Cecil White III
Professional background
Cecil White is an Agent at WME Sports focused on building businesses around athletes and multi-hyphenate celebrities. His primary focus is securing brand partnerships and equity-based endorsements. As of late, given the recent legislation allowing college athletes to monetize their name/image/likeness (NIL), Cecil has negotiated groundbreaking, 1 of 1 deals for top talent such as Shedeur Sanders (JSU), Deja Kelly (UNC), Dior Johnson (Oregon), Gradey Dick (Kansas) and more. He plays a vital role in the consultation of the MEAC conference as well, servicing the entire conference for all sponsorships and multimedia rights needs. Outside of these duties, he served on the programming team for the Social Justice Now Festival and has a hand in several non-scripted television projects including ‘Why Not Us’, a docuseries executive produced by NBA superstar Chris Paul. He was also instrumental in creating and securing brand and media partners for The Legacy Classic, an HBCU basketball event hosted by Michael B. Jordan. Before joining WME, Cecil was a Senior Financial Analyst at Endeavor, WME’s parent company, where he helped secure deals to create revenue streams for Endeavor’s subsidiary companies. Prior to coming to Endeavor, Cecil began his career in NYC as an Investment Banking analyst at Barclays. He currently serves on the McIntire Young Alumni Council at the University of Virginia, is an advisor to the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art and most recently joined the Emerging Leaders Council of New Heights Youth, Inc. Cecil was an Echols Scholar at UVA where he received his Bachelor of Science in Commerce with concentrations, in Finance, Management & Business Analytics and a minor in African American studies. In 2020, Cecil was listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 and Sports Business Journal’s New Voices Under 30.
Educational Background
B.S., Commerce (Finance, Management, Business Analytics) - University of Virginia
favorite memory of dr. debra saunders-white
Mother-son trips to Martha's Vineyard
relationship to dr. debra saunders-white
Son
INTERESTS
White enjoys audio-books, traveling, cooking and discussing the latest trends in pop-culture and technology with friends.
Elizabeth Paige-White
Professional Background
Elizabeth uses her passion for the law to fight for the voiceless in society. She is currently a Staff Attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and served as a public defender in New York City for several years. With each of her clients, she aims to develop a true relationship to gather mitigating information in order to reach a disposition that rehabilitates rather than punishes. Elizabeth has written extensive legal motions arguing the nuanced and complex criminal law issues in New York City.
During her tenure in law school, Elizabeth was involved in a number of organizations, most notably the Trial Team where she emerged as a Final Four candidate – the only woman to hold that title in 2014.
Elizabeth’s previous work experience includes an internship with the Neighborhood Defenders Service of Harlem, an internship on Capitol Hill with Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and working at the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.
Elizabeth attended Temple University where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology, ran on the Varsity track and field team and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Educational Background
B.A., Political Science and Government; Sociology; Spanish, Temple University
J.D., University of Florida
Favorite Memory of Dr. Debra Saunders White
Mother-daughter nights at home eating dinner in bed, watching TV
Relationship to Dr. Debra Saunders-White
Daughter
Interests
Paige enjoys running in marathons, cooking, taking historical tours of cities and going on walks with her French Bulldog and Boston Terrier, Migo and Henry.
Funlola Otukoya
professional background
Funlola is a professional with interests that lie at the intersection of technological innovation, climate change and African development. Funlola currently serves as Investment Analyst at the McKnight Foundation where he helps steward the foundations $2.3bn endowment and $200 million impact investing portfolio. Funlola Otukoya also serves as Africa Advisor at Concordia where he focuses on strategy, partnership development and program implementation for the Africa vertical. Previously, Funlola served as Investor Lead at CDP, an organization focused on ESG integration into the financial markets as it relates to climate change, water scarcity, and soft-commodity deforestation. As Investor Lead he worked with leading financial institutions and financial sponsors on sustainable infrastructure financing and investments risks and opportunities. Funlola's civic and nonprofit activities include the the board of Nexus Community Partners, advisory board for Entrepreneurship at Cornell University, a NationSwell Council member, and is a member of the Robert S. Brookings Society. He has been recognized as an Emerging Leader by the OCP Policy Center and German Marshall Fund of the United States at the Atlantic Dialogues in Marrakech.
educational background
B.S., Development Sociology and Applied Economics & Management with concentrations in International Trade & Development - Cornell University
favorite memory of dr. debra saunders-white
"Say your actual name Fun!"
Relationship to Dr. Debra Saunders-White
Family friend / Cecil White’s brother.
interests
Otukoya enjoys reading and solo traveling.
Tony E. Douglas, Jr.
Professional Background
Tony Douglas Jr. is the co-founder and Chief DAO Officer of Convex Labs, a digital research & development ecosystem that aims to reshape work and innovation with blockchain technology. Prior to Convex Labs, Tony was the Business Development Lead at Humu, a behavioral change technology company based in Silicon Valley, CA, whose mission is to take work better for everyone, everywhere, with “the power of people science, machine learning and love.” He began his career in New York City as an internal design consultant at Goldman Sachs and eventually helped build an organizational design team for the firm. Tony’s lifelong passion is to create freer and more fulfilling lives within social science and frontier technologies.
Educational background
B.S., Commerce (Finance, Management, Entrepreneurship); B.A., Psychology - University of Virginia
M.A., Industrial-Organizational Psychology - New York University
M.B.A - Stanford Graduate School of Business
Favorite memory of Dr. debra saunders-white
DSW’s palpable spirit and legacy at her service. I have never before in my life experienced first-hand evidence of so many lives touched and inspired by a single beautiful soul.
Relationship to Dr. debra saunders-white
Mentee / her son’s best friend.
interests
Douglas enjoys sports, motivational content, and long-forum academic discussions on the nature of reality and futurist technology topics.
Courtney F. Richardson
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Courtney F. Richardson is the proud Founding School Leader of KIPP Compton Community Upper School focused on creating the conditions to improve outcomes for students and children of color. Richardson began her career in Atlanta, Georgia where she served as a volunteer and teacher in Southwest Atlanta where she completed over 100 home visits and supported community centers in order to immerse herself in the interconnectedness of city schools, health disparities and the social and structural conditions that influence contemporary American life. With a fierce commitment to equity as an indicator of justice, Richardson relocated to New York City where she continued her journey as an Educator at Excellence Boys Middle Academy in Brooklyn while working to achieve her M.A.T from Relay Graduate School of Education. Having fallen in love with the community, Richardson pursued leadership as an Uncommon Schools Principal Fellow where she served in District 23 of Brownsville NY. During her time in NYC, Richardson participated in several leadership activities including SXSW EDU as well as solo-trips to South Africa & Isreal in order to expand her knowledge base within the global sector and develop a clear understanding of educational excellence that nurtures students to uncover their potential and blaze trails in the world beyond school walls. In 2019, Richardson relocated to Los Angeles, California were she became a part of the KIPP SoCal Team and Family, serving at both KIPP Empower & KIPP Ignite Academies as a Dean, Assistant School Leader & School Leader Fellow in South Central LA. Richardson is currently enrolled at Teachers College - Columbia University for Summer Principals Academy where she is engaging in a transformative graduate program committed to developing school leaders to promote equity and excellence in education through innovation and real-world experience in order to shape the next generation of leaders within the United States of America.
Educational background
B.A., Communication, Urban Education & Leadership - Georgia State University
M.A.T., Masters in Teaching - Relay Graduate School of Education
Ed.M, NY State School Building Leadership, Columbia University - Teachers College
Favorite memory of Dr. debra saunders-white
I watched Aunt Debbie speak for the first time at the inaugural NSF sponsored HBCU Presidents Summit on STEM. She spoke with such conviction and passion, using her own experiences to inspire change across NCCU.
I deeply admire DSW and I strive to emulate her in my own leadership journey in Education.
Relationship to Dr. debra saunders-white
Cecil White III, is one of my closest friends.
Interests
Richardson enjoys fitness, nature, travel and coffee shops with good wifi!