In 1996, Renford Reese received his Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Southern California. He received his Master's degree in public policy from the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies and his B.A. in political science from Vanderbilt University.Dr. Reese grew up in McDonough, Georgia. His father, Earnest Reese, was one of the first African American journalists to write for a major newspaper in the South, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His mother, Artelia Reese, a descendant of the much talked about Pettway's of Gee's Bend, was his high school principal. When Dr. Reese was growing up in the early 1970's his hometown was still partially segregated by railroad tracks. Because most of the blacks were forced to live in a certain area of the town, his community was labeled "Blacksville" on the town's map.As an African-American boy of 12 years old, he did a seventh grade social science project on "gerrymandering" in his town. He became infuriated at the constructed division between the black and white communities. He also became disgruntled with the lack of dialogue between these communities. At a very early age, he realized that he would like to dedicate his life to issues that help people of different races bridge gaps of mistrust.He did his doctoral dissertation research on intergroup relations and ethnic conflict at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1993, as a second year doctoral student and a "Presidential Fellow" at USC, he created the acclaimed Colorful Flags program. The tragic death of Latasha Harlins in South Central Los Angeles and his dissatisfaction with race relations prompted him to create this multiethnic human relations module. Today, this program has serviced approximately 130,000 K-12 students in 17 school districts in California. This program has also been implemented in police departments, hospitals, and various other organizations. Reese wrote the play "Bus Stop Soliloquy," which is a candid depiction of ethnic relations in the U.S. This play was produced as the short film, Life Ain't No Crystal Stair, by Emmy Award winner, Saul Landau. Dr. Reese is currently a professor in the political science department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is the author of American Bravado (2007), Prison Race (2006), Leadership in the LAPD: Walking the Tightrope (2005), and American Paradox: Young Black Men (2004). He is also the author of the Starbucks "The Way I See It" quote #294: "Insensitivity makes arrogance ugly; empathy is what makes humility beautiful." Reese has traveled to 58 countries and has given lectures in many of them. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholars Award to lecture in the American Studies program at the University of Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, Reese was inspired to write his first novel, "Hong Kong Nights." He was recently featured on ESPN's "Living the Dream" Black History Month series.