7 Leaders

Dr. Cornel West is a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual. He is the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton. He has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard and the University of Paris. He has written 19 books and edited 13 books. He is best known for his classic Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his new memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.

He appears frequently on the Bill Maher Show, Colbert Report, CNN and C-Span as well as on his dear Brother, Tavis Smiley’s PBS TV Show.  He is also co-host of the popular radio show “Smiley & West” heard on PRI around the country. The Smiley and West radio show is a highly acclaimed progressive program.

He made his film debut in the Matrix – and was the commentator (with Ken Wilbur) on the official trilogy released in 2004.  He also has appeared in over 25 documentaries and films including Examined Life, Call & Response, Sidewalk and Stand.

Last, he has made three spoken word albums including Never Forget, collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, KRS-One and the late Gerald Levert. His spoken word interludes were featured on Terence Blanchard’s Choices (which won the Grand Prix in France for the best Jazz Album of the year of 2009), The Cornel West Theory’s Second Rome, Raheem DeVaughn’s Grammy-nominated Love & War: Masterpeace, and most recently on Bootsy Collins’ The Funk Capital of the World.  In short, Cornel West has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.

Dr. Mitchell L. Moss is the Director of the Rudin Center for Transportation and Henry Hart Rice Professor Urban Policy and Planning at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He served as Director of NYU's Taub Urban Research Center from 1987 to 2003. He has directed research projects for the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Commerce and leading private corporations. Professor Moss has been on the faculty of NYU since 1973 and served as Chairman of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program in the Tisch School of the Arts from 1981-83.

Professor Moss's articles have appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post, New York Daily News, and The New York Observer. From 1983-1994, he served as Deputy to the Chairman of Governor Cuomo’s Council on Fiscal and Economic Priorities. In 2001, he served as an advisor to the mayoral campaign of Michael R. Bloomberg. In 2009 and 2010, he testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Professor Moss received his B.A. from Northwestern University, M.A. from the University of Washington, and Ph.D from the University of Southern California.

Pamela Newkirk is professor of journalism at New York University and the author of Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media, which was awarded the 2001 National Press Club Award for Media Criticism. She more recently edited Letters from Black America (Beacon Press, 2010; Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2009), a collection of more than 200 letters spanning three centuries. She also edited A Love No Less: More Than Two Centuries of African-American Love Letters (Doubleday, 2003). She lectures widely about African American portrayals and media diversity, and her articles have appeared in numerous publications
including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, Essence and ARTnews. Prior to joining the faculty at NYU, Newkirk worked as a daily reporter at four news organizations including New York Newsday where in 1991 she was part of a Pulitzer Prize winning team. She is a Fellow at the Nation Institute.

Clay Cane is a New York-based journalist and radio personality. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in English and African-American Studies. Clay has contributed to numerous publications such as The Root, theGrio, AOL and The Advocate. He has interviewed various celebrities, including Beyoncé Knowles, T.I., Nicki Minaj and Hilary Swank. Clay is currently the Entertainment Editor at BET.com.  Also, he is a member of New York Film Critics Online and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. In addition, Clay is the host of Clay Cane Live, a weekly radio program on WWRL 1600AM, which airs every Thursday night. The show includes celebrity guests, a dose of politics and covers all things pop culture. WWRL 1600AM also airs the nationally syndicated Rev. Al Sharpton and Ed Schultz radio programs.

Tara Dowdell is a highly accomplished business and political strategist.  She is the Founder and Principal of the Tara Dowdell Group, a strategic consulting and marketing firm focused on helping socially-conscious businesses and organizations grow.  Propelled by her work ethic, passion, and extensive network in government, the private sector and the media, the Tara Dowdell Group has cultivated an impressive list of clients ranging from an award-winning “green” real estate development firm to a local government agency that offers programs to help small business owners.

In addition to her consulting practice, Ms. Dowdell is a respected television commentator and speaker.  She appears weekly on MSNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Network where she provides progressive insight and analysis on a range of political, government, and business topics.  She can also be seen and heard regularly on Good Day New York on Fox 5, WWOR-TV My9 News at 10pm and Hot 97 Street Soldiers.  Ms. Dowdell’s proven expertise, unique insight, and engaging style have also made her a sought-after speaker.  She has addressed several major conferences and organizations such as the Rutgers’ University Annual Women of Color Symposium, the National Urban League Conference, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Women in Science and Engineering, and the Center for American Women in Politics Ready to Run Conference to name a few.

Ms. Dowdell has an extensive background in government having previously served as the Senior Manager of Government and Community Relations for the international shipping arm of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  In this capacity, she was responsible for directing the government and public relations strategy for the multi-billion-dollar redevelopment of the Port of New York and New Jersey.  Prior to joining the Port Authority, Ms. Dowdell served as Director of Appointments in the Office of the New Jersey Governor.  She was appointed to this position at age 25, making her the youngest person and the first African American to serve in this high level role.  As Director of Appointments to then Governor James E. McGreevey, Ms. Dowdell managed the selection, nomination and appointment of individuals to over 550 statewide boards and commissions.  She began her career in government serving as a District Representative to Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr.

Aside from her work in government, Ms. Dowdell has a wealth of political experience.  She has served in senior positions on several high profile federal, state, and local campaigns.  Additionally, she managed an issue-advocacy campaign for Emily’s List, one of the largest Political Action Committee’s in the nation.

Ms. Dowdell’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. In 2005, after being selected out of over a million applicants, she had the distinction of competing for a job with real estate mogul Donald Trump on the third season NBC’s hit reality show, “The Apprentice.”  Most recently, she was selected by the American Swiss Foundation to attend their prestigious Young Leaders Conference in Basel, Switzerland. Ms. Dowdell was only one of 25 Americans chosen to participate in this year’s conference, which is being hosted by pharmaceutical giant, Novartis.  Ms. Dowdell has also been honored by the NAACP, the New York Times, the Political Action Committee, BALLOT, and the child advocacy nonprofit organization, Project Re-Direct.

Ms. Dowdell is also very active in her community.  She serves on the Steering Committee for the Center for American Women in Politics “Ready to Run” Conference and is a Trustee on Board of the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey.  She is also a member of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.  Ms. Dowdell is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a BA in Government.

Jackie Vimo is the Director of Advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition.  Jackie has been be working for over 15 years in the field of public policy on a broad array issues, including:  HIV/AIDS, public health, public assistance, LGBTQ issues, housing, workers’ rights, racial justice, and immigration.  Jackie has done work in Argentina, where her family lives, and has held positions in New York and San Francisco social justice organizations such as Make the Road New York and The New York AIDS Coalition.  Jackie has been the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Commission on the Public’s Health System and the New York Peer AIDS Education Coalition and has served as a member of the Board of Directors and the Community Funding Board of the North Star Fund.  Jackie also teaches in the Political Science Departments at the City College of New York and the New School University.  Jackie received a B.A. in Political Science from Barnard College, Columbia University and a M.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley.  She is currently a Ph.D. candidate writing a doctoral dissertation about immigration detention and prisons at the New School for Social Research.