The 11th Annual ADCOLOR Awards Takes Place
September 19th, 2017 in Los Angeles

NEW YORK, NY (June 27, 2017) – ADCOLOR, the premier organization celebrating and promoting professionals of color and diversity in the creative industries, announced their 2017 honorees and nominees today at ADCOLOR Live! The organization also announced the 2017 class of ADCOLOR FUTURES, a program that chooses the best and brightest professionals who are 1-3 years into their career to attend the annual conference and awards show which will take place September 19th, 2017 in Los Angeles at The Loews Hollywood Hotel.

The announcement took place at the Facebook Live Studios and was hosted by author and 2016 ADCOLOR Rockstar Honoree Luvvie Ajayi, ADCOLOR Founder and President Tiffany R. Warren, Edelman NY Head of Public Affairs and 2015 ADCOLOR Advocate Honoree Brian Ellner, DIAGEO’s Vice President of Corporate Relations, Constituent Affairs and ADCOLOR Chairman of the board Marc Strachan and Senior Strategic Planner, TBWA\Chiat\Day and 2016 ADCOLOR FUTURE William Yu.
The 11th Annual ADCOLOR Awards will highlight and honor the achievements of African-American, American Indian/Native American, Asian Pacific-American, Hispanic/Latino, LGBTQ professionals, as well as spotlighting diversity and inclusion champions in the creative industries.

“The list of honorees, nominees and FUTURES is stellar,” said ADCOLOR Founder and President Tiffany R. Warren. “The group represents some of the best across the fields of advertising, technology, media and marketing, truly reflecting this year’s theme of ‘Come Together’. We very much look forward to honoring them in September.”

The ADCOLOR Award Nominees and Honorees are carefully selected from a large population of diverse influencers across the creative industries. The finalists are chosen by the individual’s representation of ADCOLOR’s motto, “Rise Up and Reach Back”. Those honored not only excel in their own careers, but also give back to the community and support their peers. Their goal is to create a network of diverse professionals to encourage and celebrate one another.

Please join us September 16th – 19th for the Annual ADCOLOR Conference and Awards. Registration is now open and early bird pricing ends July 31st. Visit ADCOLOR.org for more details.

Below you can find the full list of Nominees, Honorees and FUTURES for this year’s ADCOLOR Awards.

2017 ADCOLOR Conference & Awards Sponsors
Omnicom Group, GSD&M, ADWEEK, APPLE, DIAGEO NA, DAS Global Group of Companies, Apple Music, Squeaky, AOL, Wieden + Kennedy, Oath, Facebook, 72andSunny, BBDO, DDB Worldwide, Twitter, Pandora, Omnicom Media Group, TBWA\, OWN, The Advertising Club of New York, American Advertising Federation, Edelman, Digitas LBi.

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.www.adcolor.org

NOMINEES

The Ad of the Year
• Client: YouTube Agency: Anomaly – “It’s Not Just What We Listen to, It’s Who Are”
• Client: NFL & The Ad Council Agency: R/GA– “The Love Cam”
• Client: The Atlantic Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, The Atlantic – “Typecast”
• Client: Johnnie Walker US Agency: Anomaly – “Keep America Walking”
• Client: GMHC Agency: FCB Health – “Blood Equality”
Change Agent
• God-is Rivera, Associate Director, Social Media Strategy, VML
• Ronnie Dickerson Stewart, VP, Group Director- Talent Engagement & Inclusion, DigitasLBi, NA
• Alandha Scott, Global Head of Shows Marketing, YouTube
Innovator
• Eliana Murillo, Head of Multicultural Marketing, Google
• Adrian Isles, Software Engineer, YouTube
• Morgan DeBaun, Founder & CEO, Blavity
Rockstar
• Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, Head of Brand & Consumer Marketing, Facebook
• Abiola Oke, CEO & Publisher, Okayafrica
• Suresh Raj, Worldwide Chief Business Development Officer, Ogilvy & Mather
Rising Star
• Jessica McGlory, Associate Director, Paid Social Lead, The Engine Group
• Hayet Rida, Management Director, FCB Chicago
• Christopher Vega, Copywriter, BBDO Worldwide
MVP
• The Advertising Club of NY & PWC LLP
• Wieden + Kennedy & Pacific Education Group
• BlackDoctor.org & SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

HONOREES

All-Star Award
• Jesse Williams, Actor & Activist, Star of “Grey’s Anatomy” and Founder of farWord, Inc.
Legend Award
• Keli Lee, Managing Director, International Content, Platforms and Talent, ABC Studios International
• Nadja Bellan-White, EVP, Global Brand Management, Ogilvy & Mather EMEA
Catalyst Award
• Elaine Welteroth, Editor-in-Chief, Teen Vogue
Advocate Award
• Wilson Cruz, Actor & Activist, Star of “13 Reason Why”
ADCOLOR in TECH Award
• Erin Teague, Virtual Reality Product Lead, YouTube
Lifetime Achievement Award
• Johnson Publishing Company
• Carol H. Williams, President, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Carol H. Williams Advertising
ADCOLOR/One Club Creative Award
• Max Stinson, Creative Director, Wieden + Kennedy
• Wells Davis, Chief Strategy Officer, David & Goliath
Mr. ADCOLOR
• Jonathan Priester, Account Strategist, Google
Ms. ADCOLOR
• Jezzika Chung, Copywriter, TBWA\ Media Arts Lab

FUTURES
• Anastasia Garcia, Senior Content Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day
• Andrew Dean, Assistant Account Executive at Ogilvy & Mather
• Ashley Falcon, Campaign Specialist – Multicultural at Pandora
• Bri Akakpo, Account Executive at Wieden + Kennedy
• Bria Benjamin, Design Apprentice at R/GA
• Briana Patrick, Jr. Brand Strategist at Wexley
• Bryant Lim, Communications Planner at BBDO Worldwide
• Cierra Moore, Junior Strategist at Leo Burnett
• Deborah Renteria, Multicultural Marketing Coordinator at HBO
• Dennis Haynes, Content Creator/Creative
• Farin Nikdel, Content Coordinator at Wieden+Kennedy
• Hailey Floyd, Strategist at Apple
• Jeredon O’Conner, Videographer/Editor at Wieden+Kennedy
• Jesica Marquez, Creative Technologist/Engineer at Wieden+Kennedy
• Justin Ollivierre, Senior Associate Social Strategist at DigitasLBi
• Kailynd Beck, Art Director at Geometry Global
• Kendal Rouse, Assistant Account Executive at RPA
• Kim Chau, Designer at DigitasLBi
• Kristin Overton, Media Associate at Spark Communications
• Melanie Liu, Producer at DigitasLBi, NA
• Melissa Julien, Client Relationship Coordinator at Biz Virtuoso Consulting
• Orlando Buddle, Project Manager at ESPN
• Shawn Spears, Jr. Writer at 72andSunny
• Taylor Stokes, Account Executive at BSTRO
• Thomas Nguyen, Media Strategy Associate at Starcom
• Travis McPhee, Associate Media Planner, Paid Social at DigitasLBi, NA
• Xenecia Farrell, Paid Search/Social Analyst at Spark SMG
• Zachary L. McGowan, Marketing Coordinator at Reach Records