Darryl Stallworth worked as an Alameda County Deputy District Attorney for 15 years between 1992 and 2007. During his time as a prosecutor he tried over 60 cases, 40 of which were felonies, including 25 murder cases and one death penalty case. He conducted over 100 law & motion hearings, 250 preliminary hearings and resolved over 10,000 cases. He has lectured in Brazil, Malaysia, India, & Turkey on effective case resolution. Darryl is currently in private practice focusing on criminal defense. He received his BA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, his JD from the University of California, Davis, Martin Luther King Jr. Hall School of Law in 1992. 
Stephen Powell is the chief program officer of the National CARES Mentoring Movement, founded by Essence Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Susan L. Taylor; he leads and oversees the organization’s program expansion, partnership development, training and technical assistance efforts. Prior to joining the National CARES Mentoring Movement, Stephen served as the executive director of Mentoring USA for ten years and worked in program development and management for local, national and international organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Nth Dimensions, Inc., and is an alumnus of the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management program at Columbia University's Graduate Business School and Howard University.