panel
Shennell Barnes – McCloud
Panelist
View Bio Dr. Malik Yoba
panelist
View Bio Cassandra Freeman
panelist
View Bio Dee C. Marshall
panelist
View Bio Shennell Barnes is the Founder of the Dear America Project and Project Ready – a ground-breaking movement to capture the voices of those who have been historically silenced. She is the Executive Producer and Host of the newly-announced Dear America show on iHeart radio where Shennell is the only Black female host in the network’s news lineup. She is also the Executive Producer of the up-coming documentary, Dear America, which explores the role of Black women in American politics and features interviews with dozens of leaders from around the country. Shennell is an accomplished activist with an impact that reaches through her community and beyond.
DR. MALIKYOBA ACTOR, DIRECTOR, MUSICIAN, AUTHOR, ENTREPRENEUR, EDUCATOR, PHILANTHROPIST, SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR Although this 3x NAACP Image Award winning actor offers over three decades of commitment to the arts with over fifty film credits and more than a dozen lead roles in network/cable television series, he considers himself a community and youth advocate first. Born in the South Bronx and raised in Harlem, it was his debut in the 1993 Disney classic Cool Runnings and his performance as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams in the groundbreaking nineties police drama, New York Undercover, that catapulted Malik into the fabric of American culture. A serial entrepreneur, he is the founder and CEO of Yoba Development, a diversified portfolio company specializing in real estate, education, and media. As a mission-driven firm, they are committed to building human capacity through education and media while simultaneously pursuing sustainable, affordable and market rate mixed-use development projects in transitioning neighborhoods. Yoba Development has active real estate projects in New York, Baltimore, Augusta GA, Chicago and Charleston. In 2022, Malik received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Livingstone College. In 2023, he co-founded Yoba Global Solutions a federal contracting business with several of his family members where he serves as Head of Business Development and in 2024 was named to the U.S. EXIM Bank Advisory Board for Sub- Saharan Africa
Cassandra Freeman: Cassandra “Cassie” Freeman has made her mark in everything from drama to laugh-out-loud comedy across film, television, and the stage. She currently stars as Aunt Viv in Peacock’s critically acclaimed Bel-Air television series, which is a dramatic retelling of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air set in modern-day America. An NYU grad and former stand-up comedian, she is known for a slew of impactful roles. She has appeared with some of the most prolific actors and directors around today, including Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, and Chris Rock.
Dee C. Marshall, CEO of Diverse & Engaged (D&E), is an award-winning business owner and thought leader on equity, diversity, and inclusion across industries and sectors. Under her leadership Diverse & Engaged provides workforce solutions and produces programs like D&I Honors: Where Congress Meets Culture Inclusion & Belonging to “unify and recognize diversity leaders, game-changers, and corporate leaders across industries and sectors, and community representatives who have moved the needle and made bold moves to advance marginalized and underrepresented people in workplaces and common spaces.” Additionally, Dee C. Marshall curated a Diversity on The Hill initiative to spur diversity and inclusion on Capitol Hill after The Diversity Tipping Point™, a live activation focusing on ways corporate America must do better to address systemic barriers.