2010 Conference Highlights

• Loubens Theork, Hamilton College, Posse 2 (Boston), was selected by PNAAC for the 2010 Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award. Along with several members of Loubens’ family, we celebrated his achievements. Previous Ainslie winners Dr. Erica Spatz and Carlos Varela were also in attendance.
• Brian P. Donovan and Aaron Cherry, from Ernst & Young, gave a presentation on financial planning in your 20’s and 30’s.
• Nancy Mistretta, formerly of Russell Reynolds Associates and Posse New York Advisory Board Member, and Barbara Taylor, Founder of IB Interview Ready, led a workshop on building the career you want through planning and networking.
• Representatives from Posse’s Graduate School Partners, along with 2009 Ainslie Award winner Dr. Erica Spatz (Vanderbilt New York Posse 4), led a session on getting into competitive grad schools.
• David Gary Kabiller, Founding Principal at AQR Capital Management and Posse National Board Member, shared his career journey in a presentation on careers in finance.
• Posse’s own Chief Operating Officer, Matthew Fasciano, and Vice President for External Affairs, Rassan Salandy (Vanderbilt University Posse 2, New York), gave a presentation on where Posse is today, after 21 years of redefining college access.

Hon. Mayor David N. Dinkins

National Board of Directors, The Posse Foundation

David N. Dinkins is Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and serves on the school’s Advisory Board. In 2003, the David N. Dinkins Professorship in the Practice of Urban and Public Affairs was established at Columbia University. The 106th Mayor of NYC, Mr. Dinkins began his career in public service in the NYS Assembly in 1966. He served as president of the NYC Board of Elections and was appointed City Clerk in 1975. He was elected President of the Borough of Manhattan in 1985 and Mayor of the City of New York in 1989. Dinkins is a founding member of the Black & Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus of NYS, the Council of Black Elected Democrats of NYS, and One Hundred Black Men. He was VP of the US Conference of Mayors, and is a Member-at-Large of the Black Leadership Forum. He serves on the board of several charitable organizations including the Association to Benefit Children; Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now; Children’s Health Fund; Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies; Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; and the Amadou Diallo Foundation.
Mr. Dinkins graduated with honors from Howard University with a B.S. in mathematics in 1950, and received an LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School in 1956. He holds honorary degrees from several institutions, including a doctor of law from his alma mater Howard University, Hofstra University School of Law, New York Law School and Brooklyn Law School, and serves on the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Harold Ford, Jr.

National Board of Directors, The Posse Foundation

Harold Ford, Jr. is Executive Vice Chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Harold Ford Jr. served 10 years in the United States Congress. Elected at 26, Ford served on the House Financial Services and Budget Committees. Described by President Bill Clinton as “the walking, living embodiment of where America ought to go in the 21st century,” Ford also chairs the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Wagner School of Public Service at NYU. During Ford’s five terms in Congress, he was an active member of the House Blue Dog coalition, where he worked passionately to balance the budget and promote free enterprise.
Ford is active with several nonprofits and foundations. He serves as an overseer for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), is a member of the Pentagon’s Transformation Advisory Group (TAG), is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and serves on the Board of America’s Promise. Ford is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.A. in American History, and a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.
In More Davids Than Goliaths, Ford’s recently published book, he reflects on his family, political campaigning, and the individuals who inspire him.

Professor Paul Bloom

Psychology Professor at Yale University

Paul Bloom is a professor of psychology at Yale University. His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on morality, religion, fiction, and art. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. He is past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and coeditor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, one of the major journals in the field.
Dr. Bloom has written for scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and for popular outlets such as The New York Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic. He is the author or editor of four books, including How Children Learn the Meanings of Words, and Descartes’ Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human.
His newest book, How Pleasure Works, was published in June 2010. In it, he draws on groundbreaking research to unveil the deeper workings of why we desire what we desire. Refuting the longstanding explanation of pleasure as a simple sensory response, Bloom shows us that pleasure is grounded in our beliefs about the deeper nature or essence of a given thing.