We are one year into our work of educating what drives racism and bias against African Americans. Join CommonBondz for a special event on Communication and Conversation: Talking about Race. We’ll be joined by some of our previous speakers, including:
Dr. Tony Allen, President of Delaware State University
Chip Rossi, Global Compliance & Operational Risk (GCOR) Operations Executive at Bank of America
Tom Horne, Managing Director and Head of Card Operations, Customer Service and Lending in Chase’s Card Services business
Tracey Matisak, award-winning journalist and program host
Scroll down to read their bios.
Dr. Tony Allen
Committed to making Delaware State University the most diverse, contemporary Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in America, Tony Allen became the University’s 12th President in January 2020. With a clear mission to increase educational access and opportunity for all, the University is among the most consequential institutions in the nation, serving 5,000 students in the United States and, via international partnerships, in 23 countries worldwide.
The 1890 Land-Grant institution is home to four academic colleges and a burgeoning graduate school and is completing the acquisition of nearby Wesley College.
Tony manages a $140 MM budget, a $23 MM research portfolio, and a $40 MM endowment. He previously served as the University’s Executive Vice President and Provost, where he oversaw 220 professors in 18 academic departments.
Prior to his time at the University, Tony developed and led the corporate reputation group at Bank of America and was responsible for ongoing reputation analysis and related research. Tony also led communications for the bank’s largest divisions, including Consumer, Commercial Banking, and Wealth Management. He started his financial services career as an Executive Vice President at MBNA America.
Tony is the Founding President of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, Co-founder of Public Allies Delaware, and Chair Emeritus of the National Urban Fellows, widely viewed as the most prestigious fellowship for professionals in the public sector. He is also a member of the Economic and Community Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
Starting his career as speechwriter to then-United States Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Tony was tapped by the President- to lead the Presidential Inaugural Committee and to serve on the Advisory Board of the President’s Transition Team.
For his life’s work, Tony has been awarded many honors. Most notable among them is the Whitney M. Young Award for Advancing Racial Equality, the National Urban League’s highest honor; the Excellence in Education Award given by the Delaware Barristers Association; and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Urban Fellows and Public Allies.
Tony holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Ph.D. in Urban Affairs & Public Policy from the University of Delaware, as well as a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College (CUNY). He is the proud father of four fantastic children and life partner to his high school sweetheart, Ms. Tara Anderson.
Chip Rossi
Chip Rossi is the Global Compliance & Operational Risk (GCOR) Operations Executive at Bank of America, one of the world’s leading financial services companies. In this role, Chip leads the oversight and execution of compliance operations for the GCOR organization.
Chip also represents the bank as the Delaware Market President, working to connect businesses, families and individuals to Bank of America’s banking and investment teams. He also leads the effort to direct the bank’s resources in the state to address local priorities and help build strong communities.
Formerly, Chip was the Consumer and Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) Chief Risk Officer. In that role, he managed risk for the company’s business lines that serve individual clients with deposit, card, auto, home mortgage and investment-related products and services. He was responsible for providing independent risk oversight of the Consumer and GWIM businesses.
Chip began his career as a college intern and joined the company full-time in 1989 as a participant in the Management Development Program. He has held management positions at all levels in Collections and Credit, and also led the Loss Prevention team with accountability for credit and fraud losses. He later became the Credit & Underwriting executive for the company’s credit card portfolio, where he focused on the alignment of credit and risk strategies to ensure appropriate balance growth and risk mitigation. He was also Preferred Products executive, responsible for developing and managing consumer products that help make financial lives better for mass affluent customers and that reward clients for their relationship with Bank of America. Products included deposits, credit card, first mortgage, home equity and auto.
Chip serves on the boards of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, Delaware State University Foundation, ChristianaCare Health Services, the Grand Opera House, Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, and Year Up Greater Philadelphia and Wilmington. He also serves on the William Penn High School Advisory Board, Delaware Technical and Community College Development Committee and The Delaware Business Roundtable.
Chip graduated from Gettysburg College, where he majored in Management. He and his family live in Wilmington, Delaware.
Tom Horne
Tom Horne is Managing Director and Head of Card Operations, Customer Service and Lending in Chase’s Card Services business. Tom leads a team of more than 11,000 operating in 14 service centers across the United States, Philippines and India. As Head of Operations for Card Services, Tom has accountability for Card Operations, ADA, and Fair Lending. He also serves as the firm’s Market Leader for Delaware. Tom has served on the JPMC Diversity & Inclusion Council, chaired the Consumer and Community Banking Diversity & Inclusion Council, and is Executive Sponsor of the firm's Black Organization for Leadership Development (BOLD) business resource group for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Tom joined Chase in 2012 with 23 years of experience in financial services, leading operational teams across businesses, functions and geographies. Prior to joining Chase, Tom spent 17 years with MBNA, and six years with Bank of America where he led a number of functions including credit, customer service, collections, fraud, and consumer finance. He also has career experience in business development, including new product launches, national sales, relationships management, and portfolio acquisitions.
Tom holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Delaware. He remains actively involved with the university, serving on the Advisory Board of the Lerner Business College, and as a member of the Executive Mentors-Scholars program. He also serves on the William Penn Advisory Board, is a past president and current Board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, and is a member of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Delaware Business Roundtable.
Tom is an avid Philadelphia sports fan, and he enjoys exercise and music. He and his wife Jennifer reside in Unionville, Pennsylvania and have two children in college.
Tracey Matisak
Tracey Matisak is an award-winning journalist, a dynamic speaker and trainer, and a seasoned program host. With more than 25 years of major market television and radio experience, Tracey has anchored numerous special projects for WHYY-TV/PBS in Philadelphia; she also serves as a regular guest host on WHYY-FM's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. In addition, Tracey serves as moderator for the Philadelphia Speakers Series, where she has shared the stage with the likes of the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, former British Prime Minister David Cameron, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns.
Tracey is a frequent moderator for the Author Events series at the Free Library of Philadelphia, where she has interviewed former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, among others.
In addition, Tracey travels nationwide hosting live, interactive executive leadership webcasts for Skillsoft Corporation. In that capacity, she regularly interviews some of the most widely respected authors and speakers in the business world, including Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, John Maxwell and Angela Duckworth.
Tracey is perhaps best known for her work in television news, having worked for 12 years at FOX 29, Philadelphia. There, she anchored the live morning show Good Day Philadelphia and served as an anchor and reporter for FOX 29’s Ten O’Clock News. She has also been a contributor to the Home and Garden Network’s Design Basics program and has served as a news anchor for a number of Philadelphia radio stations, including KYW Newsradio.
A graduate of Temple University, Tracey has taught hundreds of students there as an adjunct professor in the Klein College of Media and Communication. A winner of several local Emmy awards, Tracey was among the first to be inducted into Temple University’s School of Media and Communications Hall of Fame. She has also won the Sarah Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the Association for Women in Communications and was named Communicator of the Year by the National Black MBA Association.
Tracey and her husband Daniel are the parents of three children and live in suburban Philadelphia.