Mitchel Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, develops new technologies, activities, and communities to engage young people in creative learning experiences. His Lifelong Kindergarten research group developed the Scratch programming software and online community, the world’s largest coding platform for kids. He co-founded the Computer Clubhouse project, an international network of after-school learning centers for youth from low-income communities. He is author of the book Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play.

Segment: Keynote

As a graduate of New York University and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s MA Applied Theatre program, Emma spent the first decade of her career working in arts education. In her tenure as the Director of Education at New York City’s Town Hall, she oversaw dance, music, theatre and visual arts programs for NYC students and created theatre residences for seniors and court involved youth. In her current role on the Tech for Social Good/Emerging Talent Programs team at JPMorgan Chase, Emma works on youth programs to build diversity through opportunity and introduction to technology career pathways.

Segment: Pandemic Response

Larry Irving is an internet pioneer and has been involved in the development of Internet policy, politics and technology development for almost three decades. Larry was the first African American inducted into the Internet Hall of fame for his efforts to improve digital equity and for his pioneering efforts to identify and assist in eliminating the “digital divide” in the United States and globally. He currently heads the Irving Group where he assists companies, non-profits, philanthropies and entrepreneurs on business and policy strategies.

Segment: Pandemic Response

Mike Conley is a 6 foot 1, 175 pound, 13 year veteran NBA Point guard who currently plays for the Utah Jazz.

Mike’s highly decorated career began long before he eventually made it to the NBA. Conley attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, where he led the basketball team to three consecutive state championships and an overall record of 103 –7 in his four years as the starting point guard. He was selected to the McDonald's All American Team and named to the Parade All-American Third Team. After completing high school Conley decided to attend The Ohio State University to play basketball at the collegiate level.

During his lone season at Ohio State, Conley helped to lead his team to a Big Ten conference championship and a runner-up finish in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. After his freshman season, Conley decided to enter the NBA draft, and was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, as the 4th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Mike spent the first 12 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies where he eventual became the Grizzlies all-time leader in points, assists, and steals. Mike was traded to the Utah Jazz before the start of the 2019-2020 season, and he is excited to continue his playing career while trying to compete for a championship with his Jazz teammates.

Not only does he excel on the court, but he prides himself on being a role model off the court. Mike is a man of great character who has a passion for giving back to others. He has donated countless hours and resources to aid in closing gaps for all children and for the African American community, specifically pertaining to Health and Wellness, Access/ Opportunities, and Education. Mike has been recognized for his character and his philanthropic efforts throughout his career winning the NBA Sportsmanship Award (3x), being a finalist for the Season Long NBA Community Assist Award (4x) and winning the NBA Teammate of the Year award.

In his spare time, Conley Jr. loves playing golf, playing video games, exploring new technology, hanging with friends, and spending valuable time with his family, especially his wife Mary and their 3 sons Myles, Noah, and Elijah.

Segment: Pandemic Response

Oona King is Snap's first VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Her role is to help build an employee culture that represents the diversity of global users as well as to make Snap a diverse and inclusive company at all levels.

Oona came from Google, where she was director of diversity strategy. She has extensive experience from a variety of industries including technology, media, and politics, having been senior policy advisor to the British Prime Minister on Equalities, Diversity and Faith. She was the second black woman elected to British Parliament earlier in her career, serving for the Labour Party from 1997 to 2005.

She also held head of diversity and inclusion roles at both YouTube and the British Broadcaster, Channel 4. Oona has written for The Guardian, New Statesman, Sunday Telegraph, Express and Observer, and has been a presenter for television and radio documentaries.

Segment: Racial Equity

Brenda Darden Wilkerson is an advocate for access, opportunity, and social justice for underrepresented communities in technology. She currently serves as the President and CEO of AnitaB.org, an organization that connects, inspires, and strives for greater equality for women technologists in business, academia, and government. She founded the original Computer Science for All program, building computer science classes into the curriculum for every student in the Chicago Public Schools, and serving as the inspiration for the Obama administration’s national CS For All initiatives.

Segment: Racial Equity

John B. King Jr. is the president and CEO of The Education Trust, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to identify and close educational opportunity and achievement gaps. King served as U.S. Secretary of Education in the Obama administration. Prior to that role, King carried out the duties of Deputy Secretary, overseeing policies and programs related to P-12 education, English learners, special education, innovation, and agency operations. King joined the department following his post as New York State Education Commissioner. King began his career as a high school social studies teacher and middle school principal.

Segment: Racial Equity

Meka Egwuekwe is co-founder and Executive Director of CodeCrew, a Memphis-based non-profit that specializes in youth and adult computer science education. Prior to founding CodeCrew, Meka had been a professional software developer for more than nineteen years, building software systems for governments and Fortune 500 companies around the world, most recently as Director of Software Development at Lokion Interactive.

Throughout his professional career, Meka has made time to also work with youth and education in various capacities. He has been an Alumni Admissions Representative for Phillips Academy Andover for more than twenty years, served as youth director at his church for more than five years, and has led a spring break college tour for high school students for fifteen years. Meka has been a local leader in the youth coding movement since founding the Memphis Chapter of Black Girls Code in late 2012.

Meka is also a longtime mentor in StartCo’s business and technology accelerators, where he has mentored various companies in tech. Meka also serves on the boards of the National Civil Rights Museum, the Soulsville (Stax) Foundation, the Tennessee Digital Media Council, and the Workforce Investment Network.

Meka has a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Morehouse College and Duke University, respectively. He resides in Memphis with his wife, Pamela, and their two daughters.

Segment: Pandemic Response

Karlie Kloss is an American supermodel, 43-time Vogue cover girl, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Originally from St. Louis, Karlie has walked and shot campaigns for top designers including Oscar de la Renta, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Brandon Maxwell and Versace, and is the face of numerous international campaigns, including Estee Lauder, adidas and Carolina Herrera.

Outside of modeling, Karlie is the founder of Kode With Klossy, a nonprofit focused on creating learning experiences and opportunities for young women that increase their confidence and inspire them to pursue their passions in a technology driven world. The organization hosts free two-week summer coding camps where girls aged 13 to 18 learn the fundamentals of programming in a fun, collaborative and hands-on learning environment. By the end of camp, scholars build their own app or website using programming languages including HTML, Javascript and Swift. Since launching in 2015, Kode With Klossy has reached nearly 5,000 women through its flagship summer camps. Karlie was recognized on the TIME 100 list for her philanthropic work as the founder of Kode With Klossy, and was featured on the covers of Fast Company, Forbes and Entrepreneur for her work to scale the organization.

Segment: Closing the Gaps

Gebre Waddell is an American entrepreneur, author, audio engineer, and software developer from Memphis, Tennessee.

He is best known as CEO and Co-Founder of Sound Credit, author of Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques published by McGraw-Hill, and for audio mastering work for musical artists, including Ministry, Lil' Wayne, Rick Ross and The Greyhounds. Waddell currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs and on the Tennessee Entertainment Commission.

Segment: Closing the Gaps

Dr. Leigh Ann DeLyser has spent her career building the K-12 computer science (CS) field. As a Executive Director of CSforALL (csforall.org), she oversees programs and strategic planning and supervises research to build support for high quality CS education at all levels. A former high school and university CS educator, Leigh Ann understands challenges faced by teachers, administrators, and students developing their competency in the field and accessing high-quality learning opportunities and resources. Her influential “Running on Empty” report guides policies and research that support high-quality program implementation. Previously, Leigh Ann was Director of Research and Education at CSNYC, which built a foundation for CS in New York City public schools. She received a PhD in Computer Science and Cognitive Psychology, with a focus on CS education, from Carnegie Mellon University.

Segment: Prepare the Solvers

Dr. Harris currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and leads the organization’s efforts to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement in communities across the country. He has been involved in math and science education for over 25 years through his philanthropy efforts through the Harris Institute & Foundation.

Prior to NMSI, he was CEO and Managing Partner of Vesalius Ventures, Inc., a venture capital firm, that invests in early to mid stage Healthcare technologies and companies. As CEO, he was responsible for managing a portfolio of private assets of early and mid- stage venture investments and operating companies.

Dr. Harris was at NASA for ten years, where he conducted research in musculoskeletal physiology and clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed in-flight medical devices to extend Astronaut stays in space. A veteran astronaut for over twenty years, he has logged more than 438 hours and traveled over 7.2 million miles in space.

He is a member of the Board of Directors for U.S. Physical Therapy (Nasdaq: USPH), JSA Health, and Monebo Technologies. Dr. Harris serves as a Board of Trustees for Salient Midstream & MLP Fund and Salient MF Trust, and Barings Fund & Trust. In addition, he is on the Board of the National Academy of Medicine, the Texas Medical Center, HealthConnect, National Math and Science Initiative, and the Harris Institute & Foundation.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Houston, a Master of Medical Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Houston and a Doctorate of Medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a National Research Council Fellowship in Endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center and trained as a Flight Surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base. He is also a licensed private pilot and certified scuba diver.

Dr. Harris is the recipient of numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Stony Brook University (SUNY), Morehouse School of Medicine, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Washington & Jefferson College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Hartford and Indiana Institute of Technology, NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Award of Merit, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and was the recipient of the 2000 Horatio Alger Award. He is the author of “Dream Walker: A Journey of Achievement and Inspiration.”

Segment: Prepare the Solvers

Evan Spiegel is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Snap Inc. Snap is a camera company that empowers people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world and have fun together.Evan and Snap co-founder Bobby Murphy created Snapchat while at Stanford University. Today Snap is a publicly traded company with over 210 million daily active users around the world.

In 2017, Evan formed the Spiegel Family Fund, which is committed to philanthropy in California and beyond. Through dedication to the arts, education, housing and human rights, the Fund supports multiple organizations that contribute to human progress. Evan and Snap co-founder Bobby Murphy also created the Snap Foundation, dedicated to developing pathways to the creative economy for underrepresented youth in Los Angeles.

Evan graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Engineering, Product Design. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Miranda and their three children, Flynn, Hart and Myles.

Segment: Pandemic Response

Daryl Chill Mitchell is an actor and accessibility advocate. He plays computer specialist Patton Plame on the hit show NCIS: New Orleans. He has served as a spokesman for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and established the Daryl Mitchell Foundation to promote awareness, education and advocacy for survivors of spinal-cord injuries.

He first came to public attention as a member of the three-man rap group Groove B. The Hudlin Brothers, who directed one of the group’s videos, cast the group in the feature film “House Party” in 1990, where Mitchell had the opportunity to work alongside Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell and other prominent actors. He found the experience so enjoyable that he decided to turn his focus from music to a full-time acting career. He followed “House Party” with appearances in the feature films “Boomerang,” “House Party 2,” “Sgt. Bilko” and “Home Fries.” His more recent films include “The Inside Man” opposite Denzel Washington, “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Lucky Numbers,” “Black Night” and “The Country Bears.” On television, Mitchell was a series regular on “The John Larroquette Show” and “Veronica’s Closet,” and appeared on the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Law and Order,” “The Cosby Show,” “Here and Now,” “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and “I’m With Stupid.” Additionally, Mitchell made guest appearances on “Desperate Housewives,” “Wizards of Waverly Place,” “The Game,” “The Cleveland Show” and “See Dad Run, and Fear the Walking Dead.

In November 2001, Mitchell was sidelined by a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down; however, it never halted his forward momentum. Once he was in control of his wheelchair, Mitchell went back to work and signed on as a series regular for the role of Eli on the series “Ed,” a role which became the basis for the pilot titled “Eli.” Eli’s character gave Mitchell one of his favorite phrases, “Roll or fold,” which encompasses his take on life. Continuing his acting career in television, he starred and produced the series “Brothers.”

Mitchell was born in the Bronx and raised in Wyandanch Long Island, NY with his five brothers and three sisters. Currently, he resides in Atlanta with his wife and three children.

Segment: Pandemic Response

Irma L. Olguin Jr. decided to build a company focused on strengthening the tech industry in Fresno, Calif. and leveraging it as the economic driver to remake the city. In 2019, the company secured one of the largest series A rounds of funding ever for a female Latinx led company. Bitwise Industries now operates with the goal of activating human potential for the technology industry in underdog cities across the U.S. As CEO and co-founder, Irma oversees the company’s operations teams, as well as the technology-focused training program of Geekwise Academy, and software development firm, Shift3 Technologies.

Segment: Design For Diversity

Erin White is the corporate social impact manager for Lockheed Martin Corporation. She oversees the STEM portfolio, including cradle-to-career investments. Prior to her role, Erin served as senior director, product development & research at STEMconnector, where she helped corporate, nonprofit, and education members drive greater impact for their STEM talent education and workforce investments. Previously, she worked at America's Promise, FSG, Booz Allen Hamilton, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has a master's degree in Public Policy & Administration from the London School Of Economics & Political Science, and a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University.

Segment: Design For Diversity

Camie Belgrave is CSforALL’s Director of Programs and Partnerships and focuses on growing the CSforALL movement and increasing member engagement, communication, and services. Prior to joining CSforALL, Camie spent more than a decade at Girl Scouts of the USA, where she served in several roles including grants management, program development, special projects, and more. Most recently, she was responsible for overseeing all of the organization’s award programs including the Highest Awards, for which she developed and implemented new systems, online platforms, and standardized processes for multiple programs and initiatives serving 112 Girl Scout Councils across the country and USA Girl Scouts Overseas, which operates in 97 countries. She worked to elevate the profile of older Girl Scouts by cultivating partnerships with external organizations and through raising more than $1 million in funding to support scholarships and national events. Camie studied finance and management at Long Island University and business administration and computer information systems at St. George’s College.

Segment: CSforALL

Ruthe Farmer is a national advocate for gender equity and diversity in technology, and has focused her efforts on diversity in technology and engineering since 2001. At CSforALL, she serves as Chief Evangelist, working to invite new stakeholders to the CSforALL table - and make the table bigger. Prior to joining CSforALL, Ruthe served as Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy focusing on President Obama’s call to action for Computer Science for All, led strategy and K-12 programs at the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), and implemented national tech and engineering programs at Girl Scouts of the USA. She has launched multiple national inclusion programs including Aspirations in Computing, TECHNOLOchicas, the AspireIT outreach program, Lego Robotics for Girl Scouts, Intel Design & Discovery and more. She served as 2012 Chair of CSEDWeek, was named a White House Champion of Change for Technology Inclusion in 2013, received the Anita Borg Institute Award for Social Impact in 2014, and the UK Alumni Award for Social Impact in 2015. Ruthe holds a BA from Lewis & Clark College and an MBA in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Oxford.

Segment: CSforALL Speakers