The following represents speakers for the 2007-2008 Speaker Series Season.


Kelvin Boston , September 11, 2007
Kelvin Boston is a sought-after public speaker, distinguished financial journalist and best-selling author and who believes that financial education is the key that unlocks the doors to financial success. Boston is the executive producer and host of the Moneywise with Kelvin Boston public television series. He is also the author of the best-selling book, Smart Money Moves For African Americans (Putnam). The New York Times referred to Boston as an “out-spoken voice for economic empowerment.”

Kelvin Boston grew up in the public housing projects of South Wilmington, Delaware. After graduating from Lincoln University (PA.), he returned home to organize a housing counseling service to assist low-income families in becoming homeowners. Today the South Wilmington Housing Counseling Service is one of the leading community housing development organizations in Delaware .

In 1980, Boston moved to Toledo , Ohio and began his career as a financial planner with one of the nation's leading financial planning companies, American Express Financial Advisors. During his tenure at American Express Financial Advisors he became the Mid- West Regional Manager for Financial Planning.

In 2000, Moneywise with Kelvin Boston became an official PBS series and began airing on public television stations nationwide. Today, Moneywise with Kelvin Boston is considered public television's (PBS) premiere multi-cultural financial affairs television series. In 2003, Moneywise with Kelvin Boston was distributed to more than 83 million households nation wide. Today, in addition to airing on public television stations, In 2002, the Moneywise Minute with Kelvin Boston premiered on the ABC Urban Radio Network (an informative 60-second financial vignette reflecting the financial aspirations of middle-income urban Americans). The Moneywise Minute ABC Radio Program reached 1.3 million urban listeners a week.


Morris Chestnut , October 18, 2007
One of Hollywood highest regarded African-American actors, Chestnut has established his place as a force in the industry.

Born in Cerritos , California , Chestnut made his feature film debut in 1991 with the release of John Singleton's Boyz 'N the Hood . In the ground breaking film, Chestnut played Ricky Baker, an aspiring athlete whose life was cut short by gang violence. Chestnut followed that role in The Last Boy Scout before taking time off to do some small screen work.

Along with guest appearances on Living Single and ER , Chestnut landed a regular gig with the series Out All Night playing Jeff Carswell, and parts in made-for-television films In the Line of Duty: Street War and The Ernest Green Story .

He returned to feature movie work in 1994 with The Inkwell , and followed by showing his action hero chops in Under Siege II: Dark Territory (1995), and alongside Demi Moore in G.I. Jane (1997). In 1999, he starred in the blockbuster film The Best Man, which garnered him an NAACP Image Award nomination for Most Outstanding Actor. The 2001 film The Brothers solidified both his acting talent and sex symbol status. The actor continued to demonstrate his versatility, appearing in dramas like Confidence (2003), comedies like Breakin' All the Rules (2004) and horror-thrillers like Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004).

Chestnut returned to the big screen in a big way this year with the recently released Disney family film, The Game Plan. The new film tells the story of rugged superstar quarterback Joe Kingman, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who must adjust his superstar like after discovering his 7 year-old daughter he never knew he had.

Chestnut currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.


Stedman Graham, February 4th , 2008
Stedman Graham is chairman and CEO of S. Graham & Associates (SGA), a management and marketing consulting company that specializes in the corporate and educational markets. Clients have included Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, Georgia Pacific, Pro-Line International, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Manpower, CNN, GlaxoSmithKline, Plains Capital Corporation, American College of Sports Medicine, YMCA , U.S. Olympic Committee , U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps, Credit-Suisse First Boston, Harvard and Wharton business schools and the U.S. Department of Education.

As a businessman, educator and speaker, he presents, consults and conducts training with corporations, organizations and nonprofits on the topics of maximizing leadership, achieving success, growing a business, embracing diversity, achieving optimal health, and personal and professional branding. His corporate seminars are driven by his proprietary Nine-Step Success Process™. Graham has authored ten books, including two New York Times bestsellers, You Can Make It Happen: A Nine-Step Plan for Success and Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps to Success. Actively involved in education, Stedman Graham is a former adjunct professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago where he taught a leadership course based on his Nine-Step Process. Graham has also shown a lifelong commitment to youth and community. In 1985, Graham founded AAD Education, Health and Sports, a nonprofit organization of athletes and other civic leaders committed to developing leadership in underserved youths. An organization with over 500 professional athletes, AAD has served over 15,000 students through education and scholarships. Stedman Graham holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work from Hardin-Simmons University He received a master's degree in Education from Ball State University and an honorary doctorate in Humanities from Coker College , where he is also a distinguished visiting professor.


Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete, February 29 th , 2008
Former NFL starting quarterback Rodney Peete is currently one of the hosts the Fox Sports Net sports talk show The Best Damn Sports Show Period alongside John Salley , Chris Rose and Rob Dibble . The standout athlete was the first player ever from USC to win the Johnny Unitas Award as the nation's best senior quarterback. Peete was also a star third baseman on USC's baseball team. He was also drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school, and the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers while in college. Peete did not achieve stardom in his professional career in the National Football League (NFL), but he did play well enough to sustain his place in the league for 16 seasons. After spending time with Detroit , Dallas , Washington , Philadelphia , and Oakland , his career appeared to be over until he became the starter for the Panthers in 2002. Peete led the Panthers to a record of 8-7 as starter from 2002 to the beginning of 2003 before retiring at the end of the 2004 season.

Holly Robinson Peete is a well-known actress author and mother of four children. Her parents, Dolores and Matt Robinson (the original Gordon on Sesame Street ), were both actors who moved to Los Angeles, California when she was 10 years old. She was sent to study at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York where she majored in psychology and French . Her language skills allowed her to spend a year in Paris, France to study at the Sorbonne . As an actress, Robinson is probably best known for her television roles on the crime series 21 Jump Street from 1987 to 1991 , Hangin' with Mr. Cooper from 1992 - 1997 , and in the 1998 - 2002 comedy series For Your Love . Robinson was most recently starred on the UPN comedy. In 2006, she won the Quills Award in Sports for her Book Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game!: A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football.

The Peetes were married on June 10, 1995. Together they have four children: daughter Ryan & son RJ (twins); son Robinson and son Roman. One of their twins, RJ has autism.





Jim Ellis, April 24, 2008
Jim Ellis' story is testimony to the power of dreams and their ability to inspire and transform human life. His story is the subject of the film, Pride , starring Terrence Howard. Pride tells the story of how Ellis built a successful swimming program in one of Philly's most impoverished neighborhoods. It is set in the early 1970s, when the lives of the young African-American teens on the P.D.R. swim team are full of hardship and prejudice. The film shows this uplifting and soulful story of Ellis' journey that pulled together a group of troubled inner-city kids, made them into a dedicated team, and taught them how to overcome adversity through hard work and determination.

Ellis founded the P.D.R. (Philadelphia Department of Recreation) Swim Team, based at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia , in 1971. Today, it is the city's nationally recognized competitive swim team, the nation's best predominately African-American team, and has become a model for urban swim programs around the country.

Over the past 36 years, Ellis has been introducing competitive swimming to inner city youth and their families. His coaching has provided a healthy and stimulating environment in which the young athletes can grow and compete. It also brings together families from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Through travel to various competitions, the program exposes swimmers to other parts of the country and different lifestyles. As a real-life role model, Ellis' story strikes a chord with all types of audiences. Coach Ellis is a loveable storyteller whose inspiring true-to-life story captivates and motivates audiences to always remember the influential power of one.