Minority Report Podcast

In episode 149, Kerel Cooper talks with Detavio Samuels, CEO at REVOLT, a Black-owned and operated multimedia platform servicing content 24/7 across digital, linear, and live media channels. Detavio shares his excitement with the changes he witnessed at The REVOLT Summit held in September 2022 in Atlanta, GA, the impact being made on black culture by the black community, and how he feels his passi...

In episode 148, Erik and Kerel talk with Guy Griggs, Vice President of National Sales at The New York Times. Guy was born and raised in Long Island, New York, went to school at James Madison University in Virginia, moved back to NY after graduation and hasn’t left. His parents, both educators, cared very deeply about his education which has provided him the right tools for his career and showed hi...

In episode 147, Erik and Kerel talk with Mary Myers, Author of African Born: An American Story. Mary was born in Ethiopia and had multiple scholarship opportunities that brought her to the United States right after high school graduation. With no connections, no family or friends, and no roadmap, she sought out the freedom that she once craved back home. She eventually went on to work for Amazon,...

In episode 146, Erik and Kerel talk with Miki Reynolds, CEO at Grid110, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that provides free entrepreneurship programs to early stage founders. Miki was born and raised in the Bay Area, Alameda, with her mom, who is Japanese and her dad, who is Caucasian American. Growing up mixed, Miki never really explored her multicultural identity until she went to c...

In episode 145, Erik and Kerel talk with Armond Davis, Founder & Managing Partner at The Paragon Group, an investment group that focuses on minority and women-owned businesses. Growing up in St. Louis to a family of educators, Armond has always had a thirst for learning and knew he wanted to be a businessman at 7 years old after a “take your kid to work day” at his mother’s tall office building. H...

In episode 144, Erik and Kerel talk with Crystal Shaniece Roman, Owner at The Black Latina Movement, a theater and film production company in New York City. Crystal grew up in New York City and was born to Jamaican and Puerto Rican parents. At a very young age she fell in love with acting and the arts in general and then continued on to become an actor. As she continued in her career, due to her b...

In episode 143, Erik and Kerel talk with Nicolet Gatewood, Executive Director at BLAC (Building Leaders and Creators), a twelve-week, paid internship for creative thinkers that takes place at independent ad agencies across the country. Nicolet was born in Boston, but grew up in many different places after her parents split. Her mom, who is white, moved to Arizona and her dad, who is black, took Ni...

In episode 142, Erik and Kerel talk with Abdul Rastagar, GTM Leader, marketing author, and career coach. Abdul hosts a quick 5 minute LinkedIn podcast called Up Your Game where he interviews marketing executives to give career advice for those who are looking to get into the marketing field. He has also written a book called Up Your Game based off of the many interviews he’s completed. Growing up...

In episode 141, Erik and Kerel have a conversation with Jeff Lindor, Founder and CEO at The Gentlemen’s Factory Inc. based out of Brooklyn, NY. Gentleman's Factory is a community and a movement bringing men, black men specifically, together for entrepreneurial programming, executive series’, and physical spaces to work together, build, and move the world. Jeff was born in Haiti and grew up in Broo...

In episode 140, Kerel and Erik have a conversation with Katie Kern, Agency Partner at Media Frenzy Global. Media Frenzy Global works primarily with tech companies, from midsize to enterprise sized companies, working on brand development, public relations programs, and also content marketing. Katie, also known as Ekaette, is a big sports lover and has moved from companies such as Nike and Reebok to...

In episode 139 Kerel speaks with Rob Richardson, Founder at Disrupt Art, a company that aims to curate an interactive space on Web3 for artists, collectors, and activists to revolutionize the impact of art. Rob’s love of activism comes from his parents - his father who was very involved in both the labor movement as well as the Civil Rights Movement and his mother who was the founder of a restaura...

In episode 138 Kerel and Erik sit down with Phil Schraeder, the CEO at GumGum, a company that empowers advertisers to deliver creative advertising campaigns without the use of personal data. Phil grew up as the middle child in Illinois, stayed close to home through college at Northwestern University, and started his career at KPMG. He didn’t feel he could be open and express himself in ways that h...

In episode 137 Kerel and Erik discuss DEI with the founder at The Courage Collective, Daniel Oppong. Coming from immigrant parents from Ghana, West Africa, Daniel has always been an adventurer, achievement-oriented, and overall determined person, which has helped him tremendously in his career. He found himself working at a company out of college for over 5 years, felt unfulfilled, and totally ret...

In episode 136 Kerel and Erik talk with Avantha Arachchi, Chief Operating Officer at A-Frame Brands, about catering to marginalized markets and trailblazing for up and coming brands. Avantha describes herself as a perfect blend of her parents with her dad being an electrical engineer and her mom, a fashion designer which has helped her become multifaceted and dynamic in whatever situation. As a tr...

In episode 135 Kerel and Erik discuss brand storytelling and workplace equity with founder and CMO of Equity Project for All, Raquelle Zuzarte. Raquelle shares her interesting and unique childhood of traveling around the world and growing up in three very different places with her parents and two sisters. She had always loved storytelling, but through her experience working at Johnson & Johnson, P...

In episode 134 Kerel and Erik chat with Brooke Goodspeed, Founder at GETincluded which is a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the social inclusion of neurodivergent individuals in the community setting. During the conversation, we chat with Brooke about the mission of GETincluded, the challenges that the disabilities community face, her personal attachment to the disabilities commu...

In episode 133 Kerel and Erik chat with Bilen Mesfin Packwood, CEO of Change Consulting which works with nonprofits, foundations, and other mission-driven organizations to raise awareness and visibility, change hearts and minds, and inspire action. During the conversation, Bilen tells us all about what's going on at Change Consulting, her career journey, life as a CEO, and much more. Follow Us: Ne...

In episode 132 Kerel and Erik chat with Gary Coichy, Founder & CEO at Pod Digital Media which is a multicultural podcast network. During the conversation, Gary tells us all about what's going on at Pod Digital Media, including the multi-year deal with McDonald's plus we discuss Gary's career journey, lessons learned as a CEO, and much more. Follow Us: Newsletter: http://bitly.com/2QLEY8U Linkedin:...

In episode 131 Erik and Kerel chat with Nani Vishwanath, Consultant & Facilitator with The Courage Collective and Program Manager, Inclusion Marketing at REI. Nani's personal mission is to elevate the voices of the unheard. During our conversation, we discuss what it's like growing up as a first-generation American, her career journey that leads to being a DEI professional, some of the progress of...

Episode 130 features a conversation about an immersive experience from the perspective of a black woman. We welcome back to the podcast for the second time Myra LalDin, Founder + Chief Visionary Officer at Perspectives. Joining Myra for this conversation is the African Ancestry advisory team at Procter & Gamble. This team includes Anthony Kesler (Engineering Senior Director), Kimberly Mapp (Senior...

In episode 129 Erik and Kerel chat with Anthony Oni, Managing Partner and CEO of Elevate Future Fund at Energy Impact Partners. During the conversation, we discuss Anthony's passion for creating capital opportunities for people of color in cleantech space, his upbringing that helped shape who he is today, fatherhood, dealing with racial bias, and much more. Follow Us: Newsletter: http://bitly.com/...

In episode 128 Erik and Kerel chat with Tia Cummings-Hopkins, SVP Global Brand Marketing at Square. Tia is a strategic brand and general manager with over 17 years of post-MBA experience and a passion for building strong consumer brands. During our conversation, we discuss Tia's career journey, the importance of companies showing up true to themselves, the dilemma that black senior leaders face in...

In episode 127 Erik and Kerel chat with Di Ciruolo, Head of Inclusion at Jambb. Di is a Boston-based Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) leader in tech with 10 years experience in People Ops and 5+ years in DEIB specifically. We had a fascinating conversation with Di covering her personal journey which includes growing up in foster care, Di's time in Atlanta which sparked her career...

In episode 126 Erik and Kerel chat with Lashawnda Goffin, CEO at Colossus SSP. Lashawnda has over 14 years of experience in planning, buying, negotiating, and sales. During the conversation, Lashawnda tells us more about Colossus SSP. The mission and vision behind the company, the state of programmatic advertising, her career journey, and much more. Follow Us: Newsletter: http://bitly.com/2QLEY8U...

In episode 125 Erik and Kerel chat with Suneet Bhatt. Suneet is Dad first, Co-Founder of two kids, children's book author, President at Boldr, and Founder of My Authentic Story. The one common theme across all of Suneet's interests is his joy for storytelling. During the convo, Suneet discusses the impact of his dad on his storytelling ability, how he navigated tough times during the COVID pandemi...