Rodney RikaiWashington Wizards In-Arena Host and Moderator

Rodney Rikai is a TV Personality, Actor, Entrepreneur and Event Planner who

currently resides dually in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA. He attended

North Carolina A&T State University.

The son of a group member of the legendary Shirelles, Rodney Rikai was

introduced at an early age to timeless music. It was out of that exposure to

classic R&B and Soul that in 2009 he founded a company called The heART

Gallery – Things We Love, LLC. Through this company Rodney has curated

and hosted 3 years’ worth of events featuring Grammy nominated artists Lyfe

Jennings and Bilal. As well as other phenomenal artists such as Jesse Boykins

iii, Sonyae Elise, Moruf, Emily King, Ari Lennox, Joya Bravo, Iman Omari, Melo-X, Bridget Kelly and countless

others.

In 2012 Rodney Rikai was selected as a finalist to be the host of BET’s flagship show 106 & Park. While

ultimately not chosen, he has maintained a working relationship with the network hosting their BET Music

Matters showcase series in New York and Los Angeles, during BET Awards Weekend.

Rodney has spun the opportunity at 106 & Park into a quickly ascending career in entertainment. Starting

with becoming co-host to legendary Host/DJ Big Tigger on the Emmy winning CW network show “Direct

Access with Big Tigger”. He is also an on air host for Music Choice Network. Additionally he was tabbed as

the Washington Wizards in-arena host, twice being selected by the NBA as the co-host to Terrence J for the

Sprint Pre-Game Concert during NBA All Star weekend.

In addition to his on air work, Rodney has covered and hosted countless festivals as well, being sought

out by major brands such as Verizon to conduct interviews with a slew of stars ranging from Jill Scott to

LL Cool J and Yolanda Adams at Essence Fest. He is the host for Broccoli City Fest, a major urban Earth

Day celebration in Washington, DC. In 2014, he also became a member of the Nike Entertainment roster,

consistently hosting their events and activations with signature athletes such as Richard Sherman, Dasean

Jackson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

In the span of two years Rodney Rikai has gone from selling light bulbs and generators for maintenance,

repairs & operations conglomerate Grainger to conducting on camera interviews with the likes of Kevin Hart,

Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordod-Levitt, Kelly Rowland, Jessie Ware, Arsenio, John Wall and countless others on

behalf of multiple outlets.

Currently, Rikai is the in-arena for the Washington Wizards. He is a regular feature writer on the Webby

award winning blog ‘The Stashed’, and has been featured in Black Enterprise magazine. He studied acting

under the tutelage of Tracey Moore-Marable.

Ruben RosarioRuben Rosario is a leader in law enforcement as a Lieutenant currently

assigned to the Field Services Bureau working out of the Chief’s Office for the

Montgomery County Department of Police in Maryland.

He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the State University of New York at

Albany in Sociology and is a graduate of the Howard University School of Law.

He became licensed to practice as an attorney in 2003 and worked on complex

litigation matters for the law firm of Drinker Biddle, LLP. Since becoming a police

officer, he has worked in the Silver Spring community as a patrolman, served as a

narcotics investigator and served on a fugitive task force.

Prior to his promotion, Lieutenant Rosario, supervised a covert, plain clothes unit known as the Special

Assignment Team for the Montgomery County Department of Police. As a Special Assignment Team

supervisor, his primary responsibility was to locate subjects that have committed serious crimes and

coordinate their apprehension in a manner that maintains the public safety. As a Sergeant, he has led a

detective unit and handled an array of crime scenes and investigations.

Lieutenant Rosario was a guest panelist on a President Obama sponsored Gun Violence Prevention event

held at the Howard University School of Law and is committed to pursuing opportunities that support

positive relationships with the community. He is an active participant in mentoring relationships, serves on

the leadership team of his local church and travels to South America annually to participate in mission trips

that serve the poor. He is co-founder of the Christian Law Enforcement Fellowship in Montgomery County,

Maryland, which is an organization that strives to build relationships amongst officers and the community

through many of the ideals personified by the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Michael Gilchrist Michael Gilchrist is a graduate of Bowie State University with a degree in

Mathematics Education and began his educational career at Thomas Stone

Elementary School teaching 6th grade mathematics. From there, Mr. Gilchrist

attended Townson University receiving his Master’s Degree in Mathematics

Education and began to work with the Hyattsville Middle School on transitions

programs for the math students in grades 6th and 7th.

These successful endeavors lead to Mr. Gilchrist to become the Assistant Principal

at William Hall Academy (WHA) in Capital Heights, Maryland. While at WHA, Mr.

Gilchrist successfully lead instructional program retooling teachers on facilitation

models of instruction, which lead to an increase in the state testing. After three

years at WHA, Mr. Gilchrist was appointed Principal of Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, where he has

rebranded the building and changed the culture toward academic achievement being the #1 priority.

Mr. Gilchrist is currently in his second year of his Doctoral Studies at City University of Seattle in Educational

Leadership with a focus on Curriculum and Instructional Technology.

Brandon PutnamBrandon Putnam is a sports marketing professional currently serving as a Player

Services Manager at the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).

Putnam’s role focuses on the licensing and marketing arm of the NFLPA, helping

align NFL players with companies through licensing, marketing strategy, and

player activations.

Prior to joining the NFLPA, Putnam developed his marketing expertise with the

Washington Wizards and Mystics at Monumental Sports and Entertainment,

an industry leader ESPN, Proctor & Gamble, and the Duke University Athletics

Department.

Putnam earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and achieved a master’s degree from

Georgetown University.

Emanuel Salazar Emanuel Salazar was born and raised in the Washington Heights area of New

York City. In 1992, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for

five years on Active Duty during which he was selected to serve with the world

renowned USMC Drill Team. After completing his initial enlistment, Emanuel

joined the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office where he served faithfully for 14 years

as a detective and undercover officer in the Criminal Street Gangs Unit and

Organized Crime Task Force. As a reservist, Emanuel was activated and served in

support of multiple missions, including Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring

Freedom. In 2006, Emanuel embedded with the Marine Corps Regimental Team

6 and served as Deputy Advisor to the Regimental Commander on intelligence/

terrorism target matters in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Demonstrating

a relentless dedication to serve, Emanuel enlisted in the US Army Reserve and was selected to become a

counterintelligence (CI) agent at Fort Meade, MD. During his tenure with the Army, he was activated and

served as a Supervisory Agent in Charge of a CI detachment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

During this deployment, he was a member of the Joint Casualty Assessment Team and managed many

high-profile investigations. During his military service tenure, Emanuel received numerous awards for his

meritorious service from the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and various law enforcement

agencies.

Upon discharge from active duty in April 2015, Emanuel experienced difficulty transitioning into his civilian

career due to service connected injuries sustained during deployment. Emanuel discovered the life-changing

power of yoga, a practice that has been instrumental in his journey to heal from his service connected

injuries and his invisible wounds of war. He quickly became obsessed with his practice and realized he

wanted to share the healing power of yoga with other veterans. He completed the inaugural 200-hour RYT

training with Vetoga in trauma-informed yoga and mindful awareness practices as well as an additional 200

hour RYT training with Yoga Heights in Washington, DC.

Inspired by both his military experience and work with at-risk youth as a Master’s of Social Work (MSW)

student, Emanuel founded Mindful Warrior Retreats, LLC in May 2017 with the mission to empower

underserved communities, including veterans and at-risk youth, to overcome trauma and hardship through

mindfulness education and the cultivation of emotional resilience.

Emanuel is frequently called upon to utilize his unique skill set to provide workshops and retreats in a

variety of settings, including hospitals, police academies, veterans groups, schools and social service

agencies. Emanuel is proudly embracing his new role as a healer, mentor, and leader in the healing arts and

demonstrates his unwavering commitment to be of service in his community.

John BaileyJohnny Bailey is the Executive Director of The Shine Hard Family 501c(3), a

community movement based in Washington DC. Shine Hard was created to

recognize and connect Top black millennial leaders, then unify them to educate

and inspire the next generation of young black leaders.

The ShineHard Family is comprised of entr preneurs, artists, and corporate

innovators from companies such as ESPN, Google, Nike, Amazon, CNN, CBS,

Snapchat, & more. Primarily focused on at-risk youth and young professionals

(Ages-14-25), millennial leaders serve as talk show guests, workshop instructors,

seminar leaders, & keynote speakers for their community programming. The

program partners with universities aiming to seamlessly bridge the gap between

at-risk youth & high achievers. Ultimately transforming the lives of young people by helping them identify

their passion, gain invaluable mentorship, accelerate career readiness, and fully understand the variety of

professional opportunities that are available to them in 2018 & Beyond.

Mr. Bailey began his career in the sports industry working as a client service rep at NFL sports agency

Paramount Sports & Entertainment. Years later hired for marketing role at Nike, Johnny contributed to

events such as NBA All-Star, World Basketball Festival and co-managed a nationwide basketball tour for

Nike ID. Johnny walked away from Nike to pursue entrepreneurship. Along with Shine Hard, Johnny is a

digital marketing strategist and offers business coaching for young professionals.

Johnny is a native of Petersburg, VA, a former Track & Field standout from Hampton University and earned

a Master’s Degree from Virginia State University, respectively.

Matthew Myers Matthew Myers received his BS in Computer Engineering from Hampton

University. He was a student-athlete for three years when he played golf for

the Pirates Men’s Golf Team. After college, Matt was an Engineer for United

Parcel Service for three years when he was a part of the UPS Plant Engineering

Department. Matt has been a sports official for over 20 years. He has officiated

baseball, football, softball and basketball during that time. When he is not

refereeing he works for the District of Columbia Public Schools as a substitute

teacher and a manager at a local gym.

Basketball Refereeing Experience

High School Referee (2000-2006)

NCAA Basketball Referee – Division I, II, III (2005-Present)

International FIBA Referee (2010-Present)

WNBA Referee (2011-2013)

NBA G-League Referee (2007-Present)

Notable Referee Achievements

NBA Non-Staff Referee during 2011-2012 and 2017-2018 seasons

NBA G-League Finals Referee

2013 NBA G-League All-Star Game – Houston, TX

2015 University Games Referee – Gwangju, South Korea

2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men – Valdivia, Chile

2019 FIBA World Championship for Men – Cairo, Egypt

NOTES