CINDY COWAN

Cindy Cowan is an award-winning film producer, who co-founded Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) in 1995. From its conception to its sale in 2000, IEG became a leading film production and foreign sales company. IEG had many successes including an Emmy nom for Rent-A-Kid; Emmy, Golden Globe, and People’s Choice noms for If These Walls Could Talk; the coveted United Nations Award for Savior; and four Oscar wins for Traffic.

Since forming Cindy Cowan Entertainment (CCE), Cowan has produced films with various A-list talent including Woody Harrelson, Robert DeNiro, Sir Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy, as well as go on to win an Emmy for Miracle on 42nd Street, a documentary featuring Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard, Larry David, and Samuel L. Jackson, to name a few.

Upcoming projects include True Haunting, a supernatural thriller with Screen Gems; a music-based project with TriStar loosely based on a true story involving ‘NSync; Eye in the Sky, an action thriller with Millennium films; Line of Control, a political thriller with the Exchange; and a female-empowerment story about the girl who struck out Babe Ruth starring Abigail Breslin. Additionally, Cowan is producing a faith-based film entitled Iron Will, as well as various TV shows including Ellis Island, a scripted series about immigration during the 1910s. Cowan is also venturing into unscripted television with Seekers, a reality format showing the various modalities people are using to stay in the light in a world going dark, as well as a show documenting the rebranding of Maxim Magazine to promote women’s empowerment, confidence, and self-acceptance.

When she isn’t hard at work, Cowan sits on the boards of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free instruments and lessons to underserved public schools, and Children Mending Hearts, a dynamic arts-based enrichment education program that helps empower disadvantaged youth, building empathy and global citizenry. She also regularly contributes to Music for Relief, a non-profit organization comprised of musicians, music industry professionals, and fans, that are dedicated to providing aid to natural disaster survivors; We Care Solar, a revolutionary solar system that fits in a briefcase, designed to promote safe childbirth in developing regions by providing health workers with reliable lighting and power; and, Grassroots Soccer, a health organization that uses soccer to elevate at-risk youths in developing countries.

All of her contributions lead to her receiving the 2018 Woman of The Year Award presented by Women’s Image Network, and in 2019, Cowan was the Humanitarian of the Year Award recipient from the Hollywood Women’s Film Institute.

DIANE WARREN

Diane Warren is one of modern music’s most celebrated songwriters. She has penned nine #1 and thirty-two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, is tied for having written the most #1 songs as a sole writer in Billboard history and was inducted into the  Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. She is an Honorary Oscar recipient and has received 14 Academy Award nominations, is a Grammy winner with 15 nominations, Emmy winner and two-time Golden Globe award winner whose songs have been featured in more than 100 motion pictures. She is also the sole owner of her publishing company Realsongs, the most successful female-owned and operated business in the music industry.  She is the recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In summer 2021, Warren released her debut album Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol (Di-Namic/BMG), which included featured guest performances such as Jon Batiste, Carlos Santana, Rita Ora, Maren Morris, John Legend and Jimmie Allen to name a few.  She most recently wrote the original song “Applause” performed by Sofia Carson for the feature film Tell It Like a Woman for which she was Oscar nominated. Diane Warren was selected to receive an Honorary Oscar as voted by the Academy’s Board of Governors.  She is the first songwriter to receive an Honorary Oscar which was presented at the Academy’s 13th Governors Awards in November 2022.Warren wrote the original song “Gonna Be You” which is performed by icons  Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry for the feature film 80 For Brady which stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field which opened in theaters on February 3, 2023.

Jessica Watkins

Jessica Watkins was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. Watkins reported for duty in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an astronaut candidate. The Colorado native earned a Bachelor of Science in geological and environmental sciences from Stanford University, and a Doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Watkins conducted her graduate research on the emplacement mechanisms of large landslides on Mars and Earth. She has worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a science team collaborator for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. Watkins served as a mission specialist on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which concluded on Oct. 14, 2022. It was the first spaceflight for Watkins, and the first flight of the Crew Dragon “Freedom” spacecraft. During the mission, she spent 170 days in space maintaining the space station and contributing to science experiments that not only might improve life on Earth, but also allow researchers to learn more about the effects of long duration spaceflight on the human body.

Lida Noory

Lida Noory is a senior advisor and the Director for Women, Peace, and Security in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) at the U.S. Department of State, where she has served for fifteen years. Prior to this role, she was the Director for the Policy Unit responsible for coordinating on a wide range of global gender policy issues, including gender-based violence; women’s economic empowerment; adolescent girls; women, peace and security as well as multilateral issues, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, UN General Assembly, and the High-Level Political Forum. She also managed S/GWI’s East Asia Pacific and South and Central Asia regional policy issues. Lida served as the senior policy advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s issues on Afghanistan from 2011 to January 2022. In this role she worked to advance the human rights of Afghan women and girls and support their full participation socially, politically, and economically. Prior to that, she was the program coordinator and analyst for the Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initiative where she monitored and managed programming focused on support for Iraqi women and girls. Throughout her various roles in S/GWI, she coordinates closely with key offices and bureaus within the U.S. Department of State, White House, and interagency to advance gender equity and equality through U.S. foreign policy and assistance strategies. Before joining the State Department, Ms. Noory was the Director of Foreign Policy and International Women’s Issues at the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), a non-government organization in Washington, DC. She is also a member of the McCain Institute Global Leaders Program. Ms. Noory holds a bachelor of arts in media studies and in studies of women and gender from the University of Virginia.

DR. EMMA ANDREWS

Emma Andrews, Pharm.D. is Pfizer’s Vice President, Patient Advocacy, leading the organization’s work to embed the patient perspective across all Pfizer’s efforts – from bench to bedside, and beyond. A registered pharmacist, Emma is passionate about helping people live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. In her current role, Emma works with internal and external stakeholders to advance patient-focused programs across the enterprise.

Emma joined Pfizer in 1999 and has held a variety of positions in Operations, Research and Strategy.  Most recently, Emma was Senior Director US/Global Medical Affairs Team Lead for the Women’s Health Franchise.  Emma began her work in Medical Affairs as the Regional Medical TA Lead Diversified Portfolio for Latin America, responsible for developing medical strategies and enhancing communication between Pfizer and the region’s stakeholders.

Emma completed her Doctor of Pharmacy, as well as her Bachelor of Pharmacy, at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science.

Maria Weaver

Maria Weaver is the President of WMX the global artists and label services division at Warner Music Group, home to artists such as Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Coldplay and Cardi B. She leads the growth of Warner’s network of owned-and-operated consumer brands and oversees the day-to-day operations including streaming account management and playlisting, direct-to-fan and merchandising operations, consumer acquisition, content creation, legal & business affairs, and finance.

Maria has over three decades of experience leading marking and media teams. Previously, she was the Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at Comcast Advertising where she created a strong, international marketing organization to support the company’s growing business needs. Maria was responsible for all facets of marketing and branding for the company’s advertising sales division, Effectv, including leading its rebrand from Comcast Spotlight. She also oversaw its full-service creative agency Mnemonic, as well as FreeWheel, which provides advertising software and solutions for the television ecosystem. Additionally, she helped provide relief to Black-owned small businesses that were affected by COVID-19 through launching the Comcast RISE program.

Prior to Comcast, Maria was one of the founders of Interactive One, the digital division of Urban One (formerly Radio One), overseeing marketing and digital ad sales across all of the Interactive One brands. Among other projects, she co-produced Interludes, a music showcase series on TV One and HelloBeautiful. Maria was also the co-founder of Triple Threat Films, a film fund that financed and executive produced award-winning cinematic projects. Maria previously held various senior marketing and creative services roles at HBO, where she most notably oversaw audience segmentation marketing. Her content marketing and acquisition strategy led to several of HBO’s programming successes, including the launch of The Wire, Def Poetry, and many others.

Maria received the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications Award of Excellence, the Council of Urban Professionals Catalyst Award, and multiple honors from The Telly Awards and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. She serves on the boards of She Runs It, The Frederick Douglass Family Initiative, Figure Skating in Harlem, and the International Radio and Television Society. Maria holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media Studies from Pace University and a Master of Professional Studies from Pratt Institute.

MARJAN NESHAT

KARLA WELCH​

Karla Welch: CEO, Stylist, and Activist. She has been profiled in many of the world’s foremost journalistic outlets, including the New York Times, the New Yorker, Fast Company, Vogue and Forbes. Karla Welch is CEO and co-CMO of eriod., the sustainable period underwear company she co-founded. Period. is a mission based company that focuses on empowering all people who period.Named the most powerful stylist by the Hollywood Reporter, Karla is also one of the world’s
most influential fashion stylists as she leads with the guiding principle of dressing her clients to be the best versions of themselves. Karla also has her own brand, x karla, and creative studio, The Welch’s, that she shares with her husband and creative partner, Matthew. Together they have brought to life collaborations with brands like Hanes, Levi’s, Eddie Bauer, Express, Adidas, Tiffany & Co., Stella Artois, and Prada. Social justice is the cornerstone of x karla collaborations, the financial success of which has resulted to date in over 1.3 million dollars in contributions to progressive organizations that Karla supports.As a public figure, Karla knows the importance of using her platform to advocate for change.With over 421k IG followers, Karla is continually fighting for and spreading awareness to womxn rights, LGBTQ rights, Trans Rights, birth control, climate change, racial equality, aswell as many other social justice causes.

RUPA DASH

TAMARA HOUSTON

Tamara N. Houston is a published author, an entertainment producer, and the founder of heritage development enterprise ICON MANN. She is currently the Managing Partner of a mobile design and educational installation, the Pavilion of the African Diaspora (PoAD), which she curated alongside the luxury designer Ini Archibong.

Houston founded ICON MANN in 2014 to positively transform the dialogue and imaging of Black males within the African Diaspora through original produced content and exclusive invite-only engagement. ICON MANN cultivates a global network among the most prominent Black men to create an influencer and lifestyle pipeline in the fields of business, entertainment, politics, education, the arts, media, and technology.

Houston’s early professional work gave her insight into the power of media and the need for new perspectives. She started her career in fashion on Seventh Avenue with famed American designer Betsy Johnson before working at the William Morris Agency. After this, Houston served as Director of Film and Television for Sanctuary Music Group, where she was responsible for the company’s music crossover portfolio of multi-platinum-selling international artists.

Houston Executive Produced the documentary Versailles 73: American Runway Revolution, 28 Men of Change, A Salute to Sidney Poitier, and Associate Produced the Spike Lee-presented feature American Skin. She is also a published author. Her debut novel, Waiting For Jules, was published by Atria/Simon & Schuster.

Houston is a well-known advocate for art patronage around Black-led art and design projects. Her philanthropic appointments include serving as Arts Board Advisor to City College Center for the Arts (New York), Global Advisor to Nile Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation, and Co-Chair of the Jenesse Center’s Achievement Circle. Previous appointments include LA Board Member of College Track, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, and BAFTA (US) Ambassador.

REGINA LAWLESS, MSOD

Regina Lawless is the Director of Diversity Talent Management at Meta (formerly Facebook). She joined the company in November of 2020 as the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Instagram. Aside from her primary role, Regina is a Leadership Coach, DEI Consultant and Founder of Bossy & Blissful, a coaching community for high-achieving women of color to connect, grow and restore balance. Regina has 18+ years of HR experience working for Fortune 500 companies across various industries. Prior to Meta, she served as the Global Director of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at Micron Technology and led the creation of their diversity curriculum and spearheaded talent initiatives to mitigate bias in interviews and performance discussions. Regina spent the early part of her career as an HR Business Partner, working closely with business leaders to translate their goals into effective people strategies. With the desire to have greater impact, she decided to pursue specialized roles in Organizational Development (OD), Learning & Development and eventually in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. DEI is the culmination of her varied HR experience and personal passion for social justice that was fostered at an early age. Regina grew up in an underserved community that bordered some of the most affluent zip codes in the country. Growing up experiencing inequality firsthand makes her determined to work toward creating equal opportunity in the workplace and the world. In 2021, Regina was appointed to the Board of the World Women Foundation and serves as an Advisory Council Member for University of San Francisco’s Engineering Program. She is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento in Communication Studies and holds a Master of Science degree in Organization Development from University of San Francisco. Regina is a Bay Area native and currently resides there with her son. She is an avid reader, loves listening to music and podcasts and practicing yoga.

Adhrucia Apana

Adhrucia Apana is an Artist, Filmmaker, Emmy Nominated Executive Producer & the Founder of the production company Curiosity Entertainment/GP of the sister fund Curiosity Media Finance. Curiosity Entertainment is currently in development and pre-production of their inaugural slate. Their year kicks off with the next production from famed television creator Mark Williams (Ozark) and their first film is by Anthony McCarten (Theory of Everything, Bohemian Rhapsody) directed by Nisha Ganatra (High Note, Late Night).   This year’s creative slate developed by Curiosity includes projects with showrunner Rob Weiss (Ballers, Entourage, How to Make it in America) the Neese Brother’s (The Umbrella Academy), a series based off a novel written by Deepak Chopra by Kevin Fox (Law & Order SVU, Raising Kanan), a co-production with Alcon Entertainment and Nazrin Choudhary (Fear of the Walking Dead) and a female driven action comedy playfully named “Bride hard”.

Her most recent releases include the Emmy Nominated film “The Survivor” starring Ben Foster and directed by Barry Levinson, “Needle in a Timestack” starring academy nominated Cynthia Ervo, Leslie Odom Jr, Orlando Bloom, and Freida Pinto-directed by Academy Award Winner John Ridley, and “Capone” starring Tom Hardy all which were Executive Produced during her time working with BRON Studios.   She has spent the last 8 years in Entertainment supporting over 30 film and television shows as an executive at various production companies. Her experience includes serving as a partner at Atlantic Screen Media Group, and to Randy Jackson (American Idol), and as an Executive at Partners Hub and FilmHouse NYC. Adhrucia is an active member Goldhouse focused on elevating Asian and South Asian voices in the Entertainment Industry and beyond, and has served or been an advocate and volunteer for Los Angeles based non-profits Young Storytellers and Project Paper Bag.    She is a Spotify creator, founding m

Krystina Fisher

Krystina Fisher is a Senior Vice President at Golin, an award-winning global communications firm. Serving as a senior advisor to Fortune 500 companies, Krystina collaborates with brands to bring to life bold integrated marketing campaigns that meet business objectives and deliver high-impact results. Overseeing multiple lines of business across corporate and consumer PR, Krystina has helped clients through brand repositioning, new product launches, sponsorship activations, crisis mitigation, talent management, thought leadership, experiential events, influencer relations as well as other earned media-driven initiatives. Krystina proudly worked on the WPP team along with World Woman Foundation to promote #WorldWomanHour, a global digital event celebrating and sharing inspiring stories from women around the world who have overcome inequality and adversity while paving the path for the next generation of female leaders. In her free time, Krystina enjoys culinary travel, attending James Beard events, and volunteers every year as an event production lead for the Food Bank of NYC at NYCWFF. Krystina graduated from the University of Connecticut where she specialized in communications and international relations.

MIRI RODRIGUEZ

Miri Rodriguez is a globally recognized Storyteller, bestselling author of Brand Storytelling and owner of Be Mindful Be Happy. Miri brings 15+ years of expertise, valuable industry and consulting insights matched with a lighthearted and authentic delivery approach. Miri has earned several awards in digital marketing and customer experience and is ranked as top in-demand speaker at leading industry conferences around the world. Her social advocacy and philanthropic work include volunteering to train social enterprise leaders in Africa, coaching students at Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in the U.S., and mentoring men and women to build their personal brand with empathy, passion and purpose. She currently works at Microsoft as Senior Storyteller for State and Local Government.

VIVIAN TU

Gilda Garza

Gilda Garza is a celebrity-favorite artist known as “The most influential artist in Mexico” according to Forbes.  Born and raised in Mexico, Garza’s work strives to convey her unique, multi-cultural perspective of the human experience. Constantly testing and refining her techniques, she paints both oil and acrylic. Garza gracefully transforms blank canvas into stirring imagery that speaks to the continued legacy of hopeful self-expression inherited from her mother and grandmother, proclaiming: “There is no work of art I paint that does not carry a piece of my heart and a part of my soul in it.” Garza courageously and elegantly explores the power of passion and love, the conflict between survival and excess, and the delicate relationship between beauty and strength. Famously recognized as the first artist to exhibit on the Las Vegas Strip, her work has since featured on the cover of Playboy, she has also designed for Roberto Cavalli having her artwork into the Haute Couture, and a collaboration on the opening design of Nicole Miller’s catwalk show during Fashion Week. Gilda created a  sculpture for the The Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team which was exhibited at the 50th anniversary. During 2019 House of Bijan billed as the most expensive store in the world with its luxury fashion displayed The Bijan Kings art pieces from Gilda Garza in the Rodeo Drive boutique. In 2020 the prestigious magazine Forbes USA named her art as best home decor gift.  Bevery Hills iconic The Beverly Wilshire Hotel welcomed Garza’s “Kings and Queens” art exhibition where she showcased  her collaboration with Jason of Beverly Hills on a mini King Karl Lagerfeld pendant witch was handcrafted with diamonds. Gilda has shown her work in galleries in Aspen, New York, London, Miami, Las Vegas and Hong Kong. Garza join forces with World Woman Foundation to empower one million women by 2030. She  is recognized by cabinet members in her native nation Mexico for her cultural contribution through art. Her work has universal appeal and has been covered by corporations as well private collectors.  In 2022, Gilda is working with Murano Glass on a collaboration, the glass sculptures will be exhibited in the beautiful city of water, Venice. 

MAGGIE FRELENG

Maggie is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and producer based in New York City focusing on wrongful convictions,  the criminal legal system and social issues. She is the host and producer of “Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng“, “Murder in Alliance” and “Unjust & Unsolved” podcasts  focusing on wrongful convictions and the crimes that are consequently left unsolved. She is also the host and producer of the International Documentary Award and Pulitzer Prize winner “Suave” on PRX.

Maggie is an Adjunct Professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and formerly the Producer-at-Large for NPR’s Latino USA. She was an NPR Next Generation Radio fellow and 2019 Ford Foundation “50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism” fellow. Maggie was also a TV documentary host for VICE and previously Oxygen’s “The Disappearance of Maura Murray”.

​Her podcast “Suave” won the 2022 IDA award and was nominated for the 2022 Livingston Award for National Reporting. She is a Webby and iHeart nominee. Her work has been featured in the LA Times, The Atlantic, Spin, The Observer, Democracy Now!, MSNBC, NPR, Vulture, People, HLN, WNYC, NPR’s Code Switch, NBC New York, WHYY, Dr. OZ, Boston Globe, The Huffington Post, and Voices of New York. She was the New York blog correspondent for Stop Street Harassment and was a production assistant at WAM! (Women, Action, and the Media).
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Maggie graduated with an M.A in Journalism focusing on Health & Sciences and Radio Broadcast from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in December 2015. She earned a B.A in Journalism and English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2011.
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She returned to New York in 2012 following an offer at Women’s eNews. There, she most notably wrote about low-wage female workers in retail and fast food right when the Fight for $15 was kicking off in Times Square. Her passion to cover social justice started there.

DR. LANA ISRAEL

Dr. Lana Israel wrote her first book at 13 and founded Brain Power for Kids, Inc. while in middle school. For the next decade, she wrote and produced award-winning educational content on learning and memory, lectured and consulted globally, and made numerous international media appearances. Fueling this was her five-year study on Mind Mapping and related memory techniques, which garnered the Grand Award at the International Science and Engineering Fair and resulted in an invitation to the Nobel Prizes. For Dr. Israel‘s contributions to global education, including pioneering the educational applications of Mind Mapping, she was named The British Brain Trust’s “Brain of the Year” in 1993.

More recently, Dr. Israel has crafted global entertainment strategies for Fortune 500 companies, worked with global superstars, and consulted extensively in the music industry – spanning artist and writer management, publishing and production, and strategy and data analytics.

Dr. Israel holds a Doctorate (D.Phil) in Experimental Psychology from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar and conducted post-graduate research on memory. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Dr. Israel’s research on memory has been cited over 800 times.

Integrating her lifelong passions for music, memory, and the mind, Dr. Israel started Muzology, a music-driven EdTech company based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Aayati Dash Kar

Aayati Dash Kar is an inspiring fifth-grade student and  a self-taught artist. Aayati uses her creativity and imagination to challenge traditional norms and expectations of young girls.She is currently the Assistant Creative Director of the book LEADhER, by World Woman Foundation – a non-profit organization that aims to empower and uplift women around the world. Additionally, she is the co-founder of Queendom Metaverse, an online platform that allows users to explore virtual worlds and create their own communities.Recently, Aayati collaborated with award-winning visual artist Karen Bysedt to launch the #Crownyourself collection to use the power of fashion and creativity for girls to embrace their true self. When she’s not busy breaking down barriers and changing the world, Aayati loves writing poetry and learning fun facts about everything. Her boundless energy and infectious enthusiasm serve as an inspiration to everyone she meets, and she credits  her grandmother who lives in India for shaping who she is today.

Eva Taylor

Eva Taylor has nearly 14 years of experience creating and executing strategic programs and campaigns that connect and engage brands and employees with their customers, communities and other key stakeholders. In her role as Director, Social Impact at Hootsuite, Eva creates initiatives that empower employees to give back to the communities where they live and work, including creating the award-winning Hootsuite for Good program, and also oversees strategic partnerships, philanthropy and disaster relief. Additionally, as the former Director, Global Social Marketing at Hootsuite, Eva works closely with nonprofit organizations to harness the power of social good and co-led a fundraising effort across a coalition of 40 BC businesses that raised nearly $1,000,000 CAD in twenty four hours for the Canadian Red Cross in support of the British Columbia Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal in December 2021.

ELIZABETH RUSSO

ELIZABETH RUSSO is a multi-award winning songwriter and lyricist for records, film, television, and virtual reality. Her versatility and unique take on pop culture have made her one of today’s most sought-after talents. More than 100 of Russo’s songs can be heard in films and television shows on Netflix, Showtime, HBO, WB, Disney, Universal Pictures, Hulu, MTV, Freeform, and Fox. The first single, Free People, from her band Paint the Muse was featured in the “Samsung Galaxy Orange LOVE” and “People Hair Care” campaigns. Her song Make Me Move by Culture Code has over 100 million streams worldwide. Artists from Universal, Sony, Capitol Records, SM Records, Spinnin’ Records, Eclipse Records, and Dim Mak Records have recorded her infectious songs. Russo is proud to have won a Telly Award and HMMA Award nomination for the song Looking Up which was featured in the World Woman Foundation’s documentary “World Woman Hour: 60 Women: 60 Stories: 60 Minutes”.

Sumedhaa-Priya Kothari

Sumedhaa is an upcycle designer focused on building accessibility into the world of high end sustainable fashion. With a background in Cognitive Neuroscience from UC Berkeley, she began her career in tech working for both Google and Stripe, before taking the leap to fully invest herself in the world of independent sustainable design. It was only when selling her pieces for the first time to generate donations for a local LA shelter, Casa Milagrosa, that she came into contact with the extensive obstacles surrounding affordability in the world of sustainable design. With the idea to solve this in mind, she created a rental business model (direct from designer to consumer) by which all demographics (from underserved communities to comfortable socioeconomic statuses) can rent items at affordable prices: thereby undercutting the consumption of disposable clothing as well as providing designers with unlimited revenue on each of their pieces. She has currently launched this model with her own brand and is working on a platform for all independent designers to own and rent their inventory globally.

Rasha Goel

Rasha Goel is a 2X Emmy nominated Television Host/Producer and International Correspondent. She has worked for networks such as CNN, ESPN, REELZ Channel, HBO Asia, as well as Facebook, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and Disney. From covering Presidential visits to Los Angeles to presenting HCA’s Best First Feature award to Lin-Manuel Miranda to covering breaking news & winning the National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors (NATOA) for her talk show piece on prison reform, Rasha finds her greatest joy in sharing stories of marginalized communities. Her talent has led to opportunities such as giving front row experiences to the biggest Bollwood stars to chat and sit with NBA stars like the late Koby Bryant connecting entertainment, cultures, & business. In 2017, she was an invited speaker at the renowned World Communication Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Rasha is a returning co-host for Dick Clark Productions Live Red Carpet Show for the Golden Globes and a co-host on the Shorts TV Podcast: Awards Season. In addition, she is the Anchor/Producer of “Star Talk” on TV ASIA – leading the way in providing content that highlights the South Asian diaspora. She is one of the few South Asian American women who has worked both for the US market and internationally. Through her work, she aims to be an advocate for the representation of diverse perspectives. She is also a Board Member of the Asian Culture & Media Alliance and the Hollywood Critics Assoc. Rasha launched her own talk show “RAW with Rasha”, creating a space to talk about taboo topics openly. She believes in the power of healing and connectivity through conversation. She has now made it her mission to give a voice to those who may feel alone and isolated due to cultural stigmas. When Rasha is not working, she enjoys traveling, exploring marine life, working with kids, and trying eclectic vegetarian cuisines! She is also a Reiki practitioner and enjoys sharing her healing gifts with people.

Reshma Gajjar

Dr. Zabina Bhasin, MD

Dr. Zabina Bhasin (“Dr. Zee”) is a South Asian American child
psychiatrist, Cornell-educated diversity, equity, inclusion,
accessibility and belonging (DEIAB) expert, and mother.

She is also founder and CEO of In KidZ, an EdTech
company on a mission to create positive change through
discovery and play.

Dr. Zee’s work has been celebrated on Good Morning
America and in Entrepreneur Magazine and Vogue. She
was recently named one of Forbes “ Next 1000
Entrepreneurs” and is a prominent media personality and
speaker on the topics of parenting, education and DEIAB.

Constantin Bjerke

Constantin Bjerke is a multi-cultural, award-winning media entrepreneur, board advisor, creative brand consultant, and producer passionate about storytelling.His publishing business Crane.tv re-invented cultural storytelling as the first online video magazine and was named a “top ten European start-up to watch” by the Wall Street Journal, syndicating content to a wide array of publishers, including the New York Times, The Guardian, Hypebeast, and Archdaily reaching an influential, worldwide audience.With Cult Global, the branded entertainment agency and production company, they have won several Cannes Lions for their work serving clients, including Burger King, Absolut, BMW, Coca Cola, and Booking.com.He serves on the board of ifaw.org and is launching his next venture at the intersection of athlete storytelling and global media. Academically, Constantin holds a dual Masters’s degree from ESCP, where he taught intercultural negotiations and was a frequent conference speaker from DLD to Advertising Week. He is a New York City Venture Fellow and regularly mentors at Seedcamp and the School of Visual Arts.

Brianna Newland

Dr. Brianna Newland (moderator) is a Clinical Associate Professor and Academic Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Tisch Institute for Global Sport. Her research and consulting work is focused on gender equity and the role sport and fitness plays across the lifespan. Bri currently serves on the board for iGiant, whose mission is to accelerate the translation of research into gender/sex-specific design elements such as products, programs, policies and protocols. She also serves on the board of Tharros, whose mission is to ensure access to and continued participation in sport for girls and women. As part of her research and consultancy work, Bri is a member of  Wasserman’s – The Collective, which is a Think Tank of scholars who work closely with Wasserman to address gender equity issues across all levels of sport. Bri has also served on the Aspen Institute’s Project Play advisory panel to re-imagine school sport, where she advocated for access to sport for girls with a focus on women-specific issues like safe-play, abuse protections, body-related challenges (dysmorphia, confidence, puberty, etc.), and proper equipment and clothing (e.g., proper fitting sports bras, girl-specific equipment). Finally her research includes exploration of pathways for sport participation across the lifespan, with a focus on barriers to girls and women specifically as well as issues such as sexual, emotional, and physical abuse in sport. Bri received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin.

YAMILA SAUD

Janneidy Velazquez

Janneidy Velazquez has been a part of the BMW Group for over six years, including both the Rolls Royce Motor Cars, NA &
BMW, NA brands. Within each brand, her roles & areas of responsibilities have been heavily focused on market research
analysis & marketing campaign management for national, regional, & international activations.
Presently, Janneidy holds the role of Sr. Diversity Marketing & Events specialist within the Marketing Communications team at
BMW, NA. In this role, she diligently & passionately finds areas of opportunities within underrepresented/diverse communities
where the organization can effectively provide representation through engagement opportunities, relevant communication, &
sustainable partnerships by managing the BMW Executive Board DE&I sponsorship program & various marketing campaigns.

Stacie Cobos

Stacie Paxton Cobos is the Chief Communications Officer at the Bezos Earth Fund. Most recently she led global communications and marketing at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Earlier, Stacie was Senior Vice President for Communications and Marketing at The Climate Reality Project, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to solving the climate crisis founded and chaired by former Vice President Al Gore.

‍A veteran campaign strategist and spokeswoman, Stacie served as the national press secretary at the Democratic National Committee from 2006 to 2009. She managed communications on three presidential campaigns and spent six years on Capitol Hill as a spokeswoman and senior advisor to members of Congress. Her experience also includes several years at CNN, where she oversaw publicity for the network’s anchors and programming. Stacie graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Caroline Teti

In her 10-plus years as a marketing professional, Caroline Teti has combined her multi-faceted creative talents, her deep interest in data and her passion to connect people to deliver results for brands. She specializes in creating effective content strategies across communication channels for multiple industries including real estate, pharmaceutical aesthetics and technology. In her role as the Associate Director of Marketing at Cavrnus, Inc., Caroline connects Enterprises, Brands and Creators with the Cavrnus Platform to create and share immersive metaverse experiences.

Caroline earned a B.A. in Classical Civilization at UCLA with the departmental highest honors while exploring the early-influence of social media and digital communication. She also co-founded a music project, Skyline Pigeons. At Skyline Pigeons, Caroline established publishing and content partnerships with distribution channels, streaming platforms and online publications including Filter Magazine, Spinner Magazine and NME.

With interests in architecture and data, Caroline studied and earned certificates both in Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA and Data Analytics at USC. She enjoys researching topics related to the impact that technology, design and self-expression play in terms of the overall societal progress for humanity. Today, Caroline is working together with leaders and change-makers to push the limits of creativity, storytelling and human connection on the new experience Internet.

Mari Elizabeth Blunt

Mari Elizabeth Blunt is a ten-year old dynamic girl with a positive attitude and a friend to many. She enjoys being a creative – painting, drawing, singing, and is a budding makeup artist. She also loves ice skating and gymnastics.  In 2022, Mari played the violin and performed at Carnegie Hall with her school orchestra (this year she switched to playing the trumpet).  Mari is a member of the step team at her middle school and is a defender on her neighborhood league lacrosse team. Mari resides in South Orange, NJ with her parents Jonathan and Traci Otey Blunt and their spunky rescue dog Sunny!

Dr. Zabina Bhasin, MD

Dr. Zabina Bhasin is a South Asian American Child Psychiatrist, Cornell-educated diversity and inclusion (DEI) expert, and mental health expert who is affectionately called Dr. Zee by many. She is the founder of In KidZ, an ed-tech company centered around educating children and families on other cultures and celebrations. Dr. Zee’s goal is to make inclusion normal and a daily part of family life. She is a mom on a mission to educate our children, celebrate diversity and to change the world through play. Her expertise and the work to use games, toys, and fun to teach serious topics like diversity, inclusion, belonging, and more have taken her from news media like Good Morning America. Entrepreneur Magazine, Vogue Magazine & most recently celebrated as FORBES NEXT 1000 ENTREPRENEURS. As a dynamic speaker, entrepreneur, and children’s book author, Dr. Zee is now the only South Asian woman on the Toy Association Board of Directors; she is also a member of the Concordia board. As a South Asian woman owned company, she is the first to ink a licensing partnership deal with Sesame Street. Dr. Zee is also a Forbes contributing writer who has been named as 100 Women to Know. She lives by her mother’s motto that, “We are more similar than we are different. Our differences make us unique, but they do not separate us.” Her past experiences with childhood bullying and her current observation of a lack of cultural understanding with children sparked her global work. At In KidZ, creating toys and products designed to celebrate diversity is just the beginning. The company is expanding to broaden its reach through books, television programming, classrooms, and businesses around the country. And we’re doing it all with a single goal in mind – to make diversity no longer an issue and the cultural norm.

Cheryl Fox

Cheryl Fox photographer + artist, found her love for photography at University in a dark room class and
later polished her creative skills at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. From there she went on to shoot
lifestyle images of family and friends. Many of those friends, now music’s biggest icons.
As a black woman, her career has unfolded solely by word of mouth and with no agency representation
to date. Her professional art career started with Fine Art. Through personal relationships she’s been
commissioned for HBO and Showtime Key Art, magazine covers, album packaging and ad campaigns.

Summers in East Hampton and holiday in St. Barts with iconic beings, like Sean Combs, Naomi Campbell,
Beyonce and Mary J Blige to name a few created an ideal kick start for Fox’s career in photography. It
was famed photographer Steven Klein that told her on one of the trips, to take as many pictures as she
could, for he as a professional photographer could not take his camera out and point it at anyone. So she
did.
Fox captures the vulnerability rarely seen of her subjects. Unsure who to trust and how to present these
authentic images, the Fine Art world opened up to her work. Her work was not featured on the actual
walls of the galleries representing her work until exhibition time. Recently, introduced to NFTS as fine art
meets cryptocurrency. In this bright new progressive world artists and their work are celebrated way
beyond the gallery. Fox dropped her Genesis Collection SMOKE in December 2021.
Her NFTs were featured at the 1st Decentral Art Pavilion @ the Venice Biennale in Italy this year. In July &
August, NFT Gallery ARTCADE @ Fred Segal on Sunset has exhibited Fox’s current work and released her
latest NFT Collection, entitled ‘Spirit Of An Athlete’. These SPORTS NFTs, feature never seen before NFTs
of athletes like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Terrell Owens and Floyd Mayweather to name
a few. Fox is born in Jersey and lives in Los Angeles. When it comes to the arts, she is definitely one to
watch!

Traci Otey Blunt

A nationally recognized and award-winning communications and public affairs strategist, Traci Otey Blunt is a politically savvy and fearless communicator and architect of positive, proactive, strategic messaging for even the most challenging situations and issues facing organizations across the public-private sectors. Serving as a loyal and trusted communications advisor to prominent political figures and senior corporate executives—Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Presidential elections and Robert (Bob) L. Johnson, the well-known entrepreneur and media magnate—Traci has been the mastermind behind award-winning media relations, public affairs, executive visibility, and government relations campaigns for corporate, political, sports, and nonprofit organizations for the past 20-plus years. Traci joined the National Football League as SVP, of Corporate Communications in October 2018. Traci led communications strategies across priority areas, including rapid response/current affairs, business operations, NFL media, public affairs, social justice, diversity and inclusion, and community relations. During the 2020 season, Traci led communications strategy for social justice efforts, diversity, equity, inclusion, and the NFL Votes initiative. Prior to the NFL, Traci was appointed by Bob Johnson as president of RLJ Entertainment’s Urban Movie Channel (UMC). In 2017, Traci leveraged her experience in building brands and leading consumer campaigns to launch and grow the industry-pioneering subscription video on demand (SVOD) channel dedicated to showcasing content relevant to African American audiences. At the behest of Bob Johnson, whom she had met through her work on the Clinton campaign, Traci first went to work for RLJ Companies in 2008 as EVP in charge of corporate communications and public affairs for the multiple diversified companies in the RLJ portfolio, including RLJ Entertainment. Honored with multiple national awards for her communications and public relations prowess, Traci was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal. She was honored with the Circle Award from ColorComm and the Hall of Femme from PR Week. Traci has also been featured in national media articles, such as Mocha Market magazine’s “Women in Charge, On Fire and Changing the World: National Advisor to Presidential Contender and Business Tycoon.”Traci is a current board member of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, serves as an emeritus board member of ColorComm, and is a former board member of the International Black Film Festival of Nashville. She has been a member of the Arthur W. Paige Society, Page UP, and the National Press Club. Traci is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, moderator, and panelist for national organizations. Recognized as a leading voice versed in various subject matters, she has received multiple awards, including the “2020 NFL Executive of the Year” awarded by Off The Field Players’ Wives and POWERHANDZ, Inc; the 2020 “PLAY MAKE HER” award for sports and entertainment; The Network Journal’s Top 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business; PR Weeks’ ‘Champions of PR’; ColorComm Circle Award (2017); Cablefax Most Influential Minorities (2018); and featured in Mocha Market Magazine – “Women in Charge, On Fire and Changing the World: National Advisor to Presidential Contender and Business Tycoon.” Traci holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Tennessee State University, which later awarded her with two distinguished recognitions: Women of Legend & Merit and Women of Influence Award (Media) from its national alumni. She pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (Alpha Chi Chapter) and marched in the Aristocrat of Bands. Traci was raised in Los Angeles, California, and Nashville, Tennessee. She resides with her family in South Orange, New Jersey.

Mandana Bolourchi,

Mandana Bolourchi, the Iranian-born philanthropist, entrepreneur and influencer was raised between Dubai, Europe and America where her father was also a well-known philanthropist and CEO in Dubai and Iran. Aside from being a philanthropist herself she is also an entrepreneur, a very dedicated mother, which has helped her find the passion to encourage, uplift, and support women in the Middle East. She has always believed that anyone, especially women, can do anything they dream of without the restrictions that society, culture, or religion places on them. Mandana works hard to make sure her daughter lives freely with no restrictions, which is a big reason why she decided to permanently move to the United States. Mandana earned her masters degree in interior design and went on to own one of the most luxurious houses in the Emirates Hills in Dubai for which she did all of the interior designing herself. Her passion for philanthropy and helping others stemmed from her upbringing, and always had a goal to make a bigger impact outside of the family name, and eventually make a name for herself. In 2019 Mandana went public on Instagram and within days had thousands of followers. Her following continued to grow as more people started noticing and commenting on her lavish and luxurious lifestyle posts. When she moved from her home of Tehran, Iran it was important for her to share her journey, and although she came from a privileged background she wanted to be transparent about her life and journey to become an inspiration or motivation for iranian women and girls to follow their dreams. She quickly made connections with some of her favorite brands, which she was already familiar with and regularly purchased before her social media presence. Mandana’s popularity and successful collaborations with these luxurious brands led to her being invited as one of two guests for Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Philipp Plein’s shows in 2021 Milan Fashion Week. In December of 2021, Mandana hosted the celebration of Dolce & Gabbanas Pre-Spring collection with a royalty themed party at their location on Rodeo Drive in collaboration with Harper’s Bazaar referring to Mandana as Beverly Hills newest “IT Girl”. In May, Mandana is set to launch her own line of hair care products, called Mandana Beverly Hills. Mandana wanted to create a hair care line for women with all hair types, to be used personally or professionally. She made sure everything was carefully made and sourced to offer the highest level of performance and quality for her products. The inspiration and driving force is that it is a company for women made by women. Mandana is passionate about helping those around her and her community, she loves to continuously support organizations like Alexandria House that specifically work with helping women and children as well as Los Angeles Mission that help families in lower income neighborhoods. More recently, Mandana has been received as an advocate for Iranian Women’s Rights in the fight for basic human rights. She has spoken on news channels like KTLA, radio shows, and has rallied her family and friends to protest in the streets of LA in support of a revolution happening in her motherland. Mandana is passionate about speaking on and continuously sharing the issues that are currently happening in Iran, in hopes to make enough noise and have enough people want to take action and make change.