For over 60 years, Eugene M. Lang pursued a business career, creating diverse manufacturing ventures in the United States and abroad based on new products and innovative technologies. He became recognized internationally as having pioneered licensing and technology transfer as practical means for small American manufacturers to establish their business interests in foreign markets. Reflecting his accomplishments, Forbes Magazine characterized him as “the quintessential entrepreneur” and Nation’s Business “a father of innovation.” An active protagonist of small business interests, he received the Government’s “E” Award from President Kennedy — also, commendations for distinguished service on seven overseas trade development and policy missions of the Commerce and State Departments.

After establishing the Eugene M. Lang Foundation in 1963, Lang increasingly devoted himself to philanthropy, mainly in education, and in 1997 terminated all business activities. In 1981, he created the now nationwide “I Have a Dream” Program that provides sustained personalized guidance and support to many thousands of under-served children (identified as “Dreamers”) throughout their K-12 years, plus a college opportunity. The Program’s success has inspired federal and state legislation that has benefited millions of children.

In 2001, Lang established Project Pericles, an organization that engages colleges and universities to encourage the effective participation of young Americans in the processes of our democracy. He has also endowed and otherwise supported facilities, scholarships, academic projects and student initiatives at many colleges.

Mr. Lang had service relationships with many institutions. He was Chair Emeritus of Swarthmore College, founder and Chair Emeritus of the national “I Have a Dream” Foundation, founder and Chair Emeritus of the Conference of Board Chairs of Liberal Arts Colleges, board member of the Columbia University Business School where he established the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, and emeritus board member of The New School whose undergraduate liberal arts college bears his name. He received many distinctions and awards, including over forty honorary degrees. Recognizing his services to education, President Bush designated him a “Point of Light” and President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this country’s highest civilian award.

Born of Jewish immigrant parents in 1919, Lang grew up in New York City. During the Great Depression, he attended public schools and, at age fifteen, was admitted as a scholarship student to Swarthmore College. An economics major, he graduated in 1938 and was employed successively as a writer of business reports and production planner for an aircraft parts company while earning an MS business degree from Columbia University and taking mechanical engineering courses at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Married for more than 62 years to his beloved Theresa (Volmar) Lang, they had three children, eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. He claimed that his biggest success has been his marriage and the strong sense of family that has grown continuously within an encompassing environment of love, respect, interaction, achievement, shared values, and social responsibility.

Eugene Lang passed away on April 8, 2017 at the age of 98.  His life was celebrated in national and international media outlets and by the many organizations that he profoundly influenced:

The New York Times

NPR

The Philadelphia Enquirer

Swarthmore College

“I Have A Dream” Foundation 

The Wall Street Journal

The Washington Post

Douglas Durst is the Chairman and a member of the third generation to lead The Durst Organization.

Under the leadership of Douglas and his cousin, Jody, the company’s commercial and residential portfolio grew significantly with groundbreaking new developments. The company led the revitalization of Times Square with the development of One Five One West 42nd Street and of Lower Manhattan with the joint venture development of One World Trade Center. The company also oversaw the development of the nation’s first LEED Platinum high-rise office tower, The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park.

Douglas joined Durst in 1968, learning the business from his father, Seymour, and two uncles, Roy and David.

Douglas is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) Board of Governors and previously served as Chairman of the board. He is a board member of The New School and trustee emeritus of The Trust for Public Land. Douglas is involved with the theatrical arts and is a member of the board of directors of The Roundabout Theater and Primary Stages.

In addition, Douglas is a life-long environmental activist. He founded The Model Organic Farm Foundation, a nonprofit organization that operates McEnroe Organic Farm, one of the largest organic farms in New York State. Douglas holds a degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Stevie Walker-Webb is a Tony Award-nominated, Obie Award-winning director, playwright, and cultural worker who believes in the transformational power of art. His work has been produced on and off-Broadway, including AIN’T NO MO’ (The Public Theatre/ Broadway), ONE IN TWO (The New Group), BLACK ODYSSEY (Classic Stage), FAIRVIEW (Woolly Mammoth), and OUR TOWN (Baltimore Center Stage). Upcoming productions include GUN & POWDER (Paper Mill Playhouse).

He is founder of HUNDREDSofTHOUSANDS, an arts and advocacy organization that makes visual the suffering and inhumane treatment of incarcerated mentally ill people. He has received the Princess Grace Award for Theatre, The Lily Award from the Dramatists Guild of America, and is a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop. He's a visiting artist and lecturer at Harvard University and is the Founding Artistic Director of the Jubilee Theatre in Waco, Texas. Stevie has created art and theater in Madagascar, South Africa, Mexico, and across America, and was recently appointed as the Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage.

Los Angeles native and New York based visual artist, Kehinde Wiley has firmly situated himself within art history’s portrait painting tradition. As a contemporary descendent of a long line of portraitists, including Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian, Ingres, among others, Wiley, engages the signs and visual rhetoric of the heroic, powerful, majestic and the sublime in his representation of urban, black and brown men found throughout the world.

By applying the visual vocabulary and conventions of glorification, history, wealth and prestige to the subject matter drawn from the urban fabric, the subjects and stylistic references for his paintings are juxtaposed inversions of each other, forcing ambiguity and provocative perplexity to pervade his imagery.

Wiley’s larger than life figures disturb and interrupt tropes of portrait painting, often blurring the boundaries between traditional and contemporary modes of representation and the critical portrayal of masculinity and physicality as it pertains to the view of black and brown young men.

Initially, Wiley’s portraits were based on photographs taken of young men found on the streets of Harlem. As his practice grew, his eye led him toward an international view, including models found in urban landscapes throughout the world – such as Mumbai, Senegal, Dakar and Rio de Janeiro, among others – accumulating to a vast body of work called, “The World Stage.”

The models, dressed in their everyday clothing most of which are based on the notion of far-reaching Western ideals of style, are asked to assume poses found in paintings or sculptures representative of the history of their surroundings. This juxtaposition of the “old” inherited by the “new” – who often have no visual inheritance of which to speak – immediately provides a discourse that is at once visceral and cerebral in scope.

Without shying away from the complicated socio-political histories relevant to the world, Wiley’s figurative paintings and sculptures “quote historical sources and position young black men within the field of power.” His heroic paintings evoke a modern style instilling a unique and contemporary manner, awakening complex issues that many would prefer remain mute..

Robert Glasper is a genre-defying pianist, producer, and composer celebrated for blending jazz, R&B, and hip-hop in groundbreaking ways. With a rich catalog that includes iconic albums like Black Radio and its sequels, Glasper has redefined contemporary jazz. In 2024 & 2025, he released four new albums — Let Go, Code Derivation, Keys to the City: Volume 1, and a holiday album, In December—continuing his streak of innovative music. Glasper is a mainstay at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club, where his acclaimed “Robtober” residency, which is about to embark on its 7th year, showcases the spontaneous alchemy of his collaborations in an intimate and legendary space. His partnership with the Blue Note has never been more culturally impactful, highlighted by the success of his Black Radio Experience in Napa Valley and partnering on the opening of the brand new Blue Note Los Angeles club. Beyond the stage, his vast contributions to film scoring, including films The Photograph, Luther: Never Too Much and Miles Ahead, and Emmy-nominated series Winning Time, demonstrate his versatility as a musician. A five-time Grammy award winner with an additional 15 nominations and an Emmy and Peabody Award winner, Glasper's accolades underscore his impact on modern music, cementing his legacy as a boundary-pushing artist and cultural icon.

Brad’s love affair with fashion began at age 12 when he picked up his first Vogue magazine and became mesmerized by its pages. During summer breaks while attending the University of Southern California, Brad interned in the New York offices of Vogue and W magazines. After graduating with a B.A. in Art History, he landed a position as the Vogue West Coast assistant. In 2008, he began working for Rachel Zoe, and was eventually featured in the popular series The Rachel Zoe Project.

Currently serving as Exclusive Brand Stylist for Kate Spade New York, Brad has traveled around the world styling print and online ad campaigns, as well as all fashion presentations at New York Fashion Week.

Additionally, Brad’s A-list clients are a fixture on “Best Dressed” lists for every occasion. His past clients include Jessica Alba, Christina Ricci, Stacy Keibler, Demi Moore, Minka Kelly, and Rashida Jones, among others. Brad and his work have been featured in a number of publications, some of which include InStyle, Details, OUT, BlackBook and LA Confidential. Additionally, he has appeared on Good Morning America several times.

Brad’s knack for being an on-air personality has served him well, as he was host of the American Music Awards red carpet in 2012, as well as a judge for the Miss Universe pageant that same year.

In 2012, Brad’s memoir, Born to Be Brad: My Life and Style, So Far, was released, which chronicles life stories and his favorite fashion tips. MrBradGoreski.com is Brad’s one-stop style destination, offering fashion advice and exclusive behind-the-scenes videos and photos from his work and life.

Born and raised in the town of Port Perry, Ontario, Canada, he has made his home in Los Angeles for the past 12 years, where he lives with longtime boyfriend, Gary and their dog, Penelope.