Cornelius Finley
Access Unlimited Founder / Exec Director
Cornelius T. Finley serves as one of the young leading voices in alternative education, education reform, and education policy. While studying law and having a background in Corporate and Minority Rights Law, Cornelius currently serves as the Founder/ Executive Director for Access Unlimited, Inc.
Known for his unyielding passion for social justice and human rights, Cornelius has worked for major international and American law firms, international policy organizations, American politicians and leading non-profit organizations. Cornelius too has written legal and scholastic articles for The Student Journal of Law and the United Kingdom Law Student’s Review. He too has served on the United Kingdom Law Review Editorial Committee. Recently, Cornelius was invited to serve as a researcher for the Hilliard III & Sizemore Research Institute on African Americans and Education.In consequence, he has been granted the opportunity to publish original research in an edited volume developed specifically for institute participants in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Urban Education Collaborative - Urban Education Research and Policy Annuals.
Though thirty - one years old, Cornelius is building a reputation that honors the idea of equity. From his involvement in human rights missions in Africa, Europe, Asia and America to his ability to beat the odds against a young Black male hailing from Dallas's inner-city, Cornelius seeks to exemplify the true measures of love by allowing unconditional love to remove the mask that destroys the measures of individual freedom and cultural uplift. As a result, Cornelius has had the opportunity to present and participate in the Race to the Top, US Department of Education Conference, under the presidency of President Barack Obama. He too was nominated to attend the Forbes Under 30 Summit by New Profit Foundation and the NYC Mayor’s Office in 2016. All the same, Cornelius recently was nominated and attended the Forbes Under 30 Global Summit in Israel for young social entrepreneurs and leaders.
While embracing the core values of integrity, innovation, and growth, Cornelius consistently seeks to evolve as a young professional via his affiliations with several nationally ranked educational, legal, corporate and political organizations and committees. Cornelius is the first in his family to graduate high school, needless to mention college and law school. Toward this end, Cornelius has received countless awards, honoring his rare talent and undying commitment to social justice and political and educational reform. Cornelius holds two law degrees and a bachelor’s degree in English/Pre-Law. He is an avid lover of national and world politics and loves to read and study the works and minds of James Baldwin, W.E.B. Dubois, Cornel West, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Cornelius was reared by his grandmother, Mary E. Finley, and great grandmother, Mary R. Tunstle in Southeast Dallas, Texas. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.