Leadership Council

Our Leadership Council is comprised of diverse leaders and iconic Americans who are lending their names and voices to the Opportunity Nation campaign.  The Council is co-chaired by Mayor Bloomberg and includes more than a dozen university and college presidents, current and former elected officials, media and business personalities, celebrities, and many more.

• The Honorable Michael Bloomberg (Co-Chair)

  Mayor, New York City

• Salam Al-Marayati

  President, Muslim Public Affairs Council

• Robert Atchinson

  Co-Founder, Adage Capital Management, L.P.

• Joshua Bekenstein

  Managing Director, Bain Capital, LLC

• Angela Glover Blackwell

  Founder and CEO, Policy Link

• The Honorable John Bridgeland

  CEO, Civic Enterprises; Former Assistant to the President, Director of White House Domestic Policy Council and USA Freedom Council, President George W. Bush

• Roger Brown

  President, Berklee College of Music

• Nick Cannon

  Actor, Comedian, Musician, Writer and Executive Producer

• Dan Carroll

  Founding Partner, Newbridge Capital

• Noel Castellanos

  CEO, Christian Community Development Association

• John Coatsworth

  Dean, School of International and Public Affairs, Interim Provost, Columbia University

• The Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr.

  President, Esperanza

• Scott Cowen

  President, Tulane University

• Jonathan DeFelice

  President, Saint Anselm College

• Robert Denson

  President, Des Moines Area Community College

• Meredith DeWitt

  Principal, Meredith J. DeWitt Consulting

• The Honorable John J. Dilulio, Jr.

  Former Assistant to the President & Director, Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, President George W. Bush

• Tiffany Dufu

  President, The White House Project

• Willarda V. Edwards

  MD, MBA; Past President, National Medical Association

• Brian Gallagher

  President and CEO, United Way Worldwide

• Michael J. Gerson

  Journalist, Washington Post; Assistant to the President for Policy and Strategic Planning, President George W. Bush

• Kat Graham

  Actress on the CW's The Vampire Diaries, Singer

• Christopher Graves

  Global CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

• Barry Griswell

  CEO, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines; Retired Chairman, President and CEO, Principal Financial Group

• Paul Grogan

  President and CEO, The Boston Foundation

• James Gutierrez

  CEO, Progreso Financiero

• The Honorable Tony Hall

  U.S. Ambassador, United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture; Former U.S. Congressman, Ohio

• Ron Haskins

  Former White House Senior Advisor for Welfare Policy, President George W. Bush

• Hubie Jones

  Social Justice Entrepreneur in Residence, City Year, Inc.

• Woody Hunt

  Chairman and CEO, Hunt Companies, Inc.

• Curtis L. Ivery

  Chancellor, Wayne County Community College District

• Jo Ann Jenkins

  President, AARP Foundation

• Serene Jones

  President, Union Theological Seminary

• Irv Katz

  President and CEO, National Human Services Assembly

• Kimberly Kelleher

  Worldwide Publisher, TIME

• Charles Kolb

  President, Committee for Economic Development

• Kathy Krendl

  President, Otterbein University

• Jonathan Lavine

  Managing Director, Bain Capital, LLC; Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Sankaty Advisors, LLC

• Stanley Litow

  Vice President, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, and President, IBM International Foundation

• Michael Lynton

  Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment

• Anthony Marx

  President and CEO, New York Public Library

• Patrick McCarthy

  President and CEO, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

• Rosabeth Moss Kanter

  Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Author

• Pat Mora

  Author and Literacy Advocate

• Michael Miles

  President and COO, Staples, Inc.

• Michael Muldowney

  Interim CEO, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• Diana Natalicio

  President, The University of Texas at El Paso

• C.L. Max Nikias

  President, University of Southern California

• Eduardo Padrón

  President, Miami Dade College

• Kenneth Peacock

  Chancellor, Appalachian State University

• Hugh Price

  John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs & Co. Visiting Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; Former President and CEO, National Urban League

• A. Barry Rand

  CEO, AARP

• Mark Rodgers

  Principal, The Clapham Group; Managing Director, Wedgwood Circle

• Judith Rodin

  President, The Rockefeller Foundation

• Robert Ross

  President, The California Endowment

• Isabel Sawhill

  Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

• Russell Simmons

  CEO, RUSH Communications

• Gail Snowden

  CEO, Freedom House

• Rick Stengel

  Managing Editor, TIME

• Max Stier

  President and CEO, Partnership for Public Service

• Neera Tanden

  President, Center for American Progress

• Stuart Thorne

  President and CEO, Southwire

• Luis Ubiñas

  President, Ford Foundation

• Dennis Van Roekel

  President, National Education Association

• Judy Vredenburgh

  President and CEO, Girls, Inc.

• Jill Wakefield

  Chancellor, Seattle Community Colleges

• Margy Waller

  Former White House Senior Advisor on Working Families, President Bill Clinton

• Rick Warren

  Pastor, Saddleback Church

• Mark Wildman

  Vice President, Group Publisher of The Parenting Group

• will.i.am

  Musician/Producer, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist

• Harry Williams

  President, Delaware State University

• The Honorable Harris Wofford

  Former U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania

• Major General Albert Zapanta (Ret.)

  President & CEO, U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce