Founder and Executive Director of Black Tech Street
Course: Storytelling

Tyrance Billingsley II is an industrious and creative leader with experience in government, startups, community organizing and organizational leadership. Tyrance has received honors such as a proclamation from the Oklahoma House of Representatives, The Black Wall Street Times visionary award, the TYPROS Legacy Award, being named an Oklahoma Next Gen under 30, being an Echoing Green fellowship finalist and being named to the inaugural Forbes the Culture 50 Champions list that honors industry leaders most impacting Black and Brown communities. Tyrance joins this list alongside Colin Kapernick, Issa Rae, Amanda Gorman and Dewayne Wade. He has served on various statewide boards and commissions relating to both policy and entrepreneurship and is passionate about how humans can use technological innovations to solve global issues and improve quality of life.

Adjunct Professor Communication Studies, Communications Executive, Content Creator & Patent Holder
Course: Digital Storytelling

Mark is a digital marketing and digital narrative expert with experience in an array of projects, productions, publications and services in markets as diverse as Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, Central / South America and the Middle East. As a marketing and imaging professional, Mark's leadership and creative skills are focused on the development of programs, organizations, technologies, and audiences that believe in consistently pushing the status quo. His work is manifest in support of a number of health and technology related startups that improve the public's well-being. His current projects include development work with Sustainable Schools International of Cambodia, Public and Sports diplomacy programs in Rosarito Mexico and the USO.

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, The Black Wall Street Times
Course: Social Media for Social Good

Nehemiah D. Frank is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Black Wall Street Times and a descendant of two families that survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Although his publication’s store and newsroom are headquartered in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Frank currently works remotely from his home in Atlanta, Georgia. Frank played a pivotal role in marking the Centennial of the Race Massacre, attending the U.S. Congressional hearings in Washington D.C. with the last living survivors, and planning President Joe Biden’s visit. Frank has been featured on NBC Nightly News, MSNBC with Tiffany Cross, BBC, ABC, BNC, NewsOne, and other major media outlets. His work is featured in TIME Magazine and other publications besides his own. In 2021, Frank was listed as number 44 on The Root 100’s most influential African-Americans. In 2017, Frank gave a TED Talk at the University of Tulsa, titled “Finding the Excellence Within”. Lastly, Frank was a speaker at SXSW 2022.

Assistant Professor, Argumentation and Advocacy; Director, Forensics, Emerson College
Course: Public Speaking 101

Dr. Deion Hawkins, Ph.D. (George Mason University), M.A. (Marshall University), B.A. (Ohio State University) is an assistant professor of Argumentation & Advocacy and the Director of Forensics at Emerson College. He started competitive public speaking and debating at age 13, and began coaching in 2012. Since 2012, Dr. Hawkins has coached multiple national finalists including 2 national championships in debate. In addition to debate, Dr. Hawkins is a health communication scholar whose research utilizes intercultural theory to mitigate health disparities. He is an avid social justice advocate for marginalized communities.

Chair, Department of Communication Studies, Emerson College
Course: Media & Public Relations 101

Dr. J. Gregory Payne is also the Co-Director of the Emerson Blanquerna Center for Global Communication and received an “Honoris Causa” from the University of Ramon Llull in Barcelona in the fall of 2019 for his distinguished academic and professional career. He has taught at Yale and Tufts University. Dr. Payne received his B.A, M.A. and Ph.D. at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and also earned an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has authored books, chapters, articles and proceedings and has lectured internationally on topics related to political communication, public diplomacy, health communication, media, ethics, leadership, negotiation, crisis and risk communication. He is on the Advisory board of the Journal of Health Communication, Tripidos, American Behavioral Scientist, Media Ethics, Journal of Promotion Management, among others. He has been the invited editor for American Behavioral Scientist’s special edition on the U.S. presidential campaign for every election since l988. He is past President of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, past chair of the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association, and Advisory Board member of the Global Public Relations Project.

Program Manager, Leadership Tulsa
Course: Defining Your Leadership Style

Michael is a proud Tulsa product, graduating from Booker T. Washington High School. He then went on to Pittsburg State University in Kansas where he received his bachelor’s and master’s Degree in Communications. Michael returned to Tulsa after graduating in the spring of 2014 and started working for Tulsa Job Corps Center. At Job Corps he worked with young adults ages 16 to 24 and as the Career Transitions Manager, he assisted youth with their career placements after completion of the program. He started working for Workforce Tulsa in May of 2018 as the Business Services Manager. Michael has a passion for helping job seekers acquire long term employment with quality employers and connecting employers with quality employees. Michael joined the KIPP Tulsa staff in 2019 as a physical education instructor and head football coach. In 2020 he became the Dean of Students for KIPP Tulsa High School. Michael has a deep passion for helping youth to reach their fullest potential – academically, emotionally, physically, and socially. He continues to serve the youth at KIPP Tulsa through coaching after school sports activities. Michael is excited to work with and learn from a diverse group of individuals to help make a positive impact.

President and CEO, The Rendon Group
Course: Communications in the 21st Century

John Rendon is CEO and President of The Rendon Group, Inc. (TRG) a global strategic communications consultancy. Mr. Rendon has served as Executive Director and Political Director of the Democratic Party of the United States and has worked and led numerous campaigns at the federal, state and local level. To date, TRG has worked in or on 127 countries. John Rendon is one of the world’s leading pioneers in the use of strategic communications as an element of national power and one of the first thought-leaders to harness the power of emerging technologies in support of real time information management. He has served as an executive communications consultant to the White House, U.S. Department of Defense, the National Security community and to the leadership of Fortune 500 companies, among others. Mr. Rendon, a graduate of Northeastern University, hails from Boston, where he served as an Assistant Secretary of Public Safety and later as a Special Assistant to the Governor. He has also served as an analyst for CBS News and has appeared as an analyst on BBC World Service television, BBC World Service radio, SKY Television and CNN, among others. Follow John @JohnWRendon.

Director of Community Engagement, Terence Crutcher Foundation
Course: Meaningful Community Engagement

Dr. Eric Gill is currently the Director of Community Engagement for the Terence Crutcher Foundation. Born and raised in Midwest City, OK to Eddie and Wanda Gill. Rev. Dr. Eric Gill received a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Central Oklahoma. He has obtained two master’s degrees: a master’s degree in the Science of Management from Southern Nazarene University, and Eric graduated, with honors, from the Samuel DeWittProctor school of Theology at Virginia Union University with a Master of Divinity Degree where he was also certified in Church Administration. On May 13, 2017, Eric received his Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor school of Theology at Virginia Union University, his research focused on: Deconstructing Eurocentric Pedagogies in Middle Class Black Youth. Rev. Dr. Eric Gill has taught and lectured in academic spaces across the country. In 2021, Dr. Eric Gill was certified in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Management from Cornell University. Dr. Gill is a licensed and ordained Baptist Minister. A lover of community and basketball, Dr Gill, is also the Assistant Boys Basketball Coach at the historic Booker T. Washington High School, in Tulsa, OK. Dr. Gill has been married to the beautiful Kendra L. Gill. They have two energetic children, Emyr Jason Gill & Emani Jade. Eric’s goal is to serve & love ALL of God’s people.

Deputy Director Terence Crutcher Foundation
Course: Organizing 101

Sheyda Brown is an Iranian-American political organizer and strategist who works with communities to build collective power to influence people and systems. She works in tandem with communities of color to organize resources and people in Oklahoma to fight against white supremacist racial violence and envision a racially equitable future. She began her organizing career following Hurricane Harvey, specializing in disaster organizing within communities of color in Houston, TX. In her previous philanthropy and current organizing and activism work, she elevates marginalized voices to reclaim their power and influence. She is a 2022 Aspen Institute Healthy Communities Fellow, 2021 New Leaders Council fellow, and holds a Master of Social Work.

Policy Fellow, Terence Crutcher Foundation
Course: Organizing 101

Jayla is a Detroit, Michigan native who has created and sustained multiple businesses and foundations as she continuously strives to be the change she wishes to see in the world. Jayla has served as a community leader in her hometown and in Tulsa by transforming organizations and communities alongside those that are often marginalized and underrepresented. Her passions lie in the intersections of empathy driven community development, policy advocacy, and equity. She has been recognized by both Congress and the Senate for her work in the foundation she started, which collaborates with an inner city Detroit school to repurpose their prepackaged food to provide meals for residents in the surrounding community. Jayla holds a dual degree in Political Science & Organizational Studies with a minor in Musical Theater from the University of Tulsa, which she recently graduated from with Honors. In addition to her studies, Jayla was named an Outstanding Senior and Top Ten Freshman for her exceptional achievement in both academic and service endeavors. Jayla plans to further her education, and has been accepted with a full scholarship to sixty schools for a dual Masters/Juris Doctor in Public Administration and Law. She has chosen to take a gap year to work with the Terence Crutcher Foundation, as this is her dream role that will prepare her for the future.

Founder, Consultant with Standpipe Hill Strategies
Course: Starting and Organizing Your Campaign

A veteran of Obama, Clinton and Warnock campaigns, Greg has spent over a decade sharpening his organizing and community building skills working as an organizer and political operative across the country. Following a historic run for Tulsa Mayor, Greg founded Standpipe Hill Strategies, LLC (2020). He currently supports community centered development initiatives across educational, economic, and political sectors.

Co-Founder and Program Director Tulsa Changemakers
Course: What is Power?

Jake Lerner is a Co-Founder and Program Director of Tulsa Changemakers, a youth leadership development and action organization that builds capacity in youth, adults, and systems to support youth in driving positive impact in Tulsa right now and into the future. Jake is originally from Philadelphia and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. In collaboration with the Wharton Social Impact Initiative and Global Youth Empowerment, Jake has co-created and facilitated social innovation and leadership identity workshops in Philadelphia and Dubai. He has a Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and has received training from the Asset Based Community Development Institute in Chicago. Jake serves as Board Member for the Hillel of Northeastern Oklahoma and Congregation B’nai Emunah. In 2018, Jake was honored with ionOklahoma’s NextGen Under 30 Award.

Program Manager, Tulsa Changemakers
Course: What is Power?

Hannah Jarman is a Program Manager with Tulsa Changemakers, a program of Leadership Tulsa. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana with a degree in Global Studies and Communication in 2017 and moved from the south suburbs of Chicago to Tulsa, Oklahoma to teach 6-8th grade Social Studies through Teach for America. After teaching for five years at both the elementary and middle school level, as well as working as a Coach, Coach Mentor, and Alumni Programming Facilitator for Tulsa Changemakers, Hannah officially joined the Tulsa Changemakers team in July 2022.

Associate, Mintz and Levin
Course: Running Your Campaign

Jason is a corporate litigation attorney at the law firm Mintz Levin in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, Jason serves as an advisor for various national, local, and state-wide candidates and elected officials. He most recently served as the Campaign Manager for Governor Maura Healey. Jason was also Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and worked on Warren’s Senatorial campaigns. While attending law school at Northeastern University, Jason became the first Black and Latino Editor-in-Chief of the Northeastern University’s Law Review. Jason is very passionate about giving back in various manners. He serves the Board of Directors of RFK Community Alliance (which recently merged with Perkins School), Hawthorn Youth and Community Center and South End Baseball.

Global Student Affairs Officer, Emerson College
Course: Defining Your Leadership Style

Tikesha Renee Morgan was born and raised in Brooklyn NY by a mother from the deep segregated south of Mississippi, and a father born and raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Where did they meet?! New York City of course! 22yrs later she has served as a hall director at Vassar College, Assistant Director of Residence Life & Summer Programs at Suffolk University, Director of Multicultural Student Affairs & GLBTQ Resources at Emerson College, the Inaugural Senior Student Affairs Officer for Emerson's European Center in Kasteel Well, Netherlands. Currently serving as the Inaugural Assistant Dean for Global &. Equity Education at Emerson College where she specializes in collaboration with the university's global partners, educating BIPOC and underrepresented communities on the study abroad experience and providing leadership for the Emerson College Kasteel Well, Netherlands Student Affairs department. The passion she has for her profession has been infused into her personal activism and the intersectionality that she lives and breathes daily as one of the co-founders of the Lesbians of Color Collective Symposium, organizer for Queer Women of Color, diversity consultant for New England area community colleges and universities, liaison/moderator for the LGBTQ Caucus at the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity. Her career and life plan were not laid out before her. She decided to carve a new road, add a new light pattern and learn as much as she teaches. Her hope is that during this life and career she can encourage the students she has the honor to work with to speak the truth even when your voice shakes. Tikesha Renee Morgan was born and raised in Brooklyn NY by a mother from the deep segregated south of Mississippi, and a father born and raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Senior Lecturer, Emerson College; Chair, Cohasset Select Board
Course: The Path to Influence and Civic Engagement

Keri Thompson is a Senior Lecturer at Emerson College and specializes in public speaking, politics and social media. She has extensive public speaking experience and has taught, coached and lectured on the subject at various schools and organizations across the country. She specializes in coaching and training political candidates. Her research specialties include nonverbal communication and image, political communication, social media, rhetoric and language. Specifically, her interests are in social media and politics, presidential rhetoric and campaign communication. She has been busy pioneering ways to use Snapchat in both the classroom and the political arena.

Course: Gen Z Long-term Strategies
Haley Taylor Schlitz is 20 years old and the youngest Black person to graduate from law school in the history of the United States. In May of 2022, at the age of 19, Haley graduated with her Juris Doctor from the SMU Dedman School of Law. In May of 2019, she became Texas Woman’s University’s youngest graduate in history when she graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Woman’s University College of Professional Education. On February 28, 2020, she was featured by Beyonce as one of Beyonce's This Is Black History 2020 honorees. Haley also served as one of seven national editors for the American Bar Association Law Student Division publications during the 2021-2021 academic year. Haley is a recurring columnist for Blavity and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. Haley feels called to give back and is taking an “IMPACT Year” to teach social studies and AP Seminar courses to 7 through 12 grade students at EA Young Academy in Tarrant County. After teaching, Haley will pursue a career in public policy to advocate for education equity and greater access to gifted and talented programs for students of color and girls.