Dr. Green Speaks: Recent Episodes
Maurice Green Ph.D
Dr. Samaad Wes Keys is an experiential educator, coach, facilitator, connector, and fierce advocate for education equity. In his current role as Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Samaad manages a portfolio of over $50 million of investments that seek to scale institutional transformation to eradicate race, ethnicity, and income as predictors of success on the Foundation’s postsecondary success team.
Before joining the Foundation, Samaad has worked in several capacities, both in the philanthropic sector and at a number of higher education intermediary organizations.
One notable accomplishment was the work Samaad did while at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) as the strategist at UNCF’s Institute for Capacity; Samaad advances cutting edge research and innovative approaches in support of UNCF’s Career Pathways Initiative, a $50 million grant-funded initiative by the Lilly Endowment, and leads a grant portfolio of $20M to improve post-graduate success for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs).
Samaad helped develop and implement core competencies across UNCF’s network of institutions by guiding capacity development, human capital, leadership, governance, educational innovation, and student success.
Samaad has contributed to the success of 100’s of multi-disciplinary projects included working with the Southern Education Foundation, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and Achieving the Dream. Samaad earned a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia, a Master of Arts in education from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Morehouse College.
Dr. Jalaal Hayes published a dissertation entitled, “Thermodynamic and Kinetic Studies of Alkali-Metal Doped Lithium Amide-Magnesium Hydride Hydrogen Storage System” in Applied Chemistry. He was 22 years old. The degree was conferred on December 20, 2015, at Delaware State University winter commencement as he was lauded as “the youngest-ever Doctoral Candidate” in the university’s 130-year history.
Since that historic milestone, Dr. Hayes has been featured in various publications including AfroTech, AfroPunk, Marquis Who’s Who, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and many others. He also was featured on a Disney Junior’s “Be Inspired” Black History commercial.
On March 28, 2017, Dr. Hayes was granted his patent entitled Rubidium-Catalyzed Alloys (US Patent No. 9,604,847). In the same year, he gave a TEDx Talk entitled, “The Chemistry of Community Building”, which discuss strategies on how communities can come together to build using chemistry principles. In addition, he is the Founder and CEO of Elyte Universal Network, LLC, a for-profit entity that focuses on STEAM and curriculum development for nonprofit organizations and corporations.
In 2018, Dr. Hayes has been noted as the “Top Influential Chemist of the Year” by the International Association of Top Professionals. The gala was held at the Plaza in which he was one of the youngest awardees in the audience.
In March 2019, he served as a keynote speaker for the Innovative Applied Energy Conference held at the University of Oxford, one of the oldest English-speaking institutions in the world. Later that year (August 2019), he accepted an appointment as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at his alma mater, Lincoln University.
In June 2021, Dr. Hayes released a documentary, Exploding Dreams: A STEAM Story, that discusses his journey in STEM and his plans beyond education.
Avery August is Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, Professor of Immunology, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and a Presidential Advisor on Diversity and Equity at Cornell University. He received a BS in Medical Technology from California State University at Los Angeles, a Ph.D. in Immunology from Cornell University’s Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Rockefeller University as a National Science Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow.
He started his academic career as an Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University, where he was Distinguished Professor, prior to moving to Cornell as Chair of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. His research focuses on understanding the immunological basis for the balance of inflammation and pathology. He has won a number of awards for his research and for his work in diversifying science.
Hakeem Oluseyi is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, inventor, educator, television personality, and public speaker. He was a Distinguished Professor of Aerospace, Physics, and Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology from 2007 to 2019 and has held professorships at MIT, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Washington, and the University of Cape Town. Dr. Oluseyi has also served as the Space Science Education Manager of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., chief science officer of Discovery Science, and president of the National Society of Black Physicists. He has appeared in science and engineering programming on Netflix, Discovery Science, NatGeo, PBS, BBC, and more. Dr. Oluseyi is an inductee of the National Academy of Inventors, the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, and the Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society.
Dr. Russell J. Ledet (pronounced “Leh-day”) is a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Prior to his education journey, Dr. Ledet was enlisted in the U.S. Navy, both on active and reserve duty. His first assignment was as a U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guardsman in the Nation’s Capital from 2004 to early 2007. He subsequently completed Navy cryptology training in Pensacola, Florida, and was later assigned to the USS John L. Hall (FFG-32), based in Mayport, Florida. Dr. Ledet has been awarded multiple Navy Achievement Medals for his leadership and tenacious work ethic.
After 5 years of active duty service, Dr. Ledet transitioned to the USN Reserves, based in Corey Station, Pensacola, Florida, while also attending Southern University and A&M College, where he completed his Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Biology. Dr. Ledet then went on to obtain his Ph.D. in Molecular Oncology and Tumor Immunology from NYU School of Medicine. His scientific work focused on prostate cancer biology and therapeutic development utilizing proteomics and bioinformatics. This work was recognized for funding by the Ford Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Upon completing his Ph.D., he then began his medical training journey at the Tulane School of Medicine and Freeman School of Business. Since starting medical school, Dr. Ledet has co-founded The 15 White Coats, a world-renowned organization that helps to propel underrepresented minority students to the next levels of education by providing inspiration and economic support. Dr. Ledet has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, People Magazine, NPR, Washington Post, The Steve Harvey Show, Good Morning America, and most recently the Kelly Clarkson show.
Following medical school, he plans to go into residency for Triple Board (Pediatrics/General Psych/Child and adolescent psychiatry), with a focus on mental health accessibility for marginalized communities. He is a husband of 14 years to Mallory Alise, and the father of two little girls, Maleah Ann and Mahlina Abri.
CLENORA HUDSON-WEEMS, PhD--Professor, Author, Screen Writer, is author of 4 Africana Womanism books--Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves, 5th Edition (2019; 1993); Africana Womanist Literary Theory (2004); Africana Womanism & Race & Gender in the Presidential Candidacy of Barack Obama (2008). Africana Womanism, a family-centered Afrocentric paradigm, prioritizes race, class & gender in the collective struggle of Africanans for racial parity.
She is author of 4 Till books: Emmett Till: The Sacrificial Lamb of the CRM (1994), from her 1988 Ford doctoral dissertation, “Emmett Louis Till: The Impetus of the Modern CRM” (U of Iowa), 1st to establish Till as catalyst of the Movement. The Definitive Emmett Till: Passion & Battle of a Woman for Intellectual Justice (2006); Plagiarism: A Till Continuum (2008). The last one-- Emmett: Legacy, Redemption, Forgiveness (2014), culminates in a possible racial healing via atonement/reparation.
She is co-author of Toni Morrison (1990), 1st critical study of the works of Nobel Laureate; she is editor of Contemporary Africana Theory, Thought & Action (2007).
About Dr. Boyce Watkins, "The People's Scholar"
Born to a 17-year-old single mother and placed in special education as a child, Dr. Boyce Watkins has risen above the obstacles to become a pioneer of scholarship and advocacy worldwide. In college, he was the Wall Street Journal Outstanding Graduating Senior in Finance with a triple major in Finance, Economics, and Business Management. He went on to earn a master’s degree in Mathematical Statistics and a PhD in Finance at The Ohio State University. During his year of graduation, Dr. Watkins was the only African American in the world to earn a PhD in Finance.
As a public intellectual, Dr. Watkins has changed the definition of what it means to be a scholar in America by leveraging cutting-edge technology and his vast network of scholars, celebrities, and activists to share empowering, thought-provoking messages to the masses. Dr. Watkins has made thousands of appearances in national media, including CNN, ABC, MSNBC, and many others. He is also the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the co-founder of Watkins Media Group — both organizations collectively reach more than 6 million readers per month.