Co-Founder of Brothers@
Contact: HarryJohnson@brothersat.org

Harry A. Johnson Jr. has left an impact on hundreds of lives on Bard’s campus, throughout the mid–Hudson Valley, and around the world. Harry graduated from Bard College in 2017 with a degree in Sociology and a particular focus on wealth inequality.

Extracurricularly, he was a key player on Bard’s basketball team; directed Dream to Achieve, a sports-based youth development initiative; and co-founded Brothers@ Bard with Dariel Vasquez, a youth-owned, group-based mentorship and academic enrichment program for Young Men of Color attending Kingston High School and Bard College. His interests include youth development, international development, Black Male Achievement, design-thinking, and social entrepreneurship. 

Harry’s work has garnered national and international recognition. In 2016, Harry was selected as one of 10 people named to Allstate NABC Good Works Team — this award honors college basketball student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through community work.

Upon graduating in 2017, Harry was awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, allowing him to conceive and carry out a year-long, international project. During his journey, Harry explored the ways in which youth development organizations scaled their models and created sustainable pathways for the youth they serve to return as leaders within the organizations and their communities. Harry’s exploration took him to India, Nepal, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil. 

Since returning from his year abroad, Harry reunited with Dariel to lead the expansion and development of Brothers@. Within the last year, Brothers@ has received pivotal support from foundations, accumulating over half a million dollars to expand their spaces to more colleges and universities and to new communities around the country.

Founder, Corporation for Black Male Achievement

Shawn Dove’s leadership mantra is “there is no cavalry coming to save the day in our communities. We are the iconic leaders we have been waiting for; curators of the change we’re seeking to see.” He is founder of the Corporation for Black Male Achievement, and serves as Managing Partner for New Profit, a venture philanthropy firm that invests in breakthrough social entrepreneurs advancing strategies that address systemic injustice nationwide.

Previously Dove served as CEO of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA), Program Director of the Harlem Children's Zone's Countee Cullen Community Center, and Vice President of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership. Dove has been recognized with numerous awards, including the key to the City of Louisville, Black Enterprise’s “BE Modern Man of the Year,” and Ebony Magazine’s “Power 100.”

In 2022, Dove released, I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys, which he co-authored with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Nick Chiles. Dove is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University Business School's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management.

Human Behavior & EQ Thought Leader, Executive Coach, Speaker

Leila Entezam has a B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology, a M.B.A., and a M.A. With Distinction in Psychology.  As a business professional, Leila has an extensive background that includes managing complex projects, maintaining CFO- and CEO-level duties, and being a consultant and executive leadership coach to high profile clients that include professional athletes, celebrities, and chief executives. 

Leila's work is focused on Emotional Intelligence, using emotions to increase engagement. Her passion and greatest achievement is how to empower people to create meaningful change and live their best lives. Her service work includes decades spent with underserved populations and youth. In addition, she serves as a mentor to several top ranked incubators, including Singularity University. 

Leila is also a published writer, and frequent keynote speaker in the space of Emotional Intelligence, including as a repeat guest lecturer at top ranked universities such as Harvard, Hult and UCI.

Vice President & Business Unit Leader, McCarthy

F. Xavier Glasper is a Department of Defense trained Geomatics Engineer with more than 20 years of applied experience and a diverse background in civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, geodetic surveying, cadastral surveying, construction management and strategic planning. He is the Vice President and Business Unit Leader for McCarthy Mapping.

McCarthy Mapping is a full-service, turnkey civil design and construction solution offered to clients of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. to better understand existing subsurface utility geometry and mitigate risk. His primary responsibility is the financial health and geographic growth of the business, servicing McCarthy and their strategic partners across the nation.

Xavier is a life-long financial enthusiast, founder of the Young Investors Club, and co-founder of the Boundless Investment Club. Xavier's passion is to spread his financial literacy knowledge to young men and women to ensure they can affect change in their lives and future generations.

Vice President for Diversity, and Inclusion at Barnard College

Ariana González Stokas, PhD, is currently the Inaugural Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Barnard College of Columbia University.

As Vice President Dr. Gonzalez Stokas chairs the Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and works closely with the dean of faculty diversity and development and the executive director for equity, among others, to envision and actualize programs that promote diversity, establish accountability, and support inclusivity among Barnard’s community. She has worked as an administrator, faculty member, and scholar of philosophy and education, with a proven track record of being dedicated to equity and access.

Previously González Stokas served as the Dean of Inclusive Excellence at Bard College in New York and supervised a variety of programs and initiatives. She was instrumental in identifying working groups to establish a clear and strategic vision for Pell-eligible and DACA students and supported the development and institutionalization of student-initiated projects.

González Stokas has a B.A. in philosophy and studio arts from Bard College. She earned her Ph.D in philosophy and education from Teachers College, Columbia University Her doctoral research examined the intersections of aesthetics, education, and inequality. 

CEO, PeerForward

Gary Z. Linnen is the CEO of PeerForward following its original co-founders. Mr. Linnen has steered PeerForward’s programs for more than a decade, cultivating deep experience in youth development, program innovation, and organizational leadership.

He has contributed to virtually every function of the organization, from designing and facilitating workshops for educators and students to fostering school, community, and funder partnerships and engaging program alumni.

Mr. Linnen shaped PeerForward’s current model, which elevates PeerForward’s unique method of structuring and leveraging peer influence to achieve meaningful schoolwide outcomes. His lifetime commitment to creating pathways to higher education for students in under-resourced communities also drives his participation as a member of the governing board of the New York City Public Schools.

Before PeerForward, Mr. Linnen served as a director of tutoring and K-12 operations for The Princeton Review.

Mr. Linnen has a B.A. in Government from Cornell University and is the first in his family to graduate from a higher education institution.

Social Designer

Joshua Livingston, PhD, is a professor, researcher and social designer. Joshua’s work focuses primarily on a distinctive version of placemaking; working with young people of color to envision and create identity-affirming spaces within academic and other institutional environments. His work often utilizes the Black American barbershop as a model to help young people create places that hold their own cultural and economic identities.

Joshua serves as Principal of Por la Gente, Inc., consultancy company focused on mission-driven design and social enterprise and currently works as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bard College. 

A practicing Licensed Master Barber in NYC, Joshua also holds a Master of Social Work degree from Boston University and a Certificate in Human Services Management from the Questrom School of Business.

Joshua brings seventeen years of experience in youth-based program implementation, development, management, evaluation, and research to his work.

Vice President , Corporate Responsibility at JP Morgan Chase

Fernando Snowden-Lorence is currently a Vice President in Corporate Responsibility at JP Morgan Chase. As part of the Global Philanthropy team within CR he leads The Fellowship Initiative (TFI) in the East Region. TFI is a nationally recognized youth development program that prepares young men of color for academic and professional success.

Fernando is also a co-lead on grant opportunities for the workforce training and support of Military Service Veterans. He has helped develop and execute grants of $2 Million to nonprofit organizations supporting Veterans. Before joining the firm, Fernando spent 15 years working in education, volunteer management, and political advocacy as well as an entrepreneur in the non-profit and youth development fields. He has held senior leadership roles in regional non-profits working throughout the Northeast focused on community and civic engagement, next generation learning models and educational diversity.

A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served in the United States Marine Corps. and Marine Corps. Reserve for nine and a half years. He was deployed twice and completed his enlistment with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He holds a B.A. in Organizational Anthropology and Philosophy from Hunter College.

He is a Certified Project Management Professional and holds a Certificate in Strategic Negotiations from UC Davis. Fernando lives with his spouse in Brooklyn, New York.

Full-Time Trader

Shemar Taylor is a Full Time Trader who specializes in the Options Market. Before that, Shemar worked in the financial services industry for over five years.

Shemar is a first generation college graduate of Bard College where he obtained his B.A. in Human Rights with a disciplinary focus on Economics.

He attributes much of his success in college to being an inaugural member of Brothers @ Bard, an environment which he says gave him constant motivation to keep going when he wanted to quit.

A strong believer in lifting as you climb, Shemar actively strives to support and empower his peers in any way possible.