Katharine Brophy Dubois received her B.A. with Distinction in History from Duke University in 1989 and her Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan in 2001. A Mellon Scholar, Fulbright Fellow, and American Academy in Rome Fellow, as a professor of medieval history, Katie taught courses on history, religion, and popular culture at Loyola Marymount University, Michigan State, and Duke for twenty-six years. Simultaneously, as award-winning and bestselling author Katharine Ashe, Katie published sixteen historical romance novels reviewers called “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent.” In 2021, Katie returned to school to pursue a J.D. at North Carolina Central University in Durham; earlier this year, she graduated magna cum laude, passed the bar exam with flying colors, and took her oath of admission to the North Carolina Bar. She now uses the research, writing, and communications skills she gained as a professor and author to support the legal needs of historically under-served people and communities in the South.
Vivian Flynn has over 25 years of experience in finance, specializing in capital raising and investor relations for alternative investment strategies. Since earning her B.A. in History from the University of Michigan in 1995 and a JD from Washington University School of Law in 1999, she has held positions at top-tier firms including Goldman Sachs and FrontPoint Partners. She is currently a Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations at Pomona Capital, a leading private equity firm. Vivian lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Emma Kinery is a national reporter for State Affairs based out of Washington, D.C. focusing on financial policy. She was previously a White House correspondent for CNBC and a national political reporter for Bloomberg News. Emma grew up in northern Michigan and served as editor-in-chief of The Michigan Daily.
Yezenia Sandoval is a nonprofit professional from the West Side of Chicago, with a Master's degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a passion to spark critical conversations at the intersectionality of identity and education. She currently serves as a Dual Program Manager at a national non-profit, Urban Alliance, which equips youth with social emotional learning and workforce readiness skills as well as paid internship opportunities. In her free time, she enjoys writing opinion pieces and has published a few articles, including in the Michigan Journal of Public Affairs.
Matthew Trieste serves as a relationship manager on behalf of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to central banks across Africa. He has more than a decade of service at the FRBNY, and in addition to relationship management, his career has spanned tenures in investment banking sales and trading, international journalism, securities clearance and settlement, and anti-money laundering. Matthew earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in History (LSA, 2004), with an emphasis on African history and studies, and an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School (2013). He is both a passionate Africanist and New Yorker, and has proudly managed and captained the New York City, University of Michigan Alumni Hockey Club for over 15 years.
Christopher W. Wilson is Curator and Chair of the Division of Home and Community Life at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Chris founded several major program series including the Smithsonian’s award-winning interactive theater programs, the National Youth Summit, and the History Film Forum. As a scholar, Chris studies the Black Freedom Struggle and has worked on numerous exhibitions including Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life, American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith, and The Greensboro Lunch Counter. His articles have appeared in publications such as Smithsonian Magazine, The American Historian, Time, and Zocalo Public Square and his interactive experience, Join the Student Sit-Ins, which won the 2009 Smithsonian Education Achievement Award, has engaged more than a million participants in the history and lessons of the Civil Rights Movement.
Adnan Zuberi is the Co-Head of Global Capital Markets Americas, Co-Head of Asset Finance & Securitization (AFS) Americas and Global Head of CLO Origination & Structuring, managing the business both in the US and Europe. AFS encompasses ABS, CLOs, ERI, Transportation & Export Finance Americas teams. He joined BNP Paribas in 2008 from JPMorgan Chase, where he was an Executive Director in the Structured Products team since 2007. At JPMorgan Chase, his focus was Structuring for Asset Managers and Real Money Accounts. Prior to that, Adnan spent 5 years at UBS (2002-2007) in London in Credit Structuring, most recently as Head of Credit Derivatives Structuring. Adnan also spent 3 years at Credit Suisse (1999-2002) in the Collateralized Debt Obligation group in New York, where he structured CDOs in a variety of asset classes (IG, HY, Loans, Trups, Project Finance). Adnan is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
