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DELTA FEST SPEAKERS, ARTISTS & SESSION LEADERS
This is how an economic awakening takes root—through an ecosystem of activators, each brilliant in their own right, bound by a shared vision. For DELTA FEST, that vision is nothing less than a thriving, self-determined Deep South—Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee—by 2035.
The leaders of DELTA FEST 2025 aren’t here to trade platitudes. They are bringing resources, access, and pathways that move people from possibility to prosperity.
Curators & Moderators
Bill Bynum
CEO, HOPE
Panel Moderator
Lisa Yancey
President & Founder, Yancey Consulting
Panel Moderator
Emcee
Rita Brent
Award-winning comedian, musician, and military veteran.
Mistress of Ceremonies
Keynote Speakers
Amin Irving
Founder, President, & CEO of the Ginosko Ecosystem
Owning Multi-Family Real Estate to Help Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis
SEP 18
Cortez Bryant
Co-CEO of Blueprint Group
Keynote
SEP 16
Nick Wallace
Founder/Executive Chef, Nick Wallace Culinary
Keynote
SEP 18
Shaun Donovan
CEO of Enterprise Community Partners
Keynote
SEP 17
Dr. Shena Ashley
VP, Community Impact & Investment at Capital One
Keynote
SEP 17
Black Economic Alliance Mayor’s Panel
Mayor Scott
Little Rock, AR
Mayor Reed
Montgomery, AL
Mayor Horhn
Jackson, MS
Mayor Woodfin
Birmingham, AL
Artists & Performers
Benjamin Cone, III
Singer & Worship Leader
Sonic Boom Pep Band
Jackson State University Marching Band
Ownership Track Speakers
Alex Harvey
President, Legacy Land Management
From Family Land to Community Asset
SEP 18
Andre Perry
Senior Fellow – Brookings Metro, Director – Center for Community Uplift
Kitchen table gathering: Black Power Scorecard
SEP 17
Cortez Bryant
Co-CEO of The Blueprint Group, Co-Founder of Assemble, Professor at Jackson State
Entertainment Industry Executive Ecosystem & Web 3.0 Related
SEP 17
Herschell Hamilton
CEO of BLOC Global
Real Estate as Revenue
SEP 18
Jim King
CEO, Fahe
Housing Can't Wait
SEP 18
Jon Mulkin
Chief Mortgage Officer at Hope Enterprises Corporation
Converting Tenants to Homeowners
SEP 18
Lori Chatman
President, Capital Division at Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
Fortifying Emerging Developers
SEP 18
Noel Andrés Poyo
EVP at Housing Partnership Network
Collaborating to Ensure Affordable Housing
SEP 17
Oji Alexander
Chief Executive Officer at People’s Housing+, Inc.
Real Estate Syndicates & CLTs
SEP 17
Perry Perkins
Supervisory Organizer at Working Together Mississippi
Amplifying Community Voice to Advance Economic Prosperity
SEP 17
Entrepreneurship Track Speakers
Adrienne Norwood
Program Manager, Rural Communities, Enterprise Community Partners
Rural Investments
SEP 17
Cortney Woodruff
Co-founder & CEO of Assemble
My First Million
SEP 17
David Payton
Executive Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program at Delgado Community College (South Central Site)
Goldman Sachs 10KSB: Matching Capital and Capacity
SEP 17
Kendra Key
Executive Director at Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence
Building a Small Business Support Ecosystem
SEP 17
Michael Thomas
President of Systems Companies
Cracking the Code in Accessing Public Agency Funds
SEP 18
Percy Manson
SVP
Director of Sales at Hope Enterprise Corporation
Goldman Sachs 10KSB: Matching Capital and Capacity
SEP 17
Dr. Nashlie Sephus
AI Scientist & Evangelist @Amazon, Founder of TheBeanPath
Empowering Communities Through Technology & Innovation
SEP 18
Dr. Nichole Thompson
CEO, Gaitway Solutions & Co founder of 400 Films
Growing and Scaling Small Businesses
SEP 18
Robin Davey Wolff
Senior Director, Rural Communities at Enterprise Community Partners
Rural Investments
SEP 17
Tony Jeff
CEO for Innovate Mississippi
Stabilizing $1–3M in Revenue
SEP 18
Community Infrastructure Track Speakers
Betsy Bradley
Laurie Hearin McRee Director/Mississippi Museum of Art
Building the Cultural Economy
SEP 18
Dr. Courtney Taylor
Executive Director of Mississippi's Office of Workforce Development, Accelerate MS
Community Infrastructure
SEP 17
Dr. Errick Greene
Superintendent, Jackson Public Schools
Repurposing Community Assets
SEP 18
Latoya Cutts
Jackson Public School District Repurposing Initiative
Repurposing Community Assets
SEP 17
Mayor John Horhn
Mayor of Jackson, MS
Revitalizing Southern Cities
SEP 17
Mayor Steven Reed
Mayor of Montgomery, AL
Revitalizing Southern Cities
SEP 17
Nia Umoja
Creative Director & Lead Organizer, Cooperative Community of New West Jackson
Building Community-Owned Assets
SEP 17
Nick Mitchell-Bennet
Chief Executive Officer of CDCB
Innovating to Build Rural Housing
SEP 18
Rebecca Kaufman
Vice President of Regional Innovation Clusters AgLaunch
Asset Building Opportunities in Agriculture
SEP 17
Rey Ramsey
CEO and President of Nathan Cummings Foundation
Investing in a Region
SEP 18
Roy Decker
Partner Duvall Decker Architects
Repurposing Community Assets
SEP 17
Sanjay Bhasin
President & CEO of FHLB Dallas
Partnering with FHLB to Drive Housing, Home Ownership and Community Development
SEP 18
Tray Hairston
Partner at Butler Snow LLP
Data Centers, Economic Development, and the New Infrastructure of Civilization
SEP 18
Thank You to our Sponsors.
DELTA FEST is proudly sponsored by
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