Lee Walker
Raised in Three Rivers, Texas, Lee Walker graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Physics (class of 1963) graduating Phi Kappa Phi (top academic 10% of his class), receiving NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for his post-graduate work in nuclear physics (theoretical cosmic ray research). He was named All-Southwest Conference Basketball Team Honorable Mention his senior year. Lee received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1967. He served as the first President of Dell Technologies through its formative years. After leaving Dell in 1990 for health reasons, Lee was asked to teach at the University of Texas at Austin. The success of his “Elements of Entrepreneurship” and “Not for Profit Excellence” courses in the Graduate School Business Management Department earned him best teaching award three times. Lee teaches a Presidential Signature Course entitled “Pathways to Civic Engagement” and “Civic Viewpoints” in the Plan II Honors Program where he is an Adjunct Professor. The Austin Chamber of Commerce recognized Lee as their 1998 Austinite of the Year. In 2004, Lee received the Texas Nature Conservancy Lifetime Achievement award. Lee’s first book Imagination House: An Entrepreneurial Life was recently released in 2019 by Texas A&M Press.
Dr. Choquette Hamilton
Dr. Choquette Hamilton is the Founder and CEO of RISE Child Development Center, Inc., an anti-racist organization created to dismantle inequity in early childhood education. In addition, she is the Co-Founder of REAL Solutions Consulting and Coaching. REAL Solutions is a firm committed to increasing an organization’s and individual’s capacity to foster Restoration, Equity, Anti-Racism and Liberation through training, coaching and strategic planning. Prior to founding RISE and REAL Solutions, Dr. Hamilton served as the Managing Director of Culture, Diversity and Organizational Effectiveness for KIPP Texas Public Schools, Chief Operating Officer for KIPP Austin Public Schools (KAPS), Vice President of Operations for the Austin Area Urban League (AAUL) and in various capacities at the University of Texas at Austin. Most proudly, Dr. Hamilton taught 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies as a Teach for America corps member in Philadelphia. Dr. Hamilton holds a B.A. in Sociology/African American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, a Masters of Elementary Education from St. Joseph's University, a Masters of Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. In her spare time, Dr. Hamilton likes to hang out with her Husband, Greg and two sons, Gregory (age 10) and William (age 8).
Beto Lopez
A human-centered designer and innovation capability builder. Beto serves as co-founder and executive director of DesignRun.Org. He previously co-founded and built, from the ground up, the Design Institute for Health at the University of Texas at Austin to advance the Dell Medical School’s mission to tackle health care reform. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at IDEO, a global design and innovation consultancy, where he was both a Design Director and their first Global Lead of Systems Design. He earned a Masters in Engineering (systems design) from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and held Associate Professor roles in both the College of Fine Arts and the Dell Medical School at UT. Beto was born and raised in El Paso, Texas.
Blanca Lesmes
Blanca Lesmes is the Co-founder and President of BB Imaging & Healthcare Consulting. The company’s goal is to make healthcare more accessible to women by providing sonography services at their respective OB offices. Her management style is centered on creating an organization that honors each individual’s strengths. In 2015, her company opened a consulting arm that focuses on operational efficiency and lean management. In 2017, Blanca joined health tech start-up ConfirmX as the Chief Operating Officer. The company aims to be the “LinkedIn of Healthcare” focusing on connecting everyone in healthcare to simplify the patient referral process. BB Imaging and ConfirmX allow her to follow her passion for increasing the accessibility of premium healthcare. Blanca graduated with an MBA from the University of Texas. In 2011, she received the Deans Leadership and Service Award. In 2017, she also received the Tower Award for Visionary Community Engagement from UT. She continues in this passion by working with women entrepreneurs and small business owners while mentoring at the Austin-based accelerator, DivInc and at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Blanca also currently serves on multiple non-profit boards, including The Gift Economy in Action, an educational non-profit, and the Burke Center for Youth, a residential treatment center for boys. Away from work, Blanca enjoys spending time with those she loves most, her husband, her teenagers “Squeaky” and Geena-Luise, and their dog Luna. She is completely in her element hosting fabulous dinner parties for friends.
Preston James
Preston is the Co-Founder/CEO of DivInc, which is the first early-stage tech startup accelerator in Texas exclusively for people of color and women tech entrepreneurs. Founded in 2016, DivInc has helped launch 63 companies. They are expanding in Houston this year with other cities on the roadmap which will enable them to launch hundreds of startup companies per year. DivInc most recently announced their Fall 2020 cohort will be focused on Social Justice Innovation. In addition, DivInc has a women of color entrepreneur initiative, Startup Sistas, that serves 300+ women per year across Texas. A former 20-year veteran at Dell, he served in executive leadership roles in Enterprise IT Sales and Consulting where he led teams responsible for driving $250M+ in revenues. He also served as the Managing Director for the Dell Global Center for Entrepreneurship, where he supervised the $100M Dell Credit Fund and helped expand the center’s initiatives globally. He also served a two-year appointment as the Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. Preston is a champion for transforming and mobilizing the tech ecosystem to be authentically inclusive. Through DivInc, he removes barriers for founders by providing direct access to the essential resources needed to build high growth innovation businesses. He firmly believes that the future prosperity of our nation is directly tied to our ability to empower women and people of color through entrepreneurship and innovation. Preston earned his Bachelor’s of Science and Engineering degree at Howard University, in Washington, DC. A proud native New Yorker, Preston has lived in Austin since 1997 with his wonderful wife Kim and their four children, Sydney (19), Cori (16), Presli (14), and Preston, III (11).
Dr. Rich Reddick
Rich Reddick is an associate professor of higher education, and the inaugural associate dean for equity, community engagement, and outreach in the College of Education at UT Austin, where he holds appointments in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, African and African Diaspora Studies, and in the Plan II Honors Program. Reddick is also faculty co-chair of the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University. Dr. Reddick’s research focuses on the phenomenological examination of the lives of Black academics, including their approach to work-life balance; service, teaching and research responsibilities; and their experiences mentoring students. Additionally, Dr. Reddick maintains scholarly interests in diversity in higher education, African American families, and educational policy. A respected researcher, Dr. Reddick’s work has been highlighted by NPR, PSB, the BBC, the Associated Press, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He is the co-author and co-editor of four scholarly volumes, and his articles have been published in the American Educational Research Journal and the Harvard Educational Review, among other leading educational journals. Reddick earned his doctoral and master’s degree at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, and a bachelor’s in Plan II Honors from UT Austin. Before joining the faculty at UT Austin in 2007, Reddick taught elementary and middle school in Houston, Texas, and was a student affairs administrator at MIT, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and Emory University. An Air Force brat and native Texan, Dr. Reddick is a graduate of the former Johnston High School in East Austin, and is a Dean’s Distinguished Graduate of the College of Liberal Arts (Plan II) at UT Austin. His community activities include serving on the boards of Montessori For All and IDEA Austin public charter schools. His wife Sherry is also a Texas Ex and they are the parents of a son (Karl) and a daughter (Katherine). A trivia maven, Reddick has appeared and won on several game shows, including Wheel of Fortune (UT College Week Champions, 1994) and Jeopardy!.