Kelita Bak, CEO National Youth Leadership Council
A strong advocate for youth, Bak has worked in youth development and public policy in Washington, D.C. for more than 15 years. She has held a range of leadership positions in national nonprofit organizations, most recently as the National Vice President of Advancement for Camp Fire USA. Throughout her career, Bak has built and managed key relationships, including numerous partnerships and coalitions. Among those, she served as a lead convener of Service-Learning United and worked to secure agreement among service-learning leaders on provisions in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. She also has served on the board of the National Service-Learning Partnership and as a mentor in the Emerging Leaders Initiative, led by NYLC and the Partnership.

Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc.
In his 20-plus years with Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc., Canada has become nationally recognized for his pioneering work helping children and families in Harlem and as a passionate advocate for education reform.

In 1997, the agency launched the Harlem Children’s Zone Project, which targets a specific geographic area in Central Harlem with a comprehensive range of services. The Zone Project today covers 100 blocks and aims to serve over 10,000 children by 2011.

The work of Canada and HCZ has become a national model and has been the subject of many profiles in the media. Their work has been featured on 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, CBS This Morning, The Charlie Rose Show, and NPR‟s “On Point,” as well in articles in The New York Times, The New York Daily News, USA Today, and Newsday. Most recently, Canada can be seen prominently featured in the Davis Guggenheim documentary “Waiting for Superman.”

Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Laureate and judge
Ebadi is the first Iranian to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her outspoken campaigns for human rights and democracy in her own country of Iran.

Ebadi was born in the city of Hamedan, Iran in 1947. Her family were academics and practicing Muslims.  She graduated from Tehran University and went onto become Iran’s first female judge, serving from 1975. However after the Islamic revolution of 1979 she was forced to resign, as women were no longer allowed to serve as judges.  In 1992 she obtained a lawyers certificate enabling her to set up her own practice, defending many victims of child abuse and murder. She has also established two non-governmental organizations in Iran, the Iranian Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child and the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights.  Her work for human rights in Iran have won her admiration and respect from humanitarian bodies across the globe. However in Iran her promotion of human rights issues and politically sensitive issues have led to clashes with the conservative judiciary.

William Gains, youthrive Board of Directors
William Gains has worked with in the youth development field for over 12 years, consulting on education campaigns, liaising with state government officials, and serving in focus groups, and on action committees.   Gains manages global e-marketing campaigns for top software companies at an international e-commerce company headquartered in Minnesota, and is in his third year of law school at William Mitchell College of Law. Gains has been on the youthrive Board of Directors for three years, and was named as Board Chair in June 2010.

Jeron Mariani, youthrive Board of Directors and Leadership Team
Jeron Mariani is a Junior at Saint Paul Academy.  In his school life, Mariani enjoys playing basketball, is a member of a service learning club, and is in the process of bringing PeaceJam Ambassadors program to his school.  Mariani is passionate about integrating service learning with youth leadership, and is extensively involved with youthrive, a youth leadership-based nonprofit organization that focuses on peace-building skills following the vision of Nobel Peace Laureates. 

Mariani serves on the youthrive Board of Directors and is also a member of its youthrive Leadership Team. He is an experienced emcee and trainer for youthrive’s Circle of Youth Engagement Training and an accomplished poet and spoken word artist.

Steve Culbertson, President and CEO, YSA
Culbertson is President and CEO of YSA. Culbertson led the international expansion of National Youth Service Day into Global Youth Service Day in 2000, and YSA now coordinates GYSD activities in more than 100 countries on six continents In 2008, he developed Semester of Service, an academic framework that links Martin Luther King Day of Service (January) to Global Youth Service Day (April) with service-learning projects of "Duration and Intensity".

Culbertson has been an active volunteer since childhood with service organizations ranging from Rotary International and the Boy Scouts of America to the Episcopal Church and the Lawrence Hall School. He is a Trustee for America's Promise Alliance, a member of the Advisory Committee for the Ad Council, and serves on the boards of the National Youth Rights Association, National Service-Learning Partnership, and Youth Service America.

Joan Liptrot, Executive Director of the Institute for Global Education and Service Learning
Joan Liptrot provides training and technical assistance to schools, higher education institutions, community, and faith based organizations as well as National Service programs. A former classroom teacher, with 20 years of experience in education, international teacher training, and curriculum development, Liptrot has helped youth and adults across the country develop, expand, and enhance their service-learning practice. Passionate about helping educators improve teaching and learning, Liptrot has been working with the National Service Learning Conference for more than six years to facilitate “The Rookie Series” workshops for those new to the field and “The Consultant Is In” onsite one-on-one service-learning support.

Eric Rowles, President and CEO, Leading to Change
Rowles is a nationally recognized trainer, speaker, and consultant on generational diversity, millennial culture, substance abuse prevention, and workforce development. His presentations are legendary -- combining energy and innovation -- and at the same time reaching each of us through his stories, research, and on-the-ground strategies. Rowles is a former faculty member of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and Rutgers University, and has over a decade of innovative and cutting edge classroom instruction and facilitation experience.

James Toole, President/CEO, Compass Institute
James Toole is President of Compass Institute and Teaching and Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota in the School of Social Work and College of Education and Human Development. His professional passions include leadership development, organizational change, spirituality and service, global health, and service-learning. Toole has worked nationally in 45 states with schools, non-profits, foundations, correctional facilities, and state departments of education and has taught at every level from pre-school and kindergarten through graduate school.

Pamela Toole, Vice President, Compass Institute
Pamela Toole has worked with students at every level, from upper elementary through graduate school. The former Director of NYLC's Professional Development Department, she is currently Vice President of Compass Institute and a lecturer at the University of Minnesota School of Social and Youth Studies. She has led service-learning workshops for educators in more than 40 states, and works with peer education programs. She's particularly involved with issues of diversity and equity within the service-learning field.