Daniel C. Moss Everyone must find their talent, and give it to the world. Organization: HBCU Connect Location: Columbus, Ohio Website: www.hbcuconnect.com

Biography:
A distinguished alumnus of Claflin University, Daniel C. Moss, currently serves as Vice President of Business Development for HBCU Connect, LLC. Prior to joining HBCU Connect in its inception in 1999, Moss served as Special Exhibits curator of the Arthur Rose Museum, and Assistant to the Chairperson of the Claflin University Art Department both located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. There, as an award-winning visual artist, Moss was awarded the coveted 'Best-Of-Show' prize in the largest juried art exhibition in the United States, the 1999 South Carolina Annual Juried Art exhibition, beating out nearly 3000 visual artists from throughout the U.S. and nearly 5000 entries in all forms of art media.

From childhood to adulthood, Moss has been no stranger to performing at the top level of whatever he has been involved in. Labeled early as an exceptionally gifted child, Moss was skipped from first to third grade, and continued to excel throughout his schooling. Showing prodigy talent in the Creative Arts, Moss was awarded a scholarship to attend classes at the Columbus College of Art & Design (Columbus, Ohio) as a 6th grader, where he studied painting and drawing on Saturdays outside of an already-full weekday schedule. Equally adept as an actor, vocalist and musician, Moss received private guitar, piano, vocal and theatre training beginning in the 1st grade and lasting through the 12th grade. As an 8th grader, Moss successfully auditioned to become a charter member of The Columbus Boychoir and toured the U.S. and Internationally including performances at Buckingham Palace in 1987 and President George W. Bush Sr.'s Presidential Inauguration in 1988. Concurrent to his experience with The Columbus Boychoir, Moss excelled as a lead member of the nation's premiere High School Show-Choir Ensemble, the Walnut Ridge High School Senior Ensemble and participated in winning consecutive National Show Choir Titles in Nassau, Bahamas in 1987 and 1988. During his senior year of high school Moss was awarded 'Most Talented', an honor bestowed upon him by his peers. At the close of that same year, Moss accepted the Eugene B. Jefferson Memorial Scholarship in Music, to be used at the college or university of his choice.

Ever-unconventional, Moss opted to forego the opportunity to attend college immediately after high school, and began to devote his young adult years to social organizing and grass-roots, community-based efforts, serving as a campaign manager for his father William (Bill) Moss Sr.'s successful bid for re-election to public office. (The elder Moss, an elected official in the city of Columbus, Ohio served for a record 25 years on the Columbus Board of Education up until his untimely passing in August of 2005.) Eager to explore new challenges, in 1990 Moss interviewed and accepted an offer with the then-fledgling Sears/Discover Card – Card Services Division, and became one of Discover Card’s top collections agents in the United States, boasting a 6-month consecutive streak as the top collector in the 60-90 and 90-120 days delinquent categories.

It was also during this period that Moss began to hone and professionally develop his talent for communicating, by using his talent to inspire positive change within the Central Ohio community, serving as co-producer, co-host and co-creator of the 'Healin' of De Nation' radio show with his younger brother William R. Moss (founder and CEO of HBCUconnect.com) on Saturday's from 1-6pm, on Z-103, WSMZ FM. The show quickly became the station's most listened-to weekend program.

Moss soon returned to public-organizing and served as a campaign manager for his father Bill Moss' bid for Mayor of Columbus in 1995 and also worked on several Central Ohio voter registration initiatives. Although the Moss mayoral campaign won the Ohio Democratic Party's nomination as their endorsed candidate for the highly contested seat, the bid was unsuccessful, but claimed a moral victory (of sorts), in that - in Columbus' History, only one other African-American candidate had managed to win the endorsement of either the Democrat, or Republican parties.

During the rigors of the campaign trail, Moss decided in August of 1995 to finally pursue his goal of attaining a college degree and would leave Columbus that following September to pursue a Baccalaureate of Science degree with a dual major in Professional Art and Biology/Chemistry at Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC. Having made the decision to return to school late in the summer before what would be his Freshman year, Moss was accepted and was elected as President of his incoming class, President of the Residence Hall Council, was inducted into the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College, selected as a Student Ambassador, Founded and served as President of the Claflin University Artist's League, and was awarded ‘Best Lead in a Dramatic Production’ for his leading role in the stage play “Home”, by the National Association for Dramatic and Speech Actors (NADSA).

In addition to being a charter member of the HBCUconnect.com team, Moss devotes his time to The HBCU Foundation, and countless hours speaking publicly, working with children from underserved communities, as well as promoting the arts and artists. Moss is a loving, devoted husband and father of one.

Availability:
Available as a speaker.