Ashray Reddy

Ashray Reddy is passionate about driving innovation and positive change in the food and beverage industry. His expertise is in food and beverage brand and product strategy. He currently serves as the Senior Brand Manager at Hatcheri Foods, leading the brand strategy for Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods. Previously, Ashray held similar roles with brands such as Finless Foods, Starbucks, Nestle, and Chameleon Cold Brew. He also co-founded MeaningFull Meals, a nonprofit aimed at fighting food insecurity. Ashray holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Maya.

Connor Blankenship

Connor Blankenship is a senior clean energy professional with over 10 years of experience in project finance and mergers and acquisitions at several major renewables developers in North America. Currently, he is a Senior Manager in the Energy Origination & Development team at TC Energy, where he is responsible for originating and financing low carbon opportunities. Prior to TC Energy, Blankenship held comparable roles at GE Capital, Exelon, ENGIE, and Harrison Street Capital. Blankenship graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in finance and has a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. During his time at Booth, he co-founded and acted as Treasurer for MeaningFull Meals, a nonprofit focused on fighting food insecurity. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Elizabeth, and dog, Bonkers. 

Cyekeia Lee

Cyekeia Lee is the Executive Director of the Detroit College Access Network (DCAN), overseeing college access support for over 50 high schools in Detroit. In this role, she brings together school districts, community-based organizations, and workforce partners to make postsecondary pathways a reality for all students. Previously, Lee was the Director of Community Collaboration at The Kalamazoo Promise and the Director of Higher Education Initiatives with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Eastern Michigan University and a master’s degree in counseling education from Wayne State University. 

David Croom

David has expertise in higher education including federal policy, student engagement, adult learner populations and related pathways. He recently joined JP Morgan Chase & Co. in their Jobs & Skills program, which is responsible for setting the firm’s goals and approach to expanding economic opportunity and career pathways, and making national-level philanthropic investments to execute that approach. Prior, David was the director for postsecondary success for parents with Ascend at the Aspen Institute, where he led the Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative. David has also held various roles including HBCU Lead and Higher Education Designer at Education Design Lab, strategy officer in Lumina Foundation’s Washington, D.C. office, as well as a policy analyst focused on federal postsecondary education in ACT’s office of strategic initiatives. His first foray into federal policy was as congressional aide to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, tasked with the member’s education portfolio with a specific emphasis on regulation of for-profit higher education. In addition to his service at Swipe Out Hunger, David also serves on the board of Raise the Barr. Originally from South Florida, but now a resident of Washington, DC, David holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management with a minor in political science.

Dr. Christopher J. Nellum

Dr. Christopher Nellum (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of The Education Trust–West, a nonprofit education equity organization focused on educational justice and closing achievement and opportunity gaps for students of color and students from lower-income communities from preschool through college.  Nellum co-led the creation of a three-year strategic plan and deepened the organization’s expertise in early childhood education, K-12, and higher education. He has led successful advocacy efforts to ensure equity in the K-12 accountability system, create a statewide cradle-to-career data system, address food insecurity for college students, and ensure that every high school senior completes a financial aid application before they graduate. In addition, Nellum was the founding co-chair of the California Higher Education Equity Coalition.  Nellum has worked with the National Center for Institutional Diversity, Young Invincibles, and the American Council on Education. Nellum completed his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara, master’s degree at CSU Long Beach, and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. He mentors young Black and Latinx students through his volunteer work with college access programs like Berkeley Community Scholars. Nellum is serving in the biggest role of his lifetime as a father of a baby girl. He is married to Dr. Alexis Jackson, an Oakland native and marine conservation scientist and ocean policy advocate.

Dr. Rashida Crutchfield

Dr. Rashida Crutchfield is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and Director of the Center for Equitable Higher Education, which is a research center dedicated to studying and promoting economic, food, and housing justice. She is also an advocate committed to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities through research and service. Prior to her work at CSULB, she served on the staff of Covenant House California, a shelter for 18-to-24-year-olds experiencing homelessness. This experience blossomed a passion to support this student population. Dr. Crutchfield was a Principal Investigator for the California State University Office of the Chancellor study on food and housing security. Her work has been instrumental in the development of programs and services for students experiencing housing and food insecurity at all 23 CSU campuses. Her continued research and advocacy on basic needs for students has garnered statewide and national attention. She has provided input on state policy and provides consultation and support to agencies, and higher education staff, faculty, and administrators across the nation.  Dr. Crutchfield has authored or co-authored many articles, including “The starving student narrative: How normalizing deprivation reinforces basic need insecurity in higher education”. Co-authored with Drs. Ronald Hallett and Jennifer Maguire, her text Addressing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education: Strategies for Educational Leaders is used as a manual for developing programs and services to support student basic needs throughout the country.

Eben Shapiro

Eben Shapiro is a veteran media executive with three decades of experience overseeing award-winning digital and print content at TIME, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), The New York Times, and Newsweek. He currently is the Executive Editor at Sellerseaston Media. As Deputy Editor at TIME, he oversaw daily operations and launched the highly successful Leadership Brief CEO interview series. While at WSJ, Shapiro served as the top editor of sections including Personal Journal, Review and Arena; the Global Arts Editor; and the Editor of the WSJ’s Personal Journal, a consumer section he co-launched in 2002. In addition, Shapiro was the Business Editor of Newsweek magazine and a Business Reporter for The New York Times. He is known for successful startup launches and building cohesive, energetic reporting teams.

Michael Block

Michael Block is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He began his career at Hasbro and continues in the toy and game industry with over 20 year’s experience in international sales and marketing. In addition, he has been in the health and wellness industry for the past 10 years owning greenmonkey® yoga and currently is a private investor in several initiatives. He currently sits on the Boards of Voices for Children, Feeding South Florida, Swipe Out Hunger, and the Block Family Foundation. Block earned his bachelor of arts degree from American University. 

Miki Rettig

Miki Rettig is an Executive Assistant at Ares Management, a global alternative investment management company operating in the credit, private equity, and real estate markets. Through her own college experience and later as owner of a specialty food store catering to women, infants, and children, Rettig has seen first-hand the impact food has on the growth, development, self-esteem and confidence of young people. Rettig is committed to using her experiences to address the universal need for food and eliminate hunger for the young and the young at heart. Previous to her role at Ares Management, Rettig worked as an Accountant and Controller at an Orange County, CA hospital as well as at Blue Cross of California, Medi-Cal Programs and Health Net, Inc. where she continued her dedication to the improvement of health for families and communities. Rettig received a bachelor of science in business administration from University of California, Riverside and a master of science in health services administration with an emphasis in community health education and health promotion from California State University, San Bernardino.

Ruth Suzman

Ruth Suzman is a dedicated volunteer, philanthropist, and non-profit advisor. Having earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, today Suzman works with organizations that help advance social justice and organizations that help strengthen the Jewish community. She is currently serving as global board chair for BBYO, the leading pluralistic Jewish youth movement. Nationally, Suzman is a board member of the Vanderbilt University Hillel (Nashville), she serves on the advisory council of the College of Liberal Arts at University of Texas at Austin and on the board of directors of the MB and Edna Zale Foundation (Dallas). In her local work, Suzman is Chair Emerita of the Board of the Westchester Community College Foundation, and a member of the advisory council to the Westchester Community Foundation (local division of the New York Community Trust). Additionally, Suzman serves as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York CIty. She is proud to be a part of the movement to end hunger on college campuses.

Sean Tierney

Sean Tierney is a Director of Research and Policy at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).

Prior to joining IHEP, Sean was an Associate Commissioner at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education where he oversaw the postsecondary portion of Indiana’s state longitudinal data system, managed a research portfolio focused on student access and outcomes, and helped create, implement, and assess statewide policies and programs. Previously, Sean held roles at Lumina Foundation, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Sean earned a B.A. with majors in economics, English, and sociology and an M.P.P. with a higher education concentration, both from Vanderbilt University. Sean is motivated by the belief that higher education is one of the best ways to advance our nation’s promise of opportunity – but that greater transparency, high-quality research, and policy reforms are needed to ensure those opportunities are available to all. In his spare time, Sean enjoys running, hiking, and home renovation projects.