SPEAKERS

Jerry Colangelo is a businessman with a heart for community development that permeates every aspect of his life.  Though he has held many positions, in an array of areas, he is currently a founding partner of JDM Partners, LLC, a real estate development company and the Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.  Mr. Colangelo was the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Director of the Men’s National USA Basketball Team.  

Mr. Colangelo became involved with USA Basketball as the Managing Director in April of 2005.  He took charge of the team and rebuilt the program by obtaining the involvement of the NBA’s top players and securing the involvement of some of basketball’s most respected coaches, including Duke University’s Hall of Fame mentor Mike Krzyzewski as the USA National Team coach.  Under Colangelo’s leadership, the Men’s National USA Basketball Team won four consecutive gold medals. 

Mr. Colangelo’s ability to inspire and generate support are traits that have followed him throughout his career.  First arriving in Arizona as the youngest general manager in professional sports, he took over the expansion of the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise.  During his 43-year tenure with the Suns, he severed as General Manager, Head Coach, President, Managing General Partner, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. 

He is also responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to Phoenix in the late 1990s as the Chairman and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The team won the National League West in just its second season, and became the fastest expansion team in baseball history to qualify for the postseason, just as the Suns did in their second season in 1969-70.  The team continued to set record timing under Mr. Colangelo’s management, going from expansion to World Championship in just four years. 

Apart from the sports world, Mr. Colangelo formed JDM Partners, LLC. in the 1980’s with his long-time friends and business partners David Eaton and Mel Shultz.  JDM Partners, LLC is still a full-service real estate firm.  Under the guidance of its principals, JDM has completed over one hundred real estate transactions not only in Arizona, but throughout the United States.   The company has grown into multiple entities, which currently owns and operates the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club and the Wigwam Resort and Golf Courses.  Collectively, through its partnership’s, JDM Partners is the one of the largest land owners of entitled land in the greater Phoenix area.

A recipient of multiple honors both locally and nationally, the evidence of Mr. Colangelo’s integrity and desire for community improvement is clear.  His impact on the game of basketball has been so significant he was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2004.  Grand Canyon University founded the Colangelo School of Sports Business in 2011.  The Arizona Republic named him the Most Influential Sports Figure in the State of Arizona for the 20th century, and he was also named one of the most influential people in sports by Sporting News.  He has served as Chairman on numerous boards such as: Valley Big Brothers, Phoenix Art Museum, Valley of the Sun YMCA, greater Phoenix Economic Council, and many other local and national organizations.

Originally from the Hungry Hill neighborhood of Chicago Heights, Mr. Colangelo currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Joan, four children and ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. 

Anthony Amason is an Assistant Principal at Tahlequah High School. He has worked at Tahlequah for the entirety of his 15-year teaching career. After a trialing childhood Anthony was placed in Foster care in where he became the first person in his family to graduate high school and go on to attend college. Anthony moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, 19 years ago to attend Northeastern State University, where he met his wife, Lindsey. They have been married for 17 years and have two children, Everett, and Clara. After completing his Bachelor of Arts in Education,

Anthony went on to pursue a Masters in Teaching and completed a second Masters in Educational Leadership in School Administration.  Anthony has shared his story with thousands of people, with a desire to help others break trialing cycles in their lives while inspiring them to become a servant leader. 

Pastor Corey B. Brooks, founder and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and founder and CEO of Project H.O.O.D. Communities Development Corporation has become a leading voice and presence in the fight against the violence gripping Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods.

He established New Beginnings Church of Chicago in November 2000 in the heart of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhood - this opportunity was his first glimpse into the despair in the city of Chicago served as the catalyst to his ongoing efforts to date.

Pastor Brook’s efforts received national acclaim when he spent 94 days living on the roof of a rundown motel located across the street from the church. It had become a center of drugs, prostitution, and violence. Within three months he raised enough money to buy the building and tear it down. The land is now earmarked to be the location of a 23 million dollar state-of-the-art community center. The goal of the proposed community center is to offset violence, provide the support necessary to make the neighborhood a safer place, and give children the tools to reach for a brighter future.

Pastor Brooks and his wife Delilah have fully invested in the community of Woodlawn on Chicago’s South Side. He and his wife are spearheading a community initiative called Project H.O.O.D. to revitalize the neighborhood. Through it, they are raising up a new generation of peacemakers, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs.

Current Project H.O.O.D. programming includes a Core and Carpentry Level I course, which places participants in entry-level construction jobs post-program, an entrepreneurship course, and separate business workshops for aspiring and new business owners, a co-working office space for business owners, job placement programs, and community-wide events including The World’s Largest Baby Shower.

Pastor Brooks attended Ball State University, University of Florida, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Grace Theological Seminary. He has been pastoring since 1990. (ProjectHood.org)