HOST AND MUSICAL GUEST

Reverend De Graff served as the first Vice President of the One Hundred Black Men, New York, where he has been a founding member of two public high schools; The Eagle Academy for Young Men and the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice (Urban Assembly). As chief of protocol in the National Action Network, Reverend DeGraff traveled with Reverend Al Sharpton to the Sudan to spotlight abuses against Christians, and to Cuba to meet with Premier Fidel Castro to discuss the U.S. embargo. DeGraff has been an outspoken advocate for economic and social justice for communities of color. Well-known and respected in New York leadership circles, he has been a tireless advocate for Minority and Women owned businesses which create jobs in our communities, and he helped to lead the passage of Local Law1 to create municipal opportunities for MWBE contracts.

Alexis Jessica Morrast, is a native of Newark, now resides in Plainfield, New Jersey began singing at the age of three. Since that time, she's performed on several stages: the U.S. OPEN, NJPAC with Christian McBride and Dizzy's Coca-Cola Club with jazz legend Barry Harris. Her resounding tone has been heard on the Millennium Stage of The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, abroad in Europe and Africa; The Coltrane Jazz Festival put it this way: "The voice, the song, the stage presence is all astonishing!”

She’s worked with greats like Greg Phillinganes, Steve Jordan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Chew, Lisa Fischer, Michael Feinstein, Christian McBride and toured with Wynton Marsalis and JLCO Band.