Tariq Hassan

SVP, Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer, McDonald’s USA

A veteran brand builder, Hassan believes that to participate in culture, you must create culture with your consumers. He also sits on the global board of Education for Employment, an NGO that empowers marginalized youth across the Middle East and North Africa.

Steven Wolfe Pereira

Chief Business Officer, 3Pas Studios

A proud Dominican American, Pereira is a former Fulbright Scholar with over 25 years of experience in technology, media and financial services. He co-created children’s entertainment company Encantos PBC, which highlights diverse characters and stories, and serves on the boards of Latino Community Foundation, Save the Children and Whalar.

Talitha Watkins

President and Head, ColorCreative Management and Productions

 In her role at Issa Rae and Deniese Davis’s management and production company, Watkins delivers best-in-class talent representation to women and people of color. A multicultural marketing expert with experience in publicity, media, digital, creative, research and partnerships, she’s credited with helping moviemakers reach new, diverse audiences.

Jerri DeVard

Founder, Black Executive CMO Alliance

Leveraging her 30 years of experience, DeVard fosters corporate diversity and builds up next-generation C-suite marketing leaders. She’s held C-level roles at top brands like ADT, Nokia and Office Depot and was hailed one of the 75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America by Black Enterprise.

Bernard Drayton

Founder/Producer, Last Minute Entertainment

During Drayton’s nearly 50 years in the music and recording industry, he immortalized monumental jazz performances and pioneered the production of commercials for multicultural audiences. He continues to innovate in his current role, developing music that draws on ideas from around the globe.

Helen Zia

Author and Activist, Vincent Chin Institute

Writer, activist and daughter of Chinese immigrants, Zia champions human rights, gender equality and anti-hate efforts. She was a Fulbright Scholar and member of Princeton’s first graduating class of women—as well as a construction laborer, autoworker and executive editor of Ms. Magazine.

Tesa Aragones, President, North America, AKQA

Jiah Choi, President, Wieden+Kennedy New York

Jordan Muse, President, MullenLowe U.S., East

Darla Price, President, Ogilvy New York

Jason White, President, Wieden+Kennedy Portland

Sarah Kate Ellis

President & CEO, GLAAD

A resounding voice for acceptance, Ellis advocates for critical issues such as marriage equality and LGBTQ+ representation in the media, and her collaborations with CEOs, elected officials and celebrities foster inclusivity across the globe. For these efforts, Time recently named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Shawn Finnie

Entertainment Executive

Finnie is former EVP of member relations, global outreach and awards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which holds The Academy Awards). He championed underrepresented communities by creating member-led Academy Affinity groups and elevating discussions about race, ethnicity, gender, history, opportunity and the art of filmmaking.

Raquel Willis

Author, Activist, Media Strategist

A steadfast transgender rights activist, Willis held pivotal roles at the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Transgender Law Center and Out magazine. She co-founded the Transgender Week of Visibility and Action and is a driving force behind iHeartMedia’s new LGBTQ+-focused podcast network, Outspoken.

Adam Tillman-Young

Founder, Chief Creative Officer, PASSERINE

From shooting album covers for emerging artists to generating compelling content for top brands like Nike, Disney and Amazon Music, Tillman-Young’s life journey is anything but ordinary. His diverse experiences—including running a Texas dairy—fueled his imagination and desire to champion underrepresented voices and non-traditional creatives.

Todd Triplett

SVP, Global Executive Creative Director, Known

Triplett, who believes that “good is the new cool,” previously co-led TikTok's Creative Lab and inspired creative teams at Apple/Beats by Dre. This creative, experiential, branded content and social professional is also a naturalist who advocates for multicultural inclusion in National Parks and Forests.

Joi Brown

Founder, CEO, Culture Creators

A former Atlantic Records exec, Brown started Culture Creators, which constructs career paths for students of color while also counseling top executives on how to bolster DE&I. Its annual Innovators and Leaders brunch also lauds change-makers who advance Black culture.

D-Nice

DJ, Rapper, Producer, Photographer and Philanthropist

At the start of the pandemic, legendary DJ D-Nice hosted Club Quarantine on Instagram Live, a virtual dance party to help people cope with Covid. The stream attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers (and celebrities), and he has been much honored as a beacon of hope and source of inspiration.

“A Look Can Say A Lot”

Client: Google
Agency: Google Brand Studio

“Tear the Paper Ceiling”

Client: Ad Council and Opportunity@Work
Agency: Ogilvy NY

“The Black Elevation Map”

Client: Black & Abroad
Agency: Performance Art

Alexzi Girma

#BlackTikTok Creator Community Manager, TikTok

A champion of Black creators, Girma spearheads initiatives such as the @BlackTikTok account and #BlackTikTok Visionary Voices list to foster inclusivity.

Tyrona Heath

Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute, LinkedIn

Dedicated to sharing resources and empowering others through knowledge, Heath co-founded TransformHer, a leading conference for women of color and allies in tech.

Danny Navarro

Global Brand Manager, Google for Startups

From co-founding Google’s Latinx employee group to building initiatives that provided over $45 million to diverse entrepreneurs, Navarro is fueling equity in tech.

Brittany Allen

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Director, North America, 72andSunny

A changemaker and grassroots organizer, Allen launched six agency ERGs, mandatory anti-racism training and a mentorship program for leaders and people of color.

Melonie Parker

Chief Diversity Officer, Google

A skilled problem solver, Parker leads Google’s push to bolster racial equity through meaningful employee relations, strategic partnerships and groundbreaking research.

Adrianne C. Smith

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, FleishmanHillard

Smith founded The Cannes Can: Diversity Collective with a bold mission to make the advertising industry a space that fully embraces equality, diversity and inclusion.

Lynn Branigan

President and CEO, She Runs It

With a focus on inclusivity and mentoring, Branigan empowers women at every level of marketing, media and tech to achieve their professional goals.

Reonna Johnson

SVP of Partnerships, Deutsch LA

Racial equity advocate Johnson co-founded Black creative community Three’s a Crowd, fosters candid conversations on her Hex Code Black podcast and is driven to boost Black ad agency leadership. 

Charity Pourhabib

Brand Manager, Wieden+Kennedy

Pourhabib is the mastermind behind ADMagic, a program that provides knowledge, access and exposure to the ad industry for HBCU students.

Tray Edwards

Creative, Wieden+Kennedy

This sportswriter, podcaster and author is the founder of the Compton Creative Fair, which brings job opportunities from the creative industry to his California community.

Kianta Key

Group SVP, Identity Experience, GCI Health

Driven by a Zulu philosophy that recognizes the humanity of all, Key developed Identity Experience, a communications framework to enhance health outcomes for marginalized groups.

Melu López

Developer & Communities Product Marketing Manager, Google

Partnering with NAAFA, López launched Inclusive Marketing Insights to better represent plus-size people, and has worked with the Trans community to make Google Photos more inclusive.

Justin Adu

Executive Producer & Host, A Dose of Black Joy & Caffeine Podcast

Adu, a social media force at Logitech, Google and THX, celebrates Black leaders on his podcast and fosters future leaders through his Miami Ad School teaching.

Joy Barnett

Associate Creative Director, MullenLowe

A natural storyteller and community-builder, Barnett collects and shares stories about Black history, culture and music and co-leads the Black@MullenLowe ERG.

Claudine James

Educational Content Creator, TikTok

This former middle school educator garnered 6 million global followers and has transformed virtual learning with her captivating grammar lessons on TikTok.

Droga 5 & Ad Council

 “We Can Talk About It”—developed with Seize the Awkward—challenges the taboo of discussing mental health in communities of color.

Google & LaVant Consulting

Google and LaVant Consulting’s efforts advance authentic disability representation and foster universal accessibility and inclusion.

Translation & WhatsApp

The partnership came together to launch a short film celebrating the beauty in cross-cultural identities, featuring Greek-Nigerian NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.  

Aarian Forman

Integrated Partnerships & Public Relations Strategist, The General Insurance

Forman co-founded Xceleader to give professional development opportunities to emerging leaders at HBCUs. Through 35 campus partnerships, he’s assisted thousands of students.

Samyu Murali

Creative, Talented

An award-winning art director and designer, Murali is also a member of the leadership board at Indian Creative Women, which fosters gender diversity in Indian advertising.

Jessica Womack

Strategy Director, Grey Group NY

Crediting her global upbringing as a source of her compassion and empathy, Womack is an award-winning brand planner, speaker and podcaster.

Ime Archibong

VP, Product Management, Meta

A software engineer turned strategist with over a dozen technical patents, Archibong is the creative force behind Messenger.

Kelli Richardson Lawson

Founder and CEO, The House of JOY

An Emmy-winning creative force, Lawson has shined a light on mental health in Black communities through The SonRise Project, and also took on race-based hair discrimination.

Danisha Lomax

EVP, Head of Client Inclusivity and Impact, Digitas

 A champion of marketing that combines authenticity, cultural impact and advocacy for women of color, Lomax also spearheaded a Digitas campaign to promote the benefits of taking PTO.