Co-author of Breaking Barriers, Stan Litow is a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He previously taught at Duke University, where he also served as Innovator in Residence.

Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Schools Chancellor for New York City Public Schools, the largest K–12 system in the United States. He later joined IBM, where he served as president of the IBM Foundation and vice president in charge of global Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Affairs.

He serves as a trustee of the State University of New York, the largest public postsecondary institution in the United States, where he chairs the Academic Affairs Committee.

Diallo Shabazz brings deep expertise in corporate engagement, multi-stakeholder management, and workforce development. He has advised the founding teams behind several models of social innovation that now serve as national and global standards for public-private partnership — among them IBM’s P-TECH model, the Brooklyn STEAM Center, the CUNY College of Labor and Urban Studies, New York City’s Apprenticeship Accelerator in the Office of the Mayor, and the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

For the past six years he has led the New York P-TECH Leadership Council, providing policy advisement, program development, and technical assistance to SUNY colleges, the New York State Education Department, the Board of Regents, school districts, and the employer partners supporting more than fifty P-TECH schools statewide. Since 2020 he has led the expansion of New York P-TECH from 42 to 56 programs. His multi-stakeholder engagement strategy recruited Micron to launch the first P-TECH semiconductor manufacturing program and brought the New York Power Authority into partnership with schools on energy, cybersecurity, and hydroponics.

On the international stage, Diallo has advised government ministries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He served as a fellow at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and from 2011 to 2013 was appointed a North American Civil Society Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme, supporting ministerial-level meetings on the U.N.’s Post-2015 Agenda and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals. He was a delegate to the UNECE Regional Meeting in Switzerland, the UNEP Governing Council Global Forum in Kenya, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20) in Brazil.

He previously served as Senior Director of Career and Technical Education at New York City Public Schools, leading a portfolio of 318 programs across 135 schools, and as Chief Administrator of the District Council 37 Education Fund — one of the largest municipal training funds in the country, serving 150,000 employees across more than 1,000 job titles — where he quadrupled annual revenue and digitized operations in his first two years. In 2015 he served on the New York State Board of Regents Blue Ribbon Committee that created the nation’s first statewide My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, securing $20M to improve education for boys and young men of color.

He began his career as Regional Director of the NAACP’s Youth & College Division for the northeast United States, and has served on board committees and advisory councils for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the NAACP National Board of Directors, and the AI-education company Stemuli. He has been featured in Forbes and The New York Times, and lives in New York with his wife and two daughters.

Christopher G. Caine is President of the Center for Global Enterprise, a New York–based nonprofit dedicated to the study of the contemporary corporation in the era of global economic integration. He is also President and CEO of Mercator XXI, LLC, a professional services firm helping clients engage the global economy.

Prior to 2009, Mr. Caine spent 25 years at IBM, including thirteen years with corporate responsibility for global public policy as Vice President, Governmental Programs. He also served as IBM’s Director of Human Resources and Environmental Policy, with responsibility for health care reform, labor, health and safety, environment, and energy policy. Earlier, he worked for the Coca-Cola Company, the Eaton Corporation, and the Electronic Industries Association.

He has spoken before the United States Congress, the World Economic Forum, the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, the Shanghai International Forum, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Centre for Corporate Public Affairs in Sydney, among many others.

Mr. Caine serves as a senior adviser for technology and public policy to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Management. He sits on the boards of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the Economic Club of Washington DC, the Institute for Education, the Ambassador Theater, and BrainFood. A guest lecturer at Lafayette College and Georgetown University, he created the Caine Scholar’s Award for Global Leadership, Business and Policy at Lafayette College in 2008.

A non-profit executive, global education advisor, and sustainability expert, Diallo has worked across four continents over two decades to advance career-connected learning, sustainable development, and the future of work. He has advised the founding teams behind IBM’s P-TECH model, the Brooklyn STEAM Center, the CUNY College of Labor and Urban Studies, and New York City’s Apprenticeship Accelerator.

For six years he led the New York P-TECH Leadership Council, supporting SUNY colleges, the State Education Department, the Board of Regents, districts, and employers across more than fifty P-TECH schools — growing the state network from 42 to 56 programs since 2020. He recruited Micron to launch the first P-TECH semiconductor manufacturing program and brought the New York Power Authority into school partnerships on energy, cybersecurity, and hydroponics.

Internationally, he has advised government ministries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, served as a fellow at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and was appointed a North American Civil Society Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme, supporting the ministerial meetings that shaped the Sustainable Development Goals as a delegate in Switzerland, Kenya, and Brazil.

He also leads Braven Solutions, which has directed strategic planning for the New York Governor’s $80M Advanced Manufacturing training facility in Syracuse, advised the NYC Mayor’s Office on restructuring its $900M workforce development ecosystem, and managed the design of Fordham University’s Bronx Green Jobs Center, opening in Fall 2026.

Earlier he served as Senior Director of Career and Technical Education at New York City Public Schools, overseeing 318 programs across 135 schools, and as Chief Administrator of the DC 37 Education Fund, serving 150,000 employees across 1,000 job titles. He began his career as Regional Director of the NAACP’s Youth & College Division and has been featured in Forbes and The New York Times.

Co-author of Breaking Barriers, the book that tells the story of the P-TECH model, Tina brings a reporter’s standard for accuracy to the Alliance’s public voice.

She spent ten years as a reporter for The New York Times, where she contributed to the “Portraits of Grief” series, part of a staff Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She is also the author of several collections of poetry and co-author of Almost Home, on youth homelessness.

She was a US@250 Fellow with New America, was senior education reporter at NJ.com/The Star-Ledger, and also worked at The Seattle Times, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her articles have appeared in The Atlantic.com, The Christian Science Monitor, Audubon, Orion, People, The Progressive, and other publications. Her honors include a National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence award, the Washington State Book Award, and the New Jersey Poets Prize.

At the Alliance she leads communications, press relations, and the organization’s state engagement work, including the Maryland partnership with the state Department of Education.