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John Hope Bryant is a visionary entrepreneur, thought leader, and global authority on financial literacy, economic empowerment, and inclusive capitalism. Named to the prestigious Forbes BLK50 List in December 2024 and TIME Magazine’s inaugural The Closers List, recognizing 18 global leaders working to close the racial wealth gap, Bryant has dedicated his career to transforming economic systems for underserved communities and ensuring inclusive growth in the AI-driven future.

He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Operation HOPE, Inc., the nation’s largest on-the-ground financial literacy and economic empowerment non-profit. Under his leadership, Operation HOPE has directed over $4.2 billion in capital into marginalized communities, establishing hundreds of financial empowerment centers nationwide. He is also the founder of John Hope Bryant Holdings, Bryant Group Ventures, and Bryant Group Advisors, and previously led The Promise Homes Company, which he successfully recapitalized in 2021 with a $200 million credit facility—one of the largest Black-owned capital raises in over a decade.

A best-selling author, Bryant is one of the only Black thought leaders in the world today writing on economics and business leadership, with six books to his name, including the national best-seller, Financial Literacy for All (2024). He is a CNBC Contributor, host of the iHeart Radio podcast “Money & Wealth with John Hope Bryant”, and a member of both the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Council and the CNBC CEO Council.

Referred to as the “Conscience of Capitalism” by Fortune 500 CEOs, Bryant’s advocacy helped make financial literacy official U.S. federal policy under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He also successfully led efforts to rename the U.S. Treasury Annex as the Freedman’s Bank Building, recognizing the unfinished economic work of Abraham Lincoln for freed slaves. His influence in public policy and corporate America is undeniable—advising three U.S. presidents and working alongside Fortune 500 CEOs to embed financial literacy into American culture.

Championing AI Literacy & The Future of Work

Understanding that AI will define the future economy, but that Black and Brown communities risk being left behind, Bryant has pioneered national efforts to bridge the AI opportunity gap. In December 2024, he announced the AI Literacy Pipeline to Prosperity Project (AILP³) at the HOPE Global Forum tied to the AI Ethics Council, which he co-founded with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

AILP³ is designed to equip underserved communities with AI literacy, workforce training, and digital skills, ensuring that financial and technological literacy go hand in hand. Bryant believes that closing the AI knowledge gap is the new civil rights movement—and that those who master AI will control the jobs, businesses, and economies of the future.

Driving Inclusive Economic Growth

In 2024, Bryant wrote The Business Plan for America, a bold blueprint for inclusive economic growth, and launched the American Aspiration Tour to promote financial literacy and opportunity nationwide. He also launched the Corporate Inclusion Initiative, working to place qualified minority candidates on corporate boards and ensure that corporate America reflects the nation’s diversity at the highest levels.

Bryant’s impact has been recognized with numerous awards, including Oprah Winfrey’s “Use Your Life” Award, American Banker’s “Innovator of the Year,” and inclusion in TIME’s 50 Leaders for the Future. He is a LinkedIn Influencer with over 3 million social media followers and has amassed over 300 million views across digital platforms through his “Straight Talk with John Hope Bryant” series.

Born February 6, 1966, in Los Angeles, California, Bryant now resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Chaitra Dalton Bryant. His life’s mission? To help America live up to its promise—one financially and technologically empowered person at a time.

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Ambassador Andrew Young is Chair of the Andrew J. Young Foundation. He was a key confidant and strategist to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the critical years of the civil rights movement. In 1972 he was elected to represent Georgia’s 5th district, the first African-American elected from the South since Reconstruction. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the first African-American to do so. In that role, Ambassador Young established the framework for international negotiations that led to democracy in several nations in Southern Africa.

Young served as Mayor of Atlanta from 1982-1990, bringing jobs and seventy billion dollars in private investment to the city during a recession. Ambassador Young’s leadership, vision and global reputation were instrumental in bringing the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta in 1996. Ambassador Young retired from GoodWorks International, LLC, in 2012 after well over a decade of facilitating sustainable economic development in the business sectors of the Caribbean and Africa.

Ambassador Young has received honorary degrees from more than 100 universities and colleges in the U.S. and abroad. His many awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the NAACP’s Springarn Medal and France’s Legion d’honneur, the nation’s greatest honor.

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Mayor Bill Campbell became the 57th Mayor of Atlanta and the city’s third African-American mayor in a landslide victory in 1993. Under his leadership, the city leveraged the Olympic legacy into tangible benefits for the people of Atlanta. During his second term, Mayor Campbell’s vision of a New Atlanta for the 21st Century drove the city’s remarkable revitalization. He forged innovative partnerships with the private and public sectors to empower communities with new tools and hope for the future. For the first time in thirty years, people and businesses moved back into the city. His proactive community-policing programs resulted in double-digit decreases in every category of crime.

Some of Atlanta’s most dramatic progress occurred in the area of housing. Mayor Campbell brought in new leadership at the Atlanta Housing Authority and forged a partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nearly every unit of public housing underwent renovation, and the city’s once troubled public housing system emerged as a model for other cities in the United States. The Campbell Administration, created with HUD and Fannie Mae, also created homeownership programs to attract homeowners into the city through affordable mortgages and down payment assistance.

After taking office, the Mayor took Atlanta’s legendary commitment by providing equal opportunity for minorities and women. His leadership resulted in increased participation by minority and female firms at all levels. Looking toward the 21st century, Mayor Campbell set his sights on positioning Atlanta as one of America’s leading technology cities. He was a forceful advocate for bridging the digital divide between rich and poor ensuring that all of Atlanta’s children have the skills to compete in the new millennium.

Since retiring from the City of Atlanta, Bill has continued his love of public service as a political consultant, and is a sought after speaker at churches, political functions, motivational workshops and leadership forums. He currently works for an investment banking firm.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Bill Campbell’s southern roots run as deep as his commitment to public service. He was the first African-American student to integrate the Raleigh school system in 1960. Mayor Campbell graduated Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University and earned his Doctor of Law degree from Duke University. After several years of practicing law, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1981.

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Joe Handy is the Chief Executive Officer of Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA). With a strong enthusiasm for community partnership, Handy brings more than 20 years of experience in leading cultural institutions.

Handy joined CMA in 2022 from the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA)^® where he served as President and CEO. He is an accomplished leader with an impeccable track record, strong business acumen, vision, and an entrepreneurial mindset.

In 2005, Handy joined the Georgia Aquarium’s founding team as Director of Visitor Services and went on to serve as the Aquarium’s President and Chief Operating Officer in 2017. Grounded in his passion for the Aquarium’s mission, he rose through the ranks of Vice President of Guest Experience, Senior Vice President of Guest Experience, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer, and as President of the Georgia Aquarium Foundation.

Handy is a dedicated member of his community and has served on several committees including the Kennesaw State University (KSU) Foundation Board of Trustees and the Strategic Planning Committee, the Advisory Boards of KSU Business School, the Morehouse Leadership Honor Society, and the Board of Directors for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

He has also received numerous accolades including the Atlanta Business League 2018 Men of Influence Award, the Georgia Senate Remarkable and Distinguished Georgian Resolution in March 2019, ICABA – Atlanta’s Leading Influencers Award in May 2019, and Secretary of State’s Outstanding Georgia Citizen Award in July 2019. He served as Executive in Residence at Kennesaw State’s College of Business for the Fall 2019 semester, is a member of the Leadership Atlanta 2019 Class, and Chairman of the Board for Atlanta Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA).

Born and raised in New York, Handy graduated with honors from The College of New Rochelle with a Liberal Arts Degree and a concentration in Political Science. He later went on to earn his Executive MBA from KSU. While in New York, Handy spent nine years at the American Museum of Natural History and helped launch the Rose Center for Earth and Space.

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Milton Jones is a founding member of Peachtree Providence Partners Holding Company, LLC., where Mr. Jones coordinates with the management of portfolio companies to maximize the underlying value of businesses in key sectors including energy, financial products, healthcare, technology, manufacturing/distribution and consulting.

Mr. Jones is the former Executive Chairman and a founding member of CertusBank, NA. In this role, he oversaw Board governance and provided input to the strategic direction, capital formation and investor interaction that helped grow the organization into a $1.9 billion Company organically and through acquisitions. Jones and the other three founders of CertusBank raised $500 million in capital commitments and were the first team to be awarded a national bank shelf charter after the passage of Dodd Frank, the most comprehensive financial reform since the Great Depression. Starting with the purchase of a bank in January 2011 until his departure in 2014, Mr. Jones and the other founders purchased nine companies and fully integrated them onto one platform successfully.

Jones is a 32-year veteran of Bank of America and its predecessor companies where he held a number of senior executive roles. As Georgia Market President, Mr. Jones was the ranking executive publicly to customers and communities for an institution with more than $12 Billion in retail deposits, 155 Branches and 7,000 associates. As former Global Finance Services Group Executive, Mr. Jones led the transformation of Bank of America’s CFO organization while managing daily operations through a team of more than 1,200 professionals in ten primary locations in the USA, UK, Europe and Asia. In addition, Mr. Jones led Bank of America’s Global Supply Chain Management which was responsible for more than $16 Billion in Managed Corporate Sourcing.

In his role as Global Quality and Productivity Executive, Mr. Jones directed Bank of America’s highly effective quality and six-sigma process engineering initiatives for three years. Under his leadership the program produced over $3 billion dollars in productivity value and more than 40,000 six-sigma certifications.

As Mid-South Region President, Mr. Jones commanded Consumer, Commercial, Premier and Small Business Banking sales and operations for Georgia and Tennessee. This region had more than $15 Billion in deposits and $10 Billion in loans. In this role he also managed Innovation and Development Company-wide and was the topic of a Harvard Business School Case Study and an HBR Article.

Prior to his experience as Mid-South Region President, Mr. Jones spearheaded the Technology Solutions Group, including all technology infrastructure for the company; became President of the Dealer Financial Services Group, one of the largest bank providers of financing for the automotive, RV and marine industries; and held a number of Business CFO and senior executive roles in the Finance organization from 1977 to 1997.

Mr. Jones is immediate past chair of The Atlanta Business League Board, is Vice Chair of the Meharry Medical College Board of Trustees, Treasurer and a Board executive Committee member of the 100 Black Men of America, Budget and Finance Committee Chair and Executive Committee member for the United Negro College Fund Board, and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Metro Atlanta YMCA and the Commerce Club. He is also a member of the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club and is a member and past Chairman of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta.

Mr. Jones graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, and is an alumnus of Leadership Georgia and Leadership Atlanta.

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Curley Dossman Jr. is President of the Georgia-Pacific Foundation and Vice President of Community Affairs. Outside of his current role, he serves as Chair of the National Board of Directors and Executive Committee of 100 Black Men of America, Inc., an organization committed to mentoring and paying the college tuition for inner city students. He is also an active member of Morehouse College Alumni Association.

Prior to joining Georgia-Pacific, he worked for AT&T, serving in various legal roles including State Vice President for Georgia, Regional Attorney for the Southern Region (National Government Relations Division). At AT&T, he received the AT&T External Affairs Pacesetter Award for Excellence in Performance and was selected to be a participant in AT&T’s Advanced Management Program in recognition of his performance as a high-potential employee.

A native of Louisiana, he moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College, where he received a BA degree in 1973. While attending Morehouse, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, received the Robert Brisbane Outstanding Award for Students of Political Science, served as President of the Morehouse Student Government Association and was a member of the College Board of Trustees. After graduating from Morehouse, he attended Washington University School of Law and earned a JD degree in 1976. While there, he served as President of the Association of Black Students.

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In 2023 the Just Brothers community lost a legendary leader and one of the original founders of Just Brothers.  Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., of Atlanta, GA, author, entrepreneur, and community activist passed away on February 15, 2023. Tommy W. Dortch, Jr. was born on April 12, 1950, in Toccoa, Georgia to Lizzie Mae Dortch and Thomas W. Dortch, Sr. He inherited his father’s skills at negotiating, a gift of communication, and a deep concern for his community. Tommy was the youngest of six children, exhibiting his leadership qualities at an early age. He excelled academically (especially in mathematics) and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

Mr. Dortch was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TWD, Inc. In 1990, he became the State Director and served as Chief Administrator for United States Senator, Sam Nunn. Mr. Dortch was the first African-American to serve in this capacity for any U. S Senator. Some of Mr. Dortch’s other accomplishments include: Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta Transportation Systems, Inc., Chairman and CEO of Cornerstone Parking, Chairman of Lancor Parking Management, LLC, Managing Partner of FAD Consulting, LLC, founding the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., co-founding the Georgia Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (GAME) to fill a void as an advocacy organization for minority business development, and co-founding the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance as a capacity building and business development organization for the construction and transportation industries.

Mr. Dortch had guest appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Fox News Channel the O’Reilly Factor, C-SPAN, Talk Back Atlanta, National Press Club, CNN, Good Day Atlanta, Black Issues in Higher Education National Video Conference, and MBC Town Hall Meeting. Mr. Dortch is the recipient of numerous awards and honors that celebrate his efforts, a partial list includes: listed in the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 May Editions of Ebony Magazine as one of The 100 Most Influential African Americans; listed in Spring 2001 through 2014 Publications of Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of The 100 Most Influential Atlantans; 2008 Community Service Professional of the Year Award; 2008 FraserNet Community Service Award; 2008 Global Leadership Empowerment Award; Board of Trustees, Leadership Atlanta; Board Member, Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, Vice Chairman of the Board, Friendship Force International, Chairman of the Board, Fulton/DeKalb County Hospital Authority Board of Trustees Chairman, 2010 was inducted into Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Atlanta Hospitality Hall of Fame, Three Term Chairman of The Board, The Atlanta Business League. Member of Operation Hope Board of Trustees, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Board of Trustees, Talladega College Board of Trustees, Clark Atlanta University Board of Trustees; Chairman of The Board, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

Mr. Dortch was a much sought-after speaker on an international, national level to governmental entities, corporations and educational institutions including the Darden School of Business – University of Virginia, Southern University, Delaware State University, Jarvis Christian College, Florida A&M University, South Carolina State University, Georgia State University, Thomas University, Georgia Tech, Paine College, Tuskegee University, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Emerging Leaders Forum, White House Initiatives on Black Colleges, Federal Executive Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Lockheed Georgia Corporation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, United Negro College Fund, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), , Congressional Black Caucus, “The” Fort Valley State University, United States Department of Energy, American Cancer Society, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Blacks In Government, and Anheuser-Busch Company to name a few.

Dortch earned a B.A. Degree in Sociology and Pre- Professional Social Work from “The” Fort Valley State University in 1972, and a Masters of Art Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Clark-Atlanta University in 1986.

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NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo was born in the capital city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mutombo is the seventh of ten children born to Samuel and the late Biamba Marie Mutombo. He arrived in the United States in 1987 on an academic scholarship to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In his second year at Georgetown, Coach John Thompson invited the 7’2″ Mutombo to try out for the university’s renowned basketball team.

After joining the team, Mutombo re-directed his pre-med ambitions and graduated from Georgetown with dual degrees in Linguistics and Diplomacy. He is fluent in nine languages, including five African languages. He played professional basketball for 18 years before retiring from the Houston Rockets in 2009.

Giving back has always been a trademark of Mutombo ever since he entered the NBA in 1991. As a former spokesman for CARE, the international relief agency, Mutombo visited the Somali refugee camps in Northern Kenya in 1993 and traveled with NBA Commissioner David Stern and Georgetown colleagues Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning to Cape Town and Johannesburg.

In 1996, Mutombo paid for the Congo’s women’s basketball team’s trip to Atlanta for the Summer Olympics games and also picked up the tab for the track team’s uniforms and expenses. He is the first Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and he also served on the Advisory Board for the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health. He presently serves on the boards of the National Constitution Center, Opportunity International, Special Olympics International and on the National Board for UNICEF. Mutombo has also served as an advisor and consultant to Freeport McMoRan and as an advisor to Hewlett-Packard.

Mutombo has been named ABC’s Person of the Week, Essence Magazine’s 2001 Achiever, and Sporting News’ No. 1 Good Guy. Mutombo has been featured in Europe’s TIME magazine, Sports Illustrated for Kids, the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Houston Chronicle just to name a few.

In 2009, NBA Commissioner David Stern appointed Mutombo to the newly created position of Global Ambassador. In this new role, he travels throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa to grow and celebrate the game of basketball through numerous international NBA events including Basketball without Borders. In addition, he works closely with NBA Cares outreach efforts with Hall of Famer Bob Lanier who serves as Special Assistant to the Commissioner.

Mutombo is the Chairman and President of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation which he created in 1997. Located in Atlanta, Georgia the Foundation’s mission is to improve the health, education and quality of life for the people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One major project was the construction of the Biamba Marie Mutombo hospital in the capital city of Kinshasa, DR Congo.

In December 2007, the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital opened in the Congo. Named in memory of Mutombo’s beloved mother, the hospital has treated over 100,000 men, women and children.

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