Derrick N. Ashong

Derrick N. Ashong - or DNA as he is sometimes known - is an experienced broadcaster, musician and digital media maven, the Harvard educated talent has carved out a unique niche as an expert in bridging the gap between old & new media, and has leveraged this skill set to create cutting edge programming in digital & broadcast media. DNA's band Soulfege is a critically-acclaimed, refreshingly original and exciting group of musicians who produce an eclectic blend of Hip-Hop, Reggae, Funk, World Beat and West African Highlife music that has been featured in such major media as MTV Africa, NPR, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, MNet Africa, ABC Chronicle and BBC Worldservice, reaching 146 million listeners worldwide. An established media personality DNA is the television host of "The Stream" on Al Jazeera English. "The Stream" premiered in May 2011 and it integrates new and traditional media, tapping into the extraordinary potential of social media to disseminate news. This show aggregates on-line sources and discussion, while seeking out unheard voices, for new perspectives from people on the ground. Derrick also served as the host of "The Derrick Ashong Experience" on SIRIUS XM's Oprah Radio. A true Renaissance man, DNA has lived in such locations as Brooklyn, New York, Voorhees, New Jersey and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and currently resides in Washington DC. As a college student he was cast in Stephen Spielberg's 1997 film, Amistad. He returned to Cambridge to finish his degree requirements before pursuing a Ph.D. in African-American Studies and Ethnomusicology, later leaving the doctoral program to pursue his artistry and advocacy full-time. Ashong has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Mo'Nique Show, and lectured on five continents on the use of media as a tool for human development, including recent talks for the UN Foundation, London School of Economics, King's College (Cambridge), the Reconciliation Forum in Washington, D.C., the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and before UK Parliament on the subject of "The Obama Generation." He is a member of the internationally recognized Americas Business Council (*abc) Fellowship and has been a TED Global Fellow, a participant in the Arts & Entertainment task force of the U.S.- Islamic World Forum and is the CITI Performing Arts Center's first Spectrum Boston Fellow. He is the founder of Take Back the Mic, a youth-centered cultural movement that leverages the power of artistry & technology to empower young people. DNA is also on the Board of Advisors for Children Mending Hearts, an organization dedicated to the global arts exchange between at-risk children in the United States and children living in conflict zones around the world.