DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Kurt Thomas

Kurt Thomas is a starting forward for the National Basketball Association (NBA) New York Knicks. He has been a member of the team since the 1998-1999 season. He began his professional basketball career in 1995 as an NBA lottery selection for the Miami Heat. In his rookie season, he led the Heat in scoring six times. A year later, her moved to his hometown of Dallas, Texas to play for the Dallas, Mavericks. Kurt is recognized around the NBA as an intense and focused competitor.

Prior to establishing his NBA career, Kurt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Texas Christian University. During his college career, he became only the third player in history to lead the NCAA Division 1-A in scoring and rebounding. As a senior, he was named AP Third Team All American and Southwestern Conference Player of the Year. Kurt graduated from Hillcrest High School in Dallas, where he was an All State player.

Not only has Kurt had tremendous athletic and educational success, he has been a very committed and successful community service leader. Kurt was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame and honored in 2000 with the "Beyond the Game Award". He is a three-time winner of the "Met Life's Community Assist of the Month Award". Kurt capitalized upon his love for children through authoring two editions of the book Playing With Heart, a coloring book for children. In 2000, Kurt founded the Kurt Thomas Foundation as a way to broaden his community service leadership. This non-profit foundation supports educational programs and research in the areas of science, mathematics, technology and financial literacy.

Cynthia Winston, Ph.D

Cynthia Winston is a professor of psychology at Howard University and the Principal Investigator of the Identity and Success Research Lab (ISRL). This interdisciplinary research and training lab merges Psychology with Computer Electrical Engineering to conduct research on identity and success, with a focus on understanding the psychological significance of race. Founded two years ago, the ISRL is developing a cutting edge research and training model that is resulting in the emergence of a new field, Psychology Engineering. Within the ISRL, there are several Psychology Engineering research projects that are underway that are linked to developing new digital technology based research techniques and instruments to better understand how the psychological significance of race shapes how individuals think about who they are, the world in which they live, and their ability to succeed.

In 2003, Cynthia received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, NSF's most prestigious and competitive award for junior research scientists, to conduct a life story research project. The goal of this research project is to use multimedia digital technology to advance understanding of achievement motivation, race self complexity, and the life stories of individuals who have achieved educational and professional success in science, mathematics, technology, and engineering.

Cynthia previously served as Director of Educational, Fellowship, and Internship Programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and as Program Director for the NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP). She was also appointed as a Howard Hughes Research Professor at Brown University. She has received over $1,000,000 to support her research and training projects.

Cynthia is a member of the Minority Fellowship Initial Review Advisory Committee of the American Psychological Association, as well as the American Association for Advancement of Science AGEP Evaluation Committee. From the University of Michigan, she earned her Masters degree in Psychology and Ph.D. in Psychology and Education in only four years at the age of 26. She earned a Bachelor's of Science degree from Howard University.

Jerry Hicks, Esq

Jerry Hicks is a partner in the law firm Gant and Hicks, PLLC. Prior to establishing Gant and Hicks, Jerry was a shareholder in the law firm Winstead, Sechrest, and Minick P.C. and practices in its Labor and Employment Section. He has had a very distinguished career in labor and employment law, concentrating on litigation of unfair labor practice complaints, employment discrimination, wrongful discharge complaints, adverse personnel actions and arbitration of labor contract grievances.

Jerry has numerous professional memberships and affiliations, including: the American Bar Association; State Bar of Texas; Dallas Bar Association; United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern Districts of Texas.

Jerry earned his law degree from the University of Texas Law School. In addition, he has received a Master's of Business in International Economics from the University of Denver. Jerry received a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Mercer University.

Ron Phifer

Ron Phifer is an associate in the sports marketing division of Forty Degrees. This division of the company integrates state of the art technology into sports marketing that is innovative and effective in the representation of the talents and accomplishments of its professional athlete clients. Ron's experience with working with professional athletes began when he served as a counselor for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Miami Heat.

Ron's unique integration of technology with sports marketing and management was capitalized upon in several capacities prior to joining Forty Degrees. Ron held an Information Technology and Account Service position at The Promotion Network in Dallas, Texas. There he was responsible for concept development for ESPN, Rand McNally, and Gatorade. Ron has also served as a database manager at Protect Sports, a Miami Florida company.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Business Administration from Barry University in Miami Florida.