Telling stories, including diverse perspectives and advancing equity in education are central to everything Sonya Bessalel does. Her multicultural upbringing in an Indian Muslim and Argentine Jewish family inspires Sonya to build bridges and find common ground across communities. As an Assistant Account Executive at GMMB, an Omnicom agency, Sonya provides bilingual communications and account […]

A first-generation Somali-American and Black Muslim woman, Shahrazad grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is a Communications Program Assistant with The Wilson Center Africa Program. In this role, Shahrazad supports U.S.-Africa relations and policy through strategic communications and programming. She wears many hats as a social media/web manager, graphic designer, and content curator […]

Sahara Gipson is a Content Partnerships Coordinator at Forbes Media. In this role, she manages site production, social promotion, and campaign reporting for partners across industries. In addition to her work with the Partnerships team, Sahara is dedicated to contributing to the overall employee community at Forbes especially among those of color. Prior to joining […]

New York-made and Chicago-raised, Rachita (she/her) is a strategist at Leo Burnett, where she uses culture to unearth insights about human behavior and craft resonant, inclusive storytelling. In addition to her work on brands like Firestone, Marshalls, and Coors Light, she leads strategy on Nintendo, which is the closest she’ll get to her childhood dream […]

Hailing from the national’s capital, Phelicia Ball is a Marketing Strategist at Mightily, a brand-first advertising agency in Louisville, Kentucky. She earned her Bachelors in Writing at Syracuse University. She is responsible for implementing and managing digital campaigns for over 15 clients in her role. Phelicia’s leadership capabilities quickly led her from intern to full-time […]

Nehemiah Bishop is currently a Partner Manager at Facebook consulting with agency partners across North America. Nehemiah teaches agencies how to strategically leverage Facebook’s family of products to accomplish their business goals. Outside of work, Nehemiah is fully committed to giving back to his community. For four years, he led dozens of Blue 1647 youth […]

Madison is an Associate Manager, Marketing Strategy at NBCUniversal. Previously, Madison worked in the tech industry as a business development manager, consultant, and entrepreneur. Her experience at NBCUniversal has inspired her to think about the future of storytelling, the opportunity for increased representation in Hollywood, and the power of diverse narratives that educate, entertain and […]

Logan Nelson is a Senior Marketing Specialist at Truth Initiative, where her day to day is spent running support on managing the strategic vision, creation, and development for the truth® campaign—an award-winning national tobacco and vaping prevention campaign for young people. Her unique and unapologetic perspective has remained a staple throughout her professional journey. During […]

Leneil Roderique crafts stories that help brands make an impact in the world. As a senior creative at VICE Media Group, Leneil’s work sits at the intersection of human-centered storytelling and audience insights, to ultimately create powerful narratives for brands in the form of documentary-style films, editorial articles, photo diaries, and experiential events to name […]

Lauren is a creative and dynamic storyteller with a passion for elevating the narratives, aesthetics, and experiences of people of color. As a product marketing manager at Microsoft, Lauren leads global go-to-market strategy for multiple products on the Office Consumer Apps team. Before that she led relationship marketing for mixed reality and interned as a […]