About Robbin Hudson

Robbin Thornton Hudson serves as the Community Programming Manager for the . In this role she leads strategic efforts to create flourishing communities, sustainable nonprofit organizations, and collaborative community-based efforts.

Robbin has a record of success in philanthropy, education, and community engagement. She has worked with government, nonprofit organizations, foundations and corporations to build programs and services that lift up justice and opportunity. In 2017, Robbin launched Platform & Zenith a corporate and community social responsibility firm. Previously, she served for eight years as Director of Family and Education Initiatives at Neighborhood Leadership Institute.

Robbin serves on the board of New Bridge Center for Arts and Technology Cleveland, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., National Black MBA Association, and Association of Black Foundation Executives. She is an international leadership trainer for the Cleveland Council on World Affairs. Robbin holds B.A. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters of Business Administration from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Torah.

About Cheryl Perez

Now the owner of multiple successful businesses, Cheryl started out “in the trenches” as a young sales associate. She has personally taken each and every step along the road to success and is honored to be entrusted with sharing that roadmap with other professionals who are ready to pursue their own career and personal adventures.

Now the President and CEO of BIG-HR and CCP Enterprises, Cheryl has the experience and keen insights needed to address the complex questions and concerns that challenge businesses and nonprofits at every stage, from startups to established powerhouses.

Having worked directly with hundreds of business owners and thousands of their employees—as well as learning firsthand from her own experiences building business and nonprofit organizations from the ground up—Cheryl never promises to deliver any magic “tricks of the trade”. What she brings to the table are the actual tools of the trade, and she can teach the skills needed to use them to build the leadership and business foundations that will take the organizations to the next level.

Cheryl has received several awards and top honors throughout her career, recently including being a 2019 Honoree for Women for Economic Leadership and Development (WELD), the Progressive Woman Award from Smart Business Magazine, the Achievement in Excellence Award from National Sales & Marketing Executives (NSME), the Phenomenal Business Woman Distinction and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year awards from The Presidents’ Council, as well as Distinguished Alumni status from her alma mater. Cheryl is a proud member of the Society for Human Resources Management, the National Association of Health Underwriters, and the National Association of Women Business Owners

About Greg L. Brown

In November of 2009, Gregory L. Brown became the executive director of PolicyBridge a 501c (3) non-partisan public policy research and advocacy think and action tank based in Northeast
Ohio. PolicyBridge monitors urban policy issues and informs regional public policy debates by framing issues of relevance to African American and other underserved communities. Mr. Brown
is also president of Brown & Associates Consulting Services which provides consulting services to philanthropic, public and nonprofit organizations in the areas of strategic thinking and
planning, program and project development and management, organizational development and leadership, community building and organizing, youth development, meeting facilitation, public
policy and advocacy, governmental relations, survey research, data analysis and evaluation, Prior to Brown & Associates Consulting Services, Mr. Brown was executive director and
president of The Center for Community Solutions. Under Mr. Brown’s leadership, Community Solutions strategically sparked and promoted an understanding of the critical link between human
service and economic development. He articulated a message throughout northeast Ohio that Human Capital Development—“building an environment that helps and allows all people to reach
their full potential and participate in the economic revitalization of the region--is the most important investment that can and should be made.” Today, human capital development is on the
lips of government officials, community leaders, funders and service providers around the state.

Similarly, Mr. Brown played a key role in helping Greater Cleveland's human services community change the way it viewed the circumstances of young people, moving away from
looking solely at their needs and problems and, instead, using an asset-based approach to Youth Development.

About Cecil Lipscomb

Cecil Lipscomb is the Executive Director of the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, Inc. (UBF). Founded in 1981, the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, (UBF) is a charitable organization that provides financial (grants) and technical support to neighborhood-based organizations, offering a full range of health and human service programs for the residents of Cleveland’s African American and lower-income communities. In 2019, he was awarded the Smart Business 50 Innovation, Impact, and Sustainability award for his work at UBF. Prior to this, Mr. Lipscomb was Senior Director of Institutes at Cleveland Clinic and worked as Director of Fundraising for Case Western Reserve University’s School of Engineering. Before 2004, he worked in commercial and government sales, management, and marketing in the telecommunications sector for 10 years with two Fortune 100 companies who eventually merged to create Verizon.

Mr. Lipscomb currently serves as 1st Vice-Chair, for the Board of Directors at Eliza Bryant Village. Eliza Bryant Village is the oldest continually operating African American long-term care facility in the United States. He also serves on the Friends of Breakthrough Schools Board, which is the highest-performing network of free, public charter schools in Ohio. In 2019, Mr. Lipscomb was appointed to serve on The Cleveland Orchestra’s Community Engagement Committee. The Cleveland Orchestra, one of the leading orchestras in the world, has placed a significant commitment to community engagement and empowerment. He also serves on the Board of Directors for United Way of Greater Cleveland, as Co-Chair of the Equity Leadership Council.

Mr. Lipscomb received his undergraduate degree from Ursuline College, his MBA from Weatherhead School of Management, and certificate of nonprofit management from Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University.

About Dr. Jacklyn A. Chisholm