(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club)  🎙️ On the final episode of the podcast, Jimmy Smith shares an exclusive interview that you won't want to miss. Smith, chairman/CEO/CCO at Amusement Park Entertainment and One Club Board member, discusses the evolution of The One Club's "Where Are All The Black People" conference. The event started as a panel on diversity during The One Club's 2011 Creative Week and has since grown into a day-long multicultural conference and career fair. However, the events of 2020 have sparked a reexamination of the conference and the ad industry's continued lack of progress in providing opportunities for people of color. Tune in to hear more about the conference's journey and what's next for the industry.

(Season 7 is in partnership with The One Club)  🎙️Join us for an insightful conversation about mental health within black communities with Dyesha Hicks. In this episode, we discuss addressing anxiety in the workplace and beyond. Listen closely as she shares her mental health journey and key takeaways on how we can shift the narrative around mental health. 

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club) 🎙️ NEW PODCAST ALERT 🎙️Join us on an exclusive episode where we delve into the topic of "What About Your Friends?: How Friendship Shapes Your Professional Path." Our panel lead, Blake Lynch & Faith McIver, will share their insights on building and maintaining connections, amplifying growth with peers & mentors, and abolishing the 'only room for one' mindset. Tune in to unlock the power of friendship and create a thriving professional community.

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club) Learn more about this preeminent diversity conference and career fair, pushing back against the ad world’s diversity deficit. This year's event is on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27 in downtown New York City. Don't miss out on this great conversation with Adrienne Lucas! Tune in to hear more about the conference's journey and what's next for the industry.

(Season 7 is In partnership with The One Club) 🎙️ "A Dose of Black Joy & Caffeine" podcast is back with 5 new episodes! Tune in every Monday for a dose of inspiration. In partnership with The One Club "Where Are All The Black People?" for Season 7, we kick off the series with an outstanding guest: Everette Taylor, CEO of Kickstarter. Under his leadership, Kickstarter was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Companies. Taylor's impressive career includes serving as CMO of Artsy - the largest online marketplace for buying and selling fine art. We are honored to have had him on the podcast and can't wait for you to hear the rest of the exciting episodes we have lined up for you! #podcast

Marc S. Strachan (Head Coach)

Coach Marc Consulting, LLCEmpowering Through Coaching

"I exist to inspire others to do great things and to chase their dreams." I am a natural born coach, made better by outstanding career/life experiences and training."

Over the last fifteen years, Julius has worked relentlessly to introduce innovative, grassroots initiatives to welcome the diversity needed within advertising and media in the 21st century. His creativity and programs have helped create a workforce which more authentically represents society and equal opportunity across gender, religion, socioeconomics and race. In 2017, he founded The Adversity Group, intent on delivering systemic solutions to address the impact of systemic discrimination in and outside the workplace.

Julius earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. He has also served on numerous advisory boards within the advertising industry and the New York City Department of Education, having established the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM) in 2012 and as a founding member of The Manhattan Early College School for Advertising (MECA) in 2014. Julius is a certified practitioner of the Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS) and the Neethling Brain Instruments® (NBI®), a neuroscience-based assessment which he uses to introduce mindfulness as a starting point to reframe conversations about DEI. Most recently Julius has been certified as an Ayurvedic wellness practitioner, merging physical, mental and spiritual health through the Chopra Center. Integrating wellness with executive coaching, as a means to provide holistic support for the clients and community he serves.

Over the last fifteen years, Julius has worked relentlessly to introduce innovative, grassroots initiatives to welcome the diversity needed within advertising and media in the 21st century. His creativity and programs have helped create a workforce which more authentically represents society and equal opportunity across gender, religion, socioeconomics and race. In 2017, he founded The Adversity Group, intent on delivering systemic solutions to address the impact of systemic discrimination in and outside the workplace.

Julius earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. He has also served on numerous advisory boards within the advertising industry and the New York City Department of Education, having established the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM) in 2012 and as a founding member of The Manhattan Early College School for Advertising (MECA) in 2014. Julius is a certified practitioner of the Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS) and the Neethling Brain Instruments® (NBI®), a neuroscience-based assessment which he uses to introduce mindfulness as a starting point to reframe conversations about DEI. Most recently Julius has been certified as an Ayurvedic wellness practitioner, merging physical, mental and spiritual health through the Chopra Center. Integrating wellness with executive coaching, as a means to provide holistic support for the clients and community he serves.

Will "Yemi" Jawando was born in Montgomery County, MD to Olayinka Jawando, a Nigerian immigrant, and Kathy Jacob, a proud Kansan. In middle school, his family moved to Prince George's County. Every day after school, Will spent his afternoons in Silver Spring at his mother's work, where he met many of the mentors he now calls his seven Black fathers.

Jawando’s critically acclaimed memoir, “My Seven Black Fathers” was released in 2022 and offers frank reflections on his experiences with systemic racism and being a 2nd-generation American, the lessons he learned from mentors like President Obama, and his journey mending his strained relationship with his father.

In 2018, Will was elected as an at-large Montgomery County Councilmember. He represents over 1.1 million Marylanders, one-third of whom are immigrant families like his own. Will has fought to keep rents down, build more affordable housing, and create the county's first youth-employment program. He also introduced some of the county's first police reform legislation in two decades.

Ramon Davis is a father, entrepreneur, and creative industry professional. He was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. Growing up, Ramon was considered a problematic student and attended three different grammar schools and two high schools. However, through divine intervention, he took a chance and attended an HBCU in Atlanta on a full-ride scholarship. His life changed after studying abroad in London, where he was inspired by various cultures outside of inner-city Chicago and felt that advertising was his destined career path.

Ramon is currently a Director at We Are Social Sports. His career path has taken him to work at such agencies as FCB, Leo Burnett, SaatchI and Saatchi, Burrell Communications, Ten35 and Beautiful Destinations and Champion Agency to name a few. Working with a handful of brands such as: Under Armour, Toyota, Beam Suntory, Johnson and Johnson, Polaris, Kellogg, Tourism Board of Jamaica and BET. 

 He’s also worked on the brand side, launching brands in the EMEA region such as 5 hour energy drink, Marley’s Mellow Mood. 

He is a passionate mentor and has contributed the Marcus Graham Project as source for inspiration to continue creating opportunities in the creative industry for your aspiring talent. In addition, he has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago and has been a frequent guest lecturer at the London College of Communications. 

Ramon moved to London to pursue an MBA in International Business. He eventually  lived there for seven years and had the opportunity to travel the world, sharpen his business leadership skills, and become inspired by community-centered neighborhoods which he felt were lacking in Chicago. 

When not working in the daily grind, Ramon finds peace in music, fitness and being the best father he can be to his three year old daughter Safiyah Marie.