Marcus E. Cheeks is currently serving as the Executive Director of Federal Programs at the Mississippi Department of Education. Mr. Cheeks holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tougaloo College, a Master of Science Degree from Jackson State University, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Mississippi.  Mr. Cheeks served as an Officer in the Mississippi Army National Guard for eleven years.  

Mr. Cheeks has an extensive background in working with high-risk/low-income youth and utilizing federal programs to address their academic and social needs.  Mr. Cheeks has served as an active member of the National Title I Association (NASTID) for nine years holding the office of Vice-President in 2014 and in February 2015, Mr. Cheeks began his one-year tenure as NASTID President.  Mr. Cheeks is also an ordained minister and has served for the past nine years as the Pastor of True Light Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson, MS.  There he oversees 175 members and 12 ministries.

Kati Haycock is one of the nation's leading advocates in the field of education. She currently serves as President of The Education Trust. Established in 1996, the Trust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-kindergarten through college. The organization's goal is to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement that consign too many low-income students and students of color to lives on the margins of the American mainstream.

Margaret R. (Peggy) McLeod, Ed.D. serves as Deputy Vice President of Education and Workforce Development at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in Washington, DC. Dr. McLeod served as Executive Director of Student Services in the Alexandria (VA) City Public Schools. She was Assistant Superintendent for Special Education in the District of Columbia (DC) Office of the State Superintendent of Education. She has also served as State Title III Director, Director of the Office of Bilingual Education, Title VII Coordinator, bilingual program developer, and ESL teacher in DC. She worked at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services from 1995–2001. In her native Puerto Rico, she taught in two Montessori schools and owned a center that provided afterschool services to students with disabilities. She has been a member of the National Board of Education Sciences since 2010.
Dr. McLeod holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Puerto Rico, an M.A. in Special Education from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Bilingual Special Education Leadership from the George Washington University.

From his celebrated conversations with world figures to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders, Tavis Smiley — broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate, and philanthropist — has emerged as an outstanding voice for change. Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS, as well as The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI).

Smiley has written 18 books. His memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times Bestseller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on The New York Times Bestseller’s list.

In the New York Times Bestseller, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, Smiley and his co-author Dr. Cornel West challenge all Americans to re-examine their assumptions about poverty in America — what it really is and how to eradicate it.

His most recent text is My Journey with Maya, a remarkable story of friendship, love and courage.  In this book, Smiley shares personal memories of his twenty-eight year friendship with Maya Angelou, one of history’s most fascinating women.

My Journey With Maya is being adapted as a stage play by Tony-winning director Kenny Leon, and Smiley's 2014 New York Times Bestseller, Death of a King: The Real Story of  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Year, is being produced as a television series special by Emmy-winner J.J. Abrams in partnership with Warner Brothers. 

The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation is in the midst of a $3 million four-year campaign called ENDING POVERTY: America’s Silent Spaces to alleviate endemic poverty in America. 

TIME magazine has cited Smiley as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People,” and Mr. Smiley has been honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ann Whalen is senior advisor to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Prior to returning to the U.S. Department of Education, she served as the director of policy for Education Post. Whalen has served more than five years in the Obama Administration with the U.S. Department of Education. At the department, Ann was director of the Implementation and Support Unit, providing technical assistance to states and school districts as they rolled out new reform programs to improve student results. In that role, she managed a 35-member team and a portfolio of over $50 billion in grant programs. She also served as a special assistant to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, helping shape administration policy across a range of issues. She also worked with Duncan at Chicago Public Schools for six years and served in the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development under the administration of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. She has B.A. in political science from Stanford University.