Herb Boyd is an award-winning author and journalist who has published numerous books and countless articles for national magazines and newspapers.  His most recent books are Epic Harlem and the biography of jazz immortal Max Roach, both slated for release this fall. Harlem Renaissance Redux (Third World Press, 2020) and Black Detroit—A People’s History of Self-Determination (Harper/Collins, 2017), are among his other publications. He has been inducted into three Halls of Fame, including the National Association of Black Journalists and the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent.  Boyd, a graduate of Wayne State University, taught African American History and Culture at the City College of New York in Harlem and at the College of New Rochelle.

Alicia Bell is Director of the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, where they work to expand economic security and power for and with BIPOC journalism institutions. Alicia brings a rare gift for building things that last. From the youth program at Brooklyn Community Pride Center, to the Media 2070 campaign for media reparations, to their sculptural broom work — every initiative Alicia has helped build still exists today. Alicia draws inspiration from their family lineage of birth workers, railroad workers, and land stewards, people who shaped the conditions for life and labor. They bring that same ethos to their work, informed by a BSW grounded in self-interrogation and community practice, and an M.A. in Educational Leadership, Politics, and Advocacy from New York University. At the root of it all, Alicia Bell holds closely one animating belief: that we can build a world where everyone lives abundantly, with rest, care, play, and meaningful work. Not as aspiration, but as architecture.

Chrissy Towle is a Google veteran having just entered her 20th year at Google. Chrissy oversees a team at Google whose focus is collaborating with Local publishers and associations to bring the best of Google products and programs to news partners and promote sustainability within the local news industry. Chrissy’s passion for news started in college where she graduated with a degree in Communication and Journalism from Santa Clara University. Chrissy furthered her education at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She spent her first 8 years at Google working in Business Development on the Google Ads team. Prior to Google, Chrissy worked for Young’s Market Company as a national seller for premium wine and spirits. Chrissy continues to serve on the board of the Athletic Department at Santa Clara University. Chrissy lives in San Francisco with her two sons and firefighter husband.