A Dose of Black Joy and Caffeine

An Afro-Latino native New Yorker, Jason Rosario has spent most of his life breaking down barriers and building up inclusive cultures. He is passionate about innovation and the power of creativity to drive change. As Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Jason oversees diversity, equity and inclusion practices across BBDO Worldwide—the most awarded agency network in the world. In this ro...

Gary Williams and Tamon George make up the DC-based creative agency, Creative Theory. They might have met as photographers but have since grown their business to where they now pick and chose creatives to work with. The two share their 1st lives as 9-5'ers and professional athletes and what put them on the entrepreneur path.  Tamon and Gary and I chat about the importance of family, the role...

Corey Lipsey is a talented strategist with over ten years’ experience building innovative client solutions and optimizing customer-driven experiences. He’s an enthusiastic and curious leader focused on global market expansion and fintech innovations. As VP of Global Business Development and Strategy at Citi, Corey actively collaborates with internal and externals partners in strategy development,...

Wade thrives in spaces where people aspire to create a new status quo. As an early hire at Airtable, where he joined as the 2nd Account Executive on the Enterprise Sales team, Wade leveraged his accumulated learnings from thousands of customer conversations to pivot his career from Sales to Product, currently working in Product Strategy & Operations at the company. Prior to Airtable, Wade began hi...

Executive producer & Host of True Transitions Show. Catch New Episodes of True Transitions Every Sunday! For Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Content Follow Mei on Instagram: @TrueTransitionsTV and follow him @LookingFor_Mei

Ronnie Dickerson Stewart is an award-winning talent, inclusion, and executive leadership  development consultant and the founder of OhHeyCoach, a Career Navigation and  Leadership Development Consultancy. For over 17 years, she built her career in advertising and marketing, initially focusing on  media strategy and investment with Starcom, FCB/IPG, Burrell, and Digitas. In 2012, &nb...

"I am originally from Texas with a background in printmaking and residency work, though I can still make a decent plate of fajitas. My work experience varies as I’ve worked as a curator, editor, product manager, and producer for VSCO as well as a creative producer for The New Company. Alongside I work as a photographer, photo assistant, and writer to create product marketing and editorial needs fo...

Kayla Robinson is a director, writer and artist born in San Antonio, TX. After receiving her B.A. in Advertising from The University of Texas at Austin, she began her career as an art director in New York and Silicon Valley developing award-winning ads and films for top brands like Apple and Snickers. Passionate about capturing authentic human experiences, Kayla harnesses vulnerability as a superp...

Adrian Octavius Walker is a mixed media artist/photographer whose work seeks to expand the canon surrounding the nuances of Black life through tenderness and grit. His fascination with the tangible is the driving force to expand his visual language through various materials. Walker’s passion lies in using his practice to platform critical discourse around the imagination in black nostalgia. His wo...

Originally from Mobile, Alabama, The South holds a special place in Akoua’s heart. Feeling destined to do more, Akoua attended Savannah College of Art and Design and earned her B.F.A, majoring in Advertising with a minor in Photography. Ready to take on the industry, Akoua spent time at Goodbye, Silverstein & Partners, Matchstic and CNN before moving to the West coast for Google Brand Studio....

Cimone Key is the founder and chief executive officer of Cimone Key Creative Studio, an award-winning branding and digital marketing agency. Growing up from coast to coast, with roots extending back to Germany, Cimone is well-traveled and well-versed in the world of design, connection, and entrepreneurship. It was her passion as a young girl, knowing in her heart she was born to utilize her perspe...

Christian Lowe is the founder and creator of The Green Book Project. A mobile app that helps people from marginalized groups find inclusive businesses and avoid discrimination. Prior to founding The Green Book Project, Christian worked as a software engineer at Change.org, where he developed digital tools that help everyday people create the change they want to see. In addition to his work at...

Warren Jones is an entrepreneur, creative strategist and experience curator currently assisting brands in their efforts to engage diverse communities in meaningful, impactful ways. He is the Co-Founder of Toasted Life, a community-based experiential brand that specializes in designing 360 lifestyle experiences and engagements that center the needs of multicultural audiences through events, activat...

Annie Jean-Baptiste is the author of Building for Everyone, the first book about building inclusive products across the intersections of 12 dimensions of diversity. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania  with degrees in International Relations & Political Science. She is an avid Boston sports fan & loves to bring her dog Hercules to work. She formerly served as an intrapre...

Natasha Aarons is an award winning marketer and AdAge 40 Under 40 class of 2020 honoree, with a deep expertise in crafting marketing strategies and campaigns at the intersection of culture, entertainment and technology. Currently she is the Vice President of Brand Marketing for BET+. Most recently, she was at DoorDash as the Director of Marketing for Caviar. Prior, she led US Multicultural Marketi...

Myles Worthington is the Founder and CEO of WORTHI , an ethnographic marketing, communications and content company. Ethnography is the study of human cultures, and that’s what WORTHI does – steeps themselves in the behaviors of various people around the world, and creates the cultural relevance between their unique needs, and a brand’s unique story, to create a lasting bond. As the company CEO and...

Gail’s commitment to advocacy and social change runs deep, dating back to her experiences in the 60s as part of the first wave of Black students to integrate her hometown school system and including frontline activism in the form of protests against racial injustice, the Vietnam War and apartheid. With over 35 years of advertising industry experience, Gail has led diversity and inclusion efforts,...

Kofi is the Chief Marketing Officer at DoorDash. He began his career at Leo Burnett Chicago & Leo Burnett London where he worked with Kellogg's, Coca Cola, and Global Giving. Prior to his role at DoorDash, Kofi was VP of Brand & Consumer Marketing at Facebook, having previously served as the company’s Head of Consumer Marketing for internet.org . Before Facebook, Kofi was Chief Strategy Of...

Mars is a Sr. Strategy Lead at EA Sports where he spearheads marketing campaigns for Madden, College Football, and PGA. Previously to this, Mars worked in partnerships at Spotify where he co-led the west coast region creative solutions department. During his time at Spotify he expanded existing programs such as Black History is Now, Fresh Finds, and Film And TV Favorites. He also initiated ongoing...

Whitney McGowan has been working in entertainment marketing over the last 10 years, and has loved every minute of it. From medium to large networks, Whitney has been innovating how people watch and engage with a broad range of TV shows, whether it’s on social media, out of home or a streaming platform. Whitney worked at Netflix on the Global Creative Marketing team, producing creative and social m...

Matt “BK” Augustin is an integral part of the Brand Partnerships & Business Development teams at FaZe Clan, the world’s largest and most prominent gaming organization. As Director of Brand & Creative Strategy, BK is responsible for pitching ideas to our current partners, seeking out new biz opportunities, overseeing brand and creative strategy for all brand sponsors, copywriting, project &...

As a 20-year veteran of the advertising industry, Shameka has shifted her creative focus toward executive coaching and leadership development. As a thought partner, she is now using innovation and her award-winning creativity to help tackle business problems like attrition and retention, one engagement at a time. Shameka is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Syracuse University. She later earned her mas...

Fort Worth-based entrepreneur  Jonathan Morris set out to create a fresh take on the barbershop experience in Fort Worth. In 2014,  Fort Worth Barber Shop  officially opened its doors and quickly became one of the city’s premier men’s grooming establishments. Morris is also the co-founder of Memo Hospitality Group, the developers of the recently opened  Hotel Dryce, &...

Amoya Buggs refills our cup with a dose of peace. Amoya Buggs has 10+ years of experience delivering exceptional client service, driving growth, and building high-performance teams. Amoya has worn many hats in client service, ranging from PR manager to social media manager to email marketer. A consistent thread is her passion for content strategy. When she isn’t nurturing client relationships with...

Media executive, entrepreneur, and storyteller David A. Wilson joins us to chat about the joy he receives from developing and launching culturally focused media platforms. David is the co-founder of TheGrio, and served as SVP of BET Digital & Studios. Most recently David co-founded AFAR Ventures, a production company dedicated to developing content and opportunities for Afro-Brazilians and maj...