2018 Urban Male Institute - Speakers

Dr. Corey A. King

Dr. King is the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Florida Atlantic University. He is responsible for all aspects of student life, especially promoting a campus culture that embraces academic excellence, social and personal development, and civic responsibility. As the Chair of the State University System (SUS) of Florida Council of Student Affairs, Dr. King advises the Florida Board of Governors on matters related to enrollment management, student safety, mental health, student involvement, and other matters related to student success among the 12 SUS institutions.

Maurice Ashley

Maurice Ashley is the first African-American Grandmaster of chess and is also a championship chess coach, ESPN commentator, author, app designer, and speaker. Maurice worked as a Fellow at MIT’s Media Lab developing a program to bring chess and its benefits to a wider audience through technology. Brought up on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica and Brooklyn, New York, Maurice shares his story with young people in impoverished and crime-ridden communities around the globe. He spreads his message of strategy and success to universities, businesses, clubs, and nonprofits worldwide. His book "Chess for Success" crystallizes his vision of the many benefits of chess, particularly for at-risk youth, and for improving creativity, mental agility and problem solving. Ashley has applied his genius and fame to other ventures and is currently the coorganizer of the Millionaire Chess Open, the highest stakes Open tournament in chess history. Maurice’s achievements inspire individuals to believe that no matter what obstacles lie in their path, they can overcome them with their mind. He shows others ways to unlock their mental potential to solve problems and best their opponents.

Michele Camps

Michele Camps is Wells Fargo’s Assistant Vice President of the Gold Coast Region Branch and Manager of the Wells Fargo at Work Program. The Wells Fargo at Work is a program uniquely designed to help people achieve their financial goals while learning how to manage their money. Camps travels to schools and companies to teach skills such as budgeting, savings, and how to start, build, and maintain credit.

Michele offers financial knowledge and tools that help people get their finances back on track and create a plan of action for the future.

Matthew Hornaday

Matthew Hornaday attended the University of Michigan where he earned his Business Degree from the Michigan Ross School of Business, while simultaneously playing on the Michigan football team and working two jobs throughout his academic career. After graduating, he accepted a job offer at a corporate organization, but after a few years he felt that he wanted to take a major risk and changed professions. Matt decided to move to South Florida and start an entirely new chapter of his career as a real estate agent. Hornaday has been nothing less than a star in the real estate world. His philosophy is to look beyond the transaction and focus on the individual. He is known for his exceptional customer service, exhaustive market analysis, and driven work ethic. Matt’s story is a great example for young professionals to learn how to take calculated risks that will benefit them in the long run.

Samuel King

Sam King spent almost a decade of combined service in the United States Marine Corps and United States Army. After his time in military service, King became driven to help people realize their most positive potential, by utilizing their strengths to overcome challenges they may experience in their daily lives. With a background in social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and clinical social work, Sam has worked extensively with middle school children, adolescents, and adults challenged by substance dependence and mental illnesses.

King is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Florida, and a trained practitioner of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), working mostly with military veterans and clients who have experienced varied levels of trauma. Sam believes that willingness and acceptance are the first steps towards increasing one's positive self-determination. King seeks to help others positively enhance their determination and lives through chosen kindness, unconditional positive regard, regard for others’ perspective of reality, and evidence-based best practices. Sam often suggests, that “the joy of helping others, is the joy of helping ourselves”; influencing continuous positive symbiotic relationships.

Junior Rivera

After graduating from FAU with a business degree in 2008, J.R. Rivera decided to become a dynamic keynote speaker, author and educational consultant and has empowered over 10,000 students and educators. He is the prestigious author of “What’s Eating Up Your Time,” which discusses unique ways to master your time, stop procrastinating, and become efficient in time-management. Rivera has been the recipient of an array of distinguished awards such as 2018’s “Black Genius Award of Miami”, the Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) “Most Inspiring Instagram” in 2015, and “African American Achievers Award” in 2018. As a former Arena Football professional athlete and star of FAU’s football team from 2004-2008, Rivera took the skills necessary to excel on the field and applied them to business. He is now the CEO of Mile Mindset LLC.

Veronica Romney

Veronica Romney is a full-time search marketing professional and a Florida native. As the daughter of two Cuban immigrants who lived the American Dream, she is fiercely proud of her heritage and constantly driven by her parents’ entrepreneurial spirits. Romney is the Founder and President of LoSoMo Inc, a digital marketing agency based in Boca Raton, FL that focuses on quality work and refreshing, empathetic client relationships all around the world. She oversees the full suite of marketing products offered by LoSoMo which include Web Design ad Development, SEO, Paid Search, Social Media, Email Marketing, Online Review Development, and more. She speaks worldwide about digital marketing strategies and trends, starting and running her own company, and being a successful woman in business.

Ray Sylvain

Ray Sylvain is the son of Haitian immigrants, a former U.S. Marine with over 20 years of experience, and an extremely successful businessman. At and early age, Ray realized that he was his own best investment and in order to be a leader, he needed to be someone worth following. Mr. Sylvain has been providing superior results at every level in his career and currently is an exceptional operations executive dedicated to continuous process improvement in the face of rapidly evolving and changing markets.

Ruben-Ubiera

Ruben Gerardo Ubiera Gonzalez is a neo-figurative artist, known for his strong use of graffiti inspired technique/esthetic, urban murals, mixed-media pieces and installations -- all created with reclaimed-objects and found artifacts. He paints and draws in a style considered as postgraffism, but he prefers to call it urban pop, since he has lived most of his life in urban, populated areas. Most of his inspiration is derived from the interactivity between man and his urban environment. Ubiera strives to capture an essential part of his past, his present, and his subjects in every piece that he creates.

Tyree Vance

Tyree Vance is an entrepreneur, speaker, advisor, mentor and community advocate, recognized for delivering empowering and thought provoking presentations across the nation. With a focus on changing the narrative of African American males in college, Tyree’s mind-shifting messages of hope have inspired hundreds of students, colleagues and educators. In addition to advising, Vance has also co-conducted research focusing on the collegiate success of African American males, and presented his findings at various regional and nation conferences including Harvard’s Alumni of Color Conference.

Jayson-Williams

Jayson Williams played for the 76ers for two years before being traded to the New Jersey Nets where he signed one of the largest contracts ever at that point in time. Unfortunately, he had to retire after a career-ending injury. Williams used his elevated social status as a celebrity/athlete/entertainer to network after basketball and started many endeavors as a businessman. He did this all while suffering the loss of his three sisters and a brother and then adopting his sister's two children. Jayson also faced other hardships including a prison sentence and time at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center where he became the first NBA player ever to graduate a program like this. Williams now lives in Boca Raton, FL and helps people find and live a life of health and wellness at his own rehabilitation facility, Rebound.

Seneca Williams

Seneca Williams is a licensed mental health counselor and certified career coach. She built her online practice on the belief that everyone has the ability to succeed. She firmly believes that with accurate information, emotional support, and accountability those she coaches can achieve anything they set their minds on. She provides online therapy and coaching for supermen and wonder women, who need a safe space to take off their cape, heal and grow. She provides tailored counseling to men and women that seek life balance and career growth by providing skills that teach her clients how to gain insight, learn coping skills, and create action plans for their life goals — while in the comfort of their home. In addition to her online practice, she provides personal development services for corporate groups at workshops and conferences. Seneca is also the host of an online community access radio and television show called Career Therapy with Seneca Williams, where she discusses careers, entrepreneurship and emotional wellness.