Christel S. Miller, Head of Scripted Hybrid, Amazon MGM Studios

Christel has been responsible for and worked on some of the top shows on television that we all know and love, including Jury Duty, Superstore, Dexter and the upcoming Cruel Intentions series on Amazon Prime.  Starting her career in the medical profession, she realized that she’d rather tell the stories of working in a hospital instead of actually doing so and quickly shifted gears. She has an incredible career story to share with fantastic advice we all can appreciate.

Christine Simmons : Strategist | Impact Maker | Operator | Speaker I Entrepreneur | Creator

Christine Simmons is an accomplished President, COO, Business Executive, Entrepreneur, and Board Director with 20+ years’ experience devising strategy and leading transformational change for iconic B2B/B2C leaders such as: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles Sparks, NBCUniversal, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, and Magic Johnson Enterprises.

Lita Richardson, Esq : Executive Vice President, Content & Brand Strategy, Paramount Global

As Executive Vice President of Content and Brand Strategy for Paramount, Lita expands brand partnership opportunities for Viacom corporation as it relates to syndicated programming for CBS Media Ventures (CMV). Those shows include The Drew Barrymore Show, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, Sherri Shepard, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy.

Jamin Warren, Founder & CEO, Twofivesix

Jamin Warren founded Twofivesix, a strategic consultancy that helps brands engage in the world of gaming. His work helps you reach the right gaming audience on the right platform with the right message. Prior to founding Twofivesix, Jamin covered arts and entertainment for the Wall Street Journal.

Johnny Collins : President, Community National Title

Building strong relationships has been the cornerstone of Johnny Collins’ success as a business leader in the title industry, and Jayzen is excited to share his message with the audience this week.  As a pioneer in his field, Collins made  history as the first Black person to land a seat on Texas Land and Title Association’s board, where he serves as Agent At-Large Director.  Johnny shares his wisdom and observations on the importance of creating space for feedback and much more.

Dr. Timbrala Marshall : Medical Operations Lead, Urgent Care Hospital Group, VCA Animal Hospitals

Dr. Timbrala Marshall is VCA Animal Hospital’s Medical Operations Lead for the Urgent Care Hospital group. Dr. Marshall has been with VCA since 2014 and began her career as an Associate veterinarian before becoming Medical Director in a primary care practice just outside of Atlanta, GA. Dr. Marshall practiced as a companion animal primary care veterinarian for over a decade and served as VCA’s first Director of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for two years.

Amy DuBois Barnett : Senior Advisor, Bravo Mondo

Amy has had an amazing career in publishing and media, taking her first role as editor-in-chief for a major magazine at just thirty years old.  She has been an executive at top media companies including Paramount where she had P&L responsibility for BET’s digital platforms. She was an adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a noted author.

Lorna Little, MSW : President and CEO, St. Anne’s Family Services

Lorna Little, MSW serves as the President and CEO of St. Anne’s Family Services where she has developed innovative programs for children and families since 2018. With a focus on underserved communities that often live in the shadows, she has a successful history of leading and developing exceptional programming that addresses the physical, behavioral, and emotional components that lead to an optimal life trajectory.

Dr. Derrick Noble : “America’s Leadership Authority”

Derrick is a highly sought after leadership coach helping young leaders take it to the next level.  Once noted as “the least likely person to be a professional speaker,” Derrick overcame a severe speech impediment as a child and has gone on to be an award winning professional speaker and trainer. His career story and sage leadership advice is helpful for leaders of all levels.

Chris Mossiah (They/Them) : Executive Director – Consumer & Community Banking : JP Morgan

Chris, based in New York City, is an area product manager for a design system within the Consumer & Community Banking Department. They are also the Co-Chair of the Firmwide GEC (Gender Expansive Council) as well as co-lead for the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Non-binary subcommittee of PRIDE Tri-State BRG. Prior to coming to JP Morgan, Chris was enlisted in the US Navy as an electronic technician and has been in the technology field for over 20 years.

Odessa ""OJ"" Jenkins : CEO, Bonfire Women & Founder, The Women's National Football Conference

OJ is a force of nature who has made it her life’s work to build equity for women and girls.  She is laser-focused through her work as CEO of Bonfire Women and as the founder of the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC). Featured on Fox, Sports Illustrated, CBS, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, NFL Network, The Undefeated, and more, Jenkins was recognized as one of the most influential and powerful women in sports by Sports Illustrated.

John Diggs : Mind Mapping Master

John was a star college football player who went on to the professional ranks playing for the LA Raiders. After being forced to give up his career because of reconstructive knee surgery, he became a successful leader in the mortgage industry. Fast forward, John was forced to pivot again when the mortgage meltdown erased all he had built. Now, building on all of his experience, he has mastered the art of mind mapping as a tool to unlock the best in people. 

Tiara Willis : World-Renowned Influencer, Entrepreneur & Culture Expert

Tiara Willis is a world-renowned influencer. Upon graduating high school early with high honors at the age of 16, Tiara had already built a social media empire providing tips, trends, insights, and information to her loyal followers. Starting her Influencer career at just 14, now a 21-year-old Gen Z culture expert, Tiara leads a community of nearly half a million devoted supporters and followers.

Traci Saulsberry : Communications Executive, Leadership Coach and Author

Traci Saulsberry is a seasoned communications executive, leadership coach and author. At 27 she became one of the youngest Black executives at NBC where she led the publicity team responsible for campaigns across the networks biggest unscripted series such as “The Voice,” “America’s Got Talent,” as well as live events like “Billboard” and “The Golden Globes.”

Victoria Russell : Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Beam Suntory

Victoria is the first Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits and has an amazing career journey to share. Her philosophy of “saying yes” in her career and leaning into the fear of new positions has allowed her to continue to grow and expand her roles, with wisdom we can all learn from.

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey : Political Journalist, Professor, and Changemaker : National News Anchor, Fox Soul’s Black Report

Dr. Quartay has an incredible career story to share from now returning to his roots as a journalist, to being a professor, to his life long work in advancing narrative, culture, and policy change in pursuit of social and economic justice. Dr. Quartey served as Senior Policy Advisor to Biden-Harris Presidential Campaign and was formerly AARP's first Senior Advisor & National LGBTQ Liaison.

London Lomax : CEO, Innovation Health and Chief Strategic Advisor to the President & CEO of Aetna, a CVS Health Company

London’s leadership style celebrates the best in his people and his ability to cultivate and lead high performing teams has helped to quickly advance his career and those around him. His passion for healthcare combined with his “empathy-forward” style are helping him to grow Innovation Health and expand the reach of the company.

Sharon-Franklin Brown : Chief Impact Officer, Los Angeles LGBT Center

Sharon has remarkable career story to share and works tirelessly to create space for her community and make the world a more equitable place for trans and gender non-conforming people. As Chief Impact Officer for the largest organization in the world serving the LGBTQ+ community, she is responsible for providing strategic leadership, management, guidance to programs and Human Resources.

Dr. Imani J. Walker. Chief Medical Officer & Psychiatrist

Dr. Imani is a physician trained in General Adult Psychiatry, author and commentator. You’ve probably also seen her on Bravo’s “Married to Medicine: Los Angeles.” She is a strong advocate for breaking mental health stigmas around the world, and is a proud board member of the Made of Millions Foundation.

James Lavallee : Vice President, Global Marketing, The Trade Desk

James has had an incredible career in sales and television advertising across Discovery Networks, ESPN, Comcast, NBCUniversal and now, The Trade Desk. Early in his career, he took very deliberate steps to build and hone his personal brand, which has led to career breakthrough after career breakthrough.

Keesha Boyd, Executive Director for Multicultural Video and Entertainment, Comcast

Keesha leads content strategy across all Comcast platforms centering Black, Latino, Asian American and international audiences. Her role involves every facet of the distribution business including content acquisition, editorial, programming, consumer engagement, development, innovation, marketing, partnerships, and production

A Career in Giving Voice : Areva Martin Civil Rights Attorney & Best Selling Author

Areva is an award-winning Civil Rights Attorney, Wall Street Journal and USA today best selling author, CNN legal analyst and host of the web based talk show The special Report with Areva Martin. Her most recent book is Awakening: Ladies, Leadership and the Lies We’ve Been Told.

Gabrielle Gambrell, Communications Expert

Gabrielle has held senior positions in media, in advertising and academia. She knows how to work her network like no one else and has used her “gift of Gab” to propel her career forward.

Karen Horne, SVP, Equity and Inclusion Programs, WarnerMedia

With over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, the programs that she creates and runs bring voice and opportunity to underserved communities and ensure that what we see as audience members reflects that communities that we live in.

Gordon Bellamy, Professor and Gaming Industry Expert

Gordon is an award winning professional in the gaming industry and has played key leadership roles at Tencent, Electronic Arts, and as a designer on Madden NFL Football. Gordon is currently a Full Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts at USC.

Kelly Edwards, Writer, Executive, Diversity Thought Leader

With over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, she has been recognized as a Diversity and Inclusion pioneer and pipeline builder.

Yvette Miley, SVP, NBCU News Group

Yvette has worked for NBCUniversal for 27 years and is the recipient of many of the industry’s highest honors. She’s received three Emmy Awards and ten Edward R. Murrow Awards, among others

Kosha Irby, CMO, Professional Bull Riders

Kosha has had an incredible career in sports marketing and the business of sports after starting as a student athlete. He is currently the CMO of Professional Bull Riders (PBR), and first to admit he’s not what people think of as a cowboy.

Celeste Alleyne, Director of Microsoft Executive Engagements

Celeste has worked with some of the most prolific individuals you can think of and has amazing career stories to share. She is the Director, Executive Engagements at Microsoft and has worked in community and public affairs for Nike and AT&T.

Paula Madison, Chairman & CEO

Paula has had an amazing career spanning journalism, television news, entertainment, diversity & inclusion, and even owning a professional basketball team - along with being an author, filmmaker, executive producer and change maker.

Dr. Jennifer E. Turner, SVP Scripted Programming, Sony Pictures Television

In addition to overseeing creative on some of the most iconic television shows we all love at Sony Pictures Television, Jennifer is also the founder of Mad Cool Fitness

Sharon Smith-Akinsanya, CEO, Rae Mackenzie Group

Sharon is the CEO of an incredible agency that helps Fortune 500 companies attract and retain top diverse talent in their organizations. She brings amazing stories of her career, including her years working for Prince, all with valuable insight and advice.

Andréa Richardson, EVP-Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Zeno Group

Andréa is a top communications professional with a core belief in equality and equity. She was recently named one of the 100 Most Influential Persons of African Descent in Business and Entrepreneurship by the United Nations General Assembly.

Val Nicholas, SVP and Emmy-winning Producer, SummitMedia Corporation

Val is the Senior Vice President and Creative Director SummitMedia Corporation, and has held executive positions at several top media companies. Val is a proud veteran of the Army and has worked extensively to expand opportunities for vets.