WORLD Channel

Harvard University graduate Soledad O'Brien was born to an Irish-Australian father and an Afro-Cuban mother. O'Brien began as a TV writer and producer, and later became an anchor and co-host of news programs for MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. In 2003, she was tapped to co-anchor CNN’s American Mornings and then Starting Point. O'Brien left CNN in 2013 to find Starfish Media Group, a production company.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Malik Yoba is no stranger to life on the stage; his exposure to theater is the driving force behind his pursuit of acting. Yoba, winner of three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for New York Undercover, is the author of autobiography Yoba: Lessons From the Street and Other Places. He's also the founder of Malik Yoba National Theatre Company.

Though Amar’e Stoudemire didn’t start playing basketball until his early teens, he has become one of the most dominating power forwards in pro basketball. With athleticism, skills and guidance, Stoudemire was drafted into the NBA after high school in order to elevate himself and his family to a better life. The All-Star player is also a writer of a series of books and founded an outreach program.

After being inspired by a PBS program, Michelle Rhee joined Teach for America and then founded The New Teacher Project. Appointed Chancellor of Washington D.C. Public Schools from 2007 to 2010, Rhee was met with criticism due to her aggressive style of public school reform. Currently, founder and CEO of StudentsFirst, an organization dedicated to urban school reform, has written the book, Radical.