Keynote Address

Mr. Geoffrey Canada, President & CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone. In his 20-plus years with Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc., Geoffrey Canada has become nationally recognized for his pioneering work helping children and families in Harlem and as a passionate advocate for education reform. In October 2005, Mr. Canada was named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News and World Report. The Zone Project today covers 100 blocks and aims to serve over 10,000 children by 2011.

2013 Award for Excellence and Service

Arnold L. Mitchem, the founding president of the Council for Opportunity in Education received this award. He has been a voice for low-income, first-generation students, individuals with disabilities, adult learners, and veterans throughout his career. The mission of the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) is to advance and defend the ideal of equal educational opportunity in postsecondary education.

Conference Speakers

• Thomas G. Mortenson is Senior Scholar at The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, DC and an independent higher education policy analyst. He focuses on populations that are underrepresented in higher education: low income/ first generation students, underrepresented minorities including blacks, Hispanics and American Indians and boys.
• Dr. Judith Ned is currently the Executive Director of the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program. She is also an instructor with the School of Medicine and in the Department of Urban Studies where she teaches service-learning courses focused on concepts of identity, power, privilege, race, and community-based research.
• Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and educations in the United States. Wise, who was named one of “25 Visionaries Who are Changing Your World” byUtne Readerin 2010, has spoken in all 50 states of the US, on over 800 college and high school campuses and to community groups across the nation.
• Dr. Fred Bonner II is Professor and Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. Prior to this appointment, he was Professor of Higher Education Administration in the Educational Administration and Human Resource Development Department at Texas A&M University College Station.
• Felipe Luciano was born and raised in New York City, he has done pioneering work in fields ranging from community activism to media. As founder and chairman of the Young Lords Party, his commitment to community empowerment, ethnic pride and civil rights was pivotal in changing the color of politics, culture and society from New York to Puerto Rico.