Imagining a Radical
Future for Racial Justice

Ray Colmenar

Raymond Colmenar is the new president of Akonadi Foundation. He comes to Akonadi Foundation from The California Endowment, where he spent 16 years playing various leadership roles that gave him hands-on experience in strategic planning, program design and implementation, and organizational redesign and development. Most recently, he served as The Endowment’s Managing Director of the Northern California regional team and the statewide Inclusive Community Development team, managing nearly $20 million in grantmaking annually.

Previously, he led The Endowment’s Bay Area regional office, which made significant investments in Oakland and Alameda County; helped plan and implement the recently completed 10-year Building Healthy Communities strategy, which evolved to prioritize power building as a core component; and co-led the strategy development and implementation of the Sons & Brothers program aimed at addressing structural racism and improving the well-being of boys and young men of color. Ray also worked collaboratively with other foundation leaders to create and launch California Funders for Boys and Men of Color, a network of foundation leaders dedicated to removing barriers and advancing opportunities for youth of color, their families, and communities.

Prior to joining The Endowment, Ray was one of the founding staff members who helped launch PolicyLink, now a leading national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity. In addition, Ray was a senior research associate at The Rockefeller Foundation, executive director of South of Market Problem Solving Council (now South of Market Community Action Network), and a policy analyst for the San Francisco Department of Human Services. He received a bachelor’s degree in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Ray was born in Manila, Philippines, grew up in San Diego, and now lives in Albany with his wife, Fatima Angeles. Their daughter, Isabela, and son, Alessandro, are currently studying at UC Berkeley and San Diego State. When time permits, Ray loves playing golf with his good friends.

Quinn Delaney

Quinn Delaney is the founder and board chair of Akonadi Foundation, which provides support to Oakland organizations working toward racial equity. She was appointed by President Biden to the Commission on Presidential Scholars. Since 2019, she has served as a Commissioner on the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She is on the board of Planned Parenthood Action, Women Donors Network Action and the Oakland Museum of California.

Quinn is involved in policy work at the state level. She is chair of the board of the California Donor Table, which works to develop progressive governance by resourcing community organizations throughout the state, and a member of Smart Justice California, which works to pass criminal justice reform in California.

Quinn is a principal of Jordan Real Estate Investments, which has invested in and developed many commercial and residential projects in Oakland since 1998.

Wayne Jordan

Wayne Jordan is the founder, President, and CEO of Jordan Real Estate Investments, an Oakland-based real estate development firm founded in 1998. The firm’s approach focuses on building long-term real estate investments to enhance and improve communities. Its portfolio includes commercial, residential, mixed-use, and industrial projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Additionally, Wayne Jordan is the co-founder and Secretary-Treasurer of Akonadi Foundation, whose mission is to support the development of powerful social change movements to eliminate structural racism and create a racially just society. Since 2000, the family foundation has funded organizations primarily in Oakland, focusing on ending the criminalization of people of color.
For over four decades, Wayne has supported social justice causes and has been very active in local, state, and national politics. Wayne serves on the Board of Directors for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Color of Change, Rock the Vote, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, SPUR, the Jobs and Housing Coalition, and the advisory board of the UC Berkeley Fisher Center For Real Estate and Urban Economics.

When Wayne is not working, you can find him enjoying a round of golf.

Heather McGhee

Heather designs and promotes solutions to inequality in America. Over her career in public policy, Heather has crafted legislation, testified before Congress and helped shape presidential campaign platforms. Her book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was longlisted for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The New York Times called it, “The book that should change how progressives talk about race.” and the Chicago Tribune said, “Required reading to

move the country forward…”. It is a Washington Post and TIME Magazine Must-Read Book of 2021. The paperback version was released in February 2022 and the book was adapted into a Spotify podcast by Higher Ground, the production company of Barack and Michelle Obama in June 2022. A young adult readers’ version of The Sum of Us was released by Random House Children’s in 2023 and was selected as a Best Teen and Young Adult Non-Fiction book of that year by Kirkus Reviews.

Heather is an educator and most recently served as a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Urban Studies at the City University of New York’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. She has also held visiting positions at Yale University’s Brady-Johnson Grand Strategy Program and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. She is the recipient of honorary degrees from Muhlenberg College, Niagara University, and CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy.

For nearly two decades, Heather helped build the non-partisan “think and do” tank Demos, serving four years as president. Under McGhee’s leadership, Demos moved their original idea for “debt-free college” into the center of the 2016 presidential debate, argued before the Supreme Court to protect voting rights in January 2018, helped win pro-voter reforms in five states over two years, provided expert testimony to Congressional committees, including a Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 2017, and led the research campaigns behind successful wage increases for low-paid workers on federal contracts, as well as at McDonalds, Walmart and other chain retailers.

As an executive, McGhee transformed Demos on multiple levels. She led a successful strategic planning and rebranding process. She designed a Racial Equity Organizational Transformation which led to an increase in staff racial diversity (from 27 percent people of color to 60 percent in four years), an original racial equity curriculum for staff professional development and a complete overhaul of the organization’s research, litigation and campaign strategies using a racial equity lens. McGhee also nearly doubled the organizational budget in four years. A strong coalition-builder and trusted cross-movement leader, McGhee deepened Demos’ influence through new networks and collaborations inside and outside the Beltway.

An influential voice in the media and a former NBC contributor, McGhee regularly appears on NBC’s Meet the Press and MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Deadline White House and All In. Her 2020 TED talk is entitled “Racism Has a Cost for Everyone”. She has shared her opinions, writing and research in numerous outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Politico and National Public Radio. McGhee’s conversation on a C- SPAN program in 2016 with a white man who asked for her help to overcome his racial prejudice went viral, receiving more than 10 million views and sparking wide media coverage that included a New York Times op-ed, a New Yorker piece and a CNN town hall. In spring 2018, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz asked McGhee to advise the company as it designed an anti-bias training for 250,000 employees in the wake of the unjust arrest of two black men in a Philadelphia store. McGhee wrote a report with recommendations for how Starbucks can apply a racial equity lens to their businesses, and how other companies both large and small can benefit from doing the same.

McGhee also played a leadership role in steering the historic Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and was one of the key advocates credited for the adoption of the Volcker Rule.

She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law,. McGhee is the chair of the board of Color Of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, and also serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Open Society Foundations’ US Programs and Demos.

For more information, please visit www.heathermcghee.com and follow Heather on Twitter: @hmcghee and Instagram and Facebook: @HeatherCMcGhee

Dr. Manuel Pastor

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC.

Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities.

Maurice Mitchell

Maurice Mitchell is a nationally recognized political strategist and visionary leader in
the Movement for Black Lives. Raised by Caribbean working-class parents, he began
organizing as a teenager and never stopped. After working for several grassroots
advocacy organizations in his home state, Maurice directed the NY State Civic
Engagement Table. In the wake of the police murder of Mike Brown, he relocated to
Ferguson and helped build the Movement for Black Lives. He went on to co-found
and lead Blackbird, a movement anchor organization, and was a key organizer of the
Movement for Black Lives convention in Cleveland in 2015. In 2018, Maurice took the
helm of the Working Families Party where he is applying his passion and experience
to make WFP the political home for a multi-racial working-class movement.

Alex Tom

Alex is the Executive Director of the Center For Empowered Politics, a capacity building hub that supports grassroots organizations and leaders of color and grows movement infrastructure at the intersection of racial justice, organizing and electoral. He has over 20 years of experience organizing for racial and economic justice. Alex has led campaigns to organize low wage immigrant workers, winning millions of dollars in back wages and has helped to build resilient multi-entity power building infrastructure regionally and nationally, including Resilient Strategies LLC, an operations backend hub that provides values aligned infrastructure for c3s, c4s, LLCs and PACs.

Alicia Garza

Alicia believes that Black communities deserve what all communities deserve — to be powerful in every aspect of their lives. An author, political strategist, organizer, and cheeseburger enthusiast, Alicia founded the Black Futures Lab in 2018 to make Black communities powerful in politics. In 2023, the Black Futures Lab conducted the Black Census Project — the largest survey of Black communities in US history.

Alicia is the co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, an international organizing project to end state violence and oppression against Black people. The Black Lives Matter Global Network now has 40 chapters in four countries.

She currently serves as the Senior Vice President for Movement Infrastructure and Explorations at the Freedom Together Foundation. Alicia is the co-founder of Supermajority, a new home for women’s activism, and a Senior Advisor to the President at the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Alicia has become a powerful voice in the media, contributing expert commentary on politics, race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. Her work has been featured in Time, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian.

She has received numerous accolades and recognitions, including being on the cover of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World issue (September 2020), named to TIME’s 100 Women of the Year list (March 2020), and is a 3x recipient of The Root’s list of 100 African American achievers and influencers. Alicia has received the Sydney Peace Prize, Adweek Beacon Award, Glamour’s Women of the Year Award, Marie Claire’s New Guard Award, and was honored as a Community Change Agent at BET’s Black Girls Rock Awards.

Alicia’s first book, The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart, was released October 20, 2020 with One World (Penguin Random House.) She shares her thoughts on politics and pop culture on her podcast, Lady Don’t Take No.

Alicia warns you — hashtags don’t start movements. People do.

Dr. Carmen Rojas

Dr. Carmen Rojas is the president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation launched the prestigious Freedom Scholar award, and since starting in 2020 granted more than $252M in funding to dozens of organizations doing the hard work of shifting power to those people who have long been excluded from having it. Prior to MCF, Dr. Rojas was the cofounder and CEO of the Workers Lab, an innovation lab that partners with workers to develop new ideas that help them succeed and flourish.

Cathy Cha

Cathy Cha is President and CEO of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Cathy is known for bringing people and sectors together to solve community problems. Under her leadership, Haas Jr. has supported community-driven advances including strengthening Black power building, expanding college support to undocumented students, and growing young AAPI civic leadership. A daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy is driven by a commitment to improving the lives of aspiring communities facing poverty and injustice. Cathy has a master’s degree in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley.

Fred Blackwell

Fred Blackwell is the CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country. San Francisco Foundation works hand-in-hand with donors, community leaders, and public and private partners to create thriving communities throughout the Bay Area. Since joining the foundation in 2014, Blackwell has renewed its commitment to social justice through an equity agenda focused on racial and economic inclusion.

Blackwell, an Oakland native, is a nationally recognized community leader with a longstanding career in the Bay Area. Before joining the foundation, he served as interim city administrator for the City of Oakland, where he previously served as the assistant city administrator. He was the executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and director of the SF Mayor’s Office of Community Development; he served as the director of the Making Connections Initiative for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland; he was a Multicultural Fellow in Neighborhood and Community Development at San Francisco Foundation; and he subsequently managed a multiyear comprehensive community initiative for the San Francisco Foundation in West Oakland.

Blackwell serves on the boards of the Latino Community Foundation, All Home Advisory Board, California Black Freedom Fund, Association of Black Foundation Executives, UC Berkeley Letters & Science Advisory Board, SF Bay Area Host Committee Advisory Board for Super Bowl 2025, California Academy of Sciences, and the Mentoring Center Board of Directors. He previously served on the San Francisco Federal Reserve Community Advisory Council, California Redevelopment Association, Urban Habitat Program, NCG, and LeaderSpring boards. He is a visiting professor in the City and Regional Planning Department at UC Berkeley. He holds a Master’s Degree in City Planning from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from Morehouse College.

Dave ‘Davey D’ Cook

Dave ‘Davey D’ Cook is a nationally respected journalist, adjunct professor at San Francisco State University, and a pioneering voice in Hip Hop culture. With deep roots in media, activism, and academia, Davey D stands as a leading Hip Hop historian, political analyst, syndicated talk show host, and radio programmer whose impact spans decades.

A fierce advocate for media justice, Davey D has been featured in more than 35 documentaries and television specials, including Hip Hop Evolution, Letters to the President, Mac Dre: Legend of the Bay, Beef, Thug Angel, American Gangster, and PBS’s Rap City Rhapsody. His sharp commentary and cultural insight have appeared on platforms like Democracy Now!, CNN, BET, TV One’s Unsung, VH1, The Tavis Smiley Show, Fox News, Free Speech TV, Nightline, and America’s Black Forum.

Beyond the mic and the classroom, Davey D has testified at FCC hearings, spoken at Congressional briefings, and addressed the Congressional Black Caucus, using every stage to challenge corporate media consolidation, fight for community voices, and demand political accountability through the lens of Hip Hop.

He’s the co-founder and host of Hard Knock Radio—a groundbreaking, award-winning daily syndicated show that hits hard on the intersection of Hip Hop, politics, and grassroots activism. For over two decades, HKR has served as a vital platform for artists, organizers, and changemakers.

In print, Davey D’s pen hits just as hard. He’s co-author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: The Young Adult Edition (with Jeff Chang), and a contributor to multiple acclaimed books, including The Cultural Impact of Kanye West, 6 N The Morning, Gangsta Code, Jay-Z: Essays on Hip Hop’s Philosopher King, How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office, and Be A Father to Your Child.

Whether he’s breaking down police violence on the airwaves, uplifting community movements from Oakland to Johannesburg, or teaching the next generation of cultural critics, Davey D brings the rhythm, the receipts, and the resistance. His work continues to shape the conversation at the crossroads of culture, politics, and justice.

Oakland Public Conservatory of Music

The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music is a project of Music Is eXtraordinary, Inc, (MIX), a California 501c3 which provides music education for people in urban areas. Music Is eXtraordinary(MIX) was founded in 2001 by Musician/Educator, Angela M. Wellman. Ms. Wellman consulted with schools to develop music programs that reflected each school’s culture. In 2004 MIX became a 501c3 non-profit and opened its first music center, the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music (OPC) in 2005. OPC is part of a broader agenda to build a national network of Public Conservatories with a unified teaching philosophy and teaching practices that engender equity, belonging, and empathy through the music.

CO-LLAB Choir

CO-LLAB is Oakland-based contemporary vocal ensemble for vocal artists and singer-songwriters. Their purpose is to express healing, love, & unity through sound.

Jenn Johns

Jenn Johns, a beacon of multidisciplinary artistry, stands at the forefront of the global music and arts scene. Renowned as a dynamic vocalist, innovative songwriter, and inspiring producer, her impact transcends these titles, embodying a unique fusion of music, visual arts, and theater. Her work in social, environmental, and food justice cements her position not just as an artist, but as a visionary activist. Johns has captivated audiences worldwide, from Denver to Düsseldorf, Los Angeles to London, with her distinct blend of Afro-diasporic world music. She has shared stages with iconic artists like Ms. Lauryn Hill, Damian, Stephan and Ziggy Marley, Yasiin Bey, and Meshell Ndegeocello, and graced revered venues such as The Kennedy Center and The Apollo. Her performances are more than entertainment; they are powerful calls to unity and empowerment seasoned with sensuality and sass!

Johns’s artistic journey is marked by significant ventures into performance art and playwriting, notably with “Liv: A Ritual for Humanity” and her debut choreopoem, “reD:zONE”, produced by Kendra Kimbrough Barnes for KKDE. Her art transcends the stage, offering deep reflections on personal healing and societal transformation. As an advocate for environmental and food justice, her influence echoes in her collaborations with thought leaders like Cornel West. Jenn is also, and maybe most importantly, the founder of The F.U.N. Manifesto, a sustainable ecosystem powered by art and culture.