Dr. César Cruz
From marching 76-straight miles, to hunger striking for 26 days, César has dedicated his life to fighting for justice. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México and migrated to the U.S. at a young age with a single mother, and grandmother. César graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in History. He has been an educator for 22 years, in positions of leadership for the last 17 years, most recently serving as the Dean of Secondary Schools Program at Harvard University. For the last four years, he has overseen the Homies Empowerment Program serving gang impacted/involved youth in Oakland, CA. He is the author of two books, Revenge of the Illegal Alien, and Bang for Freedom. He received his doctorate in Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, becoming the first Mexican immigrant male to do so. Amidst all, he is proudest to be a husband, and father of three children: Olin, Amaru and Quetzali.
Dr. Ryan Sutton
His expertise around the mental health issues of African American youth is fundamental to our work with Sigma Pi Phi Faternity on the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. Sutton earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Howard University, in the field of Counseling Psychology. He received clinical experience at Tree of Life Public Charter School, D.C. Jail, Howard University Counseling Services, and various community-based mental health centers. Ryan has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented at numerous national conferences on the areas of academic achievement, juvenile justice and mental health among Black males. He completed his doctoral internship at the District of Columbia Superior Court, Child Guidance Clinic, where he was responsible for forensic psychological testing, therapy and research.
