Full Name
Cari Champion
Job Title
Broadcast Journalist and Host
Company
CNN and Naked Sports Podcast on iHeart Media
Speaker Bio
Cari Champion is a trailblazing Broadcast Journalist at CNN and Host of Naked Sports Podcast on iHeart Media. As the host of The Cari Champion Show on Amazon and a regular CNN contributor, she delivers candid sports and culture commentary. She also hosts the Naked with Cari Champion podcast, featuring thought-provoking interviews.
Cari made history on Vice TV with Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports, becoming the first Black woman to host a late-night cable news program. She has also co-anchored Tokyo Tonight for the 2020 Olympics and hosted The Arena for TNT. A former ESPN anchor, she held key roles on SportsCenter’s Coast to Coast, SportsNation, and First Take.
Passionate about mentorship, Cari founded Brown Girls Dream to support women of color in sports media. Splitting her time between Los Angeles and New York, she enjoys fine wine and yoga in her free time.
Cari made history on Vice TV with Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports, becoming the first Black woman to host a late-night cable news program. She has also co-anchored Tokyo Tonight for the 2020 Olympics and hosted The Arena for TNT. A former ESPN anchor, she held key roles on SportsCenter’s Coast to Coast, SportsNation, and First Take.
Passionate about mentorship, Cari founded Brown Girls Dream to support women of color in sports media. Splitting her time between Los Angeles and New York, she enjoys fine wine and yoga in her free time.
Full Name
Dr. Joseph Betancourt
Job Title
President
Company
Commonwealth Fund
Speaker Bio
Dr. Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D., M.P.H., is the president of the Commonwealth Fund and a leading expert in health care policy, equity, and community health. Formerly the senior vice president for Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and founding director of the Disparities Solutions Center, he has dedicated his career to improving health care quality for diverse populations.
An associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified internist, Betancourt has advised numerous federal health agencies and served on governance boards, including Trinity Health and the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association. He has authored nearly 80 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to the landmark Unequal Treatment report.
A National Academy of Medicine member and Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow, Betancourt has received numerous accolades, including Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders and Top 50 Clinical Healthcare Executives honors. He holds an M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and an M.P.H. from Harvard.
An associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified internist, Betancourt has advised numerous federal health agencies and served on governance boards, including Trinity Health and the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association. He has authored nearly 80 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to the landmark Unequal Treatment report.
A National Academy of Medicine member and Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow, Betancourt has received numerous accolades, including Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders and Top 50 Clinical Healthcare Executives honors. He holds an M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and an M.P.H. from Harvard.
Full Name
Ms. Chandra M Champion
Job Title
Director
Company
NAACP
Speaker Bio
Derrick Johnson serves as President and CEO of the NAACP, a title he has held since October of 2017. President Johnson formerly served as vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors, as well as state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP. A longstanding member and leader of the NAACP, Mr. Johnson has helped guide the Association through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration.
Under President Johnson's leadership, the NAACP has undertaken such efforts as the 2018 "Log Out" Facebook Campaign, pressuring Facebook after reports of Russian hackers targeting African Americans, the Jamestown to Jamestown Partnership, marking the 400th year enslaved Africans first touched the shores of America, and the 2020 We are Done Dying Campaign, exposing the inequities embedded into the American healthcare system and the country at large.
As the Biden Administration took office in 2021, President Johnson led the charge in calling for a Cabinet-level position focused squarely on advancing our nation's longstanding issue of racial justice. President Biden signed an Executive Order establishing an interagency effort to eliminate systemic racial barriers and ensuring federal policies are rooted in equity, optimizing the well-being of all in public policies.
Under President Johnson's leadership, the NAACP has undertaken such efforts as the 2018 "Log Out" Facebook Campaign, pressuring Facebook after reports of Russian hackers targeting African Americans, the Jamestown to Jamestown Partnership, marking the 400th year enslaved Africans first touched the shores of America, and the 2020 We are Done Dying Campaign, exposing the inequities embedded into the American healthcare system and the country at large.
As the Biden Administration took office in 2021, President Johnson led the charge in calling for a Cabinet-level position focused squarely on advancing our nation's longstanding issue of racial justice. President Biden signed an Executive Order establishing an interagency effort to eliminate systemic racial barriers and ensuring federal policies are rooted in equity, optimizing the well-being of all in public policies.
Full Name
Dr. Karan Lincoln
Job Title
Director
Company
Center for Environmental Health Disparities Research at the University of California, Irvine
Speaker Bio
Dr. Karen D. Lincoln, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.A., F.G.S.A., is a Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at UC Irvine, Director of the Center for Environmental Health Disparities Research, and Founder of Advocates for African American Elders. A distinguished sociologist and social worker, her research focuses on the social determinants of health disparities, particularly among Black Americans and other minoritized populations.
With over 85 publications, Dr. Lincoln is also a prominent public scholar, contributing op-eds to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and being featured in major media outlets. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a Hartford Faculty Scholar, and has received numerous accolades, including the National Institute of Mental Health’s James S. Jackson Memorial Award. Ranked among the most influential African American social work scholars and the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide, she continues to advance research and advocacy for health equity.
Dr. Lincoln holds degrees in Sociology and Social Work from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
With over 85 publications, Dr. Lincoln is also a prominent public scholar, contributing op-eds to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and being featured in major media outlets. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a Hartford Faculty Scholar, and has received numerous accolades, including the National Institute of Mental Health’s James S. Jackson Memorial Award. Ranked among the most influential African American social work scholars and the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide, she continues to advance research and advocacy for health equity.
Dr. Lincoln holds degrees in Sociology and Social Work from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Full Name
Dr. Chris T. Pernell
Job Title
Director
Company
Center for Health Equity, NAACP
Speaker Bio
Dr. Chris T. Pernell, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., is a physician leader and health justice advocate dedicated to advancing health equity and social change. As Director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity, she works to drive equitable health outcomes and transform healthcare systems. Previously, she was the first Chief Strategic Integration and Health Equity Officer at University Hospital in Newark, overseeing population health, strategic planning, and diversity initiatives.
Dr. Pernell has led workplace health strategies at 1199SEIU, founded The Esther Group, a health equity consulting firm, and served on the Essex County Civilian Task Force and New Jersey Reparations Council. A sought-after speaker and media contributor, she advises leaders on health equity, racial justice, and community well-being.
Her accolades include ROI-NJ Top 150 Business Leaders, NJBiz Best 50 Women in Business, and the American College of Preventive Medicine Ron Davis Special Recognition Award. She holds degrees from Princeton, Duke, and Columbia, completed her residency at Johns Hopkins, and is a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Pernell has led workplace health strategies at 1199SEIU, founded The Esther Group, a health equity consulting firm, and served on the Essex County Civilian Task Force and New Jersey Reparations Council. A sought-after speaker and media contributor, she advises leaders on health equity, racial justice, and community well-being.
Her accolades include ROI-NJ Top 150 Business Leaders, NJBiz Best 50 Women in Business, and the American College of Preventive Medicine Ron Davis Special Recognition Award. She holds degrees from Princeton, Duke, and Columbia, completed her residency at Johns Hopkins, and is a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.
Full Name
April Ryan
Job Title
White House Correspondent, MSNBC Political Analyst, D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio
Company
TheGrio
Speaker Bio
White House Correspondent April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only Black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House - a position she has held for over 26 years, since the Clinton era. She is now the longest-serving Black woman in the press corps. Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her unusual insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation's past presidents.
April is the Washington D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio. She has been featured in Essence, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle Magazines to name a few. April Ryan has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondents Association. She is one of only four African Americans in the Association's over 100-year history to serve on its board. She is also an esteemed member of the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club. In 2015, Ms. Ryan was nominated for an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Literary Work-Debut Author) for her first book. 2016 National Council of Negro Women, Mary McCloud Bethune Trailblazer. In 2017 April was the Journalist of the Year for the National Association of Black Journalists.
In 2019 April Ryan became an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and was recognized as the 2019 Freedom of the Press Award Winner by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. April was nominated in 2021 for the NAACP Image Award for Social Justice Impact. April is a Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate, and she gives back to this community by serving as a mentor to aspiring journalists and assisting with developing "up and coming" broadcasters. April considers her greatest life's work raising her two daughters, Ryan and Grace- who are phenomenal young women.
April Ryan is the author of the award-winning book, The Presidency in Black and White, and At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White (December 2016), where she looks at race relations through the lessons and wisdom that mothers have given their children. April is also the author of Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Her latest book, Black Women Will Save the World, celebrates Black women's resilience and unheralded strength, reflects on "The Year That Changed Everything" — 2020 — and discusses African-American women's unprecedented role in upholding democracy.
April is the Washington D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio. She has been featured in Essence, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle Magazines to name a few. April Ryan has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondents Association. She is one of only four African Americans in the Association's over 100-year history to serve on its board. She is also an esteemed member of the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club. In 2015, Ms. Ryan was nominated for an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Literary Work-Debut Author) for her first book. 2016 National Council of Negro Women, Mary McCloud Bethune Trailblazer. In 2017 April was the Journalist of the Year for the National Association of Black Journalists.
In 2019 April Ryan became an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and was recognized as the 2019 Freedom of the Press Award Winner by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. April was nominated in 2021 for the NAACP Image Award for Social Justice Impact. April is a Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate, and she gives back to this community by serving as a mentor to aspiring journalists and assisting with developing "up and coming" broadcasters. April considers her greatest life's work raising her two daughters, Ryan and Grace- who are phenomenal young women.
April Ryan is the author of the award-winning book, The Presidency in Black and White, and At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White (December 2016), where she looks at race relations through the lessons and wisdom that mothers have given their children. April is also the author of Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Her latest book, Black Women Will Save the World, celebrates Black women's resilience and unheralded strength, reflects on "The Year That Changed Everything" — 2020 — and discusses African-American women's unprecedented role in upholding democracy.
