TOMORROW WORKSThe Doe Fund's Virtual Gala

Dr. Peter Q. Blair is on the faculty in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University where he co-directs the Project on Workforce. He serves as a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the Principal Investigator of the BE-Lab – a research group with partners from Harvard, Clemson, and Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His group’s research focuses on the link between the future of work and the future of education, labor market discrimination, occupational licensing, and residential segregation. Dr. Blair received his Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, his M.Sc. in Theoretical Physics from Harvard University, and his B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics from Duke University. He is the youngest of his parents’ seven sons, and got his start understanding markets by selling fruit and vegetables in the Bahamas in the Nassau Straw Market with his brothers.

Arthur C. Brooks is Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Arthur C. Patterson Faculty Fellow at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard faculty in July of 2019, he served for ten years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks.

Robert E. Cornegy Jr. serves as New York City Council Member for the 36th District, representing the communities of Bedford Stuyvesant and Northern Crown Heights. He serves as Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings, Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Task Force (M/WBEs), and the Democratic Conference. He is a member of the Committees on Economic Development, Education, Finance, State and Federal Level Legislation, and the Budget Negotiation Team. He is the former Chair of the Committee on Small Business.

Maritza Davila is the Assemblywoman for District 53, representing the communities of Bushwick and Williamsburg. After beginning her career as a community advocate and organizer, she served as President of the Community School Board of Education of District 32, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, and a number of Boards and Advisory Committees, including hat of several community gardens, local New York City Police Department Precincts, and area hospitals. Ms. Davila was also a founder of the North Brooklyn Coalition Against Domestic Violence, serving on its Board for two years, and the Northern Brooklyn Residents Association. Currently, Ms. Davila is Chair to the Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force and an Executive Committee Member for the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.

Mark Faucette works with LA County’s new Office of Diversion and Reentry, where he oversees harm reduction-based housing and health services for ODR’s programs. Mark is the former VP of Amity Foundation, and is one of the co-founders of Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership.

Jamin Gluck is a Global Program Manager, supporting nonprofits at Amazon Web Services. He has a passion for working with organizations to achieve their missions through technology. He is a dog dad to three year old, Cassandra, and he enjoys swimming, CrossFit and Twizzlers.

Ethan Hawke is a Tony and four-time Academy Award nominated actor and writer whose diverse career as a novelist, actor, director, and screenwriter spans more than three decades. He was the artistic director of the Malaparte Theater Co. founded in 1991, and the following year he made his Broadway debut in “The Seagull.” He appeared as Vince in “Buried Child” in 1995 at the Steppenwolf and as Ray in “The Late Henry Moss” at the Signature Theater Co. in 2001, then as Michael Bakunin in Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia,” for which he was honored with a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play and Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance (Lincoln Center) in 2006. In 2007, he made his Off-Broadway directing debut with the world premiere of Jonathan Marc Sherman’s dark comedy, “Things We Want” at The New Group. He directed “A Lie of the Mind” (The New Group) in 2010 for which he received a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play.

Hakeem Jeffries represents the diverse Eighth Congressional District of New York, an area that encompasses large parts of Brooklyn and a section of Queens. Serving his fourth term in the United States Congress, Rep. Jeffries is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and House Budget Committee. Rep. Jeffries is Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and the fifth highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. He is also the former Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus.

In Congress, Rep. Jeffries is a tireless advocate for social and economic justice, working to help residents impacted by the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, reform the criminal justice system, and improve the economy for everyday Americans. Rep. Jeffries led the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and worked across the aisle as the lead Democratic sponsor of the FIRST STEP Act, widely viewed as the most meaningful criminal justice reform effort in a generation. Rep. Jeffries has also played a major role in shaping the Congressional response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and worked across the aisle to secure billions of dollars in funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the CARES Act.

Melique Jones is the Director of Talent Pipeline and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Skadden. She works alongside Skadden’s senior leadership, including its global diversity committee, on developing and implementing initiatives to advance inclusiveness and equity, increase diversity in the attorney pipeline, and position the firm’s diversity, equity and inclu-sion commitment to support client relationship development. Additionally, Melique focuses on professional development in connection with the firm’s counsel program. Melique earned a B.A. in journalism from New York University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. Melique’s professional background also includes almost 10 years of experience in media and communications at Dow Jones & Company.

Sunil has spent 20 years building businesses in the technology, media, and ecommerce industries. He is currently Director of Strategy and Operations at Google, where he is responsible for global licensing strategies for its top content partners. Prior to Google, Sunil held consulting and engineering roles at BCG, MediaLink, Dentsu, Walmart, and Intel. Sunil holds an MBA from Northwestern and a BS in Computer Engineering from Cal Poly. In his spare time, Sunil enjoys community service and time with family and friends.

Steve Koppel is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, where his practice focuses on all aspects of real estate private equity and real estate finance, including a national practice in community development law. Steve’s strong leadership on behalf of his clients has earned him recognition from numerous publications, including Chambers USA (2014–2020), The Legal 500 for Real Estate Finance (2012–2014), New York Super Lawyers (2010–2019) and Best Lawyers in America (2009–2020).

Daniela Radan-Lazic works at Amazon in New York City where she is focused on empowering brands to help grow their businesses on the e-commerce website through advertising. Previously, she spent several years at Adobe managing North American agency relationships and was also the Action Team Lead. The latter role allowed her to lead a group of employees focused on corporate social responsibility and specifically oriented around strengthening local communities and supporting a sustainable future. Her work there ultimately led her to The Doe Fund where she is not only a liaison into Amazon, but also part of the Young Professionals Council. In her free time, Daniela loves to play tennis, spend time in nature, and read.

Julian is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Harlem Blue Premium Beer. After almost ten years as a practicing NYC contracts attorney and thirsty for a different purpose, Julian was intrigued by the underrecognized and underappreciated history of breweries in Harlem. After months of research and being inspired by the legend of the brownstone with the blue lantern, Harlem Blue was born, and will be the first new production brewery in Harlem since Prohibition. After releasing two flagship beer styles in 2016, Harlem Blue is now proudly Harlem’s favorite local beer, and is sold on draft at select locations throughout the five boroughs of NYC. Harlem Blue has been recognized as a Finalist in the 2019 FedEx Small Business Challenge, the Grand Prize Winner of the 1010WINS Small Business Grant Challenge, and the Grand Prize Winner of the Dell Small Business Challenge.

James White is a program associate for leadership and communications at Ascend at the Aspen Institute. Ascend is a policy program of the Institute and the national hub for breakthrough ideas and collaborations that move families toward educational success, economic security, and health and well-being.

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Wyatt retired as vice president of the Fund for the City of New York after serving over two decades. He is the founder of Strategic Destiny: Designing Futures Through Faith and Facts LLC. He has mentored young people in foster care, juvenile detention facilities, and adults in and out of prison; as well as leaders in the public and private sectors, youth-serving organizations, the faith community, government and mentees receiving their Ph.D. Rev. Dr. Wyatt is a founding Board member of The Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy, served two years as Chair of The 21st Century Foundation, and is a founding member of the Interfaith Center of New York, The Institute for Transformative Mentoring at The New School for Social Research, and The Credible Messenger Institute at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also a Board member of the Osborne Association. Rev. Dr. Wyatt is a published author, a public theologian, and an ordained Elder on the ministerial staff of The Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York.

The Doe Fund’s Young Professionals Council (YPC) is an action-oriented group charged with supporting the Ready, Willing & Able program through philanthropic activities and by raising the program’s public profile, engaging existing and securing new donors including institutions and corporations, and engaging in volunteer work with the men whom we serve in order to become well informed advocates of the program.

Speakers from the YPC include:

Rob Morse, YPC Chair
Head of Data Strategy, PDT Partners

Andrew Patrick,
Associate – Intellectual Property Litigation, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP

Hana Sawanobori,
Senior Credit Analyst, International Subsidiary Banking, HSBC