Agency: Google Brand Studio
Client: Google

Google’s commitment to creating a more accessible world for everyone continued during the 2022 Oscars with “A Look Can Say A Lot”– a spot about a new life-changing assistive technology that enables people, especially those with speech and motor impairments, to communicate by selecting pre-written phrases using their eyes and have them spoken aloud on a mobile device. The :60 story celebrates the communicative power of the human eye, culminating in the reveal of the Look to Speak app empowering someone with a speech or motor impairment to independently communicate with friends and loved ones. Look to Speak is an Android app from which enables people to use their eyes to select pre-written phrases and have them spoken aloud.

Agency: FCB Canada
Client: Adidas

Sports fans idolize and identify with those who achieve the impossible. One of the most common symbols for inspiring the next generation of athletes is an iconic number. Michael Jordan’s 23, Lionel Messi’s 10, or Wayne Gretzky’s 99. Iconic numbers that represent perseverance, dedication, and the pinnacle of athletic success. Iconic numbers have been revered as a symbol of the best athletes of all time. In reality, they’ve only represented athletes that fit within the confines of mainstream sport. We set out to create the first iconic number to represent an entire community of neurodivergent athletes who are exceeding what society thinks they can achieve. Introducing Runner 321, the movement led by adidas that asks the world’s major marathons to reserve Bib 321 for a neurodivergent athlete who qualifies. The number 321 was specifically chosen because it represents Trisomy 21, the genetic marker for people with Down syndrome.

Agency: Ogilvy New York
Client: Ad Council / Opportunity@Work

Today, America faces a massive talent shortage —millions of open jobs are unfilled and companies are growing frustrated with their inability to hire talent. But they don’t realize they are part of the problem they are trying to solve. That’s because corporations heavily rely on automated hiring practices and unrealistic biases, like degree requirement, which causes them to overlook millions of qualified workers. Right now, nearly 70% of new job descriptions require a bachelor’s degree, yet fewer than 40% of job applicants hold that degree. The impact on minorities is outsized: 61% of Black workers and 55% of Hispanic workers are automatically screened out of opportunities regardless their in-demand skills. As a result, companies struggle to find talent and reach their DE&I goals. In fact, over 70 million STARs—workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes—have been shunned from higher paying job opportunities and upward economic mobility despite gaining valuable skills through on-the-job experience, community college, bootcamps, military service, apprenticeships, etc. To raise awareness and initiate a cultural shift on the hiring requirements, we needed a simple way for people to acknowledge the problem, question their perceptions, and rally cry to act against degree discrimination. To do that, we started by giving the problem a name: The Paper Ceiling; the invisible barrier that comes at every turn for workers without a bachelor’s degree. Along a nationwide PSA campaign, we set up a brand activation at CES, the tech mecca, for 100,000+ attendees and potential employers to grasp the scope of the problem and inspire them to take action.The campaign generated outstanding results and succeeded in getting both employers and workers impacted by the Paper Ceiling to come together to start building a more equitable labor market. Six U.S. states have already announced that they would no longer require a bachelor’s degree for hundreds of thousands of state government jobs, offering new opportunity for millions of skilled workers to get a fair chance at better paying jobs and access upward economic mobility.

Agency: FCB New York
Client: AB InBev, Budweiser

The BRIT Awards are the biggest music awards show in the UK. Every year, the BRITs crown the year’s standout artists. In a progressive move toward inclusivity, this year, the BRITs announced that they would no longer have separate male and female “best artist” categories. Instead, they would just have one combined, gender-neutral category for “best artist.” Just one problem. In its inaugural year, all of the nominees for the newly created “best artist” category were male. As a brand that believes greatness is yours to take, Budweiser felt that female and nonbinary artists were unjustly not being given the spotlight that their talent deserved.So we gave them the opportunity that the BRITs denied them. We turned a Budweiser billboard into a stage that reached the biggest names in music, even landing one of our artists a record deal.

Agency: Performance Art
Client: Black & Abroad

The Black Elevation Map is an immersive digital experience that reimagines the American landscape by visualizing the heights of The Culture as elevation. The platform takes cultural data, such as Black population data, historical markers, Black-owned businesses, and social media activity, and visualizes it as points of interest on a dynamic, searchable elevation map of the United States. The greater the density of data, the higher the
Elevation.

See the heights of The Culture at BlackElevationMap.com.

Alexzi Girma leads the #BlackTikTok creator community program at TikTok, where she supports Black creators through education and elevation opportunities. To promote a more inclusive community on and off the platform, Alexzi spearheaded initiatives such as launching the @BlackTikTok social account and the #BlackTikTok Visionary Voices list, hosting the #BlackTikTok 5 city creator tour, launching the Sephora x TikTok Creator Incubator program, leading TikTok’s national Black History Month campaign, and awarding $500k to Black creators with the Macro x TikTok Black Creatives Grant . Alexzi’s mission is to foster an equitable creator economy by equipping Black creators with the tools they need to turn their passions into full-time careers. Alexzi was selected as a 2023 ADCOLOR FUTURES Champion.

For over a decade, Danny Navarro has been dedicated to making the technology industry more equitable and inclusive. His passion stems from his own experiences, having moved from rural Washington State to Silicon Valley in 2010 to begin his career at Google. Recognizing the tech industry’s then lack of diversity, he created Google’s Latinx employee resource group with a few friends. This community, now boasting over 7,500 members across 35 countries, was designed to provide a safe space for talented Latinx employees to offer professional support to each other and to advance the Latinx community outside of the company. Danny currently leads marketing for Google’s entrepreneurship initiative, Google for Startups. His focus is on supporting underrepresented founders and sharing their stories. Most recently, he has led initiatives that have provided over $34M in non-dilutive capital to founders through the Google for Startups Black and Latino Founders Fund in the US, Europe, Brazil, and Africa. His work has had a transformative impact on hundreds of diverse entrepreneurs who, collectively, have subsequently raised over $400M in capital after receiving awards through this program. Aside from funds, Danny’s launched fellowship and mentorship programs for aspiring Black and Latino entrepreneurs. This work has been featured across global media outlets to hometown newspapers, and has inspired other corporations to launch similar initiatives. Outside of the office, Danny recently premiered his first short film about his former LGBTQ+ neighbor, My Neighbor, Miguel, which completed a successful festival circuit late last year. He consistently seeks opportunities to tell stories of diverse voices from his community. The common thread in all of Danny’s endeavors is the idea of access. Regardless of the campaign, the story, or the community, his guiding light is to ensure that everyone has equal access and resources to tackle our greatest challenges and pursue our loftiest dreams.

Ty is Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, a think tank funded by LinkedIn that studies the future of B2B marketing and decision making. She is also Co-Founder of TransformHer, the premier conference for professional women of color and allies in technology. With research, Ty engages and educates the industry in partnership with the leading marketing effectiveness thinkers and organizations such as Cannes Lions, ANA, and IPA to help better define the category, and drive growth. Ty is passionate about connecting people with the information needed to make intelligent decisions, sharing research to help marketers be more productive and successful with a bit of humor. An award-winning marketer, international speaker, and two-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the 800 meters, Ty is a top B2B marketing influencer teaching B2B marketing as well as leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Marketers benefit from Ty’s marketing experience at Google Inc., consulting within IBM as a social business manager, and leading her own B2B consulting practice, where she authored “Marketers of Tomorrow: A Step-by-Step Toolkit for Inbound Marketing.” Beyond marketing, Ty served as the President of LinkedIn’s Black Inclusion Group (BIG) for several years. Today, Ty serves on the Digital Marketing Institute’s Global Advisory Council, on the Board of Directors for the American Advertising Federation, and as an Adobe Insider with top executives, experts, and pioneers in technology. Ty is a frequent industry and academic speaker on the marketing circuit, having appeared at INBOUND, Adweek, Festival of Marketing, ADCOLOR, Marketing Society Changemakers, Ghana Tech Summit, Adobe Summit, and the Digital Summit events, to name a few. In her career, she has delivered marketing education to thousands.

She’s been interviewed by the media including Cheddar News and Canadian Broadcasting News. National Board certified and award-winning teacher, Claudine James was very successful using the project-based learning model to engage and inspire her students which led her to receive many awards including the 2019 Henry Ford Innovative Teacher Award. On 12/1/2020, Ms James started posting grammar lessons on TikTok in order to reach virtual students who weren’t watching the videos she posted, and now she has 6 million TikTok followers from 84 countries: ESL learners have learned basic grammar skills needed for language acquisition, others have received academic refreshers, and many study for tests such as the ACT. Her videos also motivate and inspire current/future teachers. Students, not just in her class, but throughout the district, actively engage and participate in video production. Ms. James’ classroom now expands around the world, plus she’s helping to remind other educators how much they are needed in the profession.

Past/current students are educated through her innovative and creative teaching methods and future students can’t wait to be one of her students. “Education is the most powerful weapon used to change the world.” After becoming an influencer on TikTok, her influence in improving the teaching profession skyrocketed. She has become the mentor and inspiration to thousands of teachers who reach out for guidance and help. Many say they duplicate her lessons or teaching methods or just show her lessons to their students. One follower stated, “All of my linguistic professors use your videos; they love the clarity of your lessons.” Her reach is vast and varied and reaches various people – globally.

This combination makes Ms. James’ ELA lessons truly innovative. Using social media to educate is a learning concept students eagerly embraced. Her goal, increasing students’ literacy scores, has become a reality for many. Each new video she produces provides the unique opportunity to enhance not only her students’ learning, but students, old and young – all around the world. She even has thousands of followers on YouTube, FaceBook and Instagram. One TikTok video posted on 1/11/23 now has 99 million views; it’s been shared 270K times, and 675K followers saved the video. The simple lesson was about when to use “a” or “an”. A top comment with 40K likes states, “She thinks she’s teaching a class, but she’s really teaching the world.” Ms. James loves sharing her knowledge around the world; this embodies innovative means of digital influence that leads to real-life action.

-College Board, the organization that administers the ACT test and AP classes, released an article, “Five TikTok Famous Teachers Everyone Should Follow” and @iamthatEnglishteacher was listed as #1. This success was followed by being named the TESOL (Teachers of English and Other Languages) Teacher of the Year for her state, the 2023 Grammar Educator of the Year – a national award under the National Council of Teachers of English and featured in the NYT.

Joy is a copywriter by trade and a storyteller at heart. As a Black woman who is gifted with the pen, she feels it’s her responsibility to amplify Black voices past and present. She uses several digital tools to disseminate her stories, build a community, and give back. Simply telling stories wasn’t enough for Joy, she needed to see them for herself. Where Joy Wanders was born as a way for Joy to recapture the narrative of the American road trip and make it meaningful to Black culture. She travels the country in ways her ancestors couldn’t and collects stories from their history to share.

The American Blackstory is Joy’s response to Black lives being written out of history, pop culture, and media. She preserves the rich and untold stories of Black people in the tradition of the griots before her, going above and beyond to study, curate, and share Black history with her followers every February. In June, Joy lights up the sound waves with the SOUND IN COLOR playlists and blog, taking her audience on a journey of sight and sound into the history, joy, pain, and power of African American music. This platform also raises donations for Black arts nonprofits. Throughout Joy’s career she has made meaningful work for clients like AT&T, Corona, KFC, and the U.S. Army. Most recently, her team reinvigorated the Corona U.S. business and brought a brand that had “lost its accent” back to cultural relevance with the “La Vida Más Fina’” campaign, resulting in Corona’s first double-digit growth in 10 years.

Joy Rises Up in her career as a co-leader of the Black@MullenLowe employee resource group. She served as creative director for the Black Catalog, a site dedicated to Black wellness, launched the Ratchet and Refined Media Club, and hosted an agency-wide discussion with Kimberly Annece Henderson, a historical researcher who centers Black American lineage. Joy also lends her talent to agency initiatives that help build a culture of belonging. Her words brought to life the experiences of diverse employees through MullenLowe’s Proud Stories Instagram series during Black and Women’s History Months. She was the lead creative for Momternships, a first-of-its-kind internship that welcomes moms back to the workforce. She also reaches back and serves as a mentor to junior talent at MullenLowe and as colead at a Golin’s Copywriting Night School session.

Joy builds a community wherever she goes. Whether she’s at work, online, or in her solo travels, she manages to connect with people on a deeper level and rally support for her passion to perpetuate Black history. As a guest on the Globetrotter Lounge podcast, she even inspired the host to use travel in a unique way—to heal and honor Black culture. Her three-pronged approach—music, travel, and storytelling—to influence and inspire people sets her apart and tells a more complete story of Black culture.

Adu currently lives in the Bay Area where he is the Global Head of Social Media for Logitech and formerly led social efforts at Google. Prior to Google, Adu led social media efforts at THX Ltd. (founded by George Lucas) where he built their social presence from the ground up. His social media campaigns have also driven brand awareness efforts for General Motors, NBA, PepsiCo, Dallas Cowboys, Spotify, AT&T, CNN, and several other organizations and Fortune 500 companies. Adu has been recognized by local and national pr, marketing and advertising outlets including Saint Heron (Founded by Solange Knowles), BET, CNN, American Advertising Federation, HuffPost, AdAge, Blavity and Adweek, receiving such recognitions as Adweek’s feature, “100 People Who Make Advertising Great,” and ADCOLOR “Rising Star Honoree”.

He credits his career versatility to hard work and a calling to change the world with innovative ideas “Through my artistry, I aspire to challenge my team to think outside the box and I hope to inspire everyone around the world to push the boundaries of their creativity,” Adu said.

In 2016, Adu self-published his first book, “Don’t Insert Title Here: The Guide Towards Creative Freedom and Success.” his second book in 2018, “The Threat of Creative Annihilation.” and his most recent book in 2022 “Work In Progress: To Be Grown, Black & Creative”.

In his spare time Adu teaches social media classes at Miami Ad School, host his podcast “A Dose of Black Joy & Caffeine” which is in it’s 5th season and goes back and forth with Jane Lynch on “The Weakest Link” an NBC game show that he was recently a contestant on.

Charity Pourhabib was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and is a graduate of Hampton University. She has worked at Campbell Ewald and Zambezi on accounts such as Kaiser Permanente, IHOP, Venmo, Beats, and Kissimmee Tourism. In 2019, she joined Wieden+Kennedy Portland and is currently a Brand Manager on the Nike account, helping to lead work for Serena Williams, Gigi Bryant, Nike Girls, and the 2023 Women’s World Cup. 

In 2020, Charity founded the ADMagic program. The program provides knowledge, access, and exposure for HBCU students to the advertising industry. The inaugural class completed the three-month program in April 2021 and the fourth class will begin the program in fall of 2023. 

ADMagic gives students an in-depth look at the industry through mentorship, resources, and a real world client-brief experience. ADMagic has partnered with HBCUs around the nation and has created unique briefs for brands such as McDonalds, Nike, and Old Spice. 

Outside of work, Charity loves to vacation and spend time with family. You might also find her adding to her sneaker collection (blessed by her sister), at the poetry lounge, or practicing her Farsi.

Lynn Branigan is President & CEO of She Runs It (formerly AWNY), a 501c3 not for profit organization that exists to elevate women of all ethnicities, backgrounds, and identities across marketing, media, and tech. In that pursuit, Lynn works closely with corporate executives, influencers, and members across the industry to develop programs that empower women to achieve their professional goals at every stage of their careers.
Lynn joined AWNY in 2012, and immediately embarked with her Board of Directors on a journey to reimagine the organization. Recognizing the industry had become more than just advertising, and more than just New York, they looked to rebrand the organization, expand into new geography, and reinvigorate the mission. AWNY rebranded to She Runs It in 2016, and on Lynn’s watch the organization has grown to nearly 8,00 members spanning 14 countries.
Lifting women is her life’s work, and in her role she launched an industry-wide initiative called #Inclusive100, the first DEI effort to use data and measurement to generate progress against representation, culture, and transparency across the marketing landscape.
Lynn’s perspective is informed by her interactions, which include the dozens of mentees she counsels as part of the She Runs It mentoring program, the industry’s most robust program with 700 mentoring pairs participating at any given time. She also recently championed the launch of START, a program developed with digitalundivided to give women of color entrepreneurs in marketing, media, and tech access to resources and mentoring that can help transform ideas into new businesses. This in response to the same #Inclusive100 study that also indicated women of color are grossly underrepresented in the marketing industry, and these populations were disproportionately impacted by Covid.
Prior to She Runs It, Lynn’s career spanned digital media roles in entrepreneurial and corporate environments such as Online Publishers Association, Washington Post, and Mastercard. A digital pioneer, Lynn ran and sold the industry’s first digital marketing company, led organizations for others, and now sits in the epicenter of women in marketing, media, and tech.
Lynn is a proud graduate of Boston College and received her MBA from NYU. She has two grown children, loves racquet sports and anything on the water. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband George.

Reonna Johnson is VP / Director of Strategic Growth at Deutsch LA. She works with executive leadership on prospecting strategies to attract and acquire new business.
In addition to driving new business, Johnson strives to create inclusive cultures in the advertising industry for people of color. In 2018, Johnson co-founded Three’s a Crowd, a community of Los Angeles-based Black creative professionals to build space, influence, and tangible change within the creative industry. The organization developed In for 13, a pledge designed to stomp out systemic racism and create equity in the advertising industry by raising the percentage of Black representation in leadership positions to 13% by 2023, and Hex Code Black, a new podcast featuring raw and honest conversations with Black professionals at the intersection of race, culture and creativity.
Grounded in culture, she thrives in spaces that builds community and champions those who have been historically marginalized. She flourishes when marrying her logical, analytical side with creativity. When she’s not brainstorming her next big idea, you can find Johnson gardening with her neighbors, where she started an urban community garden, which inspired her to develop [rooted], which is a community healing hub dedicated to fitness, gardening, yoga and mental health and much more.
A Los Angeles native, Johnson graduated from California State University, Los Angeles. She has earned numerous accolades, including AdWeek’s Women Trailblazers and Campaign US Female Frontier honors.

Adrianne C. Smith is SVP, senior partner and chief diversity and inclusion officer at FleishmanHillard, a global PR agency developing creative and strategic communications for brand and reputation management, corporate and consumer marketing, crisis and more. Prior to joining FleishmanHillard, she was named the first global director of inclusion and diversity at WPP, the largest multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology and commerce holding company. Adrianne is also the founder and visionary of The Cannes Can: Diversity Collective (CC:DC), a nonprofit organization created to provide access and exposure to young adults of color and underrepresented communities to global thought leadership conferences on advertising, marketing, creativity, economics, innovation and technology.

In 2017, she launched the first iteration of the CC:DC, which provides rising stars in the advertising and creative industry the opportunity to attend and participate in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In 2019, she made history by creating the first stand-alone equality, diversity and inclusion beach activation, Inkwell Beach Cannes, in the festival’s 66 years of existence. Cannes Lions is where the best creative work in the world is judged to the highest standards. Adrianne has been recognized as an Outstanding Mentor by the Diversity Action Alliance and a Game Changer in the Quantum Leap category during the She Runs It Awards.

With more than 20+ years of industry and advocacy experience, including her work as the executive director of the Center for Excellence in Advertising at Howard University, Adrianne has helped many individuals achieve their personal career goals and organizations achieve their strategic corporate goals. Her training and development programs were the catalyst for the success of several advertising executives. Graduates trained in her program have received numerous awards and accolades including Cannes Lions awards.

Adrianne’s career has been primarily based on making the invisible visible by creating opportunities for underrepresented communities. She has created and produced both documentaries and television programs as well as participated on the launch team for a digital sub-television network. In addition to her advocacy work, Adrianne is the founder of Vision Corps Media Group (VCMG), a media incubation company developed to create new content for current and emerging media outlets.

Brittany Allen is an advocate for the People, and a compassionate leader in pursuit of elevating our collective consciousness around inclusion, equity and liberation. As a marketer, she’s led award-winning campaigns for Adidas, Tinder, and Adobe. She is a changemaker, grassroots organizer and leader. Her ability to bring all perspectives to the table through her own advocacy or by setting the tone for sharing has led to evolution inside 72andSunny and driven impact through 72andSunny’s work at a massive scale.

Through Brittany’s leadership at 72andSunny flipped the traditional DEI model on its head by empowering the community to drive key initiatives from an interrogation of company values for bias to selection of a 3rd party pay equity partner. Four key pillars of DEI were successfully implemented and progressed in less than a year under this model. Brittany drove ownership and adoption of a better, more inclusive 72andSunny. That was just year 1 of Brittany’s impact as a DEI Director.

In year 2, Brittany facilitated the launch of 6 ERGs inside 72andSunny North America, launched mandatory anti-racism training, developed a mentorship program for all leaders + POC, led anti-bias book clubs, and partnered with clients on integrating DEI into their own organizations and output – including advising on work for the NFL, United Airlines, and Etsy.

Brittany has been awarded by The Marcus Graham Project with the prestigious Bill Sharp Award – Future of Advertising, a recognition of her leadership and the future impact she will continue to have on the world. Further in 2022, she led the ADCOLOR 2022 Panel on “Speak the Future”, an initiative she’s leading to educate people on inclusive vocabulary via their Google calendars. She also moderatored the ADCOLOR 2022 FUTURES Summit as a Co-Host and served as the ADCOLOR Advisory Board Alumni Engagement Co-Chair from 2020-2022.

Brittany has been a mentor and facilitator within the Marcus Graham Project since 2016, a guest speaker and mentor for Black women at USC via the Collective Identity Mentoring program and a mentor for Seeing ME in Media at The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Brittany has a heart for service that’s a motivating force in how she shows up for her community with empathy and excellence in mind. She is a proud graduate from The University of Southern California.

As Vice President and Chief Diversity Office at Google, Melonie D. Parker is responsible for leading strategies, practices and approaches for a more equitable, inclusive and accessible company where everyone belongs.

She is an innovative C-suite thought leader and DEI strategist who is passionate about people and organizations that make substantive and sustainable impact. As the driver of Google’s racial equity commitments, Parker works with academic institutions that build pathways to tech and also partners with institutions and organizations to spearhead trailblazing research.

Prior to Google, Parker served as the Vice President of Human Resources & Communication at Sandia National Laboratories, the first Black woman to have the role, and as Human Resources Director at Lockheed Martin where she graduated from its Executive Assessment and Development program—a rare achievement for women of color and human resources professionals.

Named to Savoy Magazine’s 2023 Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion, recognized by the Hampton University Alumni Association, nominated as a Corporate Catalyst on AfroTech’s Future 50 List for 2023 and presented with a Sisters with Superpowers award presented by Rolling Out UrbanStyle Weekly, Parker holds a B.A. in Mass Communications from Hampton University and an M.A. in Human Resources from Villanova University.

Over the years, I saw a gap in the healthcare communications journey for marginalized communities. Guided by Audre Lorde’s “Cancer Journals” and Kimberle Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, I created Identity Experience (IX) to help fill those gaps. IX is a framework that combines health data and digital behaviors across intersectional identities to shape hyper-personalized narratives that will influence care. I’ve created a role to lead IX at GCI Health, helping the agency and our clients better understand the people we’re trying to reach and to ultimately, improve health outcomes. I believe frameworks are nothing without practitioners to actually model them. For the last three years, I’ve led an internal speaker series, @theintersection, to ensure that GCI team members understand the role of intersectionality in health communications.

I currently serve as the co-lead for the People of Culture employee resource group where I am developing professional development programming for junior talent of color to improve retention rates. Outside of GCI Health, I am a member of the Board of Directors for The Marcus Graham Project, a Fellow in the 2023 NLC-Atlanta Class, social media leader for the women’s and health minstries at Ray of Hope Church, and a dedicated “te-tay” to my two nephews.

Melina López leads Developer & Communities Marketing for Latin America at Google Cloud. She is also an Inclusive Marketing Consultant and trainer for global marketing teams at Google. In 2022, she pioneered Inclusive Marketing Insights to better represent plus-size people in media, in partnership with NAAFA, after evangelizing global marketers and producers about the origins of fat activism amongst queer feminists in conferences like 3%, Lesbians Who Tech, and through publishers such as Forbes and AdAge.
Melina’s work with the trans community gained notoriety when she helped make Google Photos a more inclusive product by centering the community at the research and prototyping stages of the product development process, partnering with GLAAD. As an ally, she has organized TransConf (internal annual meetup for trans googlers) since 2020 bringing in more Latinx/Black+ representation. Melina also created Google’s first podcast about DEI in Tech, in Spanish and Portuguese (top 5% most shared worldwide on Spotify in 2022).
Melina also outspokenly contributes with organizations like Out&Equal, ADCOLOR and Reprograma (Brazil) to center marginalized voices. Her DEI work was recognized by Out & Equal, Webby Awards and she’s been selected by universities such as Stanford, Georgetown and UNTREF for LGBTQ leadership and masters programs.

Travonne “Tray” Edwards is a Copywriter for Wieden+Kennedy New York. He is also the co-founder of Count The Dings Podcast Network, and an NBA Analyst/writer for The Athletic.
Tray brings a background in Montessori education and sports journalism to his work at Wieden+Kennedy, which has opened up opportunities for him to lead storytelling for McDonald’s All American Games on social media.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tray’s passion for sports and social media led him to create the viral Twitter handle @NBABubbleLife, which detailed the lives of NBA basketball players in quarantine as they restarted their season in the Orlando “Bubble.” The account gained 100k+ followers in eight days, embedded itself into sports culture and conversations, and was featured by Forbes, NY Times, LA Times, NBA on TNT, and Sports Illustrated.
Since joining W+K, Tray has played an integral role in the agency’s teaching partnership at the Roc Nation School at LIU. His class, titled “The Best Ads Aren’t Ads,” uncovers the surprising ways creativity can come to life for brands. He’s also been a guest speaker for
the Duke Sports Business Conference and SportsBiz Camps, offering mentorship in sports media.
Tray is the founder of the Compton Creative Fair, which debuted last December to bring opportunity from the creative industry to his hometown community. He’s also demonstrated community mentorship in the social media space by releasing two E-books in 2023, dedicated to social media consulting and helping individuals grow their voice and personal brand.

Five years ago, Droga5, the Ad Council, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the Jed Foundation (JED) partnered to launch Ad Council’s first brand campaign, “Seize the Awkward.” The platform was created to help normalize conversations around mental health among 16- to 24-year-olds and shift the perception of conversations about mental health from being potentially too awkward into something that audiences find meaningful.

In 2018, the first iteration of the campaign, “The Awkward Silence,’’ launched during Mental Health Awareness Month—to align with young people’s many important life experiences, from prom to graduation to new jobs and moving out, and to encourage young people to check in with their friends as they enter new chapters of their lives.

In 2020, the next iteration of “Seize the Awkward,’’ called “Whatever Gets You Talking,” debuted. A colorful musical film that flaunts the sheer breadth of ways to help start a conversation puts viewers in the shoes of a young hero as she tries to find the best way to reach out to a friend who she’s worried about. From February 2020 to February 2021, there was a 10-point lift in pre- to post-campaign awareness (54%). As of February 2021, tagline awareness had reached our highest level to date, with a six-point increase since Q1 2020 to 21%. Overall, the campaign received 600 million total Impressions, 5.2 million video views and garnered a total of 58,000 engagements.

Most recently in 2022, we developed “We Can Talk About It” which centered the experiences and attitudes of BIPOC and LGBT+ young adults. These young people are experiencing intersecting forms of injustice that impact their mental health and are looking for support from those around them who share their experiences and can relate. The campaign encourages friends to push past the stigma of mental health and create a new culture around mental health that challenges the existing barriers to conversation in their
communities. “We Can Talk about It” has garnered more than 91 million impressions.
This work is making an impact. As of December 2022, over half of young adults in the US were aware of the campaign. And awareness was highest among Black and Hispanic youth; 63% of Black young adults and 57% of Hispanic young adults were aware of the “We can Talk about it” campaign.

Andraéa LaVant and LaVant Consulting began working with Google in 2020. When the partnership formed, Google was representing just 1% of disabled people authentically across

their marketing and both parties wanted to usher in a new era of representation, especially the intersecting identities of disabled representation. This started with critical foundational work. To date, LaVant Consulting has trained over 30% of Google marketers — with a goal of 100%. Because of this, Google has successfully increased the representation of disabled people in their creative work from 1% to 6% with a strong commitment of 15% by 2025 (reflecting the number of people globally who have some form of disability).

Andraéa and the LaVant Consulting team went far beyond their initial consulting agreement and over the past few years, the partnership has expanded to include advocacy,

speaking, and performing engagements. Andraéa and her team have ensured Google’s tentpole events and moments were built with accessibility from start to finish and often included Andraéa herself speaking at the event. These include but are not limited to; Google I/O, Google Marketing Live, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Year in Search, Black Disabled Creatives, ADCOLOR, Google Doodles and Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

But, similar to Google, Andraéa and the LaVant Consulting team believe that the most important aspect of accessibility and disability inclusion is driving the entire industry forward, not just one company, creating opportunities for everyone. One of the most recent efforts between Google and LaVant Consulting, aimed to do just that — move the needle for all,

ushering in a new era on what it means to be disabled and this was the All In Selma Blair and Andraéa LaVant campaign.

In an effort to share cross-industry learnings, including specific Google marketing use cases, LaVant Consulting and other industry experts worked in partnership with Google to launch the first-ever Accessible marketing playbook on All In, Google’s inclusive marketing toolkit, providing best practices for building creative with accessibility and disability inclusion from start to finish.The playbook was launched at the Cannes Lions Festival in June of 2022 where Selma Blair teased the upcoming creative campaign. In July 2022, Google launched the Andraéa

LaVant and Selma Blair video, endorsing the Accessible marketing playbook, discussing ways this can help the entire industry build more inclusive creative content for all, while using the creative as an example in itself for ways to build with and for the disabled community, ensuring disability is in front of and behind the camera.The campaign was hugely successful, reaching over 33 million people, 125,000 new unique visitors to the All In site and landed 32 press articles helping to spread the message of creating disability-inclusive media.Simply put, this would not have been possible without the partnership of Google and LaVant Consulting, both of which feel as though they’re just getting started. As one of the core principles identified by Google and LaVant Consulting states, accessibility is a never-ending journey, not a box to check!

At Translation, we strive to make the invisible impossible to ignore. So when WhatsApp approached us with an opportunity to use the story of NBA Superstar Giannis Anteokounmpo to speak to a global audience that is often overlooked..we jumped at the chance.

Our target audience were Culture Crossovers. Culture Crossovers are reflective not only of WhatsApp’s core user base, but also of a growing audience segment inclusive of a generation more blended than ever before. They represent about 25% of the global population and 37% of the US population, and can best be defined as culturally fluid individuals who draw inspiration from their multiple cultural identities.Our goal was to leverage Giannis’s background to tell a compelling brand story and authentically connect with this audience. Fortunately, Giannis had a natural connection to WhatsApp – it helped him stay connected to his family when he moved to the US. But most importantly, his story illuminated a natural tension that was not only true to Giannis’s story but was one that many people from cross-cultural backgrounds could relate to. Many people who come from cross-cultural backgrounds feel like they need to choose between their cultural identities.

Giannis’ identity was chosen for him when the world named him “The Greek Freak,” so we wanted to use the tension that Giannis felt about having to choose his cross-cultural identity into a partnership story that many people from cross-cultural backgrounds could authentically relate to. The partnership started with the +234 hoodie that premiered at NBA All-Star Weekend. The hoodie was a collaboration with Nigerian-American designers, artisans, and tailors – all connected via WhatsApp. It was not only a play on Giannis’ jersey number, 34, but paid homage to +234, Nigeria’s international calling code. The back of the hoodie featured Giannis’ Yoruba family name, Adetokunbo.

Then we launched the film Naija Odyssey – a Nigerian twist on the Greek classic. In the film Giannis explores both his Greek/Nigerian roots ultimately concluding he doesn’t want to choose between cultures and is proud to be both. In the end, this partnership resulted in WhatsApp’s very first piece of original content which was streamed in 52+ countries, covered by 60+ global media outlets, and earned $17M in media value. The film inspired thousands of people to share over 70k posts, with social conversations increasing by 56x more than the same time a year ago, and WhatsApp gaining over 49,00 followers after the film was released.

The partnership also lifted brand favorability by 6.6% and helped increase consideration amongst young adults by 22% – with 25% lift of young adults feeling WhatsApp helps them stay connected to their culture, and 23% lift feeling WhatsApp brings them closer to friends and family.Ultimately, this body of work helped us rise up, reach back and embrace this dynamic global audience while creating a rallying cry that made them feel seen, heard, and inspired to share their own cross-cultural stories.

In a world where rapid evolution is the norm, Aarian J. Forman stands out as a visionary innovator and skilled problem-solver. His expertise in building leaders, solving complex issues, and crafting effective strategies to meet specific needs has earned him widespread respect as a thought leader on a range of topics, including business strategy and process, leadership, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and marketing.
Currently, Aarian serves as the head of Sponsorships and Public Relations at The General Insurance®, where he oversees a diverse portfolio of partnerships that build awareness, drive consideration, and bolster confidence in the brand. He also manages the brand’s day-to-day reputation and has led successful partnerships with top-tier entities like Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards, Bleacher Report, BET, NRG Gaming Team, and Daymond “The Shark” John’s “Black Entrepreneurs Day.”
Aarian has also made significant contributions during his tenure at The General, having previously served as a Process Analyst and Social Media Specialist. His expertise and success in these roles played a critical role in developing operational functionality within the company’s new marketing organization and growing its social media presence.
However, Aarian’s passion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) inspired him to co-found Xceleader, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the goal of strengthening Black leadership within communities and workplaces. Xceleader has already impacted the lives of thousands of HBCU students and rapidly growing.
Aarian’s academic background includes two earned degrees in Business from Tennessee State University, which he completed in 2017 and 2018. Looking forward, he seeks to continue making a meaningful impact in both for-profit and philanthropic sectors and potentially, one day, in government.

Jess Womack is an award-winning brand planner, speaker, and podcaster with experience strategizing for some of the world’s most influential brands.

Compelling empathy is the signature of her work- delivering results across countless organizations, including (but not limited to) Airbnb, Absolut Vodka, the Center for Disease Control, and the Las Vegas Tourism Board. In addition to creative strategy and brand planning, she’s led cultural counsel for global corporations like Pernod Ricard, Proctor & Gamble, and Coca-Cola.  She is currently a Strategy Director at Grey Group NY, serving as the strategic lead for MassMutual Insurance and Pantene North America.

Known by many as “Womack”, her nickname comes from growing up in a military family that moved frequently. From being born in Japan to attending 11 schools around the world, these third-culture experiences built her superpower of limitless compassion (and an ability to order dessert in multiple languages).

In addition to being a graduate of Duke University and a recipient of numerous executive recognition awards, she was also selected in 2020 as a major strategist-to-watch in the Zwolf’s inaugural class of COHORT: ONE.

Despite being in an early phase of her career, Jess is already a mentor to a community of aspiring strategists. Her desire to uplift and inspire others is intentionally contagious, fostering inclusion wherever she goes. Today her impact is felt most by those close to her, but one day her influence of fellowship will certainly reach throughout the creative industry at large.

As Head of Client Inclusivity & Impact for Digitas, Danisha Lomax takes pride in developing programs that focus on authenticity, cultural impact, and advocacy for women of color. With over a decade of experience in media, Danisha is a master at her craft, but her deep knowledge of social platforms is just the tip of the iceberg.

At Digitas, Danisha oversees a team of social experts who create scalable, holistic end-to-end activations for the agency and its clients. She helps clients expand their use-cases for social, with an authentic audience and culture-first strategy.

Her approach has won her multiple awards including Chief Marketer’s Market like a Mother award (2021) and Cynopsis Top Women in Media (2020), among others. Additionally, she is a sought-after thought leader and speaker. She’s written industry articles related to Facebook’s shift to stories, inclusivity in Instagram stories, Snapchat going premium, and year over year social trends in various high caliber trade and industry publications.

Ime Archibong is the Head of Product at Messenger, one of Meta’s key global products, a shared space that helps you connect with the people you care about most. In this role, he oversees all teams responsible for building Messenger products, features and experiences.

Ime joined Meta in 2010 and has held several leadership roles. Previously, Ime was Head of New Product Experimentation, where he led an organization responsible for building bold new products that give entirely new experiences for building community. Prior to this, Ime served as Facebook’s Vice President of Product Partnerships, building a global team that manages strategic partnerships with both startups and developers.

Ime’s career began at IBM as a Software Engineer, where he transitioned into corporate strategy and business development. He holds a BS, Computer Science and Engineering from Yale and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Outside work, Ime is a listed inventor on more than a dozen technical patents and serves on Capital One’s Board of Directors.

Kelli Richardson Lawson is an Emmy Award-winning creative visionary and entrepreneurial business leader with a lifelong track record of championing change, impacting people’s lives, and investing in communities of color. Known widely for out-of-the-box thinking and breakthrough ideas, Kelli has over 35 years of experience in brand building, marketing, communications, business development, advertising, and community engagement. She is one of the co-creators and architects of The CROWN Movement to end hair discrimination which has impacted over 24 million lives in 21 states and 49 municipalities. Kelli is also the founder of The SonRise Project, an NAACP Image-Award nominated non-profit organization dedicated to helping families struggling with mental wellness and addiction issues. She also created BET’s Emmy-Award winning Rap-It-Up HIV/AIDS program, the BET Foundation to focus on obesity issues, and led The Ad Council’s COVID-19 vaccine education campaign to drive action and increase vaccination rates in the Black community.

Kelli is the Founder and CEO of The House of JOY (formerly JOY Collective), a Black and woman-owned cultural insights, marketing and creative agency delivering breakthrough work for brands like Dove, Dove Men+Care, SheaMoisture, BET, OWN, Disney, AARP, The Ad Council, The U.S. Naval Academy, Under Armour, Unilever, Weight Watchers, and more.

She is also the Founder and CEO of The SonRise Project, a non-profit organization focused on helping Black parents who may be dealing with mental wellness or addiction issues with their children. Kelli hosts a weekly free call for parents to share, engage and inspire one another in a dialogue filled with understanding, compassion, vulnerability, and inspiration. The SonRise Project also hosts “SonRise to Sunset” calls about aging parents, and “Survivor Stories” with Black teens and young adults sharing their suicide survival stories. In 2021, the Oprah Winfrey Network of podcasts collaborated with Kelli to create The SonRise Project podcast series to amplify the impact of this life-changing initiative nationwide.

Kelli created the first comprehensive marketing organization at BET, starting from a team of one and building to seven (7) divisions, including marketing, communications, creative services, special events, research, publishing, and public affairs. As the leader of BET’s marketing and communications organization, she created award-winning creative campaigns that drove record ratings year after year. She also led all marketing, PR and event-related elements of all the biggest tentpole events in the country, including the BET Awards, Celebration of Gospel, Hip Hop Awards, Spring Bling and BET Honors. Kelli’s leadership was recognized with hundreds of awards, including BET’s first-ever Emmy Award and several Telly, Promax, BDA, NAMIC, CTAM, CTPAA, ANA, and NAACP Image Awards.

Listed on the EBONY Power 100, Kelli’s honors include a 2023 Anthem Award for The Ad Council’s “Tuskegee Legacy” COVID-19 vaccine education campaign, a 2022 Black Women’s Agenda Award for CROWN, a 2022 Links Presidential Impact Award and ‘Women en Blanc’ Impact Award, along with 10 MARCOM Award, multiple PR Week Awards, and a 2021 NBCSL Nation Builder Award, and a “Hall of Femme Award” by PR Week. She and her team have won countless “Campaign of the Year” awards, including a highly coveted Global SABRE Award for the “#1 PR Campaign in the World” and several REGGIE and ANA Awards for various campaigns.

Kelli began her career at Procter & Gamble (P&G), working on billion-dollar brands in the packaged soap and mass fragrance divisions and worked as head of global advertising and innovation for the consumer division at Dell.

A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and an unwavering Cleveland Browns fan, Kelli is a proud graduate of Howard University and a 35-year Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

Kelli and her husband Keith have two sons, Kyle and Kristopher and she and her family live in Bethesda, Maryland. She is committed to creating a world filled with joy for herself, her family, her community, and the world; one human at a time.

Over the course of an unbelievable journey from the streets of Harlem to touring and recording with Boogie Down Productions to The White House, Derrick “D-Nice” Jones went from being a pillar of the culture’s history to actually making history himself. 

The legendary DJ, rapper, beatboxer, producer, photographer, and philanthropist has moved millions on wax with timeless records, on stage at unforgettable gigs, and online with his revolutionary “Club Quarantine” Instagram Live series. The latter notably set a precedent and built a template for numerous Instagram Live series to follow during the Pandemic. His influence would be recognized industrywide. The NAACP Image Awards named him Entertainer Of The Year, the BET Awards made him an honorary recipient of the “Shine A Light” Award, while he took home the 2020 Webby Artist of the Year award in the category of “Special Achievement.” 

Most importantly, “Club Quarantine” positively impacted the globe, raising million for First Responders, HBCU’s, CDC, Apollo Theater, and more. Teaming up with Issa Rae’s Raedio, he even co-curated the Official Playlist of the Biden + Harris inauguration. Shortly after, he performed at the official Super Bowl LV pre-show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. His timeless blend of hip-hop, soul, and R&B soundtracked President Barack Obama’s 2012 inaugural ball, Academy® Awards parties, the Essence Festival, and BET’s “Love and Happiness” Concert at the White House in 2016. 

After spreading hope online, he now makes an artistic statement with a full-length album coming in 2021, leaving an indelible mark on the game once again.

Joi Brown, the visionary Founder, and CEO behind Culture Creators has redefined the landscape of diversity, inclusion, and inspiration. With an unyielding commitment to amplifying marginalized voices and bridging the gap between global cultural pioneers and the new generation of diverse creators, Joi has positioned Culture Creators at the forefront of transformative change.

Joi brings a unique blend of industry knowledge and strategic prowess from her extensive experience as the former SVP Marketing, Brand Partnerships at Atlantic Records and Head of Strategic Partnerships at ICM Partners. Her dynamic background in marketing and brand partnerships has equipped her with a keen understanding of how to forge impactful alliances that drive meaningful change.

One of Culture Creators’ notable achievements lies in its recruitment efforts and talent pipeline development for HBCUs and students of color in partnership with corporate entities. Through strategic collaborations, Culture Creators has opened doors and created opportunities for underrepresented talent to thrive in the corporate and entertainment worlds. By nurturing relationships with esteemed academic institutions and fostering mentorship programs, Joi has ensured that HBCU students and all students of color have the support and resources necessary to excel in their careers.

Under Joi’s guidance, Culture Creators have become a catalyst for empowering aspiring leaders, propelling the next generation to new heights. In just a year, the organization proudly awarded over $200,000 in scholarship money to deserving HBCU students across the United States, impacting their educational journeys and paving the way for their future success.

The crowning jewel of Culture Creators is the renowned “Innovators and Leaders” Awards brunch, a prestigious annual event in Los Angeles. The industry’s brightest stars, from music moguls to media powerhouses, come together to celebrate and honor those who have made a lasting impact. This illustrious gathering, featured in esteemed publications such as Billboard, Forbes, Variety, VIBE, The Hollywood Reporter, Essence, Page Six, and People, serves as a testament to the exceptional vision and influence cultivated by Culture Creators.

Expanding beyond celebrations and accolades, Culture Creators operates as a trusted agency partner for corporations seeking to enhance diversity and inclusion in their C-suites and boardrooms. Joi’s strategic insights and extensive network have enabled Culture Creators to craft comprehensive strategies for recruiting and retaining people of color in top leadership positions, fostering an environment where talent thrives and innovation flourishes.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Joi embraces the roles of wife and proud mother to twin teenage daughters. As an esteemed alumna of Howard University and a cherished member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Joi’s commitment to service and upliftment runs deep. Her influence extends to the Board of Directors of MUSIC WILL, a national nonprofit dedicated to unlocking the passion for music in public school children, ensuring they can lead purposeful lives.

Joi Brown’s remarkable journey is a testament to the power of determination, leadership, and unwavering dedication. Her ability to navigate complex landscapes, build strategic partnerships, and drive transformative change is unparalleled. As she continues to break barriers, inspire generations, and shape a future where equality, opportunity, and excellence thrive, Joi Brown stands as a beacon of hope and progress in the corporate world. Through Culture Creators, she leaves an indelible mark on every industry she touches, setting a new standard for what it means to be a visionary leader.

Adam Tillman-Young, co-founder and Chief Crea6ve Officer at PASSERINE, has carved a remarkable path in the crea6ve industry, from shoo6ng album covers and music videos for emerging ar6sts to transforming PASSERINE into a globally recognized, full-service crea6ve agency. Born in Washington D.C. and educated at Temple University, Adam’s culturally rich upbringing and varied life experiences, including running a raw milk dairy in Texas, fuel his dynamic crea6vity. He consistently generates compelling content for high-profile brands like Jordan Brand, Nike, MicrosoS, Disney, Amazon Music, and eBay. Equally dedicated to fostering talent and eleva6ng the Black crea6ve community, Adam’s leadership at PASSERINE embodies his commitment to using crea6vity to upliS communi6es and make a posi6ve global impact. Under Adam’s supervision, PASSERINE is currently adap6ng Gloria Naylor’s Linden Hills for streaming and TV.

Todd Triplett is a Father, Husband, Culturalist, Creative, Writer, Environmental Advocate and Founder. Todd has developed and led globally-recognized creative, experiential, branded-content and social campaigns for some of the world’s most respected companies including Apple, TikTok, Ikea, Beats By Dre, Revolt, YouTube, Jaguar, Sprite, Ford and Remy Martin. His work is noted for organically melding insightful creative, culture, innovation and purpose.

Most recently, Todd was tapped to be the first Global Executive Creative Director at Known, leading the creative and brand consumer practice. Prior to that, Todd led the Creative Lab for North America – Eastern Region for the social entertainment platform, TikTok. He’s also served as the Global Creative Director – Brand Design for Beats By Dre | Apple, leading the brand’s internal creative teams in developing its overall global communications.

Before joining Beats, and while maintaining creative strategist roles with both IKEA and Remy Martin, he created and led FREECANDY, a mixed-used arts and music venue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn that emerged as one of the city’s leading cultural outlets for emerging talent. FREECANDY is noted for being the first venue to showcase the talents of renowned artists like SZA, Jidenna, Serpent with Feet, Kelsey Lu and many others.

At the outset of his career, Todd was a key member of the team that received industry-wide accolades for the Sprite – Obey Your Thirst creative work. This series of campaigns was noted for seamlessly melding insightful cultural iconography and music with positive social messaging.

Todd holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Howard University and Masters in Arts & Cultural management from Pratt Institute. When not focused on discovering and sharing new cultural movements, Todd loves to travel and is an avid outdoorsman and hiker. He advocates and speaks on behalf of multicultural inclusion in our National Parks and Forests and other environmental concerns. Todd is father, Ever and is husband to Samantha.

Raquel Willis is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out magazine, and national organizer for Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action with civil rights attorney Chase Strangio and currently serves as an executive producer for iHeartMedia’s Outspoken, the president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative’s executive board, and is a WNBA Social Justice Council member.

Her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, will be released in November 2023 via St. Martin’s Press.

She published the GLAAD Media Award-winning “Trans Obituaries Project,” and in 2022, she executive-produced and hosted “The Trans Youth Town Hall” with Logo. The work was nominated for the GLAAD Awards and won Gold distinction in the Webbys. Her writing has been published in Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham, Bulgari Magnifica: The Power Women Hold edited by Tina Leung, The Echoing Ida Collection edited by Kemi Alabi, Cynthia R. Greenlee, and Janna A. Zinzi, and Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha Blain. She has also written for Essence, Bitch, VICE, Buzzfeed, The Cut, and Vogue.

Raquel is a thought leader on gender, race, and intersectionality. She’s experienced in online publications, organizing marginalized communities for social change, non-profit media strategy, and public speaking while using digital activism as a major tool of resistance and liberation.

Sarah Kate Ellis is the President and CEO of LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD. During her nine years of leading GLAAD, she has run winning campaigns for marriage equality, representation of LGBTQ people in media, education on transgender people, and more. She works directly with CEOs, elected officials, and the most recognizable journalists and celebrities to advance LGBTQ acceptance.

She has moderated and participated in official engagements about global LGBTQ issues at leading industry conferences and events including FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit and the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Sarah Kate is a regular expert on CNN, MSNBC, and across print and online media.

Most recently, she was named to the 2023 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Prior to GLAAD, Sarah Kate was a media executive. She and her wife Kristen co-authored a new children’s book entitled ‘All Moms’ and they reside in New York with their children.

Shawn Finnie is an entertainment executive with over a decade of experience and most recently served as the Executive Vice President, Member Relations and Awards to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He oversaw member relations, and global outreach for the organization’s global membership of more than 10,000+ artists, filmmakers and executives as well as overseeing Academy Awards processes for submissions, rules, and voting.

He has created, hosted, and co-produced various pieces of award winning content for the organization such as “Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us”. Focused on race, ethnicity, gender, history, opportunity, and the art of filmmaking, these discussions featured high-profile figures such as Bryan Stevenson, Whoopi Goldberg, Lee Daniels, Lulu Wang, Eva Longoria, Roger Ross Williams, Delroy Lindo, Anita Hill, Geena Davis, and Ava DuVernay. In addition, he co-produced additional digital content series such as: Academy Greenroom, Academy Panels and Oscar nominee content.

Finnie launched Academy Affinity groups. This member led, staff supported group(s) were created exclusively for members to amplify the voices in the following communities: Black, Indigenous x Native American, Middle Eastern, West Asia North African, LGBTQIA+, Asian, Latinx, and AccessAbility. The focus of the groups is centered around community, advocacy, empowerment and education with the intention to create equity for all voices to impact systemic change.

Finnie’s focus is Community, Culture, and Connectivity. He is signed to United Talent Agency as a speaker and has collaborated with multiple organizations, communities, and leaders to speak and share personal experiences and initiate action-oriented conversations surrounding mental health, personal journey, and dealing with adversity. He is committed to ensuring that solid representation of diverse voices and backgrounds are included, engaged, and activated.

Asians in Advertising is a non-profit 501c3 organization with a global network of over 5,000 members. Our mission centers around developing a thriving community, elevating Asians to higher leadership positions, and on-screen representation. We recognize the need to establish a space where Asians in advertising can unite and find support, particularly in an industry where exclusion is all too common. By fostering connections among our members, we aim to empower them to advance their goals, propel their careers forward, and nurture their artistic and personal growth.
Our organization serves as a platform for answering questions, offering advice, and engaging in meaningful discussions about the challenges faced by the Asian community and those unique to our industry careers. Asians in Advertising brings our community together through various events and programs to promote advancement and representation. Our yearly events include Matchmaking, a networking event; Breaking Barriers, a tent pole summit; and Conversations with AANHPI C-Suite, a panel featuring Asian executives sharing their experience and insights on advancing your career, reaching the C-Suite, and representing at the highest level.
Furthermore, we are dedicated to nurturing and supporting Asian talent across levels to break the bamboo ceiling and elevate our community through recurring scholarships and mentorship programs, including The Asian Creative Portfolio Scholarship, Future Asian Leaders, and our partnership with 3AF for NextGen Mentorship. Asians in Advertising strives to build a tight-knit community that fosters inclusivity, amplifies voices, and paves the way for a more diverse and representative future within the advertising industry. Through collaborative efforts with our community, allies and partners, we are committed to creating lasting change and empowering Asians to excel in their careers while championing their unique stories, on-screen and off.

As Executive Vice President, Global Brand Strategy & Innovation of Mastercard, Cheryl Guerin leads the overall stewardship of one of the world’s most iconic and recognizable brands. A passionate and accomplished marketer, Cheryl oversees the strategy and activation of Mastercard’s highly decorated Priceless campaign, advancing the brand to consumers and B2B audiences through cutting edge advertising, media, digital marketing and innovative insights that inform and inspire new opportunities for the business. Cheryl is also a member of Mastercard’s Management Committee.

Cheryl recently led the launch of several innovations and platforms, including the True Name® card, which was globally recognized with a Cannes Lions Grand Prix in 2021. She spearheaded the Strivers Initiative supporting small businesses, Priceless Cities and Priceless Surprises experiences, as well as Priceless Causes’ Stand Up To Cancer program. The initiative has generated seven FDA-approved drugs.

During her tenure at Mastercard, Cheryl has held several senior marketing positions, including leading North America Marketing & Communications, U.S. Marketing and Global Digital Marketing. She also oversaw all products and services for North America and separately led the Global Credit Products business.

Prior to Mastercard, Cheryl worked on the advertising agency side at Bates Worldwide and Bozell, where she drove marketing strategy and execution for major brands across multiple categories, including consumer packaged goods, travel, consumer electronics, B2B and financial services.

Cheryl is a Clio, Effie and WARC awards juror and serves on the Board of Directors for The Advertising Club of New York, Ronald McDonald House NYC and Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. She was named to Brand Innovators 2022 Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing list, Advancing Diversity.org Hall of Honors, Yahoo Finance OUTstanding Ally Role Model list, and the Moves Power Women list. Cheryl also received the Women in Payments “Change Agent” Award.

Cheryl earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. She lives in Westchester, NY with her husband and two sons.

Built by The Creative Collective NYC, CultureCon™ is a conference that celebrates the enormous impact that diverse voices have on culture as a whole and amplifies the next generation of inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs. CultureCon is the ultimate creative homecoming, highlighting conversations and workshops that range from building a business to building a life. Dedicated to democratizing access, education and resources, CultureCon is creating lasting impact for thousands of multi-cultural creatives every year through in-person events, digital resources and a safe space to build community. Past speakers include Spike Lee, Tracee Ellis Ross, Regina King, Jay Ellis and more.

Rania Succar, Intuit Mailchimp’s CEO, is co-founder and current board member of Jusoor – a global non-profit investing in Syria’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.

Prior to Intuit, Rania oversaw product commercialization and go-to-market strategy for YouTube’s advertising business in North America, served as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and began her career as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch.

Rania holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a joint MBA at HBS and MPA in international development from the Harvard Kennedy School. She also co-founded the Harvard Arab Alumni Association in 2001 and was president until 2008.

Steven Wolfe Pereira is the Chief Business Officer of 3Pas Studios, the global entertainment company co-founded by the biggest Latino actor in the world Eugenio Derbez and his producing partner Ben Odell. With its focus on comedy and family-friendly entertainment, 3Pas stories are experienced by fans around the world through film, television, and audio in both English and Spanish. 3Pas is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Miami and Mexico City.

Steven also is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Encantos PBC, the award-winning children’s entertainment company. Named by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, Encantos focuses on diverse stories and characters and brings them to life through apps, books, content, consumer products, and more. Its properties include the #1 bilingual preschool brand Canticos, the award-winning Tiny Travelers series, and the newly launched Skeletina. Under his leadership, Encantos was named one of the top 100 startups by Business Insider and was recently named to Apple’s prestigious Entrepreneur Camp.

Steven is an accomplished executive with more than 25 years of experience in technology, media, and financial services. Named by Adweek as one of the “50 Most Indispensable Executives in Marketing, Media and Tech” as well as one of Hispanic Executive’s “Top 10 Líderes” in 2021, Steven is a data-driven strategic leader known for his ability to build and scale companies by connecting digital strategies to business outcomes. Honored as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Marketing & Advertising, Steven is a passionate thought leader on multicultural consumers and how diversity is a growth driver for business. In 2023, Steven and award-winning CMO Marisa Thalberg launched “Brand New”, a new podcast they co-host about the business of brands which is distributed by iHeartMedia.

Prior to Encantos, Steven served as the Chief Marketing Officer of Datalogix (acquired by Oracle for $1.2 billion), Neustar (acquired by Golden Gate Capital for $3 billion), and Quantcast. Steven has also held executive roles at Publicis Groupe, Univision, and Akamai Technologies. He began his career in finance at The Blackstone Group, Salomon Smith Barney (Citi), and Violy, Byorum & Partners.

A champion of diversity and STEAM education initiatives, Steven currently serves as a board director of the Latino Community Foundation, Save the Children,, SMASH, and Whalar.

He earned a B.A. from Tufts University, was a Fulbright Scholar, and completed the Greater Boston Executive MBA Program at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. A proud Dominican-American born and raised in New York, Steven now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Nuria and two children Sebastián and Siena.

Talitha Watkins is President and Head of ColorCreative Management – a management and production company. ColorCreative was founded by Issa Rae and Deniese Davis with the mission of delivering women and people-of-color creators best-in-class representation to build career-defining brands through ownership, commercial success, artistic fulfillment, and visibility amongst the multicultural community and industry at large.

Formerly a Motion Picture Agent and Cultural Executive at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Watkins is based in Los Angeles and represents producers, writers, directors and actors. In addition, Watkins helps build out CAA’s multicultural business and capabilities including the multicultural leadership event CAAAmplify.

Previous to CAA, Watkins spent seven years as Vice President of Multicultural Marketing at Universal Pictures, where she worked across all marketing divisions, including publicity, media, digital, creative, research, and partnerships, to maximize the studio’s outreach efforts to African American audiences. While at Universal, she worked on numerous films, including the multicultural blockbusters FAST & FURIOUS 6, FURIOUS 7, and the record-breaking STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON. She was also instrumental in supporting the success of African American films, such as the box-office hits THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY and RIDE ALONG.

Prior to Universal Pictures, Watkins was an Assistant General Manager with Telepictures Productions, Inc. and oversaw operations, sales, and marketing for five female-focused digital properties in the Warner Bros. portfolio, including Ellentv.com, Extratv.com, and TyraShow.com, as well as worked in a development capacity for Essence.com.

Watkins is a board member of the WIF, Saturday Morning, and Made in Her Image organizations.

Watkins received her B.B.A. in Marketing from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. She lives in Los Angeles with her daughter, Selah.

As Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Tariq Hassan leads all marketing efforts to create holistic, compelling brand experiences for customers of over 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Prior to joining McDonald’s, Tariq worked in agencies and at premier brands like HP, Omnicom Group, and Bank of America before joining Petco as Chief Marketing Officer. His leadership repositioned Petco from a pet supply store to a category-defining lifestyle pet brand instrumental in their successful IPO in 2021.

As a values-driven leader Tariq passionately believes that in order to participate in culture, you have to create culture with your customers. Tariq has served on industry boards and councils and sits on the global board of Education for Employment, an NGO that empowers marginalized youth across the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, he worked with the Obama administration on efforts to counter-message youth at risk to religious extremism and systemic discrimination.

Bernard Drayton’s 48-year career in the music industry began in his native New York, after his graduation from Boys High in Brooklyn.

Beginning in 1963 as a recording engineer with Magno Sound, Bernard recorded music and location sound for films and for such television shows as Candid Camera and ABC Sports specials. While at Magno Sound, he also became associated as producer and program director with radio station WLIB, the first commercial all-jazz station in New York City. There he was responsible for producing and programming music and specials.

It was while producing WLIB’s Del Shield’s show that Bernard captured the New York club performances which became the nucleus of his live jazz recording collection, in which the last live recording of JOHN COLTRANE was captured.

In 1968, he went on to join Herman Edel Associates, a premier production house of music for commercials, rising to the level of Vice President for sales, promotion and production. Under his auspices HEA created music for a wide variety of clients including Proctor and Gamble, TWA, Pepsi Cola, Burger King, McDonalds and the Miller Brewing Company.

Recognizing the growing alienation in the marketplace by minority groups long ignored by many sponsors, Bernard created a new division at HEA to produce commercials for ethnic audiences. The growing affluence and more demanding purchasing power of Afro-Americans and Hispanics found a gap in the advertising of major products for this market, and Bernard has fostered a new awareness among the advertisers, following through by servicing them with appropriate music for their message.

Bernard is currently the founding partner of the music production company Last Minute Entertainment. Last Minute specializes in developing innovative music & sound for any genre. Whether it’s advertising,television,film,or the internet. Utilizing the talents of established recording artists as well as many exciting newcomers, Last Minute redefines Multimedia production with diversity, drawing on ideas and professionals from around the world.

Bernard still resides in Brooklyn with his wife Isadora.

Helen Zia is a writer, activist and Fulbright Scholar and is outspoken on issues ranging from human rights to countering gender and hate violence and homophobia. Her latest book, Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao’s Revolution, was an NPR best book of 2019 and shortlisted for a 2020 national PEN AMERICA award. Her other books include Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, about the contemporary civil rights struggles of Asian Americans; and My Country Versus Me, which described how racial profiling was used to wrongly accuse and imprison Wen Ho Lee, the Chinese American physicist who the New York Times called the “worst spy since the Rosenbergs.”

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen was born and raised in New Jersey during the civil rights, anti-war and women’s movements, which she was eager to be part of. Later, as she worked as a magazine editor and journalist, her special passion involved stories of ordinary people in pursuit of social change and justice. She was the Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine, where she received numerous journalism awards. Her investigation of date rape at the University of Michigan led to campus demonstrations and an administrative overhaul of its policies, while her research on neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations sparked new thinking on the relationship between race and gender in hate violence. In April 2023, she founded the Vincent Chin Institute to build solidarity against hate (vincentchin.org) and authored of the Vincent Chin Legacy Guide: Asian Americans and Civil Rights, available free in several languages.

Helen testified before the Commission on Civil Rights about racially discriminatory portrayals in the news media. Her work on the Asian American landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Oscar-nominated film, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” In 2010, Helen became a witness in the federal case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made marriage equality the law of the land. She holds honorary doctorates from the University of San Francisco and the City University of New York Law School. She attended Princeton University on a full scholarship and was a member of its first graduating class of women. Helen quit medical school to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker, and a community organizer, until she discovered her life’s work as a journalist and writer.

Jerri DeVard is the Founder of the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA), an alliance designed to champion corporate diversity and help build the next generation of C-suite marketing executives. As a former Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of Office Depot, Inc., Jerri was responsible for the P&L for eCommerce, Customer Service, all Marketing functions, Data & Analytics, Communications and Events, having previously served as its Chief Marketing Officer.

Advertising Age awarded Jerri with the 2021 Vanguard Award, which honors a woman in marketing, media and advertising on overall career achievements. Chosen by the editors of AdAge, honorees are selected based upon a number of factors, including their role in inspiring and mentoring others in the industry, and how the impact of their work and their involvement in associations, boards and businesses has blazed trails for other women.

She has more than 30 years of extensive marketing and leadership experience at large global brands. Prior to Office Depot, she served as Chief Marketing Officer of The ADT Corporation, a leading provider of home and business security services. Prior to that, Jerri served as Executive Vice President, CMO for Nokia based in Helsinki and London. Additionally, she held senior marketing roles as SVP-Verizon Communications, CMO-Citibank, VP-Revlon, VP-Harrah’s Entertainment, the NFL and General Mills, formerly the Pillsbury Company. Jerri is an Economics graduate of Spelman College, where she served as a member of the Board of Trustees and received her MBA from Clark Atlanta University Graduate School of Business. She currently serves as a director on the boards of Under Armour Inc., Cars.com, and Root Insurance. Previously, she served on the boards of ServiceMaster, Belk, Gurwitch Products, Tommy Hilfiger and the advisory board of PepsiCo.

Jerri has been selected by Black Enterprise as one of the 75 Most Powerful Blacks in Corporate America and 50 Most Powerful Women in Business, named by AdAge as a Rockstar CMO and Power Player and 50 Women to Watch by the Wall Street Journal.

Carlin Dixon is an award-winning culture-first strategist with experience across brands like Hilton, The Mayo Clinic, and Brooklyn Film Festival. As Associate Director of DEI Strategy at global advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day\NY, Carlin works alongside agency leadership to create an equitable and inclusive environment for employees while ensuring the agency’s creative product tells diverse, equitable, and inclusive stories.

He currently serves as a co-lead on the Alumni Engagement Committee for the ADCOLOR Advisory Board and has been recognized as a 2018 ADCOLOR FUTURE and one of “50 Rising Stars on Madison Avenue in 2021” by Business Insider. Carlin is a proud Midwesterner from Cleveland, OH, and holds a B. A in Media Production & Studies from Bowling Green State University, where he studied the intersection of media, race, representation, and culture.

So A Ryu (she/her) is a Hard of Hearing Korean-born artist. An award winning creative director, designer, and illustrator, So A has been recognized by the Society of Illustrator / D&AD / One Show / 3×3, Best of Show / American Illustration / Communication Arts and more.

During her career, So A has spoken at AIGA about her typographic research on closed captioning, been invited to judge at D&AD Festivals, and co-directed the inaugural Ad Age Illustrated animation. She also launched Snapchat’s 2021 International Women’s day campaign as part of winning the inaugural Snapchat Creative Council pitch powered by ADCOLOR. So A currently leads the Design department at Energy BBDO and serves as Co-lead for Disability at ADCOLOR.