Professor Alex Gomez is a dedicated border historian with a passion for shedding light on the intricacies of the US-Mexican border region. His academic journey includes a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American History, a dual Master’s degree in Latin American Studies with a focus on the US-Mexican border region, and a Master’s degree in Latin American Literature from SDSU. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Refugee and Migrant Studies at Linköping University in Sweden.

For the last 25 years, Professor Gomez has guided both college and high school students along the US-Mexican border region to better understand globalization and migration patterns. He does this in hopes of sparking a renewed sense of urgency in young people for creating a better world.

Kaeden Cameron is one of the leaders at Made to Serve, a Austin, Texas based Christian nonprofit committed to reaching out to the homeless community by providing free meals. Kaeden comes from a background in technology as an engineer at Apple but made it a point to find like minded people in his community who wanted to address the hunger facing the homeless population in Austin. Kaeden serves as an example of how everyday people without substantive experience in nonprofit operations can come together and have an outsized impact on their local community.

Made to Serve has provided nearly 7000 meals. They are over 100 volunteers strong. The organization consistently hits the streets of Austin every Saturday and Sunday. You can catch these folks around downtown Austin every weekend and join their mission.

Pastor Justin Adour is the Founding and Senior Pastor of Redeemer East Harlem, a Presbyterian Church in and for East Harlem. He also serves as the Executive Director of Pray. March. Act., a civic discipleship coalition that helps churches understand the root causes of injustice in New York City and mobilizes them to pray, march, and act for policies and practices that promote justice.

Pastor Justin began pastoring in NYC 16 years ago and has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years. From Youth Pastor to Campus Ministry to eventually securing his Ph.D. in Theology and leading REH, Pastor Justin has been a fixture amongst NYC’s Christian leadership.

Dr. Karambu Ringera is the Founder and President of International Peace Initiatives, an organization providing children who's parents have passed, women living with HIV/AIDS, survivors of violence, and communities with the tools and resources to move from violence, poverty, and crisis to stability and self-reliance, thereby building resilient communities.

Dr. Ringera earned her Ph.D. in Intercultural Communication in 2008 from the University of Denver. She earned a Masters Degree in Media from Natal University, South Africa, as well as a Master of Theological Studies from the Iliff School of Theology in Colorado. She received her Bachelor of Education degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She has won several awards recognizing her international leadership and activism.

Tristan participated in a Students Shoulder to Shoulder field study with The Small World, a nonprofit focused on sustainable development, rural education, and women’s empowerment in Nepal. Upon finishing his field study, Tristan returned to his hometown of Portland, Maine and was inspired to analyze needs in his own community. Tristan's story serves as a powerful narrative reinforcing the idea of the greater scale that one act of service can have through inspiring action in others.

Dennis Pooler is the Director of College Access and Post Secondary Success at Comp Sci High. Comp Sci High is a charter high school in The Bronx, New York dedicated to ensuring every student graduates with college acceptance letters, high tech skills, real work experience, and a plan to turn those opportunities into a successful career.

Dennis is an experienced school leader with an expertise in building college and career programs and has collectively yielded over $50 million in scholarship awards for students.

Richard Lackey is the Chairman & CEO of the World Food Bank, which he founded in 2015 as a sustainable solution to hunger and food security issues across the globe. Richard is a career entrepreneur with 30 years of leadership experience in the trading and securities industry, having founded and led companies that were sold to Goldman Sachs and eTrade, serving as the managing director for five successful private funds, and authoring three books on technical analysis and market analysis.

By partnering with farmers, non-profits, financial institutions, agricultural input suppliers, and others, World Food Bank creates an ecosystem that provides stable commodity pricing to farmers, resilient soil to the planet, high quality food to consumers, and enriches local economies. Come learn about the operations of this company that puts sustainability and impact at the center of its mission.

Grace Klepacz is a 7th and 8th Grade Teacher at the St. Andrew’s School in Savannah Georgia. She has served as a Course Instructor for Students Shoulder to Shoulder, a non-profit dedicated to teaching middle and highschoolers about ethical leadership through field studies which take students to serve alongside grassroots community organizations around the world. 

Come hear about why teaching ethical leadership is more important now more than ever from a teacher on the frontlines of the classroom.

The Ethical Leadership Forum hosted by Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder happens on October 17th to 18th for educators and on October 18th for EVERYONE. Vail, CO never felt so warm. See what Ethical Leadership looks like in action.

Timothy McNutt is the Director of the Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. McNutt began his law career as an Assistant District Attorney at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office where he conducted long-term narcotics investigations. Later, as an Assistant District Attorney at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, McNutt also prosecuted violent and white collar crime. He uses his extensive background in criminal law and policy to assist people with criminal records in reducing barriers to reentry and improving employment outcomes. 

Come learn about why employment is a central element to lowering rates of recidivism, how to work with employers to accept justice impacted people into their workforce, and how to make a business case for increased hiring for formerly incarcerated people.

Jerry Hartman is the President and Board Chairman of the Barbara McDowell Gerald S. Hartman Foundation. The McDowell Foundation aims to improve the economic well-being, social conditions, and civil liberties of disadvantaged persons and groups in the United States. The Foundation accomplishes this goal by providing over $1.7 million dollars to organizations performing impact litigation that seeks to protect the rights of underserved communities. Through victories in securing the rights of prisoners, children, racial minorities and more, the Foundation has shown that contributing to the right people seeking to do the right thing makes the world a better place to be in.

Jerry has had a long career as a litigator, including four years in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. He received the Department’s prestigious Special Commendation Award from the Attorney General of the United States. Jerry was a tenured law professor at Wake Forest Law School and has been a partner in several national law firms representing major American corporations in class action employment discrimination cases.