Kamal Collins is a Senior Art Director—born & raised Chicago, he was involved in the city’s rich creative communities at an early age. As an Art Director, Designer & (sometime) Fine Artist, he seeks to find the connection between humanity and the cultural nuances within politics, art, fashion, diasporic heritage and music in an effort to maintain authenticity in his work. Kamal has spent over a decade bringing these ideas to media agencies where he's helped craft brand campaigns for brands and names like the NBA, Vans, Jay-Z, Donald Glover & Alicia Keys. He currently works for Translation | UnitedMasters and resides in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Jessica Taylor, the visionary CEO and Founder of Ezra Coffee, transforms her childhood passion for coffee into a specialty brand that celebrates connection and inclusion. Ezra Coffee offers smooth and rich blends while educating consumers about African American history through stories on their packaging. Jessica's diverse experiences, including studying abroad and working as a diversity and inclusion strategist, have shaped her commitment to empowering underrepresented students. She launched the Ezra Scholars' Scholarship program to help students with outstanding balances.

Jessica Taylor truly understands the significance of developing products that cater to your tribe. She recognizes the power of connecting with a specific audience and meeting their unique needs. Throughout her entrepreneurial journey with Ezra Coffee, she has prioritized creating products that resonate with her target market, fostering a sense of belonging and inclusivity. By understanding her tribe's preferences, values, and aspirations, Jessica delivers exceptional experiences and builds strong customer relationships. She is also a seasoned speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership, DEI, branding, and the future of business. Her insights and accomplishments have been featured in renowned publications such as  Forbes, Essence, Dallas Weekly, Upscale magazine and Houston Style Magazine.

Walter Frye is Global Director of Brand and Retail Marketing at Amazon. In this role, he leads the mass marketing strategy to drive retail demand and brand love for Amazon and its products and services around the world. Walter also leads Amazon’s multicultural strategy focused on driving affinity with Black and Hispanic audiences in the U.S. Since joining Amazon, Walter has produced multiple award-winning global campaigns, including Amazon’s highly-rated “Joy is Shared” holiday ad and “Saving Sawyer,” which were rated as #1 Most Effective Ad Ever by System1 and the #1 best Super Bowl ad of 2023 by AdAge, respectively. 

Prior to joining Amazon, Walter held various marketing leadership roles at American Express, where he worked for 15 years across experiential, social, design, partnerships and strategy. During his tenure, Walter developed their year-round Shop Small initiative in 20 countries worldwide as well as American Express’ global entertainment and experiential strategy. He negotiated global deals with Live Nation, U.S. Open, Coachella, and Wimbledon, as well as brand’s partnerships with wide range of music artists including Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift. 

Walter serves on the Board of Directors for The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth. His awards include a prime-time Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Video (with Taylor Swift), Billboard 100 Most Powerful Players in Music, AdAge 40 Under 40 and the Out100. Walter holds an MBA from Harvard Business School received a bachelor’s in Economics from Yale University.

Quinnton is the Co-Founder & CEO of Retrospect. A creative leader and designer passionate about leading teams and developing talent, he specializes in designing compelling and authentic brand experiences for companies and entrepreneurs.Quinnton is also an MIT graduate, kickstarting his dynamic career includes serving as an Art Director at Digitas, Lead Creative for acquired Procter & Gamble brand Walker & Company (makers of Bevel), inaugural Creative Director at Blavity, Inc., and Group Creative Director & Global Experience Lead at Publicis Sapient. In 2023, Harris was selected to be Jury President for Design Lions at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He is the second Black president in the festival’s 69-year history.

Danisha Lomax is a sought-after keynote speaker, innovator, and creator. Her purpose is to provide pathways for untold stories to emerge because reclamation and co-conspiratorship depend on storytelling. First to create and hold the role of Head of Client Inclusivity and Impact for Digitas North America, she develops programs focused on authenticity, cultural influence, and impact. In this position, she works to bring clients along the inclusive journey through the Multicultural Center of Excellence - a collective that sits at the intersection of race, culture, identity, and brand responsibility.

Bolstering a brand's impact is next to none. Danisha was instrumental in developing Sephora's The Beauty of Blackness, a documentary about Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the first Black-owned beauty brand. The film is the first of its kind to be acquired by Max and won the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival's Tribeca X Award, among others. Adding to her film repertoire, The Foundation of Belleza tells a generational story of Latina beauty and cultural pride through the eyes of Latina founders. Danisha's story continues; she is critically aware of the continuous lack of equity in the creator space. With TikTok and Sephora, she co-developed an industry-changing Incubator partnership. It is the first program that provides access, opportunities, and overinvestment to BIPOC founders and rising creators. Her creator advocacy has scaled across categories, specifically gaming and financial literacy.

Her experience allowed her multiple nominations and awards, including ADCOLOR Rockstar Nominee (2023), AdMonsters + AdExchanger Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Awards, DE&I Champion (2023), Campaign US' Media Planner of the Year (2021), among others.

While also dedicating time to individually mentor rising stars, Danisha has served as a board member for organizations that elevate young girls, queer, non-binary, and women of color, including Girl Ventures and SFWPC. She is a founding member of OhHey Coach Collective, Board President of Sol Sisters, an advisor to Hello Hapi, and part of the 4As Diversity Steering Committee. Yet, her most humbling charge is being the parent and guide to her two children, Kamaiyah and Ke'aun.

Article she mentioned: https://www.campaignlive.com/article/creating-afrocentrist-future-ai/1879087

Adrian Octavius Walker is a mixed media artist/photographer whose work seeks to expand the canon surrounding the nuances of Black life through tenderness and grit. His fascination with the tangible is the driving force to expand his visual language through various materials. Walker's passion lies in using his practice to platform critical discourse around the imagination in black nostalgia. His work casts questions that inspire the viewer to investigate their own biases and opportunities for community engagement. Adrian's approach to still photography and sculpture is rooted in his commitment to archiving Black stories for the future. Ultimately, Adrian Octavius Walker uses his practice as a space to discover, document, and reminisce about the cultural impact of Black life in America. 

Brittany Allen is a tireless advocate in pursuit of elevating our collective consciousness around inclusion, equity and liberation. As a marketer, she’s led award-winning campaigns for Adidas, Tinder, and Adobe. Her ability to bring all perspectives to the table through her own advocacy has led to evolution inside 72andSunny, where she currently serves as their first DEI Director, North America. Brittany joined The Marcus Graham Project's iCR8 Bootcamp in 2014 as a Brand Manager, leveraging her passions for culture and brand development into a full-time career in advertising. She subsequently joined the ADCOLOR community as a 2016 FUTURE and Co-Lead of the Advisory Board’s Alumni Engagement committee. She is also the 2022 recipient of The Bill Sharp Award, in recognition of her leadership and the future impact she will continue to have. Brittany was recently appointed Vice Chair of The American Advertising Federation's Mosaic Council, further demonstrating her investment in creating equitable access to the advertising industry.
As a mentor for The Collective Identity and the Seeing ME in Media programs, Brittany's heart for service is a motivating force in how she shows up for her community with empathy and excellence. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and a Cum Laude graduate from The University of Southern California with a BA in Communication.
In her spare time, you can find her on a yoga mat, reading books by her favorite Black female authors, and dancing to Beyoncé.

As President & CEO of UniWorld Group, Inc. (UWG),  

Gregory Edwards leads the agency’s advertising,  

marketing, media, and consulting practice. Edwards  

has been at UWG for more than 8 years. Since  

arriving, much of Greg’s attention has been devoted  

to partnering with UWG Chair Monique Nelson to  

transform the agency into a world-class multicultural  

marketing resource. 

In 2021, Edwards oversaw the launch of the  

UniCultural Intelligence Network (UIN), UWG’s  

proprietary multicultural data engine that powers the  

agency’s perspectives, practices, and consumer  

insights. He leads UWG’s U.S., Canadian offices servicing UWG’s esteemed clients like  Ford Motor Company, The Home Depot, Proctor & Gamble, Perrigo, and Johnson and  Johnson to name a few. 

Edwards began his advertising career in account and media services; and evolved his  acumen to include omnichannel marketer with expertise in digital media, product  development, strategic planning, and commerce. During his career he has developed  campaigns, products and strategic selling tools for Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Frito Lay,  Peter Hahn, Kraft, Kellogg’s, and Tyson Foods. 

Over the past few years Edwards has made it his personal endeavor to extend UWG’s  world class marketing services to BIPOC owned companies to ensure their long-term  success in a constantly evolving marketplace.

Follow us @doseofblkjoy & learn more about “A Dose of Support” from the 4A’s - American Association of Advertising Agencies

⁠https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEW1U3sVdZRCQHPVtmwxAITUEA5I4ojWGAgKJMMp3Tc63l-A/viewform?usp=sf_link⁠

About God-is: Throughout her career, God-is has been a strategic executive who is responsible for better serving and engaging diverse communities through digital channels all around the world through brand marketing, campaigns with partners, and events and experiences. As a proud Black American woman hailing from the Bronx, NY, she is passionate about pairing an authentic community care approach with inclusive, culturally fluent marketing, community-integrated product and policy evolution and cultural insights to show there is value in all communities, and that they deserve to be recognized, respected and rewarded—not counted out.

As a marketing executive at Twitter for over 4 years culminating in 2022, she drove strategy to make sure that campaigns and programs were connective, inclusive and reflective of the communities Twitter served. Externally, she both established and built on Twitter's work in developing relationships and programs with community leaders, content partners, influencers, creators, partners and brands.

Prior to joining Twitter in 2018, God-is was Director, Inclusion & Cultural Resonance for VMLY&R. In this newly created role she focused on bridging strategic inclusive marketing and strategy with internal processes and policies to foster an equitable environment at the agency, and produce inclusive work outputs. Earlier, she held lead channel strategy roles at VMLY&R, global agency iCrossing, and Austin-based T3.

God-is has been profiled in digital trade and national publications Adweek, Ad Age, Marie Claire, Forbes, Digiday, Fortune, Campaign US, and The Drum. In 2018 she was named an Ad Age “Woman to Watch” and Adweek “Disruptor” for continuing to fight for representation and equity in the advertising industry. In 2020 God-is was recognized for her work at Twitter amplifying historically marginalized voices as #28 on the Root 100 Most Influential African-Americans list, BET’s Top 100 Most Innovative and Influential Business Executives, and by Fortune Magazine on their esteemed 40 Under 40 list of influential people in the technology category. In 2023 she was recognized by ColorComm as one of the influential 28 Black Women in Communications “Making History Now”. This same year she was also recognized by her hometown, the Bronx Tourism Council, and was inducted in the Bronx Walk of Fame for excellence in the field of marketing. In November 2023 God-is also was chosen to be inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s esteemed AAF Hall of Achievement Class of 2023, a prestigious honor representing an impactful and innovative career in marketing, advertising, and/or media.

In October of 2022 God-is joined The Walt Disney Co. as their first VP, Inclusive Marketing across all Disney streaming platforms and networks including content and IP across ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ where she is tasked with developing and leading strategies to connect with diverse audiences and amplify inclusive content.

In June of 2023 God-is joined Essence Ventures as their first-ever Chief Content Officer. Leading content strategy and connection with intersectional global audiences across all Essence Ventures brands including; Essence Publishing, Afropunk, BeautyCon and Essence Studios. As of 2024 she has been active as an independent consultant with top global brands and organizations around the world.

God-is is also a highly sought after keynote speaker and moderator who has spoken for several brands like Netflix and Spotify, and at international events such as The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, The Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, and Brandweek in Palm Springs, CA among many more. God-is resides in the greater New York City area with her husband and daughter

Follow us on social @doseofblkjoy and learn more about “A Dose of Support” from the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies):

⁠https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEW1U3sVdZRCQHPVtmwxAITUEA5I4ojWGAgKJMMp3Tc63l-A/viewform?usp=sf_link⁠

About Rashan:

Rashan Brown aka Rush (The Mic) is a Spoken-Word Poet & Founder of poetry me, please. Founded in 2019, poetry me, please is a spoken-word poetry platform and content studio that provides a stage for artists across the world to showcase their talents through creative verbal expression.

Featured in Forbes, Time Out, PIX11, News12, NBC, Ebony, REVOLT & The Grio, poetry me, please is the largest poetry showcase in NYC. Averaging 500 guests per show, PMP is on the rise. 

Rashan’s voice & brand have partnered with the likes of the NFL, Eventbrite, LLoyd Banks, Harlem's Fashion Row, NY Independent Schools, the Big Four, Columbia Business School, Republic Records, Rupi Kaur, TIER, Microsoft, AfroTech and AfroFuture. Bringing the show to City Winery, The Cutting Room, SOBS and the iconic Apollo Theater where they sold out to a crowd of over 1,500.

The former STEM educator & Bronx native is committed to mentorship and community building. A board member of BUILD NYC, Rashan continues to be a mentor for students at his alma mater University at Albany, SUNY. A member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Rashan carries the values of the organization in this work.