2012 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr.

Theologian, Pastor, and Civic Leader

Theologian, pastor and civic leader, the Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. is one of America's most influential leaders. He was born in La Grange, GA. He earned,<;l his bachelor's degree from Morehouse College, ·his master of divinity degree from Morehouse School of Religion/Inter-denominational Theological Center and his doctor of ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary.

In 2008, Reverend Moss retired from Olivet Institutional Baptist Church located in Cleveland, Ohio following thirty-three years of distinguished service. Prior to this service, he held pastoral positions at the Mount Olive Baptist Church in La Grange, GA, the Providence Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Lockland, OH and as co-pastor with Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA.

Reverend Moss has been actively involved in advocating for the achievement of education, civil and human rights and social justice issues for all of his adult life. His board memberships have included The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Foundation. Dr. Moss served as the Chairman of the Morehouse College Board of Directors for over ten years. He served as a board member and Regional Director of SCLC during Dr. King's tenure as founding president. He also served as a national board member and trustee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

His work in the international community has taken him to Hong Kong, Brazil, Taiwan, Japan, West Africa, South Africa Israel, India and Switzerland. He served as an advisor to former President Carter at Camp David and in 1994 he was the special guest of former President Clinton at the Peace Treaty signing between Israel and Jordan. He formally served on President Obama's White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership Council. In 2009, he co-lectured with Rajmohan Gandhi, the Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, during a multi-city tour of India illuminating the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.

Reverend Moss is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Role Model of the Year Award from the National Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Development in 1992 and the Leadership Award from the Cleveland chapter of the American Jewish Committee in 1996. He was inducted into the 2007 Class of the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. In 2004, Dr. Moss has bestowed the unique honor of the Lyman Beecher Lectureship on Preaching, Yale University. He was twice named by Ebony Magazine as one of America's Greatest Black Preachers. He also holds six honorary degrees from colleges and universities in Ohio, Georgia, and Arkansas. Morehouse College recently named their newest dormitory suites in honor of Dr. Moss.

His service to Ohio and the United States has been recognized by Governors of Ohio, the Ohio House of Representatives, Ebony Magazine, the Cleveland Press, the Call and Post, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Black Professional Association of Cleveland, the American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland, Project Love: Remember the Children Foundation, The Cleveland Jewish Committee and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Phi Alpha, the Shriners, and Rainbow/Push to name a few.

Dr. Moss is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, to name a few. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss Current Trends in Religion. In 1997, in conjunction with University Hospitals Health System and Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Dr. Moss provided the vision to establish the Otis Moss, Jr.-University Hospitals Health Center that offers a wide range of medical services to the greater Cleveland community. Reverend Moss is married to Mrs. Edwina Hudson Moss and is the Father of Kevin Moss, Daphne Moss (deceased) and Otis Moss, III. Together they are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

2012 HONOREE

Honorable Kasim Reed

59th Mayor of the City of Atlanta

Kasim Reed was inaugurated as the 59th Mayor of the City of Atlanta on January 4, 2010. Since taking office, Mayor Reed has hired more than 400 police officers, re-opened all of the city's recreation centers as safe havens for young people and improved core city services such as fire-rescue response times and sanitation operations. He has increased the city's reserves from $7.4 million to more than $94 million dollars. Working with the Atlanta City Council and the city's employee unions, he successfully initiated a series of sweeping reforms to address the city's pension liability.

Prior to his election, Mayor Reed established a track record of leadership during his 11 years as a member of the Georgia General Assembly. He was first elected in 1998 as a State Representative and served two terms. From 2002-2009, he served in the Georgia State Senate, where he was Vice-Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus and a member of the Judiciary Committee, Higher Education Committee, Ethics Committee, Transportation Committee, and State and Local Government Operations Committee.

Mayor Reed has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to civic engagement and leadership at every stage in his life. As an undergraduate member of Howard University's Board of Trustees, he created a fundraising program titled the "Independence Initiative;' which helped higher education "stand up to adversity;' according to The New York Times. Since its inception, this initiative has contributed more than $10 million to Howard University's endowment. Mayor Reed was appointed as Howard University's youngest General Trustee in June 2002 and remains a member of the Board of Trustees.

Mayor Reed is Chairman of the Transportation and Communications Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Chairman of the Regional Transit Committee of the Atlanta Regional Commission. He is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 1998 and Leadership Georgia Class of 2000 and was named to the Aspen Institute-Radel Fellowship Class of 2007. Mayor Reed is also a former Board Member of both the National Black Arts Festival and Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund.

Mayor Reed's civic leadership and service have been nationally recognized on programs such as Meet the Press, The Charlie Rose Show, John King U.S.A., and Andrea Mitchell Reports. He has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, Ebony, and Black Enterprise. He was selected as one of Georgia Trend's "40 under 40 Rising Stars" in 2001, as one of the Fulton County Daily Report's "Lawyers on the Rise" and as one of "l O Outstanding Atlantans" by Outstanding Atlanta.

Mayor Reed grew up in the Cascade community of Atlanta, where he attended Utoy Springs Elementary School and Westwood High School (now Westlake High School). He is a graduate of Howard University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from his alma mater in March 2011. Mayor Reed is a former partner in the litigation practice of Holland and Knight LLP, an international law firm with offices in Atlanta, where he specialized in entertainment law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association and the State Bar of Georgia.