a BS in chemistry from Xavier University, New Orleans; MD degree from the University of Alabama, Birmingham; an MBA from Tulane University and eleven honorary doctorates. She attended Morehouse School of Medicine and completed her family medicine residency in Macon, Ga. She established a clinic in a small fishing village in Alabama to ithelp its uninsured residents. Dr. Benjamin persevered through Hurricane Georges in 1998, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a devastating fire, in 2006, often putting up her own money to cover expenses. She also became nationally prominent for her business acumen and humane approach to preventive medicine.

Dr. Kristel Carrington is a Psychiatry Specialist in New York City. She graduated with honors from Yale University School Of Medicine in 2012. Having more than 5 years of diverse experiences, especially in Psychiatry.

Dr. Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. is professor of medicine and public health at George Washington University and president emeritus of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). He also serves as chairman of the board of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine. Dr. Cohen is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Medical School and completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine on the Harvard service at the Boston City Hospital. He also completed a fellowship in nephrology at the Tufts-New England Medical Center. He has authored more than 100 publications and he is a former editor of Kidney International‘s Nephrology Forum. As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) from 1994 to 2006, Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. led the Association‘s support and service to the nation‘s medical schools and teaching hospitals. As the voice of academic medicine for more than a decade, Dr. Cohen also spoke extensively on the need to promote greater racial and ethnic diversity in medicine, to uphold professional and scientific values, and to transform the nation‘s health care system. Dr. Cohen currently serves on board of the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science & Community Development and he chairs the Journal Oversight Committee of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Dr. Joycelyn Elders was the first African-American woman Surgeon General and the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified in pediatric endocrinology. Dr. Elders attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock, AR on a scholarship. After college, Elders joined the Army and trained in physical therapy. In 1956, she enrolled at the University of Arkansas Medical School. Dr. Elders did an internship in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, and completed her residency at the University of Arkansas. She earned her master’s degree in biochemistry in 1967 and she became a full professor in 1976. In 1993, President Clinton appointed Dr. Elders U.S. Surgeon General where she served until 1995. Today, she is a professor emeritus at the University Of Arkansas School Of Medicine and remains active in public health education.

Dr. Jennifer Ellis is an attending cardiothoracic surgeon at Washington Hospital Center since 2002. Prior to joining the Hospital Center, Dr. Ellis was an attending physician at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif. Dr. Ellis is the current President of the Hospital Center’s Medical and Dental Staff. Dr. Ellis has a B.A. from Yale University (1985), an M.D. from Jefferson Medical College (1990) and an MBA from John Hopkins University (2006). Dr. Ellis completed her residency in surgery at New York Medical College, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in Bronx New York and was the Chief Resident of General Surgery there from 1996-1997. Dr. Ellis was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and has membership in a number of medical societies including the American Medical Association, National Medical Association, Association of Women Surgeons, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons, among others.

Dr. Antonia Francis is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Rosedale, New York and is affiliated with St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. She received her medical degree from Albany Medical College and has been in practice for 5 years.

Dr. Marilyn Hughes Gaston is the first African-American woman to direct a Public Health Service Bureau. Dr. Gaston initially studied zoology at Miami University in Ohio and then enrolled at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine, where she was one of only six women and the only African-American woman in her class. She earned her medical degree in pediatrics in 1964. After earning her degree, Dr. Gaston rejected an offer to practice medicine in a middle-class neighborhood in Cincinnati, instead choosing to help establish a community health center in the low-income neighborhood of Lincoln Heights, Ohio. In 1986, while working at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Gaston published the results of a sickle cell disease study that led to a nationwide screening program to test newborns for immediate treatment. One of the most significant conclusions of her study was that the complications of sickle cell disease could be avoided with early treatment, a life-saving practice that became a central policy of the U.S. Public Health Service.

Dr. Lynne Holden is currently an Attending Physician in the Emergency Department at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. She is an Assistant Professor and an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Additionally, Dr. Holden is the founder and director of, Mentoring in Medicine, a program geared towards providing enriching experiences for young people that want to go to medical school. Dr. Holden is the recipient of a number of awards including The Inspirer Award from the Emmanuel Foundation; the Community Health Leaders Award, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the 2009 Woman of the Year, from The National Council of Negro Women, Inc., North Bronx Section, and numerous others. She has also been featured on CNN and Lifetime for her work in the community.

Clara Y. Jones comes from a medial family and felt drawn to medicine at an early age. Her father is a surgeon, her sister Camara and her twin, Camille, are physicians. Direct patient are is critical to her, and in all of her positions she is careful to maintain that responsibility and privilege. Dr. Jones graduated cum laude from Harvard University, receiving her AB in biology in 1977 and her MD four years later. She has practiced in a number of different arenas in New York,; as faculty for a primary care residency training program, at the New York State Department of Health IDAS Institute, in a substance abuse residential therapeutic community, and in several neighborhood health centers. Dr. Jones has taught physical diagnosis techniques to medical students and has been a clinical preceptor, or teacher/supervisor, for medical residents. She returned to Boston in 2000 to pursue a master’s in public health from the Harvard University School of Public Health and then joined the Tufts School of Medicine as a physician researcher. Most recently she has worked as the medical director for a residential detox program, a lead physician for a Suboxone treatment program operating within a community health center, and as an urgent are physician.

Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O. was the first African American woman to be appointed dean of a United States medical school, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of Ohio University, where she served until 2001. Born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in a housing project, Barbara Ross-Lee faced discrimination as a young African American woman. However, she persevered and began her pre-medical studies at Detroit’s Wayne State University in 1960. Due to discrimination from her pre-medical advisor, Ross graduated with a B.S. in biology and chemistry, abandoned her goal of becoming a doctor, and went on to pursue teaching. In 1969, Michigan State University opened a school of osteopathic medicine and Ross was accepted. As a single mother, she needed help with childcare to be able to focus on her studies, so she sold her house and moved in with her mother. After graduating from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1973, Dr. Ross-Lee ran a solo family practice in Detroit until 1984, when she joined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a consultant on education in the health professions.

Dr. Aletha Maybank is the recently appointed Deputy Commissioner in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and she has served as Director of the Brooklyn District Public Health Office located in Central Brooklyn since April 2009. Prior to this, Dr. Maybank was Founding Director of the Office of Minority Health (OMH) in the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in Long Island, NY, since its launch in 2005. In 2007, Dr. Maybank, along with faculty at the Center for Public Health and Health Policy Research at Stony Brook University; co-founded the Suffolk County Minority Health Action Coalition, which now involves over 50 community stakeholders, all interested in improving the health outcomes of minority communities in Suffolk County. Currently, Dr. Maybank serves on the Board of the New York State Public Health Association. She also serves on the voluntary faculty as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the SUNY (State University of New York) Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Dr. Maybank holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University, an MD from Temple University School of Medicine and a MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is Board Certified in both Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine/Public Health.

Dr. Karen Morris-Priester is a board-certified anesthesiologist. She gained national attention in 2007 when she appeared as a guest on a segment of the Oprah Winfrey Show entitled “Cheers to You” where Morris-Priester, a single mother of five, was recognized for her extraordinary accomplishment of putting herself through college and medical school while working full-time and raising her family. Morris-Priester began medical school at the age of 40 and while at Yale, she was very active in service to the community–locally, nationally, and internationally. As national vice-president of the Student National Medical Association, she organized and participated in multiple health fairs in New Haven and across the country as well as planning and participating in a medical mission to Ghana. Through her work with REMEDY at Yale, she was responsible for sending medical supplies to developing countries. Her activities earned her many rewards, including the Dean’s Prize for Community Service. After graduating from Yale, she completed her residency in Anesthesiology in a Harvard affiliated residency program at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Karen Morris-Priester is a board-certified anesthesiologist. She gained national attention in 2007 when she appeared as a guest on a segment of the Oprah Winfrey Show entitled “Cheers to You” where Morris-Priester, a single mother of five, was recognized for her extraordinary accomplishment of putting herself through college and medical school while working full-time and raising her family. Morris-Priester began medical school at the age of 40 and while at Yale, she was very active in service to the community–locally, nationally, and internationally. As national vice-president of the Student National Medical Association, she organized and participated in multiple health fairs in New Haven and across the country as well as planning and participating in a medical mission to Ghana. Through her work with REMEDY at Yale, she was responsible for sending medical supplies to developing countries. Her activities earned her many rewards, including the Dean’s Prize for Community Service. After graduating from Yale, she completed her residency in Anesthesiology in a Harvard affiliated residency program at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Claudia L. Thomas made history when she became the first Black woman orthopedic surgeon in the United States in 1980. Dr. Thomas was also the first woman graduate of Yale University Orthopedic Program. While serving at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Thomas assisted in recruiting the largest number of minorities ever to train in orthopedics at Johns Hopkins. She is currently a partner in the Tri-County Orthopedic Center in Leesburg, Florida with two former students. Dr. Thomas received her medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed her orthopedic surgical residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. She completed a trauma fellowship at Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services, University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Thomas has written an autobiography about her life entitled, God Spare Life.

Dr. Rashele Yarborough, graduated from Yale Medical School with an MD/PhD degree in May 2012. Currently she is a resident of Family Medicine at Middlesex Hospital Program where she shares her passion for nurturing healthy children and families in underserved communities. Her Track of Excellence unsurprisingly focused on Community Medicine. She transitioned her PhD research on inner city school air quality into work on teen violence prevention, including service on the Connecticut Governor’s Commission on Youth Violence. She also served as a mentor for black women entering careers in medicine. After graduation she entered outpatient practice in a Connecticut Community Health Center.

Guru Madeleine has learned to believe in the power of God to manifest man’s personal desires most perfectly in His perfect timing. As an educator and administrator in the New York City public school system, it was Guru’s desire to demonstrate that any child—no matter how disconnected intellectually he or she appeared to be—could succeed. Through this desire, she was able to elevate the intellectual capability of her students and the consciousness of her fellow educators and administrators. Seeing the almost miraculous success of her students led her to believe that within each of us there is unlimited, untapped potential. Guru’s dedication to this belief led her away from her work as an outer educator in order to examine more carefully how she achieved what she achieved with others. It began her inner education to understand the relationship between personal desire and God’s desire. It began her introduction to the unknown realms of self. Through many years of self-exploration, a program emerged called S.E.L.F. (Sane Enlightened Life Force). Exemplary in its ability to assist others in the awareness of themselves, it ignited the true educator and humanitarian within her. Guru’s work as a S.E.L.F. motivational counselor and consultant has helped untold numbers of people to heighten a belief in higher consciousness. It eventually led her to the formation of the New School of Learning, in New Rochelle, New York, which focused on imparting the teachings as she herself was taught by Divine Intelligence. It is within the New School of Learning that she has demonstrated unequivocally the existence of Divine Intelligence and has developed a brand new approach to education. In conjunction with the New School of Learning, The S.E.L.F.-Help Foundation was incorporated, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization designed to produce thought patterns, mindsets, and belief systems needed to develop self-sufficient, independent, and responsible behavior. A social organization—The Poet’s Corner—was also formed to serve as a venue through which creative unfolding of students could be expressed. At this point in her life, Guru dedicates herself to the expansion of the work and the carrying forward of the new approach to education that she has discovered. Within this discovery, she states unequivocally that humanism cannot be separated from Divine Intelligence: Through her program she has demonstrated the importance of God at the center of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual evolution. She also states that to become fully human one must first become a lover of truth and must dare to take the risk of traveling down the path that only faith and trust can unfold. She has taken that path and has profited through receiving the answer to her quest: to understand that there is no separation between God and man except in man’s consciousness. Guru received her B.A. from Hunter College, her M.S. from Hofstra University, and was accepted into the doctoral program at Columbia University, but chose to discontinue that study in order to follow the higher teachings of Divine Intelligence. In 2006, she won the New Rochelle NAACP Entrepreneur Award; in 2008, she won the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Women of Excellence Award in the Humanitarian category; and in 2012, she won the Community Spirit Award from the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence. In 2015, her first book, Cooking from Within: Telepathically Received Recipes from The Holy Order of Yodh, was published by Dorrance Publishing Co. Finally, she has been the hostess since 2012 of “The Power Within” on WVOX.com, a weekly radio program designed to share her new approach to education with others―so that listeners can learn how the quality of our thoughts determines the quality of our lives, and how Divine Thought (with our discipline and conscious cooperation) can change our thoughts from fear into love.

Crystal Emery is known for producing narratives aimed at creating a more equitable society. She is the Founder and CEO of URU The Right To Be, Inc., a nonprofit content production company that addresses issues at the intersection of humanities, arts, and sciences. Emery is a member of the Producers Guild of America and New York Women in Film and Television, and was selected in 2019 as an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador. She has designed and produced several groundbreaking Virtual Reality Learning Experiences. Emery has been hailed as “inspiring” by the Los Angeles Times and as a “leader in science and technology” in the Good Housekeeping feature “50 over 50: Women Who Are Changing the World.” She has extensive publishing credits, both independently and with established publishers including in TIME, Variety, Ms.Magazine.com, Rebecca Minkoff Superwoman and HuffPost. Other published works include Stat! An Action Plan for Replacing the Broken System of Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine with a New Paradigm, published by the National Academy of Medicine; the unique biographical essay books Against All Odds: Black Women in Medicine and Master Builders of the Modern World: Reimagining the Face of STEM; and the first two volumes of her Little Man children’s book series.

Roslyn Meyer is an ardent believer in the power of the arts to change the world for the better – to promote empathy, honesty, dialogue, and growth. She is a community activist, philanthropist, and advocate in the fields of arts, education, social justice, and medicine.

In 1994, JoAnn came to Farmington Connecticut for the express purpose of founding what has become Fairview Capital Partners. Encouraged by members of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), JoAnn became the catalyst for significant change in the way institutional investors approached diversity through investment. Today the entire industry’s lexicon and initiatives around emerging managers and diversity in private equity investment can be traced to JoAnn’s pioneering efforts. JoAnn is admired for her leadership and well known for her for her energy, her enthusiasm, and her generosity. Her community involvement credits are vast and she leads by example encouraging her colleagues to generous with their time talent and resources.

Ted Maynard is the owner of the Media Arts Center of Orange. He offers a vast range of editing services, professional DVD mastering, transcription, duplication, and package design. The Media Arts Center of Orange specializes in foreign language conversion (voice-overs, subtitles), commercials, demo reels, training videos, and documentaries. Since 2013, the Media Arts Center of Orange has edited numerous documentaries for PBS and ABC, including the documentary Guadalupe: The Miracle and the Message, a number-one selling documentary on Amazon.com.

Bobby Shepard is one of media’s most respected cinematographers and is credited as Director of Photography or Producer in more than 200 documentary, dramatic, commercial, and sports films. Bobby first earned praise for his camera work in Eyes on the Prize, the Emmy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated PBS multi-part documentary on the Civil Rights Movement. Since then he has been Director of Photography or Producer for virtually every major documentary film series on television, including projects with Bill Moyers on PBS, HBO’s America Undercover, PBS’s LIFE 360, ABC News Nightline UpClose, A&E Biography and The American Experience on PBS. Bobby’s latest projects include Freedom Riders (PBS), Harry Belafonte: Sing Your Song, and Death Rattler (Black Ace Films).

Jason’s introduction to film began at an early age through his parents, Sam and Glenda. As a result of their influence, Jason studied film at New York University. In 2007, he co-edited Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. He also co-edited Sing Your Song, a documentary about the life of singer/activist Harry Belafonte which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In 2012, he edited the PBS documentary Slavery by Another Name, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Jason received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film & Television and a Master’s in Cinema Studies, both from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Bill Toles is an Audelco Award winner and a multiple Grammy nominee. He works across specialties as a composer, designer, director, creator and producer in theater, film, performance, installation art and music. His credits include Sekou Sundiata, Craig Harris, Meshell Ndegeocello, Arrested Development, Caron Wheeler, Shimon Attie, Rodney Evans, Yoruba Richen, St. Clair Bourne, PBS American Masters, Dianne McIntyre, Olu Dara, Avery Brooks, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, Amiri Baraka, Tongues of Fire Choir, New Federal Theater, Garth Fagan Dance, the Vision Festival, Schoolhouse Theatre, Metropolitan Playhouse, Downtown Urban Theater Festival, The All-Stars Project, and The Black Rock Coalition.