Ben Affleck received the 2007 best directorial debut award from the National Board of Review for his film, Gone Baby Gone.  Ben is a longtime political activist and strong supporter of many charitable organizations including ONEXONE, A-T Children's Project, Feeding America, the Jimmy Fund, and the ONE Campaign.  He is a passionate advocate who travels the world to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of issues facing Africa today.  

In the last two years, he has made numerous trips to various countries on the African continent.  Ben has focused on understanding the causes and consequences of conflict in Africa, along with learning specifically about African solutions to the problems affecting the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa.  During a 2008 trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ben directed the short film and public service announcement, Gimme Shelter, which focuses on the humanitarian crisis in the DR Congo.

In March 2010, Ben launched the Eastern Congo Initiative, a grassroots program to assist Congolese people in war-ravaged communities create a sustainable and successful society in the long-troubled region. ECI is the first and only U.S. based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on working with and for the people of Eastern Congo.

Derrick N. Ashong - or DNA as he is sometimes known - is literally the voice of a new generation.  Whether heard in the eloquent expression of his thoughts on then-Senator Barack Obama (one of the most viewed videos of 2008 on YouTube), in his music (as leader of the emerging band Soulfège), in his lyrics (he won Billboard Magazine's 2007 World Song Writing Competition) or in his acting, the Harvard educated talent has found myriad ways to inspire, engage and activate young people with positive messages for social change.

DNA is the host of "The Derrick Ashong Experience" on SIRIUS XM's Oprah Radio. The show airs Saturdays from 12:00 - 3:00 pm ET on Oprah Radio, XM channel 156 and SIRIUS channel 195 and is streamed live on www.OprahRadio.com.

"The Derrick Ashong Experience" is a mash-up of politics, pop-culture, social media, music and the arts, informed by Derrick's experiences and travels across the globe.  DNA offers inspiration, wisdom and an open mic to listeners of all ages and welcomes a wide variety of guests from the worlds of politics, new media, entertainment and beyond.

The Ghana, West Africa native has dedicated his life to building bridges between the fields of business, media, technology, youth culture, pop culture and politics.  After obtaining his degree from Harvard, DNA pursued a Ph.D. in African-American Studies and Ethnomusicology, later leaving the doctoral program to work on his artistry and advocacy full-time.

Ashong has lectured on five continents on the use of media as a tool for human development, including the London School of Economics, King's College (Cambridge), the Reconciliation Forum in Washington, D.C., the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and before UK Parliament on the subject of "The Obama Generation." He is a member of the internationally recognized Next Generation Leadership Forum and a participant in the Arts & Entertainment task force of the U.S.-Islamic World Forum. He is also the founder of Take Back the Mic, a youth-centered cultural movement that encourages young people to take leadership in four key areas of life: art, society, business and politics.

Raised in a Christian home surrounded by music, Brenda Combs began playing piano and singing at the age of five.  While Brenda had a normal childhood, her life began a downward spiral in her teens.  After dropping out of college, she spent a decade partying and experimenting with drugs. Although she continued to pursue a career in the music industry, her life on the road with her band began to spin out of control. Her abuse of drugs led her to committing petty crimes.  She eventually ended up in jail and was sent to rehab. 

Brenda’s life became a cycle of drugs, jail, rehab and living homeless on the most dangerous streets of Phoenix where she was sexually assaulted, stabbed, burned and shot in a drive-by shooting.  Recovery from her wounds took over a year and multiple surgeries. Once back on the streets again, she relapsed into drug abuse and criminal activity. After several drug overdoses and suicide attempts, Brenda awoke in an alley to discover someone had stolen her shoes off her feet.  She knew she would die there, yet remembered her childhood faith and prayed for help.

Brenda entered a halfway house to begin to regain control over her life.  She went through detox, became involved with a church choir, and founded Much Love Ministries, an outreach program dedicated to helping homeless men, women and children in downtown Phoenix.  During this time, she fell in love and married, but at the age of 37, this short-lived, abusive relationship had ended and she was now the single parent of a special needs 3-month-old son.

Working two and three jobs to support herself and her son, Brenda found work as a teacher in a small charter school.  This inspired her to return to finish her own studies.  For four years she balanced multiple jobs, school and her son’s care until, through her work with Habitat for Humanity, she was able to purchase her first home.

Brenda received her B.A. in Human Services in 2006 from the University of Phoenix and completed her Masters in Special Education from Grand Canyon University in 2007.  She was named one of the best teachers of the year for 2005-2006.  She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Education Leadership.  Her autobiography, Finding My Shoes, is scheduled for publication by 2011.  She continues to explore her music, releasing an EP, Do You Believe, and an album in 2008.  Brenda has been honored by former First Lady Laura Bush, and profiled in news stories from Reader’s Digest to CNN. Through sharing her story, Brenda helps others realize that with hope nothing is impossible.

Aaron Huntsberger was born and raised in Austin, Texas where he is currently a junior at St. Andrew’s Episcopal High School.  He is thoroughly involved in the performing arts department both on and off stage.  Aaron has worked with shows including Rumors, True West, Reckless, Les Misèrables, The Fantasticks, Fiddler on the Roof, and more. Though Aaron is passionate about theater, he does not plan on pursuing a career in this field.

Aaron is also involved with community service through his school. He served on the Harvest Bowl committee, which, along with another Austin school, collected rice and beans to feed 4,000 underprivileged families for one year.  Academically, Aaron most enjoys his English and Spanish courses. In his search for colleges and universities, Aaron hopes that he will be drawn to southern California. 

Marc Joubert officially joined the ONEXONE team as President of the foundation, with the launch of U.S. operations and the opening of the Los Angeles office in March 2008.

Previously, Marc was the Senior Vice President of LivePlanet, the production hub for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. There, he served as Producer on the Emmy-nominated series Project Greenlight for HBO and Bravo; Producer on the feature film Running the Sahara; Executive Producer on the multiplatform Race to E3 for MTV and XBOX Live; Co-Producer on the feature films First Descent for Universal and Feast for Dimension; and Associate Producer on The Battle of Shaker Heights for Miramax Films.

In addition to his position at ONEXONE, Marc is heavily involved with several charity organizations.  He is co-founder and an Executive Board member of H2O Africa, and is also on the Board of Directors of the Sean McDonough Children's Foundation. He has worked closely for over 10 years as an advisor to Team 25 Foundation.

Award-winning Executive Producer, Danica Krislovich, has extensive experience in television with major networks and studios, regularly incorporating brands and sponsorships into her programs.  Danica created and is producing Unsung Heroes, a digital micro-series and special for TNT, sponsored by Target.  She has an eclectic slate of television movies, documentaries and digital series in development or production, including a PSA video campaign for the ENOUGH Project on conflict minerals and war crimes in Africa.

Under a consulting deal with Participant Media, Danica is creating and developing socially relevant programs with social action components.  From 2004-2007, Danica was the Senior Vice-President, Programming at Madison Road Entertainment and launched original programming at the start-up while creating financial models to subsidize content with branded integration dollars.  As Senior Vice-President, Development for Fremantle Media, Danica developed and packaged international reality television, including international formats for domestic distribution.  She was at Fremantle when launching the first year of American Idol.  Previously, she was an executive at MTV where she won an Emmy and cable ACE award.  She began her career in concert promotions in NYC.

Born in Croatia and raised in New York and Europe, Danica has a B.S. in Finance and is a scholar with a degree in English Literature and Theater from Oxford University.  She is a board member of Women in Film; a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; and a board member of the National Breast Cancer Coalition Group.

Kim Langbecker is a music industry executive with 20 years experience in marketing and promotion. Having worked for labels until 2003, at that time Kim co-founded her own company, The Contraband Company. Today she works with independent artists, major and indie labels as well as management companies developing strategies and campaigns. Kim founded or co-founded three not-for-profit organizations primarily working as an advocate and activist on behalf of indigenous communities, leaders and traditional medicine people around the world and in partnership to develop sustainable social ventures. She was part of an international campaign on behalf of the Bushmen of Botswana who brought the longest running and most expensive court case against their government to allow them to return to the ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. They eventually won, but the court's decision has never been honored by the government. Her diverse background led her to Participant Media, where she was a social action campaign consultant for such films as The Kite Runner and Darfur Now. Kim also does event planning and organizes a global conference called The Gathering, bringing indigenous communities around the world together for ceremony, teachings, consultations, music and conversation.   

Rose Mapendo grew up in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  When war broke out in 1998, Rose and her family were forced into a death camp.  Rose's husband was tortured and executed within earshot of a pregnant Rose and her seven children.  Weeks later, Rose gave birth to twin boys on the concrete floor of her cell.  She used a stick to the cut the umbilical cord, and a piece of hair to tie it off.  In an act of forgiveness and an appeal to the humanity of the men who ran the prison, she named the twins after them - the very same men who killed her husband. Eighteen months after being imprisoned, Rose and her children were rescued as part of an emergency evacuation organized by the U.S. government. They arrived in the U.S. in 2000.

Rose is an active advocate for peace, forgiveness and refugees. She serves as an ambassador for Mapendo International, the humanitarian organization named in her honor and founded by an aid worker who rescued her.  Mapendo International identifies and resettles the most at-risk refugees to safety.  As Ambassador, Rose has spoken to governments and the U.N. in Geneva, at the White House, and to rapt audiences across the U.S. and Canada.  In 2008, Rose returned to Congo to take part in ongoing peace talks. In 2009 for World Refugee Day, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is awarding Rose the UNHCR’s Humanitarian of the Year award.

Erin Martin is a creative business executive with a diverse background.  She has extensive experience in film producing, marketing, project management, business development and client relations.  Most recently, she has been a marketing/business consultant working with a diverse clientele.

Prior to consulting, Erin was Vice-President Technology & Entertainment for Good News Holdings, a multimedia start-up. Erin aggregated educational and entertainment content for the company’s IPTV initiative and its social networking platform, functioning as the bridge between technology and content among the company’s divisions and partners, and developing monetization strategies.

Early in her career in Chicago, Erin spent 12 years in investment banking, first as Director of Marketing with the Midwest Stock Exchange; and later with Nuveen Investments as Vice President, Marketing where she oversaw a $2.5 billion channel of distribution, designing and selling marketing programs, and speaking nationally on investment strategies and tax programs specializing in charitable giving strategies.

Once in Los Angeles, Erin launched Lunaria Films, after working as a development/production executive at Sandollar Productions.  Erin has been a producer or executive producer on numerous feature films and short film projects.  She continues to develop and produce feature films and television series.

Born and raised in Chicago, Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Clarke College and pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.

Ryan Nord received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2001 and a Bachelor of Arts from The University of California at Berkeley in 1998.  

From 2001 through 2004, Ryan was an associate in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins, where his practice spanned a wide variety of subject matter, including private and public company securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint venture transactions, project finance and litigation.  

After two years as counsel in NBC Universal’s television business and legal affairs department from 2004 through 2006, Ryan joined his current firm of Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman where he currently represents some of Hollywood’s most widely recognized actors, directors, writers and producers in film and television.

Charlotte Reznick Ph.D., author of The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (Perigee/Penguin NY, August 2009) specializes in helping children and adolescents develop the emotional skills necessary for a happy and successful life. She is a licensed educational psychologist and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at UCLA.

Dr. Charlotte is the creator of Imagery For Kids: Breakthrough for Learning, Creativity, and Empowerment and is the author/producer of the therapeutic CDs Discovering Your Special Place and Creating a Magical Garden and Healing Pond. An international workshop leader on the healing power of children's imagination, she maintains a private practice in Los Angeles, California.  

Keri Selig is the founder and President of Intuition Productions, an independent feature film and television production company.  Prior to founding Intuition, Selig served 12 years as an executive for various production companies at Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Paramount and The Walt Disney Company.  

She has produced such films as The Stepford Wives for Paramount; Three to Tango for Warner Bros.; Point Of Origin for HBO; It Must Be Love for CBS; Harlan County War for Showtime; and In the Company of Spies for Showtime and Paramount. Presently, Keri and Intuition Productions are working on several feature film and television productions.

Keri works with a myriad of philanthropic organizations including The Humane Society, Oceana, The Stuart House, New Directions, and Hollywood Hill.

Peter Strople is the founder and CEO of Zero2 Holdings, a strategic advisory and private investment firm focusing on creating world class businesses for profit and non-profit.  In addition, Peter is the co-founder of Seres Partners, an internationally focused strategy and structured finance firm.
 
A recognized business strategist dealing with Instant Change, working with Boards and Corporate Executive Teams, Peter has developed methodologies and strategies to focus on what is critical to sustain a business and focus a company’s vision and mission. Peter mission is to create world-class companies that not only make a difference to the employees and shareholders, but also to the communities where the businesses are based.  A former Director of Dell Computer Corp. and a former Executive with Grid Systems Corporation, Peter advises and mentors executives from Fortune 100 to early stage companies.   He is a frequent keynote speaker at business conferences and at business school worldwide.
 
Peter is an active venture philanthropist and social entrepreneur. He is committed to helping non-profit organizations develop long-term development strategies that allow their passion and heart to be a lasting legacy.  He sits on the Boards of Texas Casa, Refuge House Foster Care & Adoption Agency, The Texas School for the Deaf Foundation, and is on the Chairman’s Advisory Board of Lift up America and involved with the Luis Palau Evangelical Association.

Jeff Vespa is an artist, celebrity photographer, co-Founder and Executive Vice-President of the global digital photographic agency, WireImage.  Vespa has been the West Coast Special Projects Manager for Los Angeles Confidential Magazine since 2003.  In April 2009, he was named the Editor-at-Large of the new incarnation of LIFE Magazine, LIFE.com.  He is also responsible for the creation of the WireImage portrait studio that has become an integral part of independent film festivals worldwide and is the official photographer for the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals, where he captures the portraits of all attending stars.

Vespa’s photos appear regularly in numerous publications including LIFE, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Time, Newsweek, People, US Weekly, Glamour, Elle, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Rolling Stone, GQ, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Vespa attended the School of the Visual Arts in New York and while there worked at MTV. Vespa received his BFA in Film at the San Francisco Art Institute, after which he attended the Masters Program for Producing at the American Film Institute. 

Ryan Williams is a graduate of UCLA with a degree in English.  While at UCLA, Ryan held various roles in the athletic department.  From Head Student Equipment Manager to intern for Adidas America, Ryan accumulated a firm grasp on the inner workings of the sports industry through his close relationships with vendors, coaches and athletes. 

In 2003, Ryan joined Athlete’s First, a management company representing players and coaches in professional baseball, football, basketball and soccer, as an Associate whose primary responsibility was Marketing. Ryan establishes players’ marketing strategies by finding, negotiating and securing endorsement opportunities.  He is responsible for creating innovative marketing partnerships while managing existing corporate and client relationships.  Ryan has worked on campaigns with companies such as Campbell’s Soup, Qwest Communications, and Visa on behalf of clients John Lynch, Drew Bledsoe, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Plummer and Joey Harrington, among others.  With a national network of contacts, Ryan coordinates player appearances, foundation sponsorships and barter agreements for the company’s star athletes.

Ryan is the Athlete’s First liaison for legendary basketball coach John Wooden and his family, responsible for all matters relating to Wooden’s marketing, licenses, and associations.  He is actively involved in recruiting new football and baseball clients.  He assists in developing clients’ charitable events, and is active in the company’s annual Athlete’s First Classic that benefits Orangewood, a home for abused and disadvantaged children in Orange County, California.