Evening hosted by comedian, actress and writer Aida Rodriguez honors the Co-Creators of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, among many others

Presented by Facebook, Google | YouTube and Omnicom Group

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2020 — ADCOLOR, the premier organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting professionals of color and diversity in the creative industries, today unveiled the winners of the 14^th Annual ADCOLOR Awards. The first-ever virtual ceremony – hosted by comedian, actress and writer Aida Rodriguez – honored the Co-Creators of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, as well as prominent figures such as Don Lemon, Janet Mock, Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Warrington Hudlin and many other industry titans. As a special addition to the night, the virtual celebration included performances by Grammy Award-winning artist Anthony Hamilton and Grammy-nominated artist MAJOR.

ADCOLOR Award Nominees and Honorees are carefully selected from a large population of diverse influencers across the creative industries. They are those who go above and beyond to make a difference and embody the organization’s call to “Rise Up, Reach Back.” Those honored not only excel in their own careers, but also give back to the community and support their peers.

Please see the below list of this year’s honorees and winners:

BEACON AWARD
The Beacon Award, presented by Adweek, honors individuals of note who use their considerable platform to change the status quo in the quest for diversity, equity and inclusion.

HONOREE: Alicia Garza, Co-Creator, Black Lives Matter Global Network; Principal, Black Futures Lab

HONOREE: Opal Tometi, Co-Creator, Black Lives Matter Global Network

HONOREE: Patrisse Cullors, Co-Creator, Black Lives Matter Global Network

CATALYST AWARD
The ADCOLOR Catalyst Award is presented to an individual (or organization) of note who uses his or her platform to serve as the voice of a cause or community—educating and inspiring current and future generations of advertising, marketing, media, PR and entertainment professionals.

HONOREE: Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, The Recording Academy
HONOREE: ColorComm, Inc., Women of Color in Communications

ADVOCATE AWARD

The Advocate Award recipient is an LGBTQ advertising, marketing or media professional who increases awareness of LGBTQ advertising, marketing and/or causes within and outside of the creative industries.

HONOREE: Damon Jones, Chief Communications Officer, Proctor & Gamble

HONOREE: Don Lemon, Anchor, CNN

LEGEND AWARD
The ADCOLOR Legend Award is presented to a seasoned industry veteran. He/she is a trailblazer who pushed the boundaries and created positive change, setting the stage for other generations to take the opportunities made by this legend even further.
HONOREE: Alvin Bowles, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions & Partnerships, Facebook

HONOREE: Soon Mee Kim, EVP, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader, Porter Novelli

HONOREE: Tiffany Smith-Anoa’I, EVP Entertainment Diversity & Inclusion, West Coast, ViacomCBS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to inductees into the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement. Their inspiring stories of professional and personal success exemplify Rising Up and Reaching Back.
HONOREE: Renetta McCann, Chief Inclusion Experience Officer, Publicis Groupe
HONOREE: Warrington Hudlin, Founding President, Black Filmmaker Foundation

AAFCA ADCOLOR CREATIVE TO WATCH AWARD
The AAFCA ADCOLOR Breakout Creative of the Year Award honors a creative of color whose career in its early stages demonstrates a vision and commitment to diverse and inclusive stories that reset and disrupt the industry across multiple platforms.

HONOREE: Janet Mock, Writer, Author, Producer, Director, Activist

ADCOLOR | ONE CLUB CREATIVE AWARD
The One Club | ADCOLOR Creative Award recipients are creative professionals of multicultural background who have demonstrated noteworthy talent and achievement within the media, creative, digital and traditional advertising disciplines.
HONOREE: Ivellisse Morales, CEO & Founder, bombilla
HONOREE: Soham Chatterjee, Global Creative/ACD WhatsApp – Creative X at Facebook

THE AD OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Ad of the Year is a campaign or single execution that is truly brilliant. That pushes boundaries, promotes conversation and highlights the lives of multicultural, LGBT and/or other under-represented Americans in the mass media.
WINNER: “True Name” McCann and Mastercard

ADCOLOR IN TECH
The ADCOLOR in Tech Award recipient is a champion of diversity & inclusion in the tech industries, who has pushed the boundaries and created positive change, setting the stage for other generations to take the opportunities made by this change agent, even further.
WINNER: Andrea Belalcazar, Program Manager, Infra Diversity & Inclusion, Facebook

CHANGE AGENT AWARD
A Change Agent is the individual within a company who is using his/her talents and position to enhance the corporate culture and create a more inclusive environment – calling attention to the talents of all types of people. This can be part of or beyond the scope of that persons’ primary role.
WINNER: Chanel Cathey, Founder and CEO, CJC Insights LLC

INNOVATOR AWARD
An Innovator is an employee who embodies progress and imagination. He/she stands out among peers as an inclusion game changer and brilliant pioneer in their role, creating breakthrough developments and/or improvements, whether tangible or intangible.
WINNER: Kudzi Chikumbu, Director, Creator Community, TikTok

ROCKSTAR AWARD
A Rockstar is someone who, whether through their primary role or extracurricular activities, shows brilliance as a leader and visionary in the industry. He/she has a positive track record and the potential to accomplish so much more. Falling in between the Rising Star and the Legend, this individual is creating his or her own path and encouraging others to shine.
WINNER: Supriya Venkatesan, Content Strategy Director, Critical Mass

RISING STAR AWARD
A Rising Star is an up-and-coming young gun with less than seven years of experience. He/she stands out among his/her peers as someone who is brilliant, whose personality shines and whose differences only make him/her and those around them stronger as they move forward in their career.

WINNER: Nayantara Dutta, Senior Content Strategist, McCann Worldgroup; Founder, Unapologetically Muslim

MOST VALUABLE PARTNERSHIP AWARD
The Most Valuable Partners (MVP) are two people/companies that work together to provide exceptional and highly effective diversity solutions within their organizations and industries. They may be an agency, marketer, media company or diverse supplier with NMSDC or WBENC certification that teams up for a short or long-term project that furthers diversity and inclusion.
WINNER: AT&T and THE 360 AGENCY

About ADCOLOR
ADCOLOR^® is a not-for-profit 501(c) (6) organization whose mission is to celebrate and champion diversity in the creative industries. Our process is twofold. First, we help individuals and organizations RISE UP, letting their accomplishments and ideas shine. Then we teach these new leaders and would-be-mentors how to REACH BACK and find others who deserve to be noticed and promoted. Our goal is to create a community of diverse professionals who are here to support and uplift one another. Learn more by visiting www.adcolor.org.