IT’S ONLY UP FROM HERE

Alexa Padron is a Cuban and Mexican-American copywriter based in Brooklyn, New York. She currently works at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York where she started her career as a YoungBlood. After a six-month creative residency, Alexa was brought on full-time as an associate copywriter and was later promoted to mid-level within a year.

Alexa graduated from the University of Florida with two bachelor’s degrees, one in advertising and another one in marketing. She is an alumna of the Multicultural Advertising Internship Program (MAIP) and the Most Promising Multicultural Student awards (MPMS).

Her passion for advertising extends to a passion for making the industry more inclusive for talent from underrepresented backgrounds like herself. At TBWA, Alexa co-leads the Latinx ERG, Oye TBWA, to build and foster a community for Latinx-identifying employees. Alexa has worked on a variety of brands like Mountain Dew, Hilton, Facebook Portal, Nissan, and more.

No project is too big or too small for Alexa. She’s worked on everything from award-winning Super Bowl campaigns to nimble social content pieces. Along with winning multiple industry awards, Alexa has been selected for mentorship programs at award shows like the ANDYs and London International Awards. Her aspirations have led her to think big and hustle hard, which has led to continued success in the advertising industry.

Alyssia is a First-Generation native of the Boogie Down Bronx.

Currently, she is the Senior People Analyst at SUZY. As part of her role, she uses technology and data analytics storytelling to deliver actionable insights to stakeholders within the company’s people and business teams in order to drive high engagement and be a catalyst for the company’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Initiative.

By continually challenging the status quo, finding blindspots, and being comfortable in a fast-paced working environment, she is able to find solutions. Alyssia graduated from the State University of New York, New Paltz, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. In addition, she graduated from NYU with a Master’s degree in Human Capital Analytics and Technology. Alyssia’s passion outside of work is helping BIPOC people with disabilities access resources that have historically been inaccessible. Alyssia attended the 2019 Learning Disability Day of Action on Capitol Hill, sponsored by the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

During that visit, she met legendary U.S. congressman John Lewis as well as state representatives to discuss policy and legislation affecting people with disabilities. As well, she is the founder of MYABILITYLENS, a platform for BIPOC people with disabilities to share their stories and get resources.

Joan Barcelona is currently a Product Manager at Box, previously working on the Compliance team. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Economy, focused on Socioeconomic Inequality. She started her career at PwC in the Risk Assurance practice, where she worked on clients from various industries. While there, she served as the lead for the Pan-Asian Community and the National Assurance Staff Council. Joan’s experiences over the years have shaped her into who she is today, developing her distinct quality of being a triple “O” – outgoing, optimistic, and open-minded.

These characteristics have defined who she is: a people-person. She brings her full self in everything she does. Joan is an avid learner and considers herself a bridge in connecting others in cross-cultural interactions as a proud first-generation Filipina American. She was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2003. Outside of work, Joan is dedicated to serving her community by volunteering through her extracurricular work and leadership in organizations. She pushes for education, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, she is committed to making a positive impact in organizations and communities that make a difference. Joan also promotes mentorship, both as a mentee and a mentor.

She also loves to travel, recognizing that with her experiences, not only does she bring her own perspectives, but also understand and value the fact that each person in the world does as well, no matter their family, race, or beliefs.

Brody Cook is a Coordinator in Player Marketing at Major League Baseball. Under the Office of the Commissioner, he not only supports the campaign needs of all MLB athletes, but also contributes to the strategy of fandom and audience development.

As a former Division 1 baseball player, there has been no other job that has given him such fulfillment. While working with hundreds of professional athletes, former teammates and their respective representation, he has further oriented himself toward innovation and an unbated pursuit for diversity within the industry. Brody now has the freedom to reimagine what Player Marketing looks like to him, a 25 year old African American male who was once a community organizer with his campus’s NAACP chapter. In two years of employment, his position has blossomed into one that supports player’s charity and community efforts, amplifies Minor League players through digital storytelling and builds relationships between pro and amateur players. Within Brody’s first few months in his current position, he was recruited by HR to become the co-President of MLB’s Black Professionals Employee Resource Group.

Although this leadership role was voluntary, he has curated meaningful programming for employees to learn about allyship, community engagement and the experiences of Black employees. Brody’s experience at any company is only as valuable as the change he seeks. Working for MLB is not about what the company can do for him, but instead about the agency and influence it grants him to strengthen and empower marginalized communities of color.

Creativity and community are foundational to my personal and professional endeavors. As a black girl, growing up in predominantly white spaces, I often felt overlooked and undervalued in my PWI middle and high school and in mainstream media. I began to “Rise Up” in part by finding positive outlets through arts and sports.

Through my creative pursuits, I found identity and authenticity; through sports, I found collectivism and agency. These values are the driving force that launched me into a career in entertainment and media. Professionally, my desire for transformative change is witnessed in how I impact black and brown people. From piloting programs supporting minority advertisers at Meta, and starting internal work streams investigating algorithmic biases, to hosting coffee chats for prospective employees and mentoring new grads, my purpose is to unite and unlock success for others.

Outside of the office, I hustle creatively in the modeling industry. Since signing with SCOUT Models in 2021, I have worked with talented directors, photographers, and make-up artists to develop content for black people by black people. So far, I have proudly collaborated with Air Jordan, KVD Beauty, Soshe Beauty and Rocksbox.

This is only the beginning! For me it’s bigger than beauty, it’s about representation and reminding Black women that we are capable of breaking molds and redefining the beauty and fashion industry.

Florida-born and Chicago-based — Caleb graduated from Florida State University with a degree in advertising.

He currently works at FleishmanHillard, which was recently named PRWeek’s Agency of the Year for its creative work and renewed focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) — two agency ambitions that he has a hand in. As an Art Director in the creative department, Caleb is a conceptual thinker that delivers some of the world’s top brands with big ideas that garner earned media.

Caleb also serves as his local office’s’ Diversity Co-Champion, where he leads lunch and learns, safe spaces, social media initiatives and volunteering efforts. His role as Diversity Co-Champion also includes planning and executing on a local office DE&I plan, which ensures that the firm’s commitments to DE&I are implemented. At FleishmanHillard, Caleb helps strengthen the firm’s DE&I offerings and act in the firms ambition to bend the world through creative ideas. He also creatively supported the launch of FleishmanHillard’s new Race and Culture team, informing clients on how to engage with diverse audiences in new and meaningful ways.

Outside of work, Caleb previously served on the We Are Next (WAN) advisory board and is currently creative support for the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) Alumni Council. Caleb understands that representation in the communications and advertising industry doesn’t just mean inviting people to the table, but making sure their voices are heard and change is implemented.

Camaryn McKenzie is an intersectional & creative storyteller exploring topics related to sustainability and social impact. Graduating Northeastern University in 2020 with a B.S. in Interaction Design & Communication Studies and a minor in Computer Science, she has partook in a variety of professional roles pertaining to brand marketing, UI/UX design, content strategy, and more. Through this interdisciplinary education, Camaryn has been able to solve complex problems and successfully complete projects from idea to implementation, and solution to impact. With a personal sweet spot for content creation, she believes in using design systems and design thinking to drive social impact. With this belief, Camaryn has built a community of over 18,000 people on her personal Instagram to foster discussions about social and climate justice using design principles.

As an Associate Product Marketing Manager (APMM) on Google’s Global Sustainability team and Inclusive Marketing Consultant for Google Marketing, she instills inclusive and sustainable principles into the core of all her work. Within her role, she has managed the end-to-end process of building out a global Sustainable Marketing Training in order to decarbonize and eliminate waste in marketing operations across the company. She also developed and managed Google’s entire consumer-facing creative campaign for Earth Day 2022. Outside of her core responsibilities, Camaryn promotes inclusive marketing as an internal consultant on the larger Inclusive Marketing Team, and served as a lead for the The BOLD Internship program– which is designed to expose historically underrepresented students to careers in tech.

Christyna is an architecture enthusiast, creative business owner, desert dreamer and multifaceted designer. Through travel, meaningful conversation and crafting beautiful things, she finds herself energized and inspired. She is currently a Digital Ad Sales Account Manager Associate in TechB2B at Google in Chicago, IL, through Google’s rotating account manager program, ASAP.

She is responsible for the management of Search, Display and Video ads for companies across various industries on a rotational basis. While working with global clients, Christyna makes an effort to not only embrace the opportunity to meet people across industries, she’s seized the opportunity to rise up serving as an Inclusion Lead for TechB2B and Marketing/Communications Lead for the ASAP program. As Inclusion Lead, Christyna aims to not only educate executive leaders on DEI initiatives, but also to create space for meaningful dialogue for others to share their own experiences to influence positive change. Outside of her work, you can find Christyna in her Chicago loft, running her creative marketing agency, Accent Creative, LLC.

Her passion for storytelling began in college where she studied Architecture and ran the social media channels for her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. During this time, Christyna began to better understand how storytelling has the power to influence and add meaning to the meaningless. Prior to her role at Google, Christyna worked as a Senior Brand Experience Designer at DCE Productions. Christyna holds a Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University.

Elyse Nganwuchu, a New Jersey native and NYC explorer, is a creative producer at R/GA, with a passion for challenging the status quo in producing content, programming, or overall marketing for the most intersectional of brands and people. Her career has led her to quickly develop a diverse client roster and through these brands she has been able to lead the charge for a team of diverse strategizers, creatives, and thinkers one client, campaign, and overall story at a time.

The scope of her past work ranges across social & digital media campaigns, content creator/influencer first approaches and web development. She first established her roots in advocacy through the T.Howard Foundation, Verizon Adfellows, and co-chairing the Black Employee Network within her agency. Her leadership efforts have been acknowledged widely in the receipt of the company culture award at R/GA for being a steward of cultural conversations and thought leadership in her work.

Elyse prides herself on collaboration with others to produce projects both personal and professional that show the intersectionality of human beings, their interests, and their stories through marketing and communication efforts. She enjoys creating opportunities to support, amplify, and elevate the voices of underrepresented groups both personally and professionally. In her spare time, you can find her styling some of her favorite pieces on herself or clients, dancing to a good house song, traveling, or having a great outing with friends or family.

Throughout her career the concept of ‘Ikigai’, the Japanese concept that marries passion, mission, profession, and vocation to create a holistic picture, has influenced each of Gabrielle’s professional endeavors. At IAS, she is fortunate to have achieved this concept in her role as Inclusion and Engagement Specialist. She is able to indulge in her passion of developing equitable and inclusive spaces within the tech industry while achieving her mission of making DEI a business imperative and core value. In her constant effort to seek avenues to strengthen her skillset, she has received her certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Outside of work, she is an active AdFellow alumni, serving as a mentor to current fellows and ensuring people of color remain top of mind for board members. She also enjoys learning about other cultures through film and literature and makes a point to push herself out of her comfort zone by being a constant learner. As her career continues, Gabrielle hopes to become an innovative and influential leader and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion within the tech industry, helping illustrate a more colorful picture in a monochromatic industry.

Illen is a writer and Creative Strategist at Meta, where she works across Retail, Care Packaged Goods, and Health with a focus in the Food and Beverage space, partnering with global clients such as J.M. Smuckers, Ferrera, and Mondelez to turn people-first ideas into creative campaigns.

Born and raised in Washington D.C., she began her career in advertising after graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College in 2018. Prior to her position at Facebook, Illen worked at The Moth, curating live storytelling events across the U.S. Growing up as a first-generation Eritrean-American, Illen knows first-hand the importance of representation and the value of a multicultural perspective. She brings that passion for diversity and inclusion into her work, where she has collaborated extensively on projects aimed at amplifying creators and businesses of color.

Notably, Illen co-created a Facebook Watch content series to spotlight creatives of color at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival through Meta’s SEEN program, which aims to drive representation in the entertainment industry. In addition, as part of #BuyBlackFriday, a global Instagram initiative dedicated to highlighting Black-owned businesses, Illen partnered with the IG Product and Community teams to develop the first-ever GIPHY sticker tray and campaign to spotlight Black-owned businesses on Instagram.

Outside of work, Illen is a mentor with Girls Write Now, a writing program for girls and gender-expansive teens of color in New York City as well as an active member of the Amherst College Black alumni chapter, leading alumni networking and events.

Imani Yorker is a Digital Content Strategist who partners with marketing executives, creative aficionados, public relations practitioners and solopreneurs to elevate awareness and experience with digital media platforms. She prides herself on the duality of understanding concepts from both a business provider and consumer-first perspective.

Fresh out of college as a Communications Specialist at MGM National Harbor — Imani led marketing, press and media efforts for entertainment, food and beverage, retail and diversity, equity and inclusion verticals. During a furlough from MGM due to COVID-19, she stepped out on faith and launched her own boutique digital branding and marketing consulting firm; Mani B. Media. Mani B. Media is a platform where Imani shares educational content targeted towards small business owners of color. Imani noticed a gap in knowledge regarding social and digital marketing in her home community of Prince George’s County during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to her desire to provide information regarding branding terminology, social media marketing and business courtesy.

From 9-5, Imani is a Digital Strategist for Edelman where she serves as a content expert, copywriter, social architect, creative thinker and design planner for brands such as Google, Sports Illustrated Swim, Shell Energy, Bel Cheese and more. In this role, Imani helps think and implement industry best practices on how to craft compelling brand stories in the digital realm. Imani holds a BA in Communication (PR) and Sociology from University of Maryland, College Park and a MPS degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Georgetown University.

Born-and-bred in Southeast Los Angeles, Isabeth Mendoza (she/her) is a freelance audio and digital storyteller exploring how people’s lived experiences and identities shape their well-being, with a special focus on the U.S. Latinx community. Isabeth’s work has been featured on Life Kit, Truth Be Told, NPR Weekend Edition, Embedded, and other outlets, and she was selected as an inaugural NPR Code Switch podcast fellow. Before freelancing, Isabeth was the Engagement Producer for podcasts at KQED (Northern California’s NPR and PBS member station), a public health researcher, and caregiver.

Isabeth has hustled and followed all of her curiosities in media as a researcher, reporter, translator, interpreter, writer, producer, audience development lead, and social media strategist. In each role, she has been able to share full, honest, and nuanced stories of the U.S. Latinx experience – her life’s work.

Isabeth is an NPR Next Generation radio alum and mentor, an International Women’s Media Foundation Gwen Ifill fellow and a former NPR National Desk intern. She is a UC Berkeley alum by way of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, and during her time at Cal, she became a sister of Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Isabeth also holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University with a certificate in Maternal and Child Health.

Marketing, strategy, storytelling, and media multi-hyphenate. Passionate about impacting and shaping culture. Patricio is a first-generation Mexican-American – born in Miami and raised in Texas. Curious, creative, and collaborative are all words he uses to describe himself. He loves all things pop culture, music, film, fashion, and tech. He can go on about big data fundamentally transforming the way we live, Pedro Pascal becoming Hollywood’s hottest star, and the game-changing impact Bad Bunny has had on the music industry.

Patricio currently works at Spotify as an AMP. Spotify’s Aspiring Marketing Professionals (AMP) Rotational Program is an early-career 15-month program focused on 3 separate rotations. This year AMPs are rotating and immersing themselves across the Experiential, Brand, and Partner Marketing teams. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Advertising, Minor in Business Administration, and BDP Certificate in Digital Arts & Media from The University of Texas at Austin, Patricio went on to join teams at Giant Spoon and Wieden+Kennedy. Additionally, he has industry experience working on teams at Univision, Language Media, SXSW, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Kamillah has been a BBDO employee and working in the advertising industry for 2 and a half years. Starting off as a copywriting intern before pivoting to strategy, where she has worked her way up from Junior to recently being promoted to a Strategic Planner. Kamillah has been an integral member of the team developing strategies for brands like Facebook, Dunkin’, SheaMoisture, and Bacardí.

In late 2019, Kamillah graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Communication Design from the New York City College of Technology and she is also a MAIP Alum, Class of 2019. Kamillah has recently been admitted to the College of Liberal Arts and Science, graduate program in Branding + Integrated Communications (BIC), MPS at The City College of New York for the Fall 2022 academic term.

She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Advertising in May 2020 and May 2021 respectively. While finishing her master’s, she conducted and compiled secondary research that would inform the ADCOLOR State of the Workplace Study: Retention Outlook, a national multicultural retention project.

Additionally, she created her own capstone during her Master’s where she conducted research that allowed her to produce a strategic DE&I model that can aid companies in their mission to create sustainable initiatives. She previously worked at TracyLocke as a Strategic Planner with a diverse client portfolio of brands including Pepsi, Diageo, Pizza Hut, & Godiva. She was also the ERG Co-Chair of DE&I at Omnicom Commerce Group where she assisted in leading their DE&I initiatives. Now she is a Senior Strategist at Saatchi & Saatchi where she delivers on strategic objectives for Toyota. She also freelances as a DE&I consultant where she helps clients create a DE&I framework for their business models.

She is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha Honorary Society that recognizes outstanding academic achievement and contributions to the field of Journalism and Communication. Furthermore, she is a 2019 MAIP alumna and a 2020 MPMS alumna. She was also shortlisted for the Billy Davis Award presented by McCann Worldgroup at the MAIP Summit & Society of Excellence. As a strategic change agent, her insatiable curiosity drives her to find out the “why” and challenge the status quo in everything she creates.

Growing up, Kevin (he/him) was constantly moving around, but he spent most of his developmental years in New York, California, and South Korea.

He graduated from New York University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Media, Culture, and Communication and a minor in Architecture and Urban Design. During his time at NYU, he was heavily involved in student life, most notably founding the Student Alumni Council, an organization dedicated to fostering relationships between students and alumni.

After internships at CJ E&M, McCann WorldGroup, WarnerMedia, and the DC’s Mayor’s Office, he joined Mastercard as a member of the Brand Strategy, Experience and Design team, taking ownership of the development and launch of Mastercard’s Sonic Brand. Kevin is currently a Senior Analyst at Mastercard, where he holds dual responsibilities in Product Development and Marketing.

In his role he helps restaurants and retailers drive digital innovation and heads the Marketing and Communication efforts for his team. Outside of work, he enjoys mentoring students personally and professionally and does volunteer work, helping to provide weekend daycare services to children with disabilities.

Loryn is a marketer with a track record of developing innovative program strategy, product positioning and end-to-end GTM execution. In 2020, Loryn graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hampton University with a Bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications and Political Science. During this time, she served as the Vice President of Young Adults Advocating change, a nonprofit that provided service opportunities and mentorship to at-risk youth; an educator for RELATE, an organization which taught domestic violence awareness curriculum to middle school students; and a volunteer at the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank.

Helping her community has always been a passion of hers, which she has been able to carry over into her career as an Associate Product Marketing Manager (APMM) at Google on the Grow with Google team. As an APMM, Loryn has been able to deliver core marketing outputs across a number of workstreams, manage and build complex processes, and deliver outstanding campaign results. Outside of her core role, Loryn has gone the extra mile to bring her skill set as a marketer to companies that focus on impacting communities near to her heart. In 2020, Loryn started working with ColorStack, a non profit working to increase the number of Black and Latinx computer science graduates, as a marketing consultant.

Around the same time, Loryn became a copywriter for Digital Church University, a company which provides education and resources to churches to help them create an e-church experience by learning how to use social media and other digital outlets.

Makia Jones is an expert in strategic planning, digital engagement, and community building. During her undergraduate career at the University of Denver, she earned her Bachelors of Arts in Public Policy and Gender & Women’s Studies and was a leader in campus wide initiatives to promote diversity and inclusivity for first generation and minority students. Makia has organized rallies, developed strategic plans, and led workshops on anti-racism and accessible digital advocacy.

She currently works as the Digital Engagement Manager for Progressive Promotions in Brooklyn, New York. Makia was first introduced to communications and digital storytelling as a part of the inaugural cohort of the Smithsonian Women’s History Initiative Because of Herstory program. She developed digital strategy and programming for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to be launched in Women’s History Month 2020. While there, Makia developed a love for creating accessible digital resources and storytelling within the African American community. Makia took her experience from NMAAHC to launch her successful communications career and start her own communications and consulting business.

Makia has worked with trailblazing advocacy organizations like Planned Parenthood, Hunger Free Colorado, Soul 2 Soul Sisters, and TIME’S Up Legal Defense Fund. In her current role as Digital Engagement Manager, Makia utilized creative digital strategy to run digital marketing campaigns that spark social and political change. Her work inspires community members to take action and work together to build a better and brighter future.

Makisha was not looking for the marketing industry, the industry found her. Upon college graduation, she was set to serve as an economic development volunteer in West Africa with the Peace Corps. But, she later pivoted to work with a non-profit sending volunteer medical doctors to Haiti to create access to high-quality healthcare.

Little did she know, helping to curate messaging on social media to recruit volunteers sparked her passion for brand strategy and social media marketing. Fast forward, this experience prepared her to join a boutique marketing firm to lead marketing operations. In this role, she formulated strategic direction for clients and coached team members on effective content creation. She’s also been a Brand Ambassador for Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and AT&T. In her role as a Copywriter for the Marcus Graham Project, she worked with a team of diverse creatives, strategists, and account executives who launched a pop-up multicultural agency, AfterNoon Agency.

Clients included HealHaus and Apple. Makisha now works as a Social Strategist with Ogilvy and develops social media content strategy for Merck, IBM and new business projects. Her passion projects include The Living Room Project where she builds community through constructive dialogue and debate about social issues. She also founded Creative Culture Tribe in Miami, an online community and event series designed for Black and brown women to connect and create.

Chicago born & raised, New York made, Mario Williams is currently an Account Supervisor at Wieden+Kennedy New York, supporting and leading integrated marketing campaigns for McDonald’s, including promotions, new product launches, and partnerships.

Thus far, he’s been able to push through some of McDonald’s most successful and provocative campaign work to date, namely: “The Saweetie Meal,” “Menu Hacks,” “Crispy Chicken Sandwich launch,” and “Spicy Chicken McNuggets launch.” He began his career at FCB Global where he developed promotional marketing and merchandising campaigns of over 2300 communication elements across 500+ US Xfinity stores. Mario is passionate about the intersection of pop culture, music, fashion, and storytelling – while also being fueled by brands that make people feel connected and empowered. He strives to create work that engages people in a new way, positively influencing lives by delivering content that is truthful and natural.

Raised in the south side of Chicago, Mario’s ideas offer fresh creative insights that have the power to connect and mobilize people. Outside of his day to day – he’s always finding ways to build relationships and make a lasting impact within his community. In his spare time – Mario enjoys concerts, discovering new artists, exploring cuisine in New York City, and being Rihanna’s number one stan.

Omar Murphy is a Partner Manager at Westbrook Media, leading accounts for brand, entertainment, and content partnerships. During his tenure at Westbrook, he has overseen projects with Fitbit, Nike, Google, YouTube, Meta, NBCUniversal, Snapchat, and more.

As the day-to-day lead on projects, he is able to help create impact from creative development through execution for digital content and marketing. He helps promote Westbrook’s commitment to shining light on diverse creators, helping the organization move at the speed of culture and embody its mission to improve lives through storytelling.

Omar finds inspiration through work that has a positive social impact and contributes to the greater good in the world. Prior to Westbrook, Omar graduated from Pepperdine University cum laude with a degree in Communications. His time there piqued an interest in storytelling and journalism—he joined the student-run publication and served in leadership roles for its digital and social arms. Omar was born in Washington D.C. but has lived in various cities across the country including Los Angeles, Portland, Atlanta, and Baltimore. He enjoys exploring new cities, cultures, and foods.

His ultimate food goal is to visit every Din Tai Fung location across the world (10 of 13 visited in the US, with global locations on the horizon). He enjoys non-traditional sports like bowling, ping-pong, chess, and esports. He is also a founding member of a Los Angeles based book club.

I believe in the liberation of all people and have committed my professional career to serve the People. I am a trusted leader, thought partner, and change equity champion who has worked in the public and private sectors. As a community organizer, I served as one of the founding members of the Black Youth Project 100 — an organization that practices radical inclusion where the framework for freedom is grounded in Black Queer Feminist Thought.

As a professional across tech and marketing spaces, I’ve created “safe-er” spaces for marginalized individuals to build community with each and amongst each other. I’ve also led the development of a more inclusive curriculum, programming, and processes to provide the most sustainable learning and accessibility necessary for building humans who will eventually transform the spaces they enter.

Currently, I serve as an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Program Manager, where at the core of my role is to empower, incubate, support and advocate.

Born and raised on the coast of California, T’Essence Minnitee knew from an early age that she wanted to be a storyteller. She understood the power of media and how it could either bridge or widen cultural gaps. After graduating Pepperdine University with a degree in International Studies and a minor in Film Studies, she decided to pursue Film/TV Development. She quickly realized the way to make the biggest impact was to not only be in the room where decisions were happening but to BE the person making the decisions.

Thus, her aspiration to become a Development Executive was born. Her first desk was at the production company, Secret Hideout, where she was introduced to the world of Star Trek. Though Minnitee always enjoyed the Sci Fi genre, having the opportunity to work on a beloved franchise and show with a Black female lead re sparked her love for the genre. She kept this in mind as she pursued her next Development desk at a small independent studio called Gunpowder and Sky, which not only focused on Sci Fi and Horror content but also had a mission of breaking underrepresented talent in front of and behind the camera.

Continuing her upward movement, Minnitee recently started as a Development & Current Programming Coordinator at OWN Network and is looking forward to creating premium content for Black women. Minnitee hopes to one day head a department as a Development Executive that focuses on multicultural stories and talent.

A Program Manager by day, a professional TV binge-watcher by night, a full-time DEI advocate, and a proud child of immigrants. Tiffany Leung is working to build inclusive spaces and equitable opportunities for everyone.

As an Account Executive working on DEI initiatives off the side of her desk, Tiffany transitioned into her DEI Program Manager role to have a bigger impact on dismantling inequities in the workplace and diversifying the industry’s pipeline.

As a DEI Program Manager on Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer DEI Team, Tiffany has been building communication mechanisms and resources to inform DEI Business Partners who support 1.5 million Amazon employees globally.

Tiffany is a proud MAIP 2019 alum, MPMS Class of 2020, and LAGRANT Foundation 2018 scholar. These communities empower her to reach back and support the next group of leaders, advocates, and innovators to rise up. Aside from her love for creating communities and fostering relationships, Tiffany is an avid YouTube food travel vlog viewer, PowerPoint enthusiast, and dim sum and sushi connoisseur.

Tosha Studmire is a Web Marketing Manager at 23andMe leading the web channel while focusing on conversion rate optimization and moving site visitors to purchase.

She believes in using storytelling and creativity to create positive brand experiences that are also diverse and inclusive. She values authenticity, creativity, and human connectedness and weaves that into her work every chance she gets. She has been awarded the Nsorama award by the Cleveland National Technical Association for her technological and educational accomplishments.

Tosha holds a BS in Community Health and an MBA in Marketing from Cleveland State University. When she is not working, she is finding new ways to express herself whether through passion projects, singing, playing her guitar, exploring local art, or loving her Frenchie, Chilli (word to TLC). See more at: toshastudmire.com

Howdy, my name is Walter Little. I have been an Account Manager at Meta for just shy of three years. As an Account Manager I oversee a book of business of up to 50 clients spanning business size, vertical, and objective. My role there is to ensure that their Meta advertising spend is best suited to the business objectives that they are trying to complete.

During my partnership with these businesses I form a close relationship with my points of contact and proactively identify new products for them to test, as well as warn them about upcoming changes that may impact the success of their ads. Originally I was based in the Meta Chicago office, but now I reside in New York City working remotely.

Prior to working at Meta, I attended the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Communications and minoring in Consumer Psychology. During all three of my summers in college, I interned in luxury fashion in New York City. While interning in luxury I was able to work in marketing, sales, business operations, and visual merchandising.

Zach has always been a bit of a paradox. A fiercely introverted people-person. A prudent risk-taker. And now, a creative-oriented strategist. If there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s to embrace his paradoxical existence. And ever since, he’s been fascinated by how complex humans are. His insatiable curiosity has led him to live a life of asking questions.

From his childhood in rural Texas to attending college at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to now living in the bustling metropolis of New York City, he’s enjoyed seeing the vast spectrum of human ideologies and belief systems. And now, existing as an out and proud queer, person of color in modern America, he’s even more motivated to understand people who live differently from himself. Today, he works to help brands to the next level, currently on Zoom and Smirnoff, and previously on Tinder, Indeed, and YouTube.

He brings his youthful perspective and innate optimism to help drive the team toward creative insights that unlock unignorable creativity. And so far has been lucky enough to be a part of campaigns that have won Cannes Grand Prixs and Gold Effies. In his free time, you could catch Zach reading books about social psychology, solving the NYT crosswords and Wordle, or beating his dad in tennis.

True to his paradoxical personality, he sees every day as an opportunity to learn, to then only realize how much he doesn’t know. And weirdly enough, he wouldn’t have it any other way.