Lawrence T. Brown is the proud grandson of Mississippi and Arkansas Delta sharecroppers and preachers. From 2010 to 2019, Lawrence worked at Morgan State University in the School of Community Health and Policy as a post-doctoral fellow, an assistant professor, and an associate professor. His research examined the impact of historical trauma on community health.
In June 2018, he was honored by OSI Baltimore with the Bold Thinker award for sparking critical discourse regarding Baltimore’s racial segregation. In September 2018, he was named #61 in The Root 100—an annual list of the most influential African Americans ages 25 to 45.
In January 2020, Lawrence became the Director of the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program in the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. His first book The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space In America will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in January of 2021.
In June 2018, he was honored by OSI Baltimore with the Bold Thinker award for sparking critical discourse regarding Baltimore’s racial segregation. In September 2018, he was named #61 in The Root 100—an annual list of the most influential African Americans ages 25 to 45.
In January 2020, Lawrence became the Director of the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program in the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. His first book The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space In America will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in January of 2021.
Natosha Reid Rice is the Associate General Counsel for Real Estate and Finance at Habitat for Humanity International. She also founded Fresh Rain for Life Ministries and is the Minister for Public Life at All Saints’ Episcopal Church. Natosha received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in Government with honors from Harvard/Radcliffe College.
Natosha is passionate about providing a voice to the voiceless and opportunities to communities that have been historically disadvantaged. She served for 11 years as the Associate Pastor for Women’s Ministries at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia and she currently serves on the boards of the global Harvard Alumni Association as an Elected Director, the Atlanta Community Foodbank, the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Invest Atlanta’s Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. and the Advisory Board of the Harvard Debate Council.
She has been actively involved in efforts to pass legislation and policies to protect victims of human sex trafficking in Georgia. Her work alongside other activists and advocacy organizations, led to the passage of the Safe Harbor/Rachel’s Law in 2015 and a state Constitutional Amendment in 2016 that outlines the operation of the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund and Commission.
Natosha was selected as one of Atlanta Tribune’s 50 Women of Excellence, one of Atlanta’s 100 Most Influential Women by the Atlanta Business League, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, the Circle of Friends Pearl Award and the Church Women United’s (Atlanta Unit) Outstanding Young Woman.
She is married to Corey Rice and they are the proud parents of Kayla, Malachi and Caleb.
Richard Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America which recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation. He is also the author of many other articles and books on race and education, which can be found on his web page at the Economic Policy Institute. Previous influential books include Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black–White Achievement Gap
Bree Jones is the founder of Parity, an equitable development company that acquires and rehabilitates abandoned properties by the block in West Baltimore to create affordable homeownership opportunities. At the core of her work is development without displacement – she aims to revitalize distressed neighborhoods and create ownership while ensuring that legacy residents are able to participate in and benefit from reinvestment.
Prior to founding Parity, Bree had a career in finance and investments where she was an analyst at Morgan Stanley, a vice president at Point72 Asset Management, and an investment associate at the venture capital firm, Anthemis Group. These roles included deal structuring, capital raises, conducting due diligence, advanced data analysis, and deal management.
Bree has been a lifelong social justice advocate, focused primarily on economic justice, affordable housing, anti-displacement, anti-gentrification, and anti-recidivism. As an advocate, Bree played a pivotal role in the creation of a Community Benefits Agreements in New Rochelle, NY for the downtown master redevelopment plan, and advocated for community protections in local legislation and zoning.
Prior to founding Parity, Bree had a career in finance and investments where she was an analyst at Morgan Stanley, a vice president at Point72 Asset Management, and an investment associate at the venture capital firm, Anthemis Group. These roles included deal structuring, capital raises, conducting due diligence, advanced data analysis, and deal management.
Bree has been a lifelong social justice advocate, focused primarily on economic justice, affordable housing, anti-displacement, anti-gentrification, and anti-recidivism. As an advocate, Bree played a pivotal role in the creation of a Community Benefits Agreements in New Rochelle, NY for the downtown master redevelopment plan, and advocated for community protections in local legislation and zoning.