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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]