Joseph Tomás McKellar is the Executive Director of PICO California, where he focuses on catalyzing faith-based and spiritually-centered people power in California to create systemic change for the most vulnerable so that all Californians can belong and thrive. His inquiry explores how community organizations can better navigate the threats and opportunities presented by AI.

Rabbi Susan Goldberg is a transformational spiritual leader deeply engaged in multi-faith dialogue and social justice. She is the founding rabbi of Nefesh, an inclusive, open-hearted Jewish spiritual community, and she is dedicated to the renewal of Jewish life in LA’s eastside neighborhoods. Rabbi Susan’s inquiry asks: how can shared multi-faith spaces help shape the future of Los Angeles?

Chris Contreras is the Chief Operating Officer of Brilliant Corners, a nonprofit organization dedicated to scaling supportive housing solutions for vulnerable, low-income populations transitioning out of homelessness and institutionalization. Chris’s inquiry looks to explore how fostering a sense of belonging can be the key to solving homelessness.

Lian Cheun is the Executive Director of Khmer Girls in Action, a community-based organization whose mission is to build a progressive and sustainable movement for gender, racial, and economic justice led by Southeast Asian young women. Lian will explore governance structures that cultivate youth leadership and meaningful youth decision-making in society.

Dr. Charity Chandler-Cole is the former CEO of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Los Angeles, where she directed efforts to secure the rights and futures of children and young adults impacted by foster care and incarceration. Charity’s inquiry seeks to explore how AI can be harnessed to revolutionize the support system for children in foster care, addressing their unique needs and rights more effectively than current methodologies.

Chrissie Castro is the Executive Director of the California Native Vote Project, where she focuses on achieving justice and self-determination for Native American communities through multigenerational power-building, organizing, and civic engagement. Her inquiry asks how truth and reconciliation processes can be applied to Los Angeles-based efforts to address historic and contemporary harms inflicted by local government and other actors.