Renaldo Pearson – Pittsburgh

An anti-racist social engineer, James Lawson-trained civil disobedience (or “good trouble”) practitioner, and democracy reformer, Renaldo introduced a new framework for the cross-partisan democracy movement at the inaugural Unrig the System Summit in 2018, called “The 7 Deadly Sins of American Democracy,” which global think tank and government corruption watchdog Transparency International has since credited with becoming “a touchstone for thousands of anti-corruption and pro-democracy activists around the country.” He was also the 2019 recipient of a National Citizen Leadership Award, following his 700-mile #Democracy911 walk, which rung the democracy alarm bells and helped secure a record number of 2020 presidential candidate pledges to #FixDemocracyFirst if elected, and helped to push the democracy-saving and advancing For the People Act (HR1) -- now the Freedom to Vote Act -- to the top of the political agenda. Most recently -- after increasing BIPOC staff diversity by over 1,000%, overseeing a staff unionization, and changing policies and power structures to be more in line with DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) best-practices at RepresentUs (the nation’s leading cross-partisan democracy-reform NGO) as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer (a record for which he was inducted as one of the youngest members of the coveted “Executive Council” of The Partnership, Inc., a council of over 70 CDOs and VPs/HR Directors from prestigious universities, Fortune 500 companies, and nonprofits) -- he decided to run towards an early opportunity to retire at 33. Post-retirement, he’s now pursuing franchising, real estate, and other investment opportunities as he consults as a social impact strategist on passion projects like the recent #FreedomFridayMarch (from the MLK Memorial in DC to Reagan National Airport, which nonviolently shutdown departure traffic as the Senate adjourned for recess in August without unrigging the filibuster in order to pass critical voting rights legislation), and a publishing contract with national research institute PolicyLink on his "7 Deadly Sins of American Democracy" framework. Before joining RepresentUs, he served as the youngest college administrator and Social Engineer-in-Residence at Harvard University. He also served as Director of the Democracy Spring movement and youngest member and spokesperson of the star-studded 200-member #EndMassIncarceration Coalition that pushed the Obama administration to step up to the plate of criminal justice reform. Renaldo was born in DC, received his secondary education in Prince George's County (MD) Public Schools, and his BA in Political Science from Morehouse College. He now serves on the boards of Free Speech TV and Unite America, and he’s the co-founder and acting president of the Greater Pittsburgh Morehouse College Alumni Association. Renaldo is featured in award-winning filmmaker Josh Tickell’s book and film, "The Revolution Generation: How Millennials Can Save America and the World (Before It’s Too Late)." However, he considers it his greatest honor to be the husband of Emmy-Nominated Meteorologist Jessica Faith (WPXI).