Featured Speakers
Cory V. McCray
Maryland State Senator
Conference Participation
Opening Ceremony - Opening Remarks
Gala - Awards Presenter
Legislative Breakfast - Panelist
Ben Jealous
Former NAACP President, Equality activist, and Executive Director of the Sierra Club
Ben Jealous is an American civil rights leader, activist, and politician who is the seventh executive director of the Sierra Club, one of the largest and most influential environmental organizations in the United States.
With a background in social justice advocacy, Ben brought a unique perspective to his role, focusing on issues of environmental justice, climate change, and conservation. Before leading the Sierra Club, he served as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP, where he
spearheaded campaigns to advance civil rights, voting rights, and criminal justice reform. Ben is a passionate advocate for marginalized communities and has dedicated his career to fighting for equality, sustainability, and a healthier planet for future generations.
Ben is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a New York Times bestselling author of Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding, and his latest book is Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing. During his term at the NAACP, Ben created pathbreaking partnerships with conservative leaders and Republican governors to help shrink America's prison system as well as expand voting rights and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people. In 2013, The Washington Post hailed him as "one of the nation's most prominent civil rights leaders." He was previously the Executive Director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, an organization of over two hundred historically black-owned newspapers.
A former Rhodes Scholar, Ben is a graduate of Columbia and Oxford Universities and a former visiting professor at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.
He lives on the Chesapeake Bay with his children, Morgan and Jack, and their dog, Charlie.
Conference Participation
Gala - Emcee