Bill Huston is a founder, strategist, and global speaker focused on democratizing access to capital through crowdfunding and community‑driven finance. He is the founder of CrowdMax, where he helps entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and small businesses raise capital by building engaged, mission‑aligned audiences. Recognized by Inc. Magazine as a Top Global Crowdfunding Expert, Bill has advised and trained founders worldwide on seed and investment crowdfunding, digital strategy, and equity access. He serves on the board of the National Coalition for Community Capital and is known for translating complex capital‑raising strategies into practical, inclusive tools that expand ownership and opportunity.

Kate Washington is a civic and economic development leader based in Rochester, New York, with a long track record in municipal government, community growth, and business strategy. She served as Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development for the City of Rochester, where she led housing, real estate, business development, and downtown revitalization initiatives that helped transform neighborhoods and expand economic opportunity. 

Max Rodriguez is the founder and publisher of QBR: The Black Book Review, a national platform spotlighting books across the African and African‑diaspora experience, and the founder of the Harlem Book Fair, one of the best-known Black literary festivals in the U.S. He launched QBR in the early 1990s to address the lack of mainstream visibility for Black authors and has since built it into a review outlet and cultural convening force—connecting writers, readers, and institutions through events, interviews, and editorial coverage.

Sébastien Célestine is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and ecosystem builder with roots in the Caribbean and a base in the Bay Area. He leads EOG Group and is Chairman & Co‑founder of ALL MOL Technology, building an omnichannel commerce and delivery platform for small businesses in island markets. He also teaches and mentors founders in startups and entrepreneurship, and is known for advancing a “community wealth” approach to venture—arguing for investment models in Africa and the Caribbean that build durable infrastructure and trust networks rather than extract value.

Wavinya Makai is a Pan‑African political economy writer and public intellectual examining how global capitalism shapes inequality, sovereignty, and dignity across Africa. She holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge and a degree in International Relations from the University of Nairobi, grounding her work in both rigorous scholarship and lived African experience. She is the author of Capital Violence: The Economic War on African Dignity, a field‑level critique of debt, aid, and financial power that positions Africa as an early warning system for the crisis of democratic capitalism. Makai’s work bridges policy, media, and civic dialogue, and she is a sought‑after voice in global conversations on development, power, and economic justice.

Andre Forde is a technology entrepreneur and innovation architect with over three decades of experience building digital products and leading cross-industry teams. From co-creating one of the early all-in-one web-builder platforms to shaping next-generation AI at Dula, Andre’s work sits at the intersection of human experience and emerging technology. A Morgan State University alum, he is passionate about digital equity and empowering institutions to leverage innovation for long-term impact. On Global I Am, Andre brings a forward-looking perspective on how technology, identity, and capital converge to redefine culture and possibility. 

Kesha Mercurius is a dedicated accounting and finance professional with a strong foundation in economic analysis and financial operations. With a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics, she brings disciplined analytical skills to her work managing financial data, preparing technical reports, and supporting organizational accounting functions. 

Nicole Hernandez is an artist and advocate focused on expanding equity, transparency, and ownership in music. She is the founder of Noter & Nexus and describes herself as an Afro‑Latina singer, songwriter, and producer, building community-facing platforms that connect independent creators with audiences and opportunity (including work tied to the Nexus festival concept).

Patrick A. Howell, an investor relations strategist, and visionary finance leader works at the intersection of global capital, media, and thought leadership. 

He has been a co‑producer of the Emmy Award–winning Big Biz Show with Bob “Sully” Sullivan and has held key editorial roles as a Contributing Editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books and Huffington Post. Patrick is the author of Yes, We Be: Dispatches from the Vanguard – The Global I Am versus Donald J. Trump, and is known for translating complex ideas into platforms where narrative, power, and markets converge.  His memoir, Getting Deals Done: The Memoirs of a Super Achiever in the Era of Apex-Capitalism is due out in August from Penguin Random House and will debut for a global diasporic tour though the US, the Caribbean and Africa at he Harlem International/Global I Am Book Fair.