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Black Brown College Bound Featured Speakers

 
Delatorro L McNeal
 

For over a decade, Delatorro L. McNeal, II has been transforming the lives of people from all walks of life. As an internationally renowned Professional Speaker and Best Selling Author, Delatorro has spoken in 45 of the 50 US states, and has delivered well over 1000 presentations to major corporations, colleges and universities, professional associations, conventions, churches, and leadership conferences. If he looks familiar, its because Delatorro has been featured on national and worldwide television networks like Fox News, NBC, BET, TBN, Daystar, Oxygen, and The Word Network as well as syndicated radio shows all across America.  He is a featured motivational expert in the 2009 Entrepreneurial Film, The YES Movie, and his is also the winner of the 2009 Who’s Who of business in Tampa Bay.  Click here for Mr. McNeal's complete biography.

 
Dr. Calvin Mackie

Dr. Calvin Mackie is an award winning mentor, an international renowned motivational speaker, a successful entrepreneur, author and inventor. His message transcends race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and time.  A professional speaker, in 1992 he co-founded Channel ZerO, an educational and motivational consulting  company and in 1996 he joined the faculty at Tulane University where he pursued research related to heat transfer, fluid dynamics, energy efficiency and renewable energy. In 2002, he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure where he served until June 2007, when Tulane University disbanded the engineering school in response to financial hardship induced by Hurricane Katrina. Most recently, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco appointed Dr. Mackie to the thirty-three member board, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), the guiding agency to lead the state's rebuilding efforts following the catastrophic Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Possessing instant social, political, cultural, and technical credibility, Mackie was featured prominently on the HBO world premier of Spike Lee’s Katrina documentary entitled “When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts”. Click here for Dr. Mackie's complete biography.

 
Dr. Tomas Morales
Dr. Tomás D. Morales was appointed by the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York to serve as the third President of the College of Staten Island in June of 2007.  Having served as an educator and administrative leader in higher education for over 32 years, he is one of the few higher education administrators in the United States who have held senior administrative positions at the three largest public university systems in the nation: the California State University system, The State University of New York (SUNY), and The City University of New York (CUNY). At California State Polytechnic University from 2001-2007 Dr. Morales served in various capacities including Vice President for Student Affairs, Provost and Vice President for Academic affairs, Professor of Education and principal deputy to the President.  His life-long dedication to improving the access and quality of public higher education has recently been recognized with the Latino Trendsetter Award at the United Nations; the IMAGEN Certificate Award from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services; and the Professional Achievement Award from Boricua College. Click here for Dr. Morales' complete biography.
Simon Silva Simon Silva's paintings depict stylized portraits of farm workers bending to harvest crops, suns radiating heat, and picturesque fields and valleys.  In high school, Silva realized he needed a college education. “I talked to my mother and asked her to discuss with my father the possibility of me going to college. His response was to want to kick me out of the house. My father saw a very physical and concrete relationship between work and money."  When he returned home, he attended nearby Imperial Valley College and majored in art.   “To make this decision to go to college was scary,” he recalls.  “I was made to feel it was a waste of time.  On top of that, I chose art as a profession.  That was really pushing the envelope.“ 

Through Chicano literature, I was able to focus on Chicano culture in my art work. It’s what I needed to paint—not only for myself but for those out there that have no self esteem. It’s an opportunity for me to tell a campesino, "You’re important enough for me to paint about and you’re also important enough to write about.”  Silva expanded this exploration of his farm working past in 1998 with the publication of his first book, Small-Town Browny, a collection of autobiographical short stories of his childhood. Click here for Mr. Silva's complete biography.
   

 Exclusive Dinner with Fernando Perez - Tampa Bay Rays Outfielder and Columbia Graduate
~For Students Only~ Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel.

Fernando Perez
 
  • Fernando Perez owns a degree in American Studies and Creative Writing from Columbia University. During the 2007 season, he wrote a column for MiLB.com. This past offseason he submitted some of his writings to POETRY Magazine. During the postseason he read Ian Stewart’s Why Beauty is Truth: A History of Symmetry. He also enjoys reading American poets Robert Creeley and John Ashbery. 
  • Fernando held a Baseball Skills Clinic for kids between the ages of 9-16 in the Los Angeles area, including hitting and fielding lessons, lunch, autographs and photos with the kids. He became involved in this through his cousin, Lili Bernard Ferguson, who founded the City of Angels Little League (“CALL”) in 2001. As one of Little League’s Urban Initiative programs, CALL serves children within the heart of L.A., an area that has historically been without a Little League program. CALL is the newest Little League in L.A.
  • He participated in “Hot Stove, Cool Music,” which benefits nearly a dozen inner city social programs in Boston and New York. The program was started by Peter Gammons, who combined his two passions — baseball and rock music — to raise money for those most needy.  (Exerpts from the 2009 Tampa Bay Rays Media Guide)  Click here for more information on Mr. Perez
 
Jose Hernandez
Dr. Jose Hernandez was appointed Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington in August 2008. Prior to his current appointment he was the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of South Florida, where he also had served as Coordinator of the McNair Scholars Program. He began his career in higher education in 1987 at Bethune-Cookman University where he remained for 13 years.  He also served as adjunct faculty for Saint Leo University’s distance learning and Stetson University.  Prior to his career in higher education, Dr. Hernandez served for 8 years in the community mental health system, and is a Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Dr. Hernandez earned his doctorate in education at the University of Central Florida in 1994.  He also completed the masters degree in counseling-1981- and the bachelor’s degree in psychology-1979, both from Florida State University.