Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

Chidi Afulezi is the co-founder of Akoma , a content/storytelling technology platform where a combination of user generated and original content about Africa and its diaspora are created, published and shared with the world. Prior to building Akoma Chidi helped to solve problems for some of the world's largest corporations.  From building mobile network infrastructure for AT&T to helping build out technology solutions as a music exec at Sony Music. His career has been adventurous and prolific in the tech, entertainment and media industries, serving in an assortment of product executive roles with tech and media companies including Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner. His bachelor's degrees in Mathematics, Electrical Engineering and MBA were all received from New York University.

Nnamdi is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 645 Ventures, a seed-stage firm that applies an institutional model to investing in early-stage companies, leveraging advanced proprietary software. He oversees the firm’s investment strategy and has invested in companies such as ALICE (acquired by Expedia), MM.LaFleur, Overtime, and LeagueApps. Nnamdi previously spent eight years at Insight Venture Partners, a $13 billion venture fund, where he invested in eighteen companies and had nine exits, with exit value exceeding $5 billion. Exits included Mimecast (IPO; $1B+ market cap), Despegar (IPO, $2B market cap), Privalia (acquired for 500 million Euros), Folhamatic (acquired for $300 million), Photobox (acquired for 400 million GBP), Hitwise (acquired for $240 million), DivX Networks (IPO), and Astaro (acquired by Sophos). Nnamdi received his BA, JD, and MBA, all with honors from Harvard University. He serves on the Board of the New York Roadrunners, and is a member of the Chairman’s...

Reggie Ugwu   is a pop culture reporter covering a range of subjects, including film, television, music and internet culture. Before joining The New York Times in 2017, he was a reporter for BuzzFeed News and Billboard magazine, an intern for PBS Frontline, and a minor blogger for The Awl, Complex and others.  He grew up in Houston and received a degree in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin.

Ijeoma Oluo is a Seattle-based writer, speaker, and Internet Yeller.  She’s the author of the New York Times Best-Seller So You Want to Talk about Race, published in January by Seal Press.   Named one of the The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2017, one of the Most Influential People in Seattle by Seattle Magazine, one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met, and winner of the of the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award by the American Humanist Society. Oluo’s work focuses primarily on issues of race and identity, feminism, social and mental health, social justice, the arts, and personal essay. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, NBC News, Elle Magazine, TIME, The Stranger, and the Guardian, among other outlets.  Source: ijeomaoluo dot com. Photo: christyharriso dot com

Dr. Unoma Okorafor is founder and CEO of Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW) Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote STEM Education for African women, and to ensure that talent is engaged in technology innovation in Africa. WAAW Foundation especially focuses on girls in poverty-affected areas with a goal to ultimately increase the pipeline of African girls entering STEM related careers. Unoma earned her undergraduate degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from the University of Lagos and a M.Sc. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rice University, Okorafor also graduated from INSEAD’s Social Entrepreneurship program and Stanford University Business School’s Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship. She then went on to get her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University and gained experience as a Software Developer and Engineer at Texas Instruments, IBM and Hewlett-Packard prior to her organi...

Ama Agbeze is the captain of England's netball team. Agbeze plays in the goal defence and goal keeper positions. She debuted in the England national squad in 2001 and became captain during the 2016 season. During her international career she won bronze playing for the English team during the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Agbeze played for the Loughborough Lightning in the Netball Superleague from 2004–2007, before transferring to Leeds Carnegie in 2008. In 2008 Agbeze signed with the West Coast Fever to play in the Australasian ANZ Championship. She subsequently moved to the Melbourne Vixens for the 2009 season, and after receiving little court time there she transferred to New Zealand franchise the Central Pulse for 2010. Ama was educated at Monkton Combe School, near Bath, Somerset. Source: Wikipedia.

Brad is a renowned editorial and commercial photographer based in New York City. A self-trained, photographer who has worked with the likes of Adidas,  The FADER , Esquire, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Billboard, Vogue US and the painter  Kehinde Wiley. Born and raised in the Twin Cities (where Purple Rain was made), he now lives in NYC.