Reggie Hubbard

Reggie is an internationally recognized yoga and meditation teacher and the founder/chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga. His yoga and meditation practice have served as a sanctuary of peace and perspective while navigating the stresses of being a black man in the world and serving in pressure filled jobs at the height of politics. He began his contemplative practices under extreme emotional distress at work and now works with all walks of life in service to helping people navigate this thing called life with more truth, grace, peace and ease.

Through Active Peace Yoga, he offers guidance, teaching and tools/techniques to help others nurture peace of mind, creativity, equanimity in spirit and physical health – helping people commit to well-being as foundational, rather than an afterthought. Reggie has taught Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, major labor unions, educational institutions, leading progressive organizations and individuals from all walks of life – simple tools for managing stress and bringing peace to mind, body and spirit.

Reggie has held many senior strategic and logistical roles across a variety of fields, ranging from global marketing, digital and community organizing, government relations, international education to Presidential campaigning (Kerry/Edwards 2004, 2008 Dem Convention, Bernie Sanders 2016). He recently served as the Congressional Liaison and senior political strategist for MoveOn, managing their relationships, impact and communications with Capitol Hill from 2017 to 2021. While at MoveOn, he played significant roles in the impeachment process as well as bridging the gap between political strategy and connecting grassroots leaders with elected officials. He has spent most of the last two decades at the forefront of social change at the grassroots level and now advises grassroots organizations on how to effectively campaign and take care of themselves in the process.

In addition to his political work and deep study of yoga and meditation, Reggie has authored a thesis entitled, “Yoga and Spiritual Activism: Serving Humanity from a Sense of Devotion and Love.” as part of his studies, which articulates much of his teaching philosophy.

Reggie’s life work sits at the intersection of bringing more peace and balance to activists; guiding the wellness community toward being more engaged, concerned citizens; and, enhancing the well-being of all walks of life. Achieving this balance is how we catalyze transformative change in our society, which we are desperately in need of at this moment.

Reggie received a B.A. in philosophy from Yale University and an MBA in international strategy from the Vlerick Business School in Belgium.

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Myrna Perez

Myrna Pérez is Deputy Director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program and leader of the Center’s Voting Rights and Elections project. An expert on voting rights and election administration, she is the author of several nationally recognized reports and articles, including Election Day Long Lines: Resource Allocation (Sept. 2014) and If Section 5 Falls: New Voting Implications (June 2013). Her work has been featured in media outlets across the country, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, and others. She has testified before several state legislatures on a variety of voting rights related issues. She is a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School and has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at NYU School of Law.

Prior to joining the Brennan Center, Ms. Pérez was the Civil Rights Fellow at Relman, Dane & Colfax, a civil rights law firm in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Columbia Law School, where she was a Lowenstein Public Interest Fellow. Following law school, Ms. Pérez clerked for the Hon. Anita B. Brody of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for the Hon. Julio M. Fuentes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She previously served as the Chair of the Election Law Committee of the City of New York Bar Association. Ms. Pérez is the recipient of several awards, including the Puerto Rican Bar Association Award for Excellence in Academia, the New Jersey League of Women Voters “Making Democracy Work” award, and was named one of 2014’s 50 Hispanic Influentials by Hispanic Business.

Ms. Pérez earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Yale University. She obtained a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she was the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Public Service. Prior to law school, she was a Presidential Management Fellow, serving as a policy analyst for the United States Government Accounting Office on a range of issues, including housing and health care.

Other sessions: Reclaiming the Narrative on Voting Rights

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W. Mondale Robinson

W. Mondale grew up—one of thirteen children—in an environment riddled with all the norms of poverty, for a Southern Black family. That vantage point gave him a front row seat to all that plagues the oppressed and underserved in our nation, and it would eventually be at the root of all of his work. At an early age, W. Mondale began seeking answers to accepted social constructs, he quickly saw the need to challenge those flawed ideas and he took the path of solution architect. After graduating from high school he joined the United States Marine Corps. W. Mondale Robinson realized that joining the Corps was admirable, but quickly learned that it was not a mechanism for social change. With this in mind, he entered into the world of politics.

W. Mondale Robinson was the founder of The C. Institute which was a NGO concerned with equitable governance and inter-social treatment for persons of African descent, in countries where they are a minority population. W. Mondale is also the Founding Principal of Black Male Voters Project, the first and only national organization with a sole purpose of increasing Black men’s participation in electoral politics. He is also the creator of the BMEP Additory Approach© , an award winning, cultural competent political program, that’s responsible for increasing Black men’s participation in more than 21 states. He is also the CEO of WMR Consulting Firm. W. Mondale has worked on more than 160 campaigns (local, statewide, federal, and international).

W. Mondale Robinson is also the mayor of his hometown, Enfield NC where he defeated an incumbent by more than 53% points, to become the youngest mayor in the town’s history. He founded and led #ALLACTION which was an online organizing group that specialized in tech-community organizing, training for successful civil disobedience actions, and strategic advocacy planning.

He has appeared on national television news stations such as: Democracy Now, Al-Jazeera, NPR, ABC, MSNBC, and CNN, RT Germany, TYT, Australian Public Broadcasting and in most national written press. He has political and cultural columns on The Village Celebration a publication that focus on Black lives. Mondale is also one half of the team for Clickbaity: Political ThirstTrap, a raw political podcast.

Other sessions: Progressive While Black in 2018

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Shaneice Simmons

Shaneice Simmons is Rock the Vote’s Associate Director of Civic Engagement and a leading advocate for the power of young people. She oversees and builds all strategic partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, developing collaborative opportunities to increase youth civic engagement and empower the next generation of voters. Prior to joining Rock the Vote over two years ago, Shaneice worked in marketing and advertising, developing initiatives for both online and in-person activations for brands such as Coca-Cola. Shaneice received her B.A. in Communications, with a concentration in Public Relations, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Other sessions: Reclaiming the Narrative on Voting Rights