Bryan and Bradford Manning, Founders of The Blind Brothers
Brothers, Bradford and Bryan Manning, are brothers on a mission to cure blindness. At the age of 7, they were both diagnosed with an eye disease that destroys central vision over time. To fight back, they left their former careers in finance to propel a small charitable clothing label, Two Blind Brothers, into a beloved brand endorsed by social impact pioneers including Ellen DeGeneres, Ashton Kutcher, and Richard Branson.
Their leadership on topics such as "purpose-driven" work, family, overcoming disability, and launching a social enterprise has also attracted the attention of organizations such as AT&T, TEDx, Sotheby's, Foundation Fighting Blindness, and the Life Is Beautiful Festival which have all partnered with the brothers. Bradford and Bryan are originally from Charlottesville, Virginia and currently both live together in New York City.
Tim Davis, Professor of Psychology at UVA
As Executive Director for Resilience & Leadership Development, Tim provides strategic direction on the University’s efforts to foster resilience and build leadership potential in the student community. Tim is especially interested in helping young leaders learn to extend their influence deeper into their organizations. Tim has taught courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels on a variety of topics, including group counseling, psychological assessment, psychopathology, sex therapy, counseling techniques, and advanced seminars on the use of dreams in therapy. He received the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award from the College of Education at Indiana University. He has authored and co-authored book chapters and articles on resilience-related topics including existential well-being, spirituality in counseling, dream work, group counseling, and career choice in young adulthood. Tim earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park and his master’s in Counseling from Arizona State University.
Partha Unnava, CEO of BWHealth
Partha Unnava, 22, was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. After attending a few years of college at Georgia Tech and realizing that he could “never work a typical 9-5 job”, he dropped out of university in order to create his own company. Through his amazing entrepreneurial journey of creating his company BWHealth, Partha and his team now work to provide affordable and innovative products to benefit the fields of sports medicine and healthcare.
Colston Carr, Account Executive at Google
Colston joined Google as an Account Executive for Google Cloud responsible for Enterprise Client relationships in the Mid-Atlantic in 2016. Prior to joining Google, she was a Global Cloud Sales Leader at IBM, responsible for sharing IBM's point of view in Cloud and supporting Financial Services clients throughout their Cloud journey. Previously, Colston was the Americas Sales Leader for the IBM Alliance with NetApp working on Strategic Outsourcing sales opportunities incorporating NetApp technology. As a Client Representative in IBM’s Financial Services Sector, she helped clients develop solutions with IBM technology and services. Colston’s other experiences include working for Macquarie Bank in Sydney, Australia and REFCO on the Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange. Colston graduated with an MBA from the University of North Carolina in 2007, and a BA in Economic from the University of Virginia in 2002. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Jon and 2 kids. They love visiting the SF Bay Area, hiking, playing outside, and going to outdoor concerts (especially bluegrass).
Frank Stephens, Down Syndrome Research Advocate
Frank Stephens, as he is known to his friends, is a member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Virginia, and a long-time Global Messenger advocating on behalf of Special Olympics. He was awarded the Quincy Jones Excellence in Advocacy Award by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation in 2016 and is an active advocate for Global’s research.In light of the increasing promotion of pre-natal screening to identify and terminate pregnancies with Down syndrome, Frank spends an increasing amount of his time informing audiences, especially medical professionals and policy makers, of the incredible lives that are possible now for people with Down syndrome. In October 2016, Frank was asked by the Down Syndrome Research Foundation of the United Kingdom to assist in their lobbying of Parliament. In January 2017, Frank was a Guest Lecturer on this topic at the Duke University School of Nursing. Frank’s recent testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on behalf of increased funding for research concerning Down syndrome has been translated into dozens of languages and been viewed by over 160 million people worldwide.
George Messenger, Student Speaker Winner
George Messenger is a first year student hoping to study the classics and economics. George is an Echols Scholar who is a member of UVa’s Burke Society and a probationary member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, and he is training to be a docent at The Fralin, UVa’s art museum. He graduated as salutatorian from The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland in 2017, where he played on the lacrosse team and was Editor in Chief of the school newspaper. His academic interests include music, Greek, Latin, and economics.
Carey Albertine, Founder + Creative Director of In this Together Media
Carey has worked as an executive recruiter, managed a multi-million dollar P&L for an educational company, and held many positions in television at Lucky Duck Productions, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and NBC News. She has written and performed stand-up comedy at clubs all over New York City. Carey is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.