Rising Cost of College Textbooks

Chris Sinclair is the Executive Director of FLIP National. Chris Sinclair is a graduate of the School of General Studies at Columbia University, earning his bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Business Management. Chris is a founding member of FLIP at Columbia, served as its first GS Representative, was a co-chair of FLIP at Columbia’s Food Insecurity Committee, and played an integral role in the launch & success of several initiatives such as CU Meal Share, the Food Pantry, Share Meals & the Textbook Lending Library. Chris is also a fellow in the Boston-based Institute for Nonprofit Practice’s Community Fellows Program, a program that invests in the next generation of nonprofit & community leaders dedicated to social change. He is one of 27 fellows in the inaugural cohort of fellows from New York City, where he is currently based. Chris is passionate about the movement to create, develop & implement resources, working with colleges & universities across the country to advocate for policy change at institutions of higher learning, and creating space and building community for FGLI students as a means of maximizing their chances to succeed in changing their circumstances for the better and leaving their mark on the world.

Valerie L. Popp serves as the Director of Development and Communications at the Educational Video Center in New York City. Her career, which spans the fields of grantmaking, grantseeking, and communications, reflects a lifelong commitment to promoting equity and justice in K-12 and higher education. Prior to joining EVC, she was the Senior Program Officer at the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), where she played a lead role in designing, administering, and evaluating a portfolio that annually awards over $25 million in fellowships and grants to humanities and social science scholars worldwide.

A proud first-generation college graduate and advocate for the first-gen community, Valerie received a B.A. in English literature from Yale University and a Ph.D. and M.A. in English literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of 1stGenYale and the UCLA First-Gen Alumni Network, and she has served as a Yale Alumni Schools Committee admissions interviewer for the past 7 years. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Fostering Attainment Through Educational Supports (FATES), a new ECMC Foundation-funded project that will help support youth formerly in foster care (YFFC) in earning two- and four-year college degrees. When she isn’t working with first-gens, she reviews poetry and literary criticism for Wasafiri magazine.

Dr. Evingerlean D. B. Hudson, affectionately known as Dr. Eve®, was raised in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina by a single mother in a low-socioeconomic household. So, she quickly learned what it‘s like to go through life with the odds against you. Dr. Eve went on to become a first-generation college graduate and even earned a Ph.D. at the age of 28.

While she boasts a background in higher education with experiences in both academic and student affairs, she decided to switch gears to launch her social entrepreneurial journey. Now, she is the Founder and Chief Strategist of Evingerlean Worldwide®—an entity created to empower first-generation scholars and professionals across the globe. Dr. Eve is committed to being a champion for historically underserved communities, creating safe spaces for growth, making pathways for social mobility, disrupting generational poverty, and building wealth through entrepreneurship.

Of many first-of-its-kind initiatives she’s created, a few worth noting: The First-Gen Lounge™, an award-winning podcast that’s the first and #1 show in the world for first-generation scholars and professionals with over 100k downloads across more than 100 countries; The First-Gen Shop™, a store for first-generation traiblazers; and First-Generation University™, a learning and development platform for first-generation college graduates who are entrepreneurs.

Dr. Eve touched thousands of lives through her programs and few past audiences she’s served include Cornell University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Ohio State University, 1vyG, Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs, Women Empower X, SocialKnowbility, The United Negro College Fund, and National TRIO Programs. Dr. Eve’s publications have helped transform the lives of countless first-generation trailblazers.

She was named a BlkWomenHustle’s Inaugural 20 Women to Watch Honoree and highlighted as a Future Millennial Millionaire by Creating Your Seat at The Table International Magazine. She has been featured across several media outlets such as Rolling Out, EMOIR, and The Pedestal Project to name a few.

Dr. Eve holds degrees from Shaw University (the oldest HBCU in the South) and The University of Southern Mississippi and is a part of both alumni associations. She iis a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., co-chair and founding steering committee member for The Black-Gen Collective, and member of the Board of Directors for FLIP National and The Dr. Kim Q.B. Leathers Legacy Foundation. In her spare time, Dr. Eve enjoys mentoring, reading, research, traveling, food tasting, cuddling with her chocolate lab (Maxwell Alexander), and adventures with her life partner and best friend, Dr. James M. Hudson.

Gaurav is an Analyst at Norwest Venture Partners, where he focuses on Consumer and Software deals within the Growth Equity team. He graduated from Boston University, where he studied Finance and Strategy. Gaurav was also the founder of FLIP @ BostonU, a FLIP National chapter at Boston University. During his time at BU, Gaurav was heavily involved with Ascend, a student organization that provides mentorship to underrepresented and first-generation business students. In his free time, Gaurav likes to go hiking near the bay area, explore different restaurants and play tennis.

Daniel T. Barkowitz is Assistant Vice President of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs at Valencia College, a position he has held since July of 2017. Daniel has served over 30 years in institutions of higher education. Previous roles include Director of Financial Aid at MIT, Dean of Financial Aid / Associate Dean of Student Affairs for Columbia College and Columbia Engineering at Columbia University in the City of New York, Director of Operations and Training for the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, and Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Boston College.

Daniel has held various volunteer roles with NASFAA, SASFAA, EASFAA, FASFAA (Florida) and MASFAA (Massachusetts) including Past President of the Florida Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (FASFAA) and the inaugural Chair of the NASFAA’s Commission of the Certified Financial Aid Administrator (CFAA) Program. He holds the FAAC® (Financial Aid Administrator, Certified) Designation. Daniel is a recipient of MASFAA’s Presidential Award, two-time recipient of MIT’s Dean of Undergraduate Education Infinite Mile Award, and the recipient of Florida College Access Network’s (FCAN) Top Influencer Award.

Daniel earned his Bachelors of Science in History from Northeastern University and his Masters of Education in Human Resource Education from Boston University. He earned a certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University.

Daniel has led presentations on Financial Aid and College Financing to many audiences (more than 500) ranging in size from 2 to 2000 for local, state, regional and national audiences. He has been interviewed frequently for television, radio and newspapers on the topic of financial aid.

Daniel has two adult children and lives with his wife and two fur-babies in Orlando. Daniel is a published poet, musical theater actor, and Tarot card collector. He promises an enjoyable and informative presentation.

Renee Clark Bush serves as assistant dean for development and alumni relations at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Renee joined Mason from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where she served as director of annual giving. Her accomplishments there included record-breaking giving days, redesigning the student philanthropy and alumni class agent programs, innovative changes to communications and digital solicitations, and thoughtful board engagement to heighten the culture of philanthropy, which led to record-breaking dollars raised in the annual fund and increased alumni participation. She planned strategic initiatives to help meet the $65M annual fund campaign goal, which represents one of the strategic priorities of the School’s current $400M Powered by Purpose campaign.

Prior to her work at UVA Darden, Renee was director of the annual fund in the UVA School of Education and was active in the UVA Advancement Community. She also served as the associate director of annual giving at NC State University, where she managed constituent programs (eg. students, recent graduates, faculty and staff, and leadership circle).

Before pursuing her passion in higher education advancement, Renee spent four years as a public accountant at one of the big four global financial services firms, where she worked with C-suite level executives of international clients and domestic Fortune 100 companies to build relationships, deliver presentations and strategically plan audits.

Outside of the office, Renee enjoys practicing yoga, FaceTiming her nieces, learning about wine and traveling to new places.