Robert Harris is a banking executive with enterprise-wide experience leading DE&I, ERM, Regulatory Risk Management, Community/Economic Development Lending, Political/Community Affairs, Corporate Philanthropy, Community Engagement, lending and deposit product development, and project management for a $50B financial institution. He is currently an Outreach & Emerging Markets Executive at Cadence Bank. His role involves leading the strategic vision and approach of the bank towards underserved and underrepresented communities, which is aligned with the company's mission to help people and communities prosper. Prior to joining Cadence Bank, Robert worked for BancorpSouth, where he served as Senior Vice President, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, and Director of Community Lending. He was also a Vice President and Community Lending Officer at the same institution.

Robert's other professional experiences include serving as Vice Chair Executive Committee (Advisory Board) at the Blackburn Institute at The University of Alabama and serving on the Board of Trustees (Samford University) at Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. Additionally, he has been on the Academic Staff at Alabama Boys State, where he assists annually 600+ rising high school seniors complete an immersion process in government and civics.

Robert holds a Master of Arts degree in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from The University of Alabama. While at the university, he was also the President of the Graduate Student Association and a member of the Blackburn Institute.

He lives in Tupelo, MS.

Alani Bass is a skilled problem-solver with extensive experience in content strategy and management, brand development and storytelling, audience research and analysis, community engagement and growth, and email marketing. She is currently the Director of Communications and Marketing at The Marcy Lab School in Brooklyn, New York, where she leads the development and execution of communication strategies to help the school better engage with its audiences. Before joining The Marcy Lab School, Alani worked as a Strategist at MADEO, a digital agency with a focus on social impact, where she led end-to-end communication strategies in collaboration with client organizations and the MADEO team. Her responsibilities included managing client communication and relationships, conducting research and discovery with key stakeholders to understand organizational priorities and challenges, developing strategic recommendations and solutions based on gathered insights, and leading cross-functional project teams to ensure the quality and success of the work.

Prior to that, Alani worked as a Marketing Coordinator at The Studio Museum in Harlem. Her achievements included defining social media strategy, optimizing email marketing strategy, managing the production of creative for campaigns, and advising on messaging and tone for all Membership and Annual Giving campaigns. Alani earned a Master of Science in Management from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Rochester.

Alani lives in Brooklyn, NY.

An experienced private equity economist, researcher, consultant, and firm leader, Jacob Ledbetter is an expert in economic research, presentation skills, financial data, economic data analysis, and banking. As a Senior Researcher at Silicon Valley Bank, he was responsible for engaging in internal and external thought leadership, focused on various parts of the innovation ecosystem. He authored quarterly research reports in the Global Fund Banking (GFB) division, introduced new internal thought leadership, presented research findings to sales teams, and developed processes for more efficient and accurate report development.

Prior to that role, Jake served as the Chief Operating Officer at Bella Private Markets, where he oversaw the operations of the firm, provided guidance on all projects, and reviewed any external deliverables. He also served as a Principal and an Associate, engaging in a broad range of research related to private equity and venture capital, including modeling cash flows of a large PE fund of funds, analyzing LP and GP performance, and researching macroeconomic trends in emerging markets.

Jake was also a Research Assistant at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a Summer Associate at Summit Consulting, LLC. He holds a Master's Degree in Economics from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was an exchange student and a William Jefferson Clinton Scholar at the American University in Dubai, and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute in August 2021.

Jake and his husband, Sakil, live in Boston, MA.

Michael Sheldrick is a Co-Founder and the Chief Policy, Impact, and Government Affairs Officer for Global Citizen. Through Global Citizen's campaigns over the past decade, $40 billion has been distributed to anti-poverty efforts worldwide. Michael has worked with world leaders such as Prime Ministers and Presidents on campaigns to end extreme poverty. He was one of the four Co-Founders who spearheaded the first major Global Citizen advocacy campaign in 2011, which saw $118 million announced for polio eradication efforts. He served as an Executive Producer of Vax Live in 2021, a campaign that saw 26 million vaccines committed to developing countries. He oversaw the production of "One World: Together At Home" and "Global Goal: Unite For Our Future" campaigns, which reached millions of people in over 150 countries and saw $1.6 billion announced in cash grant funding in support of the WHO's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Michael's experience includes overseeing and growing Global Citizen's grants, philanthropy, impact measurement, government relations, advocacy, and digital campaigns teams, which collectively include 30 team members based in offices around the world. He is an expert in government relations, campaigning, strategic partnerships, social impact, article writing, grant writing, stakeholder management, public speaking, philanthropy, leadership, media relations, and corporate social responsibility.

Michael is a board member for the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and the Advisory Board of Parliamentarians for the Global Goals. He has spoken on global affairs, activism, and development at numerous conferences/summits around the world, including C20, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, TEDx, Vatican Youth Symposium, and Ditchley House. He earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with Distinction and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (H1), First Class Honours in Political Science and International Relations from The University of Western Australia and also completed the Mishpatim Seminar on International Law at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He and his wife, Xinyi, live in Brooklyn.