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Sherniece Johnson-Smith is the eldest daughter of Rosa and Joe Johnson. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She attended public schools and is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical H.5. Sherniece obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Arts and Advertising Production Management from New York City Technical College; she earned her Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA and is a graduate of the NYU Appraisal Studies Program. Sherniece is married to Darnell P. Smith (a Brooklyn business owner); they have two daughters, Epyana and Arrajah. The Smiths reside in Bedford Stuyvesant.

A graduate of Cornell University. Bianca Biscaino began her career at Rainbow Media in 2003, as an Assistant in the Event Marketing department at The Independent Film Channel (IFC). Her commitment to making an impact in the media and entertainment industry coupled with her passion for television allowed her to quickly transition into IFC’s Original Programming department, where she is currently a development executive, managing both scripted and non-fiction series.

Laurel Brown, an entrepreneur and corporate attorney, started volunteering with PR-G in 2008. Influenced by her love of real estate and finance and by lessons learned as a Brooklyn home and business owner, Laurel is a big proponent of what she calls an "investment-ality" for young black America -- a mentality that focuses on investing quality time, money and energy into our personal, spiritual, social and financial growth and development. Throughout college and law school, Laurel studied community investment and development. Then in her early years as an attorney she practiced commercial real estate and corporate financing in two of the countries' top corporate law firms.

In 1991 Juan De La Cruz Joined the McDonald's system as a "Registered Applicant" (management training for the future owners). He attended Hamburger University in Chicago and won the Distinguished Hat Award. In 1997, he was awarded his first store at Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. and in 2002 he was awarded his second store on Broadway in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY. He is the proud owner of these restaurants with a total of ninety five employees. Juan is actively involved in the community. He believes community involvement is not only good for business, but also it is the right thing to do.

Desiree A. Byrd, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pathology at the Mt Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.Trained as a clinician-scholar at the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in clinical psychology, she completed her predoctoral internship at Brown University and a post-doctoral fellowship in Cognition and Aging at Columbia University. Since completing her training, she has maintained an active research program as a neuropsychologist. Her primary research interests are in the neuropathogenesis of HIV-associated cognitive dysfunction and the sources and consequences of culture-related differences in neuropsychological test performance among American ethnic groups.

Sgt. Marcus Calliste Sr. is a Photojournalist for the United States Air Force. He is a highly experienced and dedicated leader with a strong background in operational, project, and program management. Able to plan, staff, budget, and supervise operations involving hundreds of employees and millions of dollars worth of equipment and facilities. Prepare and deliver precise reports and collaborate with senior managers, including local, state and federal officials. His experiences enable him to motivate, coach, and evaluate staff. He thrives in stressful environments, ensuring focused decision making and excellent management and leadership at all times. Mr. Calliste currently holds Department of Defense (DoD) Top Secret: (TS/SCI) Security Clearance.

TedP was born in Georgetown, Guyana. His family came to NY in the mid 90's where he was first introduced to Hip Hop. Throughout his high school years, he honed his writing ability. Shortly after, he enrolled in college, started producing music, and took multiple African Culture Courses. It was in college where he bumped intoBarnabas

For 20 years, Oma S. Holloway has served in management with national and local not-for-profit organizations in New York City, including National Urban League, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Public Service Corps and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Currently, Ms. Holloway is the Director of Career Services for the Career and Education Services Department of The Door- A Center of Alternatives. As the Director of Career Services, Ms. Holloway is responsible for the implementation and management of the workforce and/or educational development and placement needs of approximately 600 out of school youth, predominantly vulnerable youth, between the ages of 17 and 22 years. Prior to joining The Door-A Center of Alternatives in March 2009, she served as the Project Manager/Consultant to assist Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporations new start up initiative, NYC Justice Corps. The NYC Justice Corps offered formerly incarcerated youth between the ages of 17 and 24, intensive work readiness training, case management support, internship, service projects and permanent job placement within their home community. From 2003-2008, Ms. Holloway served as the Director of Family Dynamics, a division of SCO Family of Services. Family Dynamics is a community-based organization providing preventive services, school based/youth development programs, and adult literacy to families and youth in Central Brooklyn.

Raised among gangs, drugs, violence and other struggles associated with Bed-Stuy and other economically disadvantaged communities, Barnabas Shakur became empowered after the tragic life sentence of his 19 year old best friend. On his road to invoking change within his community, he has managed to become a multi-award winning social entrepreneur.

Charlene Turner, SPHR is the Director of Organizational Development for The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education. Prior to joining the non-profit in 2008, she founded and managed a small business supporting entrepreneurs by developing online marketing plans and helping to streamline business practices. With more than 8 years corporate human resource management and support service experience, she specializes in improving business efficiencies by leveraging technology and best-practice project management processes.

Charlene studied sociology at Hunter College in New York City, received certification in Human Resource Management from New York Institute of Technology, and achieved the Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) designation in 2010. She is a long-time member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Passionate about volunteerism and youth leadership, Charlene previously served as a youth volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club of America, and is currently on the advisory board of Project Regeneration (PR-G) in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn.