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 dozens of women-led personal brands to over $1 million in revenue. In 2021, Tameka embraced a new challenge when she pivoted into web3 finding alignment with the space's focus on creator equity, data ownership, and digital innovation.

Tameka is also a content creator with an engaged community on LinkedIn, where she spills raw truths about social media as a profession and culture, the importance of personal branding for professionals, and entrepreneurship. She’s also a skincare, lifestyle, and relationships creator on Instagram with plans to expand to TikTok.

Tameka has been featured in Business Insider, MSNBC, and CNBC as a featured guest on social media related topics and has been a featured speaker for dozens of digital summits and national conferences.

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. These different facets of the business have made him passionate about the tangible impact of a well-executed cross-platform marketing strategy. Additionally, his entrepreneurial experience with a successful grass-fed beef company has given Josh a passion for the growth and development of brands. He is a true collaborator and driven leader. He has won Telly Awards for work with Denny's and multiple internal awards for exceeding sales goals. In his current role at The Shaderoom, Josh runs a cross-platform sales and Marketing team at the country's #1 Social Brand.

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, development coordination, production coordination, and corporate communications. 

Christine currently is at Adweek as the Programming Coordinator and led Social Media Week US and UK 2023, Commerceweek 2023, Convergent TV 2022-2023, Crack the Code: Winning at Gaming, Elevate: AI, and co-led Brandweek 2023. Christine has been an integral part of the Adweek team, where she leverages her expertise to orchestrate and optimize programming efforts. Her role entails strategic planning, scheduling, and seamless execution of content, contributing significantly to Adweek's success in delivering engaging and informative event experiences. 

Christine's career journey showcases her versatility and dedication. Prior to her current role, she held positions at Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and MSG Sphere Studios, Bumble, The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones, and RTM Business Group. 

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Communications from Lamar University, Beaumont, TX. She was born and raised in Austin, TX and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

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, Huffington Post, the American Ethnologist, and featured on albums with the Midwest Avengers and world-renowned DJ and producer Osunlade. Her first poetry collection, "In The Midst of Loving," was released in 2015. In 2018, Cheeraz starred in The Black Repertory Theaters' gala production of The Gospel at Colonus as the Evangelist Antigone. She returned to the stage in May of 2022 for the revival of "Rivers of Women" by the late poet Shirley Bradley LeFlore. In June 2022, she joined the Ashleylaine Dance Company for "Unseen," their season-closing performance.
In 2016, Cheeraz was selected as an apexart International Arts Fellow; in 2018, she was named St. Louis Visionary Award, Outstanding Working Artist, and in 2019, she was awarded the prestigious St. Louis Regional Arts Commission Artist Fellow in literary arts.
In tandem with her work as an artist, Cheeraz is a community health worker and works with local organizations to provide spiritual and social care to people impacted by violent crime. Following the tragic loss of her brother, John Gormon, Jr., Cheeraz founded Sibling Support Network, an organization dedicated to assisting people who have lost siblings to violent crime. For this work, she was featured in TIME Magazine's 2018 "Guns in America" issue.
Most recently, she was a part of the ensemble cast of the sold-out stage performances of The Color Purple with the Hawthorne Players and performed before a packed audience at the Saint Louis Art Museum as part of The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century exhibition inside of multimedia artist Gary Simmons, Garage Lab installation. As a self-professed ad geek, she still finds time to consult and freelance as a creative director, mentorship advocate, and advisor in the advertising industry. 

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 strategies cultivate more than just brand-consumer relationships—they initiate a conversation and present a mutual exchange for brand and consumer that illuminate their shared values through actionable insights, creative strategy, and product storytelling.In essence, Johnnie is not just an advertising professional or an entrepreneur. He's a strategic thinker, a relationship builder, and a storyteller who continually challenges the norm, always seeking ways to enrich the interaction between brands and the people they serve.

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 Squint for his creative vision and execution.

As comfortable in a room full of venture capital billionaires debating rap music as he is in a room full of hip-hop stars debating tech investments, Squint’s authenticity is contagious.  He is too caring to clout-chase and too busy to brag.  Squint pours high-octane love into the world.  And that love comes back to him.

Squint grew up in Palo Alto and his favorite place in the world is the nearby Bay Bridge, which connects the global hub of technology, San Francisco and the mecca of arts and activism, Oakland.  Squint doesn’t just move between these worlds, he weaves them together.

Squint has written and produced shows with NFL Super Bowl winner Marshawn Lynch, shot magazine cover photos for Harley Davidson, and directed a documentary for Grammy award winning artist Lecrae.  From television programming to print, the deliverables Squint produces lead to increased revenue for his clients and collaborators.  Squint’s role extends beyond the production of media content to developing and operationalizing the strategies for shaping clients’ public identities in ways that center their authenticity and unique flavor.

Throughout his career, Squint has worked with brands including HBO, ESPN, YouTube, Google, Facebook, Lyft, Monster, Roc Nation, Bleacher Report, Beast Mode Productions, No Script, and Shoe Palace.  His client roster includes Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Aaron Gordon, Frank Gore, and D’Angelo, H.E.R and Goapele.  If you are lucky enough to get to know Squint, one day he might hand you his phone and show you beautiful photos he’s snapped of some of your favorite artists and athletes that capture the humanity so often obscured by fame. 

Squint studied photography and film direction at the Academy of Arts University, and studied design as a Fellow at Stanford University’s d.school.  He is now passionate about supporting the next generation of artists and entrepreneurs through his work with StreetCode Academy, a nonprofit organization that is preparing the next generation of technology leaders. 

Whether it’s for Fortune 500 companies, world class athletes, or local nonprofits, Squint’s mission is as clear as his camera lens: to capture the full essence of his subjects and what they represent to themselves and to the world.  His clients see him as a friend first.  Ask anyone who has worked with Squint and they will tell you the same thing—no matter what they are working on, they always want him involved.  While this is undoubtedly due to his perspective and technical talent, it is also due to the foundation he builds of trust, sincerity, gratitude, and the secret ingredient that makes everything Squint touches special: love.

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 Google’s largest global campaigns + programs. He has also completed freelance work for companies like Netflix and Meta and serves as a mentor to young people in his hometown through The Two-Six Project. In Brandon's free time, you'll find him reading articles about the latest social trends, enjoying visual art and fashion, and listening to his favorite musical artists.

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 TransformHer, the premier conference for professional women of color and allies in technology. With research, Ty engages and educates the industry in partnership with the leading marketing effectiveness thinkers and organizations such as Cannes Lions, ANA, and IPA to help better define the category, and drive growth.

Ty is passionate about connecting people with information needed to make intelligent decisions, sharing research to help marketers be more productive and successful with a bit of humor. An award winning marketer, speaker and two time Olympic Trials qualifier in the 800 meters, Ty is a top B2B marketing influencer teaching B2B marketing as well as leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Marketers benefit from Ty’s marketing experience at Google Inc, consulting within IBM as a social business manager and leading her own B2B consulting practice where she authored “Marketers of Tomorrow: A Step-by-Step Toolkit for Inbound Marketing”. Beyond marketing, Ty served as the President of LinkedIn’s Black Inclusion Group (BIG).

Today, Ty serves on the Digital Marketing Institute’s Global Advisory Council, on the Board of Directors for the American Advertising Federation and as an Adobe Insider with top executives, experts, and pioneers in technology. Ty is a frequent industry and academic speaker on the marketing circuit, having appeared at INBOUND, Festival of Marketing, ADCOLOR, Marketing Society Changemakers, Ghana Tech Summit, Adobe Summit and the Digital Summit events to name a few. In her career, she has delivered marketing education to thousands.

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 transcends boundaries and illuminates the beauty and stories of diverse communities.

Through his unique approach to photography, Tayo Kuku Jr. skillfully utilizes color and light to elevate the individuals and groups he photographs, resulting in ethereal images that are both nostalgic and progressive.

Tayo’s distinct perspective and process set him apart. Through skillful color manipulation and the infusion of undeniable vibrancy, he effectively communicates the beauty and emotion of his subjects. With each photograph, he aims to fill the persistent void in representation, both behind and in front of the camera.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Tayo lives in Los Angeles but works globally.

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 beyond since 2015. Reign sustains a movement that has resulted in the most permanent systemic change ever seen in the over 80-year history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her name continues to be synonymous with this historic change, the results of which are reverberating throughout the entertainment industry and will do so for decades to come. 

Continuing her work as a change agent, Reign was one of the four co-founders of SistaSCOTUS, a grassroots organization focused on the nomination and confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black Woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. The #SheWillRise campaign was credited by legacy civil rights organizations and the Biden Administration with pivotal work to make this dream of many a reality. 

Solidifying her role in the tech space, April is now a Senior Advisor in Media and Entertainment for Gauge, a software + service platform that conducts mobile focus groups and market research with tastemakers and experts in key communities. She is also an Advisor to the burgeoning social media app Spill, a real-time conversational platform that puts culture first and is widely seen as the Twitter alternative. 

Reign is an influential and sought-after media presence, having built an impressive global organic social media following over several platforms, as well as a network of recognized celebrities, creators, activists, and decision makers at the corporate level. Reign capitalizes on this network and her experience, using her voice to spark conversations and explore issues of race, politics and culture, helping structure ways to turn dialogue into action. 

April is a sought-after advocate, consultant, writer, speaker and interviewer regarding issues of diversity and inclusion, and on the representation of all marginalized communities in the arts, tech and entertainment. Her work includes constant dialogue with media as well as collaborations with Procter & Gamble, Twitter, Google NextGen, AARP, HBO and more.