RISE UP: Bolstering Momentum around Black Excellence

2022 Keynote Speakers

Leslie brun

Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO

Ariel Alternatives

Danielle allen

Professor, Harvard University and Author, Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus

Beny Ashburn & Teo Hunter

Co-Founders

Crowns & Hops Brewing Co.

2022 Panelists & Moderators

Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, Founder of BrainTrust, is one of fashion and beauty’s most successful digital pioneers, not only for creating the social media footprint for Ralph Lauren’s fashion empire, but also as a co-founder of Digital Brand Architects, the first agency to manage “bloggers” as talent in 2009. Kendra is one of only 200 Black women ever to have received over $1M in investment for her first company. She has launched three companies herself; most recently her latest endeavor BrainTrust Founders Studio focuses on increasing inclusive economic opportunities for Black beauty and wellness founders providing mentorship, education, community and capital to help them accelerate their businesses and build sustainable growth.  She partnered with Halle Berry to launch rē⋅spin, a health and wellness brand; co-founder of BeautyUnited, a non-profit dedicated to driving DE&I in the beauty and wellness industry; and the host of Business of the Beat Beauty and Wellness Podcast. Kendra graduated from Purdue University with a BA in Communications and then received her MBA in Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University. She has an endowment at her alma mater for a Black female freshman student in the communications school to increase the number of Black students at the University.

Kendra Bracken-Ferguson

Founder and CEO, BrainTrust Founders Studio

Patricia David is the former Senior Diversity Advisor for JPMorgan Chase.During her tenure, she provided strategic advice to the firm on a wide range of diversity topics impacting our work environment, as well as to the head of Executive Talent Management & Diversity and the head of Advancing Black Leaders & Diversity Advancement Strategies.Specifically in this capacity, she also led targeted initiatives key to driving firm-wide strategies. Pat was a member of the JPMorgan Chase Diversity Council, and in collaboration with key business leaders, helped communicate diversity and inclusion efforts within the organization through various means.Joining the firm in 2010, Pat served as head of Diversity for seven years, leading diversity and inclusion efforts across four global regions. She had responsibility for developing and implementing strategies aligned to the firm’s business strategy.She also tracked and reported on the ROI of initiatives and had oversight with the Human Resource community to implement Affirmative Action plans for regulatory compliance.In both roles, she was an instrumental leader across diversity and talent management efforts, Diversity Councils, Business Resource Groups, Leadership Edge (management training) and was a driving force to launch the Advancing Black Leaders diversity strategy and office of Disability Inclusion. Pat brought a passion and personal touch to her work that colleagues at all levels across the firm truly valued.Prior to joining JP Morgan Chase, she was a Managing Director and the Global Head of Diversity Citi’s Institutional Clients Group where she was responsible for overseeing, developing and implementing the overall diversity strategy for this division. Her office was responsible for ensuring that these businesses promoted fair and equitable employment opportunities; fostered recruitment, mentoring, and promotional opportunities for women, minorities and underrepresented groups. Her responsibilities also included oversight of Citi’s Institutional Clients Groups Employee Programs department.She was responsible for working with key business partners to design, implement, track and report on the ROI of various diversity initiatives. Most notably, she has implemented several key diversity programs for high potential women and minorities with measurable success.She led and oversaw the diversity committees of the core businesses in collaboration with HR and senior leaders. She was also responsible for communicating diversity efforts within the organization through various means.

She was responsible for working with the HR community to implement Affirmative Action plans and ensure compliance.Ms. David joined predecessor firm Salomon Brothers in 1996 as a Manager in the Technology division responsible for Global Human Resources Systems, Purchasing, Payroll and a series of Financial Systems. In 1999, she also assumed the role of Chief of Staff for the division’s Chief Information Officer (CIO).She was responsible for overseeing non-project related activities, specifically as it pertained to budgeting, headcount reporting, compensation, expense management, and status reporting and presentation management. At this time Ms. David was also responsible for implementing process and productivity improvements within the Technology division. She was promoted to Managing Director in 2001.Prior to joining Citi, Ms. David worked for Merrill Lynch in N.J. for 10 years, leaving that organization as a Vice President and Manager of Financial Systems in the Technology Division.In March 2002, she was the recipient of the YMCA “Black Achievers in Industry” award and in November 2005, she was the recipient of the YWCA “Women Achievers” award. She has been featured/interviewed in several diversity publications and has received numerous awards.In honor of her academic and professional accomplishments, starting in 2015 the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business annually recognizes a female graduating senior for dedication to inclusiveness in the business world with the ‘Patricia David Trailblazer Award.’ In 2016 Pat received her Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the Fordham Gabelli School of Business for recognition of her life’s work and dedication to diversity and inclusion.She is considered an industry thought leader on diversity and continues to be an active participant in various efforts for under-represented groups. In 2020 she joined the board of Guiding Eyes for the Blind-an organization which provides guide dogs to people with vision loss.She authored and published The ‘Her’story of Davidisms, which is based on years of career advice she has given. It’s a no-nonsense pocket ally to help you get ahead and drive your career.Born in Birmingham, England, Ms. David received a B.S. in Finance and Economics with a minor in Accounting from Fordham University in 1981.She is married and has 2 adult children.

Patricia David

Head of Diversity (Retired)

JP Morgan

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Esusu, the financial technology platform unleashing the power of data to bridge the racial wealth gap and dismantling credit barriers for low to medium-income households. In 2021, Esusu was named to the Forbes Fintech 50 Most Innovative Companies List and in 2022 raised $130 million at a $1 billion valuation. Prior to Esusu, Abbey founded Clean Water for Everyone, a global social venture providing affordable access to clean water for 250,000+ people in six countries. He also founded a data analytics company designed to gather machine-readable data on NGOs operating in Africa which was acquired in 2014. Previously, Abbey was a mergers and acquisitions consultant at PwC, where he worked on more than 20 buy and sell-side deals valued at over $50 billion. His early career covered politics, finance, and international development working with Accenture, European Commission, Goldman Sachs, and campaigning for President Obama.

Abbey wemimo

Co-Founder

Esusu

Anthony Walker is currently a Manager Partner at Next Coast Ventures, an Austin based multi-strategy investment firm, where he runs an investment portfolio focused on the Entrepreneurship through Acquisition asset class. Prior to joining Next Coast, Anthony was Vice President, Global Investment Research at Goldman Sach. In 2019, he co-founded Ellisen Inc., a startup focused on helping institutions of higher education better recruit and retain diverse talent. Before joining Goldman, Anthony spent approximately 5 years managing long-short equity portfolios at Millennium Management and Citadel LLC, two of the largest asset management funds in the United States. He has also worked in long-only asset management and from 2012 to 2015 was a Vice President and member of the Investment Committee at Chicago based Ariel Investments, where he was responsible for covering the energy and industrial services sectors. Anthony began his career in sell-side equity research and spent five years at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers covering the Oil Service and Drilling sector. Anthony earned his BA from Columbia University (NY) where he double concentrated in economics and political science and received his MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a member of numerous Boards of Directors, including serving as Vice Chairman of GreatSchools, a national non-profit focused on helping parents make more informed choices on where to send their children for their K-12 education. 

Anthony Walker

Managing Partner

Next Coast ETA

Yasmine Pearl is an agent in the Talent division of leading global talent, entertainment and sports company, UTA. A champion of unique voices, Pearl has worked with a wide range of established and emerging talent including Chante Adams, Andra Day, Marsai Martin, Tiffany Haddish, André 3000, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eiza González and Dominique Fishback, among others.  

 

Prior to working at UTA, Pearl was a talent agent at WME for several years. Pearl was also a manager at First Access Entertainment and started her career at the Osbrink Agency. Pearl was named “Adult Theatrical Agent of the Year” at the Talent Managers Association’s Heller Awards.   

Yasmine Pearl

Agent

United Talent

Tawan Davis is Davis is founding partner and CEO of The Steinbridge Group.  Steinbridge has structured and executed over $2.2 billion of institutional investments and is currently focused on developing nearly $1 billion of high-quality residential homes for working families in America’s major metros. 

Davis’ leadership combines deep training and experience in finance and economics with a prolific social activism. He began his career as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and was later a real estate private equity investor with Prudential Financial, leading and managing investments both in Europe and the United States.  Davis later served as Vice President and Head of Public-Private Partnerships for in the administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and as CIO of a $5 billion national real estate development firm. 

Forbes Magazine, the Harvard Business School, and Bloomberg News among others have recognized Davis as one of America’s emerging business, economic, and social leaders. 

In addition to leading Steinbridge, Davis is also an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate at New York University (NYU).  He has served on the boards of Harlem Hospital, the New York Urban League, the New Horizons Children’s Advocacy Group, and was appointed to the New York Utility Board by Mayor DeBlasio. 

Tawan Davis earned his Bachelor’s degree with honors from Georgetown University, a Masters of Sciences degree from England’s Oxford University and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.  

Tawan Davis

CEO

The Steinbridge Group

Ayo Ogun, the Founder/CEO of Soultanicals, a mom of six, including three girls with different hair textures, started the company with a genuine curiosity on how to make the hair care process a painless experience for her three daughters. Starting a business was always in the cards, but this mission helped propel her purpose. With her homeschooling children in tow, Ayo embarked on a self-taught journey at neighborhood bookstores & libraries and studied all there was to learn about starting a business, marketing, sales, taxes and taking a binder-full of notes! Within 3 years of research & development, Soultanicals was born. Her toxin-free vegan line enables customers to address natural hair textures through high-quality hair care products formulated with natural ingredients. What started out as a small, handmade business from her kitchen in 2012, quickly morphed into a seven-figure company with viral-selling, sold out products! Fast forward to 2022, Soultanicals is now in over 5,000 stores Worldwide, including major Retailers such as Walmart, Target, Sally Beauty & Rite Aid.

Ayo Ogun

Founder & CEO

Soultanicals

Inspired by a story from her mother, conversations with her sister, and the belief that black girls can create something of luxury for all, Keta is introducing a new conversation into fragrance through Aspen Apothecary, the non-toxic fragrance house that's about celebrating you, as you are. Prior to co-founding the brand, Keta honed her skills at KraftHeinz, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Harvard Business School.

keta burke-williams

Co-founder

Aspen Apothecary

Nkechi "Payton" Iheme is an accomplished public policy leader with over 20 years of experience in the field. She currently is the Head of Public Policy for North America and Latin America for Bumble Inc. At Bumble, she lends her expertise to focus on issues overlapping with community building, online safety, diversity and equity, data privacy, the digital economy, small business, and public/private partnerships.

 

Prior to joining Bumble, Iheme led aspects of public policy outreach at Facebook and also served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Communication Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for the Obama Administration. She has also held various roles in the Dept. of Defense, the State Department, and in Congress as a legislative liaison with specialization in defense, intelligence, humanitarian assistance, and special access programs for Members on the Senate Intelligence, Armed Services, and Foreign Relations Committees. She is also a proud military officer/veteran and continues to serve. She is based in the Washington, DC area.

Payton iheme

Head of Public Policy, N. & L. America

Bumble Inc.

Christa Williams is an SVP and Investing Principal at the Citi Impact Fund where she makes early and growth stage investments. She is also leading the fund’s Black Entrepreneur’s Investment Initiative, a program borne out of Citi’s $1bn “Action for Racial Equity” commitment focused on increasing access to venture capital for Black founders as well as the fund’s fund-of-funds strategy.

 

Prior to joining Citi, Christa worked as an equity research analyst at Jefferies and an investment banker at J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets where she led IPOs for venture-backed companies, most notably Chewy (NYSE: CHWY), Dynatrace (NYSE: DT) and Jumia (NYSE: JMIA). She has an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BA from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.

Christa WIlliams-Collett

SVP and Investing Principal

Citi Impact Fund

Mia Jackson is the CEO of Vital Care Industries, a medical surgical supplies company headquartered outside of Chicago, IL. Previously, as a Principal and Operating Partner with Broadtree Partners, Mia led the diligence for the transaction which led to the subsequent acquisition of Vital Care. Broadtree is an operational focused lower-middle market private equity firm and the Vital Care Industries December 2020 acquisition became the firm’s 10th portfolio company.  

Prior to her role as Principal and Operating Partner at Broadtree, Mia was the Managing Director at Azienda Solutions Group, a boutique management consulting firm focused on strategy and operations. At Azienda, Mia created value for middle market business owners and executives by developing innovative solutions to help make organizations more efficient and profitable.  

From Mia’s 15+ years of industry and consulting experience, she has strong functional expertise in strategy, supply chain and finance across a broad number of industries such as chemicals, building materials, industrial products, consumer products and the manufacturing and distribution sectors. 

Mia is originally from Southern California but recently relocated back to Chicago, IL. She earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management along with a dual Master of Engineering Management from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. Mia also holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from UCLA. 

Mia Jackson

CEO

Vital Care Industries

Ade Patton is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, HBO and HBO Max, responsible for managing all aspects of the HBO and HBO Max divisional financial operations globally. 

Prior to his current role, Patton served as the Chief Financial Officer of Turner Sports and led the Financial Planning and Analysis and Special Projects finance teams for WarnerMedia News and Sports. He began his career with WarnerMedia as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and Development at Turner Broadcasting. 

Previously, Patton spent nearly a decade as an investor focused on media, telecommunications, cable and the internet. He held positions as Senior Portfolio Manager for Millennium Management LLC and as Senior Research Analyst for Citadel Investment Group, where he co-managed the media, telecommunications and cable market neutral equity portfolio. He began his career as a Strategy Consultant at Bain & Company where he focused on technology, consumer/retail and business services.  

Patton holds a B.A. in American Politics from The University of Virginia with highest distinction, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves as an Independent Director at Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL), elected May 2021, on the Audit Committee. 

Ade Patton

EVP, CFO

HBO Max

Gregg Bishop has made a name for himself investing in low to moderate-income communities, growing the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's), implementing sectoral workforce strategies, and building resilient technology infrastructure for media companies.  

He is currently the Executive Director of the Social Justice Fund, an initiative funded by The Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. The Social Justice Fund centers its work around racial justice and economic mobility for BlPOC populations in Brooklyn. 

Before this role, Bishop served as the Interim Executive Director of Coro New York, an organization that believes meaningful change comes from collaboration: people in business and communities, schools and unions, government and nonprofits, working together to find creative solutions, and strengthen our democracy.  

Bishop has over 13 years of government experience, serving under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio. From 2015-2020, he served as the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), where he was charged with running a dynamic City agency focused on equity of opportunity, leading to economic self-sufficiency and mobility for New York City diverse communities.  During his tenure, he connected small businesses to over $200 million in capital, certified a record 9,000 Minority and Women business enterprises, connected over 100,000 New Yorkers to good-paying jobs, and invested over $10 million in capacity-building programs across the five boroughs. In addition, over 10,000 city residents were trained with new skills in the technology, healthcare, industrial and manufacturing, and hospitality sectors. He also developed and launched several initiatives aimed at structural barriers minorities face, including Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC) and Women Entrepreneurs NYC (WE NYC).  

Bishop has a strong track record in the nonprofit and private sectors. He served as the Senior Manager of Workforce Development at NPower, where he was responsible for doubling the capacity of Technology Service Corps, a nationally recognized technology training program for young adults aged 18-25. He has worked at several startups, including TheStreet.com, Oxygen Media, and VIBE Magazine. 

Born in Grenada and raised in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, Bishop received a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing and Management Communication from Florida State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Business Administration from Florida A&M University. He studied International Management and Marketing in Tokyo, Japan, and is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School's Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, and Coro Leadership New York. 

Bishop is an adjunct professor at Baruch College's School of Public Affairs and serves on several boards including Red Hook Initiative, Junior Achievement of New York, Pursuit (formerly New York Business Development Corporation), The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and The Association for a Better New York (ABNY). He also serves on the Hebrew Free Loan Society Microenterprise Committee, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Local Advisory Committee and is the Vice President of the Alpha Gamma Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 

Gregg Bishop

Executive Director, Social Justice Fund, Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation; Former Commissioner of Small Business Services, NYC

Aishetu is an experienced global finance and capital markets executive with a deep track record in business development and transaction execution with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Standard Chartered Bank, World Bank, and Rand Merchant Bank. Aishetu has provided advice to CEOs seeking to leverage public/private capital markets in their growth objectives across consumer products, non-Rx pharmaceuticals, banks and financial institutions, infrastructure, and oil and gas. She has built multi-jurisdictional businesses within large international corporations as well as scaled two businesses as a mission-driven entrepreneur.

Aishetu is a global citizen and has worked/lived in New York, London, South Africa, Nigeria, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. Her deal experience is both expansive and deep reflecting her ability to navigate cultures and regulatory jurisdictions with a keen focus on effective execution. Aishetu has worked on over $130 billion in M&A, private equity financings, IPOs, and public capital market transactions.

Aishetu has led multi-product regional teams to deliver excellence to medium and large corporations with significant operations in emerging markets. She led the coverage team at Morgan Stanley in building their Africa (ex-South Africa) investment banking franchise as well as the West Africa investment banking business for South African banking conglomerate, First Rand Group.

Aishetu is a dedicated chief executive with a “lead from the front” mentality and the ability to inspire and motivate teams to surpass management targets and their own personal expectations. She is also passionate about the advancement of women in business, which led her to executive produce a video series called African HERstory, where she interviewed successful female African executives to highlight their impact on the continent’s development. The insights gleaned from these conversations about igniting confidence in working women led to Aishetu’s current entrepreneurial pursuit – Bossy Cosmetics, a digitally-native beauty brand that targets ambitious working women. In the 2+ years since its founding, Aishetu has redefined the way beauty companies delight and convert professional women and has been featured in NPR’s How I Built Resilience, Vistaprint’s Small Business Podcast, Forbes, W Magazine, Refinery 29, Essence Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, BET Networks, Fashionista Magazine, The Zoe Report, and PopSugar.

Aishetu Fatima Dozie

Founder & CEO

Bossy Cosmetics Inc.

Craig Robinson is an experienced chief executive, division president and board director for global commercial real estate, outsourcing and tech companies. He is currently the Chief Growth Officer for Industrious, a premium flex space provider, where he is responsible for all sales, marketing and strategic partnerships. Craig has led business units within both large global public companies and private mid-cap growth businesses. He most recently built and led Powered By We, a global division at WeWork that provided real estate development, technology and management services. Previously he was the CEO of Global Corporate Services at Newmark where he led all sales, operations and platform investments. Prior to Newmark, he was President of Colliers International Group Inc., U.S. Region, where he was responsible for $1B+ in annual revenue and 5,600 real estate professionals. Craig serves on the corporate boards of Roofstock and Fyllo and is a board advisor to Statebook International and Pacific Program Management. Craig earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, and his BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Craig Robinson

Chief Growth Officer

Industrious

Kwame Anku is the CEO and Chairman of the Black Star Fund, a $12M early-stage innovation venture fund. Black Star Fund has invested in 15 companies, where over 100% of the founders are Black, 50% are women founders and over 70% of capital deployed has been invested in Black women-led ventures. 

 

An honors graduate of Stanford University, Kwame was recently named “One of the Top 25 Black Venture Capitalists to Watch” by Pitchbook. For the last three years, Kwame has been an Aspen Ascend Fellow at the prestigious Aspen Institute.

Kwame Anku

Chairman & CEO

Black Star Fund

Brandon has a bachelor’s from New York University and a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School. Over the course of Brandon’s career, he has started a moving company, worked as a management consultant, and served as the vice president of operations for a fin tech start-up. After graduating from Harvard Business in May of 2020, Brandon started The Lovell Fund. The goal of the Lovell fund is to acquire businesses where Brandon’s team can increase efficiencies and empower employees. Brandon’s passions include helping the next generation get the opportunities that he has received. This has prompted him to lead several social impact initiatives during his career.

Brandon Lovell

Principal

The Lovell Fund

Adia Matthews is the Vice President of Brand Partnerships & Synergy at Hulu. In this position, she leads a team responsible for creating breakthrough brand-moments and for delivering value-add experiences to subscribers through partnerships with brands, talent and businesses across The Walt Disney Company.  From 2017 to 2021, Ms. Matthews led strategy for Disney Movie Insiders, The Walt Disney Studios’ premier loyalty program, and managed a cross-functional team focused on the program's rebranding and relaunch, including a new website and mobile app. 

Adia matthews

Vice President

Hulu Brand Partnerships, Disney

Jerika L. Richardson is Senior Vice President for Equitable Justice & Strategic Initiatives at the National Urban League. She leads the organization’s advocacy, public education, and strategic work on civic engagement, police reform, criminal justice reform, and other justice related areas. Previously, Ms. Richardson was Deputy Executive Director and the Senior Advisor & Secretary to the Board for the nation’s largest independent police oversight agency, the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. She has also served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Counsel to the Mayor of New York City and Special Advisor to the Mayor for media relations, criminal justice, and public safety planning. Before working in City Hall, Ms. Richardson was the Senior Spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and a Field Producer & Off-Air Reporter for ABC News. She holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Spelman College.

Jerika Richardson

Senior Vice President

National Urban League