2025 Honorees
Troy Vincent
Troy Vincent is the Executive Vice President of Football Operations at the NFL, having started his career as the 7th overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 1992 NFL Draft. With 15 seasons in the league, he is a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and has been inducted into several halls of fame, including those of the Philadelphia Eagles and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In his current role, Vincent upholds high standards to enhance football's societal value, focusing on game analytics, integrity, and player safety. He believes in using football to foster community and positively impact lives.
Troy Vincent
2025 Fellowship Open
Legends Honoree
Charly Palmer
2025 Fellowship Open
National Change Agent Honoree
Charly Palmer
Charly Palmer is an American fine artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. Using a primary medium of acrylic on canvas, his body of work focuses on documenting visual narratives of the African American experience.
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His work has been exhibited in dozens of major galleries and museums across the country and is held in the permanent collections of institutions such as the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, Lambeau Field Stadium, Fiserv Forum, and the Coca-Cola Company.
Charly created the artwork cover for singer/songwriter John Legend’s most recent album, Bigger Love that received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy awards. Palmer was selected by TIME magazine to design its July 2020 cover, as part of the America Must Change issue. His phenomenal work has long dealt with themes surrounding social justice and civil rights and his commission from NBA 2K represents basketball’s overall commitment to these causes. In addition to his strong commitment to social justice, Charly recently interviewed with Kareem Abdul Jabbar regarding his foundation, Skyhook and presented him with a painting commemorating his achievements, dedication and his famous skyhook shot. He received an honorable mention when Jimmy Fallon interviewed Kareem about Skyhook Foundation and featured Charly’s work. In addition to his fine art, Palmer has illustrated seven acclaimed children’s books and is currently writing others that will represent black children and families at play. Palmer earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and has lectured widely at American colleges and universities such as Spelman, Morehouse, Brown, UCLA and most recently Fisk.
Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter
2025 Fellowship Open
Legacy Honoree
Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter
Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter is the President and CEO of V&J Foods, Holding Companies, Inc., a multi-brand quick-service restaurant enterprise she co-founded in 1982. Under her leadership, V&J has expanded from one restaurant to 132 locations across eight states, employing over 4,500 people. Before this, she worked as a retail and commercial lender and a financial underwriter.
Dr. Daniels-Carter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Lincoln University and a Master’s in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University. She has received multiple honorary doctorates and was inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2023, she was crowned the first Diaspora Queen 1 by King Nyaho Tamakloe VI of Ghana.
Recognized as a leading business figure, she has served on various boards, including as the first African American female chair of the Automobile Association of America (AAA) and as a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. Her accolades include being named one of Essence Magazine's "50 Most Inspiring African Americans" and receiving numerous awards for her contributions to business and education.
A dedicated humanitarian, Dr. Daniels-Carter engages in philanthropic efforts both locally and internationally, including building educational facilities and medical clinics in Kenya and supporting agricultural initiatives in Ghana. She is also a motivational speaker and author of several books, attributing her success to her faith, family, and community. Dr. Daniels-Carter exemplifies leadership and commitment to making a positive impact.
Chris Webber
2025 Fellowship Open
Legends Honoree
Chris Webber
Chris Webber was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended Detroit Country Day School, leading his teams to three consecutive state championships and earning National High School Basketball Player of the Year and Michigan’s Mr. Basketball honors in 1991. Webber enrolled at the University of Michigan as a member of the famed ‘Fab Five’ recruiting class and made an instant impact, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 1992 and helping Michigan reach the NCAA title game. The Wolverines again finished as national runner-up during his sophomore season, in which he was named a first team All-American.
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Through just two seasons at Michigan Webber scored 1,218 points (38th all-time in U-M history) and collected 702 rebounds (14th all-time). His 84 blocked shots in 1992 and 91 in 1993 rank second and third all-time in Michigan single-season history. He was the #1 overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic and would go on to a fifteen-year NBA career that included Rookie of the Year honors and five All Star Game appearances. Webber’s #44 was retired by Detroit Country Day and his #4 was retired by the Sacramento Kings. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Michele Hooper
2025 Fellowship Open
National Corporate Leadership Honoree
Michele Hooper
Michele J. Hooper is President and CEO of The Directors’ Council which specializes in corporate board of director recruitment, focused primarily on diversity candidates, and board advisory services. With over 20 years of corporate board experience, Ms. Hooper is a highly regarded governance expert and business leader.
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Ms. Hooper serves on the corporate boards of directors of PPG Industries, Inc., Warner Music Group Corporation (WMG), UnitedHealth Group and AstraZeneca PLC as well as chairs the Audit Committees for PPG, AstraZeneca and WMG. She is the Senior Independent Director (SID) at AstraZeneca and Warner Music Group, as well as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at UnitedHealth Group. Ms. Hooper retired as Chair of the Audit Committee and board member of Target Corporation, and previously was a board member of Seagram Company Ltd. and DaVita Corporation.
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Ms. Hooper is a board member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and President, NACD Chicago Chapter. She has been a commissioner on the 2004 through the 2010 NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions on governance including Board-Shareholder Communications, Director Liability, Risk Oversight, and Board Evaluations. Ms. Hooper is co-chair of the 2010 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees. Ms. Hooper is Vice Chair of the Center for Audit Quality, a public policy organization serving investors, public company auditors and capital markets. She is Chair of the CAQ Working Group focused on Deterring and Detecting Financial Statement Fraud. A Directorship Top 100 in Corporate Governance awardee, Ms. Hooper is a frequent panelist, speaker, faculty member, and boardroom advisor on governance and board committee issues.
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Previously, Ms. Hooper served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager Expanded Learning and of Stadtlander Drug Company, Inc. Prior to joining Stadtlander, Ms. Hooper was appointed as Corporate Vice President, Caremark International Inc, and President of the International Business Group, responsible for the expansion of Caremark into Europe, Canada and Japan. Ms. Hooper began her career at Baxter International and held positions of increasing responsibility before her appointment as Vice President, Corporate Planning. From 1988 to 1992, as President of Baxter Canada, Ms. Hooper was responsible for Canada’s largest health care and laboratory supplies company.
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Ms. Hooper is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, the World President’s Organization (WPO), Executive Leadership Council (ELC), The Committee of 200, and The Chicago Network. Ms. Hooper earned an MBA at the University of Chicago and a BA in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.