Dr. Kester Crosse, MD speaks at the KAPEX Leadership Summit at Hampton University on Saturday 12 September 2026, 8:00am to 1:00pm. The summit is themed "Building Black Men for a Better Tomorrow" and is hosted by the KapEx Foundation, which supports the Beta Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at Hampton. Daryl Graham, Senior Vice President of the Strada Education Foundation, gives the keynote.
Some rooms matter more than others. This one is at Hampton University, which is where Dr. Crosse got the foundation that carried him through the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is going back to it as a speaker.
The details
The summit’s theme is Building Black Men for a Better Tomorrow. The keynote is Daryl Graham, Senior Vice President at the Strada Education Foundation. Dr. Crosse appears alongside seven others drawn from medicine, technology, finance, psychology, contracting and entrepreneurship: Shelton Jewette, Quinton Mosley, Elam King, Darryl Richards, Ian Oakley, Dr. Tim Barksdale and Louis A. Johnson.
The summit is run by the KapEx Foundation, which exists to support the undergraduate membership of the Beta Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at Hampton, financially and academically. The foundation has pledged $238,000 to Hampton University and funds scholarships and its financial literacy initiative.
Why this one
The argument in Open Doors is that talent opens the first door and people skills open every door after it, and that almost nobody teaches the second part. A room of young men at an HBCU, with eight professionals who have already walked the path, is that argument in physical form.
You cannot chase what you have never seen. You cannot imagine what no one ever explained.
That line is from chapter eleven, on career pathways, and it is why exposure events are not ceremonial. Most career limits are inherited rather than earned. A morning among people who look like you, doing work you did not know existed, is one of the few things that reliably removes them.
Before the day
If you are attending, two things here are worth twenty minutes beforehand. The TEEE Score is a four-part self-assessment, Talent, Effort, Energy and Execution, and it gives you specific language to ask about instead of a general "any advice?". The career explorer covers over a thousand occupations, free and without an account, if the point of the morning is to widen what you can picture.
For booking enquiries, campus or corporate, availability and formats are on the speaking page.
Bring him to your campus
Dr. Crosse takes a limited number of campus and corporate engagements each year. Check a date and see the formats available.
Frequently asked
When and where is the KAPEX Leadership Summit?
Saturday 12 September 2026, 8:00am to 1:00pm, at Hampton University in Virginia. The theme is "Building Black Men for a Better Tomorrow".
Who is the keynote speaker?
Daryl Graham, Senior Vice President of the Strada Education Foundation. Dr. Kester Crosse, MD is one of eight further speakers on the programme.
Who hosts the summit?
The KapEx Foundation, which supports the undergraduate membership of the Beta Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at Hampton University and has pledged $238,000 to the university.
How do I book Dr. Crosse to speak?
Availability, formats and enquiries are on the speaking page at opendoorssuccess.com/speaking.