Expo speakers

9x NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer

During his storied 15-year NBA career, Wilkins was selected to the All- Star Game nine times – including the 1986 season when he was the league’s scoring champion. To this day, Wilkins ranks 12th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,668 points. Since his retirement in 1999, Wilkins has had his #21 jersey retired by the Atlanta Hawks (2001) and entered the Naismith Hall of Fame (2006). The Hawks also unveiled a statue in Wilkins’ honor (2015) to memorialize his contributions to the franchise and city. Today Wilkins has a unique position with the Atlanta Hawks, splitting time between the front office as Vice President of Basketball Operations and the broadcast booth as a Hawks game analyst for Fox Sports South. Away from the basketball world, Wilkins is regarded as a leading advocate for the causes of diabetes and spina bifida research – both of which touch his daily life. Wilkins himself is a diabetic and both his father and grandfather passed away from complications related to Type-1 diabetes. In May, Wilkins will be honored by the American Diabetes Association as a “Father of the Year” for his work in this area. Wilkins has also served as a celebrity ambassador for the Spina Bifida Association, a condition affecting his daughter.

Mr. Lassiter plans and directs operations of the Juvenile Justice Section, and serves as a member of the Department’s senior leadership team. As Deputy Commissioner of Juvenile Justice, he oversees juvenile facility operations, juvenile court services, juvenile community programs, and juvenile intervention and treatment programs. In 2015, Mr. Lassiter was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health and Substance Use, for which he co-chaired the Work Group on Children, Youth and Families.

Media professional and radio personality Dion “Showtime” Chavis has become the voice that listeners and readers have come to recognize as their own. Raised in a single-parent home and raised by his mother after losing his father at an early age, Dion began to lean on the culture of Hip Hop as a way to fill the void that was left by his father’s death. In addition to being a dynamic radio personality, Dion is also a dedicated father, speaker, published author and Family Support Specialist with The Family Resource Center of Raleigh (FRC). He is also a contributor to the book Be a Father to Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love, and Fatherhood. Chavis gives an account of what it was like being raised in a fatherless home where his only positive male influence came from members of the Hip Hop community. Also, he has created a platform for the issues affecting single fathers. (www.thesinglefathersblog.com) Thesinglefathersblog.com is a place where fathers can read about real issues and resolutions.

Executive Vice President of Organizational Relations ,
YMCA of the Triangle

James is the Senior Pastor of Christ Our King Community Church located in Raleigh NC. The mission of the church is to build broken people into blessed people who live, learn and lead together as a new community that demonstrates Christ as King.

Founder,
Tru Access and Barbershop Rap Sessions

Tru believes in meeting people where they are and applying proven principles to help those in need address real life issues and challenges. Tru has established himself as a thought leader and trusted voice with Corporate America through his marketing profession and is a regular speaker at industry conferences across the country. He has also been featured in such prominent publications as The New York Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, Fast Company and Fortune Magazine.

Social Work Professor ,
North Carolina A&T State University and UNC-Greensboro

Dr. Shears earned his BSW and Masters in Education Administration from North Carolina A&T State University and his PhD in Social Work from the University of Denver. His research interest is men (fathering,multicultural issues, HIV and AIDS) and quantitative research with an emphasis on data sharing among social service agencies.

Research Assistant,
Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina University

Terrance earned his PhD from the University of Central Florida in the college of Public Affairs. Terrance’s research interest includes the theoretical areas of Globality and Structuration with a focus on future projections in ethnic and cultural perceptions. ​​Terrance acquired his Masters in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. After receiving his MA he entered education administration professionally as an alternative education Principal for 5 years under AMIkids.

Executive Director,
Fathers Forever

In 2008 Glen founded and became the Executive Director of Fathers Forever www.afatherforever.com a 501(c) (3) Non-profit Organization that serves as a map to help fathers chart a new course of fatherhood. Since opening its doors in 2010, more than 350 fathers have been “sentenced” via court-order, to Fathers Forever and have completed the organization’s 24-week education program.

Martin has always enjoyed working to assist others achieve higher levels of success. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force as an Instructor, Student Training Advisor, and for the majority of his service as a Behavioral Heath Clinician working with service members, communities and their families. After retirement he continued to work within the addictions field as the Director of an inpatient treatment facility for 14 years and then for two and a half years he lead another program for UNC’s School of Medicine also located in Raleigh. He currently serves as the Project Director of a 7.8 million dollar Federal SAMHSA grant focusing on building recovery support programing across the state of NC. Martin is excited about the launch of his own company this Summer which emphasizes increasing individuals income, impact and influence through improved communications and leadership mastery.

Dr. Edward E. Bell is an author, a researcher, a poet, and an educator. His professional experiences include, but are not limited to, being a former social worker, a non-profit executive, middle school teacher, college professor, and a school counselor. He is an author and has published peer-reviewed research articles regarding the education/plight of African-American males. In addition, Dr. Bell writes “opinion papers” on the experiences of black males. He is a native New Bernian and currently resides in Raleigh, NC. Dr. Bell received his AAS in criminal justice technology from Craven Community College, BA in criminal justice from North Carolina Central University, and received both his MA in counseling and doctorate in educational leadership from Liberty University. Dr. Bell is a licensed school counselor and social studies teacher in Virginia and North Carolina respectively.

Michael has worked in the field of addictions as a prevention specialist in Raleigh, NC for almost thirty years. During the past fifteen years he has served the State of North Carolina as a CSAP Fellow, Coordinator of Faith Works Together, provided training on Building Bridges to Faith Communities, Ethics 2020, Strategic Prevention Framework, Spirituality, Hip Hop and Popular Culture in Drug and Alcohol Schools, Conferences and regional trainings. For the past three years he has focused on Faith Communities and Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) and Health Disparities. He earned a BA in Liberal Studies from Shaw University in Raleigh, NC and an MA in Liberal Studies from Duke University in Durham, NC.

Reggie graduated from ECSU with his BS in accounting. He currently resides in Raleigh with his wife and is the proud father of their 3 sons. Reggie, a Certified Financial Planner, has worked as a Financial Advisor in the Triangle area for 9 years. His mission is to help his clients, and their families, obtain financial security through the financial planning process. Lastly, Reggie is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi and a founding charter member of the Wake Forest/Roseville’s Alumni Chapter.