Tam is a senior marketing leader at BVK, where she co-leads the agency’s higher education practice, and she serves as President of the Board for Serve Marketing, BVK’s not-for-profit sister agency. She brings more than 25 years of experience working in higher education marketing and strategy, with a deep understanding of the sector’s evolving challenges, opportunities, and public perception.

Tam is a key architect behind College: Proud Sponsor of America at its Best, a national public-service initiative designed to restore trust in higher education by elevating its impact on workforce development, innovation, democratic engagement, and community well-being. Her work focuses on helping institutions articulate their value with clarity, credibility, and relevance—connecting strategy and storytelling to advance higher education’s essential role in America’s future.

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A pioneering social entrepreneur, Rajiv Vinnakota serves as President of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, leading its mission to cultivate the talent, ideas, and networks that develop lifelong, effective citizens. To that end, he works tirelessly to build relationships with the partners and sponsors without whom Citizens & Scholars could not succeed, while at the same time fostering a strong organizational culture focused on American civic values.

Raj has dedicated his life to initiatives that help American citizens from all walks of life to become productive and engaged members of society. Early in his career, Raj co-founded the SEED Foundation, the nation’s first network of public, college preparatory boarding schools for underserved children. The SEED schools were featured in both television and film, and Raj won multiple awards for his work with SEED, including Harvard University’s Innovation in American Government Award, Fast Company/Monitor Group’s Social Capitalist Award, and Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life Award. Raj continues to serve on the Board of Directors for SEED.

Raj currently co-chairs the Civics and Civic Engagement Taskforce for the United States Congress Semiquincentennial Commission celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. Raj also cochairs the Civic Learning Pillar of the Partnership for American Democracy, a coalition of American leaders directing resources and attention toward efforts to save U.S. democracy and serves on the advisory committee for Citizen Data.

Raj has been at the forefront of innovative scholarship and research that has played a pivotal role in shaping the civic field. His publication credits include From Civic Education to a Civic Learning Ecosystem, Mapping Civic Measurement, and The Civic Outlook of Young Adults in America. He appears regularly on media outlets such as Associated Press, NPR, The Hill, Chronicle of Higher Education, Philanthropy News Digest, and Nonprofit Quarterly. As an expert on civic learning and Gen Z, he has spoken at Fordham Institute, Results for America, Civic Learning Week, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and as commencement speaker for the University of Chicago Charter School and the University of Pittsburgh.

Raj grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the child of Indian immigrants who instilled in him the faith that a good education could open doors to great things. He graduated from Princeton University and is a recipient of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson Award, the university’s highest honor for undergraduate alumni. In addition to being a former trustee and executive committee member for Princeton University, Raj is the former national chair of its annual giving committee. Raj is also the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Rutgers University. He is also board director for two public companies, Enovis Corporation and ESAB. He lives in Maine with his wife, daughter and cat.

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Suzanne Benally (Navajo and Santa Clara Tewa)—Executive Director, Swift Foundation

Suzanne has worked in the higher education and the non-profit sector for 40 years. Committed to social justice, diversity, and equity, she predicates her work on transformational change. Currently serving as the executive director of the Swift Foundation she advocates for transformative practices in philanthropy that address issues of racism, equity, justice, and seeks to influence philanthropic practices in being more inclusive and in right relations with Indigenous Peoples. Formerly, Suzanne served as the Executive Director of Cultural Survival, an international Indigenous rights advocacy organization that advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, self-determination, land, language, culture, and political resilience. Prior to that she held positions as a Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and core Environmental Studies faculty member and department chair at Naropa University. Previously she held a long tenure at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education working with colleges and universities in the west, and with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society in k-12 and higher education programs.

Suzanne serves a co-chair of the University Board of Trustees at Naropa University and recently served as a co-chair of the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples. She was a cohort member of the Rothko Chapel’s Spirituality and Social Justice initiative to further understanding about the relationship between spirituality and social justice. Suzanne has been a consultant, advisor to higher education initiatives and philanthropic organizations, which have included among others the Association for American Colleges and Universities National Commitments Panel, Ford Foundations Higher Education and Diversity Initiative, and the James Irving Campus Diversity Initiative.

Deeply committed to social, environmental and climate justice, her passion and interests center on relationships and interconnectedness between land, spirituality, culture, and people as reflected in narratives and stories past and present. Mostly importantly she engages work that draws on hope now and for future generations to come. Suzanne lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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