Shabaya Clark is a teacher, father, mentor, professionally trained actor, motivational speaker and founder of DramaFree Arts and Education Program. Clark has studied at The New Federal Theatre, HB studios, Rockland Community College and other various drama programs. His most notable roles include, Major Charles Moses in 'Red Tail Down' & Ron in Ressurrection'. Clark has also been featured in numerous films and music videos, most notably Corey Samford in 'Ramsey'. Clark has since dedicated his life to helping at risk youth from all over the tri-state area by using theatre to help the youth cope with everyday life issues.

With nearly 20 years of local, state, federal, and political experience, Darryn uses his extraordinary talents, passion, and intellect to further his commitment for social and economic justice. By bridging the gap between the public and private sectors, Darryn facilitates bipartisan support and drives policy solutions to better the lives of individuals and the community he serves.

Adrienne Lucas is a strategist with specialized experience working on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) and education initiatives in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She currently serves as the Global Director of DEI at The One Club for Creativity, an advertising nonprofit.

As part of her role, Adrienne partners with agencies to design and execute programs that help diverse creatives enter the advertising industry and support their professional development. One of these initiatives includes Where Are All The Black People (‘WAATBP’) an annual diversity conference & career fair. WAATBP attracts up to 3500+ attendees and 60+ sponsoring agencies and brands including:

Amazon Advertising, Best Buy, Capital One, Disney, and Mattel. Adrienne also spearheads the Creative Boot Camp initiative--a free weeklong program where college students of color create and present an advertising campaign for a real client.

Adrienne holds a J.D. from NYU Law and a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. She is passionate about the arts, civil rights, and social justice.

Aria is the associate marketing manager at the top selling brand, Mattel, Inc. Her latest project is all about Karma, from the Netflix series Karma’s World, executive produced by Ludacris!

Partners and friends in all things business and media, DJ Damage and Lorenzo Robinson are making their mark in the entertainment industry on their own terms. These level headed business men are making a positive impact by creating a unique brand for themselves as both entrepreneurs and influencers and we are thrilled to share learn about their journey. 

Abdul “DJ Damage” Quddas is a national radio syndicated DJ, host, and entrepreneur from Philadelphia, PA. Damage recently starred in the BET docuseries,  "Arm-Chair A&R” and he currently co-hosts the Hollywood Unlocked Uncensored podcast alongside media mogul, Jason Lee.

Shauna Kimball is a lover of all thing's education, tech, and Black culture. She is a current University Relations Program Manager for Diversity at Nike.⁣ She has had the opportunity to merge her Engineering undergraduate degree and Organizational Development MBA to become an innovative thinking, adaptable and efficient Talent Acquisition professional. 

Austin Martin loves hip hop music! But what's even better, he found the lyrics to his favorite songs are a goldmine for SAT vocabulary words. Through his research, he identified that 67 of the top 100 SAT words can be found in recognizable hip-hop songs. As a result, he started his own business Rhymes with Reason, a fun and innovative way to prep to test for the SAT and the ACT.

Among Martin's collaborators is musical artist Chance the Rapper's Social Works, a nonprofit organization helping underserved youth in the Chicago area.  (Forbes.com, 2020).

Sara Maldonado is a coordinator on the WarnerMedia Equity + Inclusion Workforce & Production team working to create the safest, most inclusive sets in the world. In her role, she supports WarnerMedia's cast and crews working on productions operating under the brands of Warner Bros., HBO, and Turner.

 She is also the founder and Executive Director of Powerful Latinas Rising. She has been a lifelong advocate for the Latinx community and champion for Latina leadership and entrepreneurship. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from The New School and has earned a Master in Communication Management at the University of Southern California. 

Asha Christian, 22, is a tech entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Coilyapp. Coily is an AI-based app that enables women to easily find products, styles, and techniques that work for curly hair profiles. 

She shares her journey on how she found her passion and as computer science college student at Cornell University. She is leading the charge and solving real world problems by creating an active and empowered community around beauty and hair care. 

Everyone meet Sarahn! This amazing young woman found a way to transform her life after going through a period of unhappiness and misdirection in her high school and early college years. Then, she had an "aha" moment and "realized one day that it was my responsibility to find success and satisfaction in my life." 

As a result, she invested in her wellbeing, health, and education to spread her gospel that "you can do it too." We love her entrepreneurial spirit and passion to help others. This month, she is going to share her journey and strategies behind her secret to her success and how we can apply some of that to our lives or consider a career in her field. 

Melissa Effa, filmmaker and founder of Whole and Seen, a non-profit mentoring black youth, will be September's guest panelist and she will be sharing her journey as a storyteller and how she found her passion and purpose. She is going to help us define our story in a time of social and political unrest and identify strategies on how to use our social media for good.

https://www.wholeandseen.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDPpOGwAh-l/ 

This Q and A will help to answer any questions about the scholarship such as application requirements, deadlines, and tips to stand out in the crowd.