Rodney Rikai
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Rodney Rikai Washington Wizards In-Arena Host and Moderator Rodney Rikai is a TV Personality, Actor, Entrepreneur and Event Planner who currently resides dually in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA. He attended North Carolina A&T State University. The son of a group member of the legendary Shirelles, Rodney Rikai was introduced at an early age to timeless music. It was out of that exposure to classic R&B and Soul that in 2009 he founded a company called The heART Gallery – Things We Love, LLC. Through this company Rodney has curated and hosted 3 years’ worth of events featuring Grammy nominated artists Lyfe Jennings and Bilal. As well as other phenomenal artists such as Jesse Boykins iii, Sonyae Elise, Moruf, Emily King, Ari Lennox, Joya Bravo, Iman Omari, Melo-X, Bridget Kelly and countless others. In 2012 Rodney Rikai was selected as a finalist to be the host of BET’s flagship show 106 & Park. While ultimately not chosen, he has maintained a working relationship with the network hosting their BET Music Matters showcase series in New York and Los Angeles, during BET Awards Weekend. Rodney has spun the opportunity at 106 & Park into a quickly ascending career in entertainment. Starting with becoming co-host to legendary Host/DJ Big Tigger on the Emmy winning CW network show “Direct Access with Big Tigger”. He is also an on air host for Music Choice Network. Additionally he was tabbed as the Washington Wizards in-arena host, twice being selected by the NBA as the co-host to Terrence J for the Sprint Pre-Game Concert during NBA All Star weekend. In addition to his on air work, Rodney has covered and hosted countless festivals as well, being sought out by major brands such as Verizon to conduct interviews with a slew of stars ranging from Jill Scott to LL Cool J and Yolanda Adams at Essence Fest. He is the host for Broccoli City Fest, a major urban Earth Day celebration in Washington, DC. In 2014, he also became a member of the Nike Entertainment roster, consistently hosting their events and activations with signature athletes such as Richard Sherman, Dasean Jackson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. In the span of two years Rodney Rikai has gone from selling light bulbs and generators for maintenance, repairs & operations conglomerate Grainger to conducting on camera interviews with the likes of Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordod-Levitt, Kelly Rowland, Jessie Ware, Arsenio, John Wall and countless others on behalf of multiple outlets. Currently, Rikai is the in-arena for the Washington Wizards. He is a regular feature writer on the Webby award winning blog ‘The Stashed’, and has been featured in Black Enterprise magazine. He studied acting under the tutelage of Tracey Moore-Marable. Ruben Rosario Ruben Rosario is a leader in law enforcement as a Lieutenant currently assigned to the Field Services Bureau working out of the Chief’s Office for the Montgomery County Department of Police in Maryland. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the State University of New York at Albany in Sociology and is a graduate of the Howard University School of Law. He became licensed to practice as an attorney in 2003 and worked on complex litigation matters for the law firm of Drinker Biddle, LLP. Since becoming a police officer, he has worked in the Silver Spring community as a patrolman, served as a narcotics investigator and served on a fugitive task force. Prior to his promotion, Lieutenant Rosario, supervised a covert, plain clothes unit known as the Special Assignment Team for the Montgomery County Department of Police. As a Special Assignment Team supervisor, his primary responsibility was to locate subjects that have committed serious crimes and coordinate their apprehension in a manner that maintains the public safety. As a Sergeant, he has led a detective unit and handled an array of crime scenes and investigations. Lieutenant Rosario was a guest panelist on a President Obama sponsored Gun Violence Prevention event held at the Howard University School of Law and is committed to pursuing opportunities that support positive relationships with the community. He is an active participant in mentoring relationships, serves on the leadership team of his local church and travels to South America annually to participate in mission trips that serve the poor. He is co-founder of the Christian Law Enforcement Fellowship in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is an organization that strives to build relationships amongst officers and the community through many of the ideals personified by the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Michael Gilchrist Michael Gilchrist is a graduate of Bowie State University with a degree in Mathematics Education and began his educational career at Thomas Stone Elementary School teaching 6th grade mathematics. From there, Mr. Gilchrist attended Townson University receiving his Master’s Degree in Mathematics Education and began to work with the Hyattsville Middle School on transitions programs for the math students in grades 6th and 7th. These successful endeavors lead to Mr. Gilchrist to become the Assistant Principal at William Hall Academy (WHA) in Capital Heights, Maryland. While at WHA, Mr. Gilchrist successfully lead instructional program retooling teachers on facilitation models of instruction, which lead to an increase in the state testing. After three years at WHA, Mr. Gilchrist was appointed Principal of Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, where he has rebranded the building and changed the culture toward academic achievement being the #1 priority. Mr. Gilchrist is currently in his second year of his Doctoral Studies at City University of Seattle in Educational Leadership with a focus on Curriculum and Instructional Technology. Brandon Putnam Brandon Putnam is a sports marketing professional currently serving as a Player Services Manager at the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Putnam’s role focuses on the licensing and marketing arm of the NFLPA, helping align NFL players with companies through licensing, marketing strategy, and player activations. Prior to joining the NFLPA, Putnam developed his marketing expertise with the Washington Wizards and Mystics at Monumental Sports and Entertainment, an industry leader ESPN, Proctor & Gamble, and the Duke University Athletics Department. Putnam earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and achieved a master’s degree from Georgetown University. Emanuel Salazar Emanuel Salazar was born and raised in the Washington Heights area of New York City. In 1992, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for five years on Active Duty during which he was selected to serve with the world renowned USMC Drill Team. After completing his initial enlistment, Emanuel joined the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office where he served faithfully for 14 years as a detective and undercover officer in the Criminal Street Gangs Unit and Organized Crime Task Force. As a reservist, Emanuel was activated and served in support of multiple missions, including Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In 2006, Emanuel embedded with the Marine Corps Regimental Team 6 and served as Deputy Advisor to the Regimental Commander on intelligence/ terrorism target matters in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Demonstrating a relentless dedication to serve, Emanuel enlisted in the US Army Reserve and was selected to become a counterintelligence (CI) agent at Fort Meade, MD. During his tenure with the Army, he was activated and served as a Supervisory Agent in Charge of a CI detachment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During this deployment, he was a member of the Joint Casualty Assessment Team and managed many high-profile investigations. During his military service tenure, Emanuel received numerous awards for his meritorious service from the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and various law enforcement agencies. Upon discharge from active duty in April 2015, Emanuel experienced difficulty transitioning into his civilian career due to service connected injuries sustained during deployment. Emanuel discovered the life-changing power of yoga, a practice that has been instrumental in his journey to heal from his service connected injuries and his invisible wounds of war. He quickly became obsessed with his practice and realized he wanted to share the healing power of yoga with other veterans. He completed the inaugural 200-hour RYT training with Vetoga in trauma-informed yoga and mindful awareness practices as well as an additional 200 hour RYT training with Yoga Heights in Washington, DC. Inspired by both his military experience and work with at-risk youth as a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) student, Emanuel founded Mindful Warrior Retreats, LLC in May 2017 with the mission to empower underserved communities, including veterans and at-risk youth, to overcome trauma and hardship through mindfulness education and the cultivation of emotional resilience. Emanuel is frequently called upon to utilize his unique skill set to provide workshops and retreats in a variety of settings, including hospitals, police academies, veterans groups, schools and social service agencies. Emanuel is proudly embracing his new role as a healer, mentor, and leader in the healing arts and demonstrates his unwavering commitment to be of service in his community. John Bailey Johnny Bailey is the Executive Director of The Shine Hard Family 501c(3), a community movement based in Washington DC. Shine Hard was created to recognize and connect Top black millennial leaders, then unify them to educate and inspire the next generation of young black leaders. The ShineHard Family is comprised of entr preneurs, artists, and corporate innovators from companies such as ESPN, Google, Nike, Amazon, CNN, CBS, Snapchat, & more. Primarily focused on at-risk youth and young professionals (Ages-14-25), millennial leaders serve as talk show guests, workshop instructors, seminar leaders, & keynote speakers for their community programming.