Minority Report Podcast

In episode 173, Erik and Kerel talk with return guest Lan Phan, Author of #DoThisDaily and CEO at community of SEVEN about her personal journey of writing a book about her life experiences of growing up in a family of Vietnamese refugees in California, working her way up to the C-suite at Fortune Magazine, eventually being laid off in the pandemic, and how through all of that she found success, ha...

In episode 172, Kerel has a solo conversation with Afshan Nasseri, Founder & CEO at Aam Creative, a multicultural marketing agency which she founded in 2021. Afshan was born in Montreal, Canada to parents from India and Iran, eventually moving to a suburb of Boston, later returning to Montreal for university. Her upbringing in such a multicultural family, speaking multiple languages, brought on he...

In episode 171, Erik and Kerel have a conversation with Crystal Foote, an Award-Winning Marketer, Author and DE&I Champion who is also the Founder of NMSDC and WBENC-certified Digital Culture Group and Head of Multicultural Solutions at Performance Marketing company Digital Remedy focused on Inclusive Advertising. Crystal was born in Oakland, CA, raised in Vallejo, moved to New York to start her c...

In episode 170, Kerel flies solo and has a conversation with Kim "Kimfer" Flanery-Rye, Founder, Principal DEI and Culture Practitioner, owner of Inclusion Equals, a go-to resource for learning and growth around racism, sexism, ageism, ableism and beyond and also the new owner of The F Bomb Breakfast Club, a peer support community for women, femmes, and gentlethems who are company founders and busi...

In episode 169, Erik and Kerel talk with Kristen V. Carter, Executive Producer, Podcaster and Speaker, about her current project Gospel Live, working with great names like Henry Louis Gates Jr., her 22 years in the entertainment industry, creating the brand “Trust Your Magic” and more. Kristen grew up with five generations of family in Newark, New Jersey, being the only child surrounded by adults,...

In episode 168, Erik and Kerel talk with Willow Hill, the Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Scout Lab, a creative communications agency specializing in branding, communications, and campaigns that guide brands who are at their inflection points toward a future we want to live in, bringing together purpose and profit. Willow gives so much credit to the inspiration she gained from her mother,...

In episode 167, Kerel talks with Tony Tidbit, a business executive and Founder and Host of the Black Executive Perspective Podcast where Tony peels back the layers of intersectionality, systemic racism, and other challenging issues shrouding the experiences of Black professionals in America's corporate environment. Tony started his career in sales as an office manager at Amway, took a risk, moved...

In episode 166, Erik and Kerel talk with Tricia Montalvo Timm, Board member, investor, DEI Leader and author of bestseller “Embrace the Power of You” about embracing and accepting yourself, achieving higher levels of success in work and life, and surrounding yourself with inspirational people. Tricia was born in Los Angeles to two immigrant parents, who she learned work ethic from, created deep fa...

In episode 165, Erik and Kerel talk with Michael Roca, Executive Director, Elevate at Omnicom Media Group. In their conversation, Michael shares his story of growing up in Queens, New York, as the youngest of four boys and children of Guatemalan parents, how they assimilated to the Latin and American cultures, how he still stays connected with those roots and the lessons he’s learned from his pare...

In episode 164, Kerel talks with Claudia Romo Edelman, Founder at We Are All Human, a non-profit organization that has a single purpose to remind people that we belong to the same human family. Claudia was born in Mexico City to two parents, both basketball players, she was surrounded by strong females, learned discipline and other successful traits, moved to Europe to work with the UN, and then e...

In episode 163, Erik and Kerel talk with Doug Melville, a DEI executive and author of ‘Invisible Generals,' a story about America's first two black generals, a father and a son, who helped integrate the military, create and command the Tuskegee Airmen, and beyond. Doug grew up with a majority mixed race family, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, went to Syracuse University, majored in marketing, worked w...

In episode 162, Erik and Kerel talk with NoorJehan Tourte, Group SVP, Strategic Planner at Area 23, a healthcare advertising agency about growing up in the Mojave Desert with her Indian family and community, moving to LA proper at 15, and being exposed to so many more people and cultures which really influenced how she lives her life and works today. Following in her brother’s footsteps of being o...

In episode 161, Erik and Kerel talk with Maria Morukian, CEO at MSM Global Consulting, a company offering a unique approach to organizational culture change by empowering organizations to achieve greater success through embracing equity, diversity and inclusivity. They talk about Maria’s multicultural upbringing, how that has inspired and impacted her work in the DEI space today, lessons and stori...

In episode 160, Erik and Kerel talk with Lynne D. Johnson, Content Director at AdMonsters, about her childhood - born and raised in New York to her mom and dad. Her dad who was in the military taught her discipline, made her make her bed a certain way, her grandmother made her and her siblings polish silver, and other ways that made Lynne the woman and professional she is today. Lynne shares the i...

In episode 159, Erik and Kerel talk with Shalita Grant, Founder and CEO of Four Naturals Hair, a company designed to care for type 4 hair, about her upbringing, how it made her tough and resilient, eventually taking her to a full ride at Juilliard at 17, going on to Broadway and nominated for a Tony, to becoming a series regular on NCIS: New Orleans. She also shares her on-set experience of her ha...

In episode 158, Erik and Kerel talk with Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity, and Impact at Carta, for her second time as a guest on MRP, about her new book coming out October 3rd, “Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace” and her podcast, “Brown Table Talk” with friend and co-host, Dee C. Marshall. Mita dives into the firsthand experiences she’s had with prejudice...

Erik and Kerel recap podcast and industry highlights from the first half of 2023. Follow Us: Newsletter: bitly.com/2QLEY8U Linkedin: bit.ly/2ZZUBxG Twitter: bit.ly/2Qp0SzK Instagram: bit.ly/2QLfEQc

In episode 157, Erik and Kerel talk with Karna Crawford, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Marqeta, the world's first modern card issuing platform. Karna was born in DC, raised in Indianapolis, moved to Atlanta, and eventually found herself at Tulane University studying biomedical engineering and switching to marketing. Growing up watching her mom work as a paralegal, a steady, solid, job, she kne...

In episode 156, Erik and Kerel talk with Ayanna Lott-Pollard, Executive Director at Resilient Coders, whose mission is social justice through economic empowerment through educating black and brown folks from low income communities to become software engineers. Ayanna is West Philadelphia, born and raised, just like her parents, is the oldest of 4 siblings, and graduated from the school of Communic...

In episode 155, Erik and Kerel talk with Karen Vega, Vice President, Audience Impact & Intelligence at Paramount Advertising, a branch of Paramount, a company that develops strategic and collaborative solutions that connect their partners to their diverse, passionate fan base. Karen was born in Colombia, migrated to the states at 13 years old and always had the dream of working in entertainment. H...

In episode 154, Erik and Kerel talk with Tenisha Griggs, VP, Head of Global Media at Terminus, a company that combines intent and web-engagement data with industry-leading b2b digital advertising capabilities to build brand awareness. Tenisha is originally from Detroit, Michigan but made her way to Atlanta with a full ride to Georgia Tech for track while studying business management and she has st...

In episode 153 live from AdMonsters PubForum Miami, Erik and Kerel talk with Chris Contreras, Chief Customer Officer at MNTN. Chris was first born American after his parents moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He comes from a long line of well-acclaimed family members, his father who taught himself English and practiced medicine, a mother who was an architect, and his grandmoth...

In episode 152, Erik and Kerel talk with Jessica Lee-Wen, Chief Marketing Officer at Thrive FP, a company focused on investing in real estate while also doing good in the community. Jessica was first generation-born Canadian, born to her mom and dad who are both from China who met in Vancouver and had her and her brother. Her mother, a pharmacist commuting two hours everyday for work, taught her a...

In episode 151, Erik and Kerel talk with Luis Romero, Senior Vice President and Head of Sales North America at The Guardian US, the world’s leading liberal site in information and news. Luis grew up in New York City to two parents who immigrated from Ecuador. They often had various family members staying with them, in addition to his younger brother and sister, which taught him the importance of f...

In episode 150, Erik and Kerel talk with Justin Barton, SVP of Digital Strategy & Partnerships at Black Enterprise, a digital resource for black entrepreneurs, black-owned businesses, and career, tech, and money content for black people. Justin was born in Brooklyn, NY to his mother and father who were both educators in New York. He eventually went on to Hofstra University to get his BA in Busines...