Builders Movement Partners

Charles Blain is a Houston-based writer, public policy entrepreneur, and commentator whose work on local government reform and accountability in Texas’s major cities, with particular focus on community, institutions, and social trust spans more than a decade. His forthcoming book The Brotherhood Effect will be published in 2026 by Johns Hopkins University Press, the nation’s oldest continuously operating university press. Blain is a regular contributor to City Journal on Texas policy issues and to the Houston Chronicle, where he writes about ethics and accountability, local government, institutions and public trust, and community. He serves on the Governing Board of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and on the Texas Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

In his role as Artistic Director and President of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Tom Oppenheim created a number of programs with a focus on public access to world-class culture. The centerpiece of his vision is the Stella Adler Arts Justice Division, founded in 2004, which has since provided free theater training to over 15,000 severely underserved New Yorkers. Participating artists in a free, public art series he created have included Julianne Moore, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Cornel West, Donna Murphy, John McWhorter, Joanna Gleason, Ron Carter, Harold Bloom, John Ashbery, Harold Mabern and many more. Tom co-edited The Muses Go To School (New Press 2012) and his writing is featured in Arthur Bartow’s Training of the American Actor (TCG, 2006) and The Technique of Acting by Stella Adler (Echo Point, 2024). He has acted at Theater for a New Audience, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, The Provincetown Playhouse among others. Directing credits include all of Chekhov’s plays for the Harold Clurman Lab Theater, Mercy Killers by Michael Milligan which received the Edinburgh Fringe Fest award and many more. Tom studied acting at the National Shakespeare Conservatory and with his grandmother, Stella Adler.

Aaron Dorfman is Founder and Executive Director of A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy, an effort to mobilize the American Jewish community to protect and strengthen American democracy. A More Perfect Union powers a collective-impact network working to expand opportunities for civic learning; promote ideological pluralism; and ensure free, fair, safe and accessible elections. Previously, Aaron served as President of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, Vice President for Programs of American Jewish World Service, and Director of Informal Education at Temple Isaiah of Contra Costa County. He holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in English and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Aaron and his wife Talia live in Brooklyn, New York, where they’re raising three fierce feminist daughters and one bearded dragon.

Brian Rudolph is the co-founder & CEO of Banza. Banza makes delicious comfort foods, such as pasta, pizza and waffles, out of chickpeas. The company has been named one of TIME’s Best Inventions, Adweek’s Best Food Brand, and Nielsen’s Top Breakthrough Innovations. Today, Banza’s products are available in over 25,000 stores. Brian received his BBA from Emory University and is an alumnus of the Venture for America fellowship.

Joshua P. Darr is an associate professor at the Newhouse School of Public Communications and a Senior Researcher in the Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship at Syracuse University, teaching classes in political communication. His research focuses on local news, partisan polarization, and campaign strategy. Darr has co-authored two books: Home Style Opinion: How Local Newspapers Can Slow Polarization (2021) and Storefront Campaigning (2024). He received an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2022 for his project investigating how newspapers can earn trust and reduce polarization. Darr earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.

After 25+ years helping lead consumer technology companies, including 14 years living and working abroad (Singapore, Amsterdam), Brad Porteus returned to America in 2024 alarmed by the headwinds our country faces due to deeply entrenched political polarization and identity politics. Convicted that emerging technology and data science can be used for good, Brad recognized that for the first time, it has become technically possible to objectively sort politicians on a new dimension and identify leaders to spot all-star collaborators from both parties who are the most suitable to lead our eclectic population. His vision is to build “Bridge Grades” into a trustworthy public utility that measures and scores our elected officials on their ability to govern collaboratively — a system that is transparent, open-source, crowd-sourced, and independently governed. The big dream is to invite everyday Americans to drop their identity politics and unite together through a voting pledge into a swing voting bloc that commits to electing the best bridgers from any party.

Married and a father of two young men, Brad lives in Redwood City, California, and enjoys timelapse photography, and trail running in his spare time. He is the author of Roll With It – a memoir set in the early ’90s and is a love letter to Generation X and nostalgia for a time that preceded a technological wave that took over everything.

Libby Prosch is the co-founder and the progressive content editor at Sandbox. She studied Philosophy, Spanish, and Political Science at Loyola University Chicago. Libby has helped with local political campaigns and reproductive justice initiatives in her community. When she isn’t working, she’s playing guitar, making jewelry, or swimming in Lake Michigan.

Hey, I’m Liz Lanza, a San Francisco born entrepreneur, founder of BeeKindBrand, and the force behind Her Society SF, a growing Bay Area network that equips the next generation of female founders with capital ready skills and a community that actually shows up for one another.

From spontaneous acts of kindness with BeeKind, to panel driven brunches where first-time entrepreneurs swap playbooks with seasoned investors, my mission is to replace the us vs them mentality with “we’ve got this together.”

I joined Builders because my peers are hungry for voices that trade outrage for problem solving. I’m committed to helping young female, like minded Builders with the tools and courage to defy the divide and co-create a kinder, more collaborative tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Liz Lanza

Chris Anokute is an experienced music executive and artist development specialist with over 18 years under his belt in signing and developing talent. Chris has held Senior executive A&R positions at major record labels including Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, and Epic Records over the span of his career.  Chris has signed and/or developed 4 artists from the start of their careers that have went on to be nominated for the highly coveted, ‘Best New Artist’ award at the Grammys. Those artists include: Katy Perry, Iggy Azalea, Bebe Rexha, and Muni Long. 

Larry Rosen is the creator and host of The Enemies Project docuseries, which brings together “enemies” for day-long conversations, offering transformation in a divided world. As the founder of the mediation law practice Through Understanding, he has helped thousands craft enduring solutions to crippling conflicts. Millions have watched his popular TEDx, The Secret to Understanding Humans.  Larry is a top-ten graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where he served as Editor of the Law Review.  His many projects share a common purpose: feeling inside our enemies so that both sides win the war. 

Musician, actor, author, and lecturer Dr. Daryl Davis is often called The Rock’n’Roll Race
Reconciliator. He’s not white. He’s not even light skinned. Make no mistake about it,
he’s black. As a Black man he has come in closer contact with more members of the Ku
Klux Klan than most White people and certainly most Blacks, short of being on the wrong
side of a rope.

He is the first Black author to write book on the KKK by conducting in-person face-to-face interviews. As a result of the way he conversed with White supremacists and other racists, Dr. Davis eventually became the recipient of numerous robes and hoods given to him by KKK members who rescinded their beliefs after coming to know him. He had inadvertently stumbled upon a successful method of forming friendships between sworn enemies. His methods have made him the center of controversy in some circles where he is considered “politically incorrect,” but after proving his methods work, he has made supporters out of some of his detractors.

As an award-winning musician Davis has worked with Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley’s
Jordanaires, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Legendary Blues Band and many others. He is also an
actor who starred in the award-winning documentary Accidental Courtesy detailing his
real life encounters with KKK and neo-Nazi members and as an actor he has appeared in
HBO’s award-winning series The Wire.

His first book Klan-Destine Relationships was critically acclaimed and his second book The Klan Whisperer is due out soon. Dr. Davis has received numerous awards for his work in race relations and is often sought out by CNN, C-SPAN, The Washington Post, New York Times, Time Magazine and other media outlets as a consultant for his views.

Jared is a professional basketball player and social entrepreneur dedicated to using sport as a bridge for connection, education, and empowerment. Through his initiatives, Jared harnesses the universal language of basketball to teach life skills, promote understanding, and drive social change across communities.

He is the founder of JAB Camp, a youth sports organization based in both Philadelphia and the Middle East, which empowers young athletes through training, mentorship, and cross-cultural exchange. Building on this mission, Jared launched JAB Courts, an initiative focused on renovating and revitalizing community basketball courts to provide safe, inspiring spaces for youth development. Expanding his impact into sports entertainment, Jared created the JAB Classic, a signature event that unites athletes and fans to combat hate and celebrate humanity through the power of sport.

Jared’s journey reflects his belief that basketball is more than a game—it’s a platform for transformation, dialogue, and hope for the next generation.

Bion Bartning is an entrepreneur and investor, and co-founder and Board President of the Prohuman Foundation.

Previously, Bion founded FAIR, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, and co-founded and led the launch of eos Products, a personal care brand best known today for its iconic egg-shaped lip balm, while serving as an equity partner and Chief Operating Officer of The Kind Group, a privately held company dedicated to the development and expansion of brands.

Bion was also part of American Express’ Strategic Planning Group, where he conceived of and patented a new multi-channel system for booking travel and led the launch of a new consumer online travel business as Director, New Product Development, partnering with a major online travel agency.

Bion earned his MBA from Columbia Business School, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in economics and environmental studies from Occidental College. He lives in Miami with his wife, two children, and their family dog Charlie Brown.

Sanda Balaban is passionate about helping young people understand their individual and collective power, at and beyond the ballot box. In response to the complex times we’re living in, the vulnerability of democracy being demonstrated, and the desire to support young people in being informed, engaged participants on the front lines of change, in 2017, she co-founded and directed cross-partisan youth civic engagement nonprofit YVote/ Next Generation Politics, aiming to equip leaders of tomorrow for their roles and responsibilities as citizens shaping a more just world and in July 2024, she became Executive Director of Project Pericles, a higher education non-profit committed to fostering the next generation of civic leaders through innovative curricula and faculty leadership that empowers students with skills to address society’s grand challenges. 

Sanda has held leadership roles in education and youth development for over 25 years, in the public sector at the New York City Department of Education, in education philanthropy at the Ford Foundation and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and in nonprofits including Facing History and Ourselves, the Boston Private Industry Council, and The Teachers Network.

Sanda is proud to serve on the founding Board of Directors of Generation Vote, The Hope Reichbach Memorial Fund, and the Human Schools Project, as well as on the National Reader Advisory Board for Chalkbeat. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Hanae Baruchel leads Ashoka’s Tech for Humanity initiative – whose mission is build a world where technology drives human agency and democratic integrity, rather than extractive growth and power. She first joined Ashoka in 2008, and has worn many hats over the years, including heading up the selection and support of social entrepreneurs in the U.S. from 2011 to 2013. Hanae returned to Ashoka in 2019 – after a brief hiatus working at Engineers Without Borders Canada – to help shape the then nascent Next Now initiative, an innovation engine that weaves Ashoka’s networks of entrepreneurs around globally urgent purposes.  She has a background in Peace and Conflict Studies and is the founder of a boutique furniture and lighting design company. Hanae is based in Amsterdam.