A Dose of Black Joy and Caffeine

(Season 8 is in partnership with ADCOLOR. ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries) Nicole Godreau approaches her corporate and community-driven work through the lens of inclusion and empowerment to shift culture. As a Global Creative Strategist at Spotify, Nicole develops ideas worth talking about for brands by uncovering human truths through cultural insights. Recently, s...

(Season 8 is in partnership with ADCOLOR. ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries) A first generation American by way of Ghana, Paanii is a charismatic and driven leader. He is currently a Brand Director at Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, working on the Nike account. His passion is to help people realize their full potential; in their personal lives or professional careers. He...

(Season 8 is in partnership with ⁠ ADCOLOR ⁠ . ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries.) Dr. Graves joined the Brandcenter as executive director in 2018. He brings 25+ years of creative, business, and executive leadership experience, having worked with some of the world’s leading global brands (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, MasterCard, Visa, GE, and M&Ms, to name a few). His work...

(Season 8 is in partnership with ⁠ ADCOLOR ⁠ . ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries.) Adrianne C. Smith is SVP/Senior Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at FleishmanHillard. Prior to joining FleishmanHillard, Adrianne was named the first Global Director of Inclusion and Diversity at WPP. Adrianne is also the Founder and Visionary of the Can: Diversity Col...

(Season 8 is in partnership with ADCOLOR . ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries.) An award-winning creative, Courtney Richardson is currently Creative Director at Droga5 where she leads creative direction for iconic brands and icons including Sean Combs, Combs Enterprises, The Africa Center, Hennessy, Chase Sapphire and more. She credits her early beginnings watching he...

(Season 8 is in partnership with ADCOLOR. ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries.) Tiffany Hardin is an award-winning executive marketer, investor, and educator. Hardin is the CEO & founder of Gild Creative Group (GCG), an influencer marketing agency delivering strategy for brands that desire meaningful influencer/talent integrations for campaigns on and offline. She...

(Season 8 is in partnership with ADCOLOR . ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries.) Louis Carr has been with BET for 37 years, serving as the President of Media Sales for the  last 21 years. During his tenure with the company, Carr has transformed the multicultural  space for some of the world's biggest brands and stimulated over $10B in advertising  sales. Through st...

Tune in to the latest episode of A Dose of Black Joy & Caffeine podcast featuring Erin Throlopolis, also known as "Corporate Erin." Erin currently holds the position of Manager for Managerial Managers at Managers of McMGMT, where she has accomplished numerous successes over the past year. Notably, she was honored with the prestigious titles of Manager of The Year and Top Key Performe...

Brian Lee is a former Advertising Account Executive with stops at shops like Wieden + Kennedy and Zambezi LA. He's helped develop and craft numerous integrated global campaigns for notable brands including; Nike, Old Spice (P&G), Levis, NBA 2K, Li-Ning (Brand WADE), CHAMPS Sports and Time Warner Cable. After receiving his Bachelors of Science in Marketing from Elmhurst College in 2007, Bri...

Serita is an award-winning entertainment and marketing industry veteran, with over 15+ years in television, advertising, and podcasts. She's best known for her most recent position as the Head of Entertainment Podcasts for Sony Music and for being the co-creator and sole writer of the Best of 2023 awarded, scripted audio series, presented by Audible and SBH Productions (by way of Kevin Hart &a...

Tameka Bazile is a 6-year Social and Content Strategist and present Manager of Social Media Strategy at TIME. A Brooklyn, New York native, Tameka began her journey to digital marketing when she began freelancing as a virtual assistant in 2018 then transitioning to social media management. Within two years, Tameka scaled TB Co., a social media management agency scaled to over 6-figures, launching d...

Josh Ott has a lifelong career in sales & marketing and is known for his creative edge and methodology. With over 15 years of experience at a wide range of companies such as ABC, BET, Scripps, MTV, Pivot, The Shaderoom, and more, Josh has seen the Media industry from all angles and seamlessly moved between Digital, Cable television, and Radio to gain a deep understanding of the Media Industry....

Christine Lane is an experienced events professional with a passion for orchestrating seamless events and driving development initiatives. Known for her exceptional organizational skills and creative flair, Christine has been a driving force behind some of the most iconic events and productions in the entertainment and media industry. Her diverse background spans across event management, developme...

Cheeraz Gormon is a writer, storyteller, and public speaker who creates poetry, essays, photography, film, music, and advertising. As a poet, Cheeraz has opened for Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Dennis Kimbro, and MacArthur Fellow Dr. Deborah Willis and toured with HBO for The Unchained Memories Tour. She is a two-time TEDxGatewayArch presenter, and her poetry has been featured in Ebony Magazine, Huffingto...

An alum of the Marcus Graham Project, former TedX Midwest Urban Entrepreneur presenter, and inaugural recipient of the Bill Sharp Award for Advertising, Johnnie has meticulously crafted a career at the intersection of advertising and entrepreneurship. A proud Chicago native with nearly 15 years of experience helping brands reimagine, redefine, and reintroduce their products to the world. His strat...

Squint is a FIlm Director and photographer who leads visual composition, brand strategy, and creative director for some of the biggest celebrities and companies in the world.  From Michael Jordan to Michael B. Jordan, Squint has captured iconic images of the most well-known faces of our generation in a manner that exudes authenticity.  From Apple to Nike, the boldest brands in the world turn to Sq...

A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Brandon earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. From there, he began his corporate career at Google which has allowed him the opportunity to live and work in San Francisco, London, and New York City. He currently works as a Creative Strategist and leads the inclusive marketing strategy for some of Goo...

Tyrona Heath is a leading B2B marketer, speaker, author, athlete and community builder who explores these topics at the intersection of behavioral science, diversity, equity, inclusion and transformation .  Ty is Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, a think tank funded by LinkedIn studying the future of B2B marketing and decision making. She is also Co-Founder of TransformHe...

At the intersection of passion and purpose lies the ethos of self-taught artist Tayo Kuku Jr., who captures a variety of cultures and identities through his unique lens. Starting his career in Civil Engineering, Nigerian-American artist Tayo Kuku Jr. soon shifted his focus to pursue his passion for photography. He specializes as a commercial, editorial, and portrait photographer, whose work transc...

April Reign practiced law for nearly twenty years, honing her talent for public speaking, persuasive writing and effecting policy change, but it wasn’t until she walked away from her legal practice that she found her true passion.  As the creator of the viral hashtag-turned-movement, #OscarsSoWhite, April has been challenging the lack of representation of marginalized communities in Hollywood and...

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club)  🎙️ On the final episode of the podcast, Jimmy Smith shares an exclusive interview that you won't want to miss. Smith, chairman/CEO/CCO at Amusement Park Entertainment and One Club Board member, discusses the evolution of The One Club's "Where Are All The Black People" conference. The event started as a panel on diversity during The...

(Season 7 is in partnership with The One Club)  🎙️Join us for an insightful conversation about mental health within black communities with Dyesha Hicks. In this episode, we discuss addressing anxiety in the workplace and beyond. Listen closely as she shares her mental health journey and key takeaways on how we can shift the narrative around mental health. 

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club) 🎙️ NEW PODCAST ALERT 🎙️Join us on an exclusive episode where we delve into the topic of "What About Your Friends?: How Friendship Shapes Your Professional Path." Our panel lead, Blake Lynch & Faith McIver, will share their insights on building and maintaining connections, amplifying growth with peers & mentors, and abolishing the &#3...

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club) Learn more about this preeminent diversity conference and career fair, pushing back against the ad world’s diversity deficit. This year's event is on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27 in downtown New York City. Don't miss out on this great conversation with Adrienne Lucas! Tune in to hear more about the conference's journey and w...

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club) 🎙️ "A Dose of Black Joy & Caffeine" podcast is back with 5 new episodes! Tune in every Monday for a dose of inspiration. In partnership with The One Club "Where Are All The Black People?" for Season 7, we kick off the series with an outstanding guest: Everette Taylor, CEO of Kickstarter. Under his leadership, Kickstarter was na...