Paul is a Navy Veteran who served 10 years active duty time as a Navigation Electronics Technician. Paul is originally from Del Rio, TX. During his service, he completed Basic Submarine Enlisted School, Navigation Electronic “A’ School and completed 9 years sea service aboard 5 different submarines. He completed three Western Pacific, two Middle Eastern, an U.S. Eastern, and one Northern European deployment. His 9 years sea service included tours on the USS Charlotte, Greeneville, Jefferson City, Albany, San Juan, and was attached to Detachment Unmanned Undersea Vehicles. He has earned the Submarine and Deep Submergence Insignias Warfare. He left active duty in 2014 for the Navy Reserves and has served in battlespace management, emergency management, maintenance units, and is now the Senior Enlisted Leader for a Littoral Combat Ship Reserve Unit.

Joyce James began her professional career as a Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworker. She has established an impressive 40-year history in leading and supporting efforts for addressing institutional and structural racism in systems. She has a powerful story of her journey from CPS caseworker to Assistant Commissioner of Texas CPS, Deputy Commissioner of Department of Family Protective Services, and Associate Deputy Executive Commissioner of the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities (CEDD) and the State Office of Minority Health, at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Dr. Monica Webb Hooper is Deputy Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). She works closely with the Director, Dr. Pérez-Stable, and the leadership, to oversee all aspects of the institute and to support the implementation of the science visioning recommendations to improve minority health, reduce health disparities, and promote health equity.

Syeda Hasan covers mental health for KERA News, the NPR member station in Dallas. A Houston native, her journalism career has taken her to public radio newsrooms around Texas. Before joining KERA, Syeda covered development and affordability at KUT News in Austin. She also worked as a general assignment reporter for Houston Public Media. Her work has been heard nationally on shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered and PBS Newshour. Syeda earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism, with a minor in French, at the University of Texas at Austin.

Greg Hansch serves as Executive Director of NAMI Texas. He originally joined NAMI Texas in 2012 and he has served in the roles of Public Policy Director and Policy Coordinator. He is a Licensed Masters-Level Social Worker and a family member of a person with serious mental illness. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in Nonprofit and Public Management from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. He is passionate about facilitating opportunities for mental health recovery.

Priscilla has been with Goose Creek CISD for 6 years in Baytown, Texas. Her current role as Healthy Community School Coordinator is to promote wellness for the students, staff, parents, and ultimately the entire community. It is accomplished by partnering with local organizations that share a common goal: the wellness of the community. She also works with district leadership and school staff to implement programs, policies and changes in infrastructure that encourages a healthy lifestyle.

Debra Franco is the Child Hunger Outreach Specialist for Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) McAllen office. She is responsible for promoting and expanding participation in the USDA FNS programs in South Texas, with a special emphasis on child nutrition in school campuses within the border counties of Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business and has 14 years of experience in management with the private sector. Debra is also the President and Co-Founder of the South Texas Juvenile Diabetes Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving over 500 families of children living with diabetes. She is the recipient of multiple awards for her community service and participates in numerous local, state and national boards, including School Health Advisory Councils. She was recently recognized by Texas Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., for her outstanding contribution to border health.

William Buster currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Community Investments. William provides oversight for the Foundation’s grantmaking programs and mobile Dental Program and is responsible for leading the design, development, delivery and evaluation of the Foundation’s grantmaking strategies and policies. He also provides oversight to ensure grants and programs match the strategic direction established by the Board and ensure that programs are achieving the desired outcomes.

Elizabeth Bruenig is an opinion writer at The New York Times, where she writes on Christianity, politics, and morality in public life. Previously, she was an opinion writer at The Washington Post, where she published a Pulitzer-nominated investigation of an unprosecuted sexual assault in her Texas hometown. She has worked as an editor in The Post’s Outlook section and as a staff writer at The New Republic, and prior to her work in journalism, received her Master’s of Philosophy in Christian theology at the University of Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar. She lives with her husband and daughters in New England.

Patrick Brandt is the President of Shiftsmart, Inc. He joined the Shiftsmart team in October of 2016. A veteran enterprise software entrepreneur and executive, Brandt has a proven track record of leading companies through rapid growth and expansion.