Keynote Speakers
William Rhoden
New York Times Columnist and Author
Forty Million Dollar Slaves:
The Rise, Fall and Redemption of
the Black Athlete
Award-winning New York Times columnist, bestselling author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete, and frequent guest on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters,” Bill Rhoden uses sports as a vehicle to understand an increasingly complex society. Rhoden’s insights are born of his 35 years covering sports and society, throughout which his work has transcended the particular beat he was on, and turned the mirror of society on itself by transforming “sports” stories into lessons on ethics, power, (in)equality, personal responsibility, and more.
During his three decades-plus career, Rhoden has been a jazz critic, sports columnist and social commentator. He has played college football at Yankee Stadium, accompanied a federal agent on an interdiction mission along the US-Mexican border, been a road manager for a jazz quintet and taken a 17 hour drive across Cuba.
Rhoden joined The New York Times in 1982 as an editor in the Week-In-Review section. A year later he moved to sports where he wrote about issues in high school and colleges. His assignment culminated in 1990 with a riveting, three-part front page series called “The Student Athlete on Campus,” which described the complex relationship among colleges, college sports and college athletes. He has written “The Sports of the Times” column since 1990, and his work has been included in a number of anthologies including The Best American Sports Writing 2007.
In 1996 Rhoden won a Peabody Award for Broadcasting as a writer of the HBO documentary “Journey of the African American Athlete,” and most recently, wrote the HBO documentary “Breaking the Huddle,” about the integration of College Football, which won a 2009 Emmy® for outstanding Documentary Film. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Third and A Mile: The Trials and Triumphs of The Black Quarterback.
Eugene Cho
Founder/Executive Director - One Day's Wages
Eugene and his wife, Minhee, are the founders of One Day’s Wages - "a new movement of people, stories, and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty."
The strategy of ODW is to create a collaborative movement via integrating Human Relationships, Social Media/Technology, and the Power of Story. ODW promotes awareness, invites simple giving (one day's wages), and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions.
Eugene is also the founder and Executive Director of Q Cafe - an innovative non-profit community cafe & music venue and the founder and Lead Pastor of Quest - an urban, multicultural, and multi-generational church.
Eugene and Minhee have been married for nearly 14 years and have three children and live in Seattle, Washington.
More of Eugene's story can be found here and you can also stalk him via his blog or Twitter.
Rev. Joanne Browne Jennings
Associate Minister -
Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. Joanne Browne Jennings, is a native of Pembroke, Bermuda. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, in Canada, and the Inns of Court School of Law in England. In 1983, after working as an attorney for five years, she entered Fuller Theological Seminary, in California, in response to God's call. She graduated in 1987, from Fuller, with a Master's Degree in Divinity, and Marriage and Family Counseling. She obtained a Master's Degree in Social Work, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 1990.
Rev. Browne Jennings is a licensed marriage and family counselor. She provides counseling, consultation, and training seminars, out of her own offices, in Durham, North Carolina. She is a former consultant to the Durham Public School’s social workers. She has provided training for pastors through the Duke University Divinity School's Continuing Education Program. She has also served as a facilitator for Spiritual Formation Groups, at Duke Divinity School.
Rev. Browne Jennings has distinguished herself as a preacher and workshop facilitator. She has preached, taught, and facilitated seminars in Bermuda, the West Indies, Canada, South Africa, and the United States. She serves as a mentor for many, as she seeks to provide a faithful witness to Christ, in all the services she provides.
Rev. Browne Jennings, and her husband, the Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings, are associate ministers at the Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church, in Durham. Together they have served as supply ministers, for various churches in North Carolina. They are the proud parents of two daughters Njeri, and Safiya.