Learn more about Our Partners, Sponsors & Speakers
And that's a wrap on the virtual Diversity Reboot Summit 2021! Thank you to everyone who attended! Missing the summit already? Watch this quick recap.
Whether you were able to join us live and engage with our amazing lineup of leaders on such important topics as ageism, trans rights, wellness, supporting formerly incarcerated people, building the Black tech pipeline, the future of the gig economy, and Latinx identity, or you will be watching the recordings of our conversations at a later date, we sincerely thank you for your interest in supporting diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all of its forms. We hope that you were able to walk away feeling empowered with new information, new connections, and new opportunities. Only together can we take the actionable steps towards creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Scroll down to check out our amazing speakers' bios, projects, websites, books, and more—including a free download of the acclaimed book Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood That Helped Me Create and Run a Company by APCO Worldwide Founder & Chairman Margery Kraus.
You can also read more about the summit's amazing sponsors such as Amazon, Guru Technologies, and Facebook, without whom this event would not have been possible.
In case you didn't have time to tune into our Diversity & Inclusion Awards Show, we've also included the list of this year's honorees, all true champions of D&I that don't just talk the talk, but truly walk the walk.
Please take a moment to support these leaders, whether by buying their books, donating to their organizations, or just visiting their sites to learn more about how to get involved with them in the future.
Finally, don't forget to visit our Merch Store and grab yourself some PowerToFly apparel. 100% of the proceeds from our sales will be going to TransTech Social, supporting transgender people in tech.
Our Sponsors
VIP Sponsors
Amazon
"Amazon is a company of builders who bring varying backgrounds, ideas, and points of view to inventing on behalf of all customers. Our diverse perspectives are enriched by many dimensions, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, culture, language, and education, as well as professional and life experience. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and leveraging our unique perspectives to scale our impact and grow."
Guru Technologies
"Guru is a dynamic, fast growing start-up based in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Our mission is to reinvent the way people connect with meaningful information at work. Guru's knowledge management solution provides customer-facing teams access to expert-verified information where they work and when they need it most."
Platinum Sponsor
"Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Over 2 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger every month to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them."
Gold Sponsors
MINDBODY
"Mindbody is a health, wellness and fitness company that helps promote healthier and happier lives. Many women already have a strong connection to Mindbody as a result of their use of the app in their daily lives. Working for a wellness company like Mindbody is more than just having a job; it is a way for women to relate to something they are passionate about and can now incorporate into their careers."
Smartsheet
"To thrive amid the pressures of a dynamic environment, companies must simplify and streamline how work is managed. They believe that the most effective way to do that is with technology everyone can use. So they built a platform designed for dynamic work that breaks down barriers, empowering people across the enterprise to work dynamically and achieve more."
VTS
"VTS is commercial real estate's leading leasing and asset management platform, bringing together landlords, brokers, and tenants to make deals happen. VTS software enables office, retail, and industrial landlords and brokers to transform their leasing process and convert leads to leases 41% more efficiently. MarketView™, the industry's first market benchmarking product gives landlords real-time information to inform deal negotiations and leasing strategies."
Pluralsight
"Founded in 2004 and trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Pluralsight is the technology skills platform organizations and individuals in 150+ countries count on to innovate faster and create progress for the world."
Our Partners
Transtech Social Enterprises
TransTech is an incubator for LGBTQ Talent with a focus on economically empowering the T, transgender people, in our community. TransTech is a co-working, co-learning community dedicated to empowering trans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer people and allies with practical, career-ready skills.
Products By Women
Products by Women is on a mission to help women find gaps in the skills and connect them with mentors, professional development and job opportunities to accelerate their careers. Their platform offers a global community for women in technology to develop personally and professionally.
Aviatra Accelerators
Aviatra Accelerators is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2010. Our multi state organization enables women to start and sustain businesses by giving them the resources they need to be successful. Through our expertise in business basics, guidance from mentors and coaches, and access to capital, they continuously encourage our members to move forward, and they embrace them when they return, helping to refuel and reignite their passions.
Female Techpreneur
Female Techpreneur is for female-led tech businesses, founders, Leaders, business owners to connect them to mentors, thought leaders, grants, investors, education, business support and so much more! FeTech has been designed to help tech businesses learn how to launch, scale-up and exit effectively.
Globalx Innovations
GlobalX is an emerging tech leader with a vision is to drive a more diverse, inclusive and competitive digital economy with a focus on emerging technologies, that opens up equal opportunities for all.
Women Techmakers
Google's Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology.
Africa Women in Technology
African Women in Technology event series, a product of IBOM LLC, was born out of a desire to connect, educate and empower women who are determined to advance their tech careers. They are dedicated to providing opportunities and a safe space for women to grow and lead in the tech space.
Skai Blue Media
Skai Blue Media is a full-service public relations agency based in Philadelphia and New York City. They bring together experience from high profile PR firms in New York and Los Angeles in addition to maintaining close relationships with media outlets, business networks, writers, influencers and decision-makers.
Carolina Women in Tech
Their mission is to empower, engage, and educate women in tech. They have a unique opportunity to unite and support each other. They encourage any woman that celebrates technology to join our effort.
Flexable
Flexable is a Pittsburgh based company that offers flexible childcare solutions and virtual babysitting nationwide. The company was started by two moms on a mission to make work and life fit better for professional parents.
Her Product Lab
Her Product Lab was founded by two women, Lina Bedi and Monica Rozenfeld, with the goal to elevate women in their product careers. By building a global community of women in product, their members can form meaningful relationships with those who support them and their goals. Their community provides resources to launch products from concept to market through their learning series, full-day summits, and an intensive 7-week virtual incubator.
tech:NYC
Tech:NYC is an engaged network of tech leaders working to foster a dynamic, diverse, and creative New York. We bring together New Yorkers to support a successful technology ecosystem, attract and retain top-tier talent, and celebrate New York and the companies that call it home. Tech:NYC mobilizes the expertise and resources of the tech sector to work with city and state government on policies that ensure New York's innovation economy thrives.
Women in Tech NJ & NY
Meetup is a platform for finding and building local communities. People use Meetup to meet new people, learn new things, find support, get out of their comfort zones, and pursue their passions, together.
At Your Service
Founded by award-winning journalist and producer Noor Tagouri, At Your Service (AYS) is a production company and consultancy focused on telling stories through a lens of service.
Women In Big Data
Cultivate tangible opportunities for women; unlock latent potential through accessible training, act as a catalyst for advancement with thought leadership promotion, and empower equity allies of any gender with inclusive mentorship programing.
Our Media Sponsors
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is an award-winning news leader whose mission is to connect, inform, and enlighten local, national and global readers with trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis and engaging opinions. The Post is as much a tech company as it is a media company, combining world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools so readers can interact with The Post anytime, anywhere. Their approach is always the same– shape ideas, redefine speed, take ownership and lead. Every employee, every project, every day.
MMCA
Who owns the story controls who wins and loses. As such, they see a media diversity crisis with serious economic, social and political implications. The Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association (MMCA) is a growing group of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) media stakeholders, advocates and allies resolved to get more content, more ownership, more impact and more control of their story and of where, when and how it's told. The key pillars of their effort are (1) coalition building, (2) awareness and advocacy, (3) constructive engagement, (4) stakeholder assistance, and (5) honoring BIPOC media excellence.
STARZ
Starz (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), is a leading global media and entertainment company that produces and distributes premium streaming content to worldwide audiences across subscription television platforms. Starz is home to the flagship domestic STARZ® brand, STARZ ENCORE, 17 premium pay TV channels and the associated on-demand and online services, including the highly rated STARZ app. With the launch of the STARZPLAY international premium streaming platform and STARZ PLAY Arabia, Starz is expanding its global footprint in a growing number of territories. Sold through multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and digital platforms, Starz offers subscribers more than 7,500 distinct premium television episodes and feature films, including STARZ Original series, first-run movies and other popular programming.
2021 Diversity & Inclusion Award Winners
Startup Partner of the Year: Joe Gomez
Joe is a Talent Acquisition Manager at Guru Technologies. At Guru, they believe the knowledge you need to do your job should find you. Guru unifies your internal knowledge, verifies its accuracy, and empowers your revenue teams. Using AI, Guru can even suggest relevant knowledge to you in real-time without you having to search for it.
What his colleagues say about him: "What makes Joe a stand out employee is his dedication and work ethic. He takes his job seriously and is highly results driven, without comprising quality."
Thank you for being an amazing partner Joe!
Community/ ERG Advocate of the Year: Calicia Johnson
While Calicia is a successful strategy and development manager at Chevron, her commitment to diversity and inclusion is unparalleled. She is the founder of the non-profit Student Career Studio, and also supplies scholarships to support underrepresented students in their pursuit of STEM careers.
What her colleagues say about her: "Calicia exhibits everything a D&I Champion stands for. She continues to pave the way for underrepresented employees to be successful by leading by example, providing mentorship and being resourceful."
Thank you, Calicia, for all your hard work!
Mid-Market Partner of the Year: Morgan Puravet
Morgan is a talent acquisition program manager at Smartsheet. In 2005, Smartsheet was founded on the idea that teams and millions of people worldwide deserve a better way to deliver their very best work. Today, the company delivers a leading cloud-based platform for work execution, empowering organizations to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale, resulting in more efficient processes and better business outcomes.
Thank you Morgan for being committed to a progressive DEI strategy and understanding why fostering inclusion and belonging is important when building a thriving business.
Engineering Champion of the Year: Jossie Haines
Jossie is the Sr Director of Platform & Web Engineering and Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) at Tile. Beyond her myriad accomplishments in tech, she was also nominated as Best Tech Manager in the Bay Area for the Timmy Awards, and Best Speaker for the WomenTech Network.
What her colleagues say about her: "Jossie is a leader with a diverse background. She consistently solves problems and prevents issues before the arise by analyzing and working with all levels of the company. She mentors and leads diversity and inclusion teams, and runs events to improve morale."
Jossie, thank you for all you do for the engineering and women in STEM community!
Enterprise Partner of the Year: Anto Megerdichian
Anto is a recruitment partner at American Express and a longtime partner of the PowerToFly. As a global company, Anto and American Express understand that it is vital to their success that their employees are as diverse as the customers and communities they serve. American Express has built a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace— a culture they are committed to continuing.
What her colleagues say about him: "Anto is simply put, one of the most talented, passionate, skilledand tenacious staffing and consulting professionals I've ever worked with."
Anto, thank you for always going above and beyond!
Women Leadership Advocate of the Year: Dr. Anjali Nigam, CEO & Founder Director/WhiteSwan Consulting Group
Dr. Anjali Nigam is a Ph.D in Management, UGC N.E.T in Economics and holds a Business Enterprise Management (B.E.M.) from Manchester, U.K. She has conducted more than 35,000 mandays of behavioral & organizational effectiveness training, in India, UK Europe & Japan. She was honored with Certificate of Merit at IFTDO Global HRD Award 2013 for "Improving Quality of Working Life" by the President of India- Shri Pranab Mukherjee, from amongst 25 countries.
What her colleagues say about her: "I admire the dedication and vision that Dr. Anjali Nigam brings to creating a value revolution that aims to ensures we deliver great service to ourselves, both personally & professionally, so we can enhance our contribution to society on a national and global scale."
Dr. Nigam - we applaud you for your tireless efforts and passion in the DEI field.
Speaker Spotlight: DEI Book Club Picks!
Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood That Helped Me Create and Run a Company
by Margery Kraus
DOWNLOAD A FREE PDF OF "ROOTS AND WINGS"!
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Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward
By Valerie Jarrett
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The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America
By Ai-jen Poo
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Strategize to Win: The New Way to Start Out, Step Up, or Start Over in Your Career
By Carla Harris
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by Joanne Wilson
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Ok Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind
By Jill Filipovic
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Say It Louder! Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy
By Tiffany D. Cross
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Fit Nation: How America Embraced Exercise as the Government Abandoned It
By Dr. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
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Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African-American Newspapers
By Dr. Matthew F. Delmont
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The Educator's Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion
By Kryss Shane
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Perspective: It's Time To Get Serious About Saving Diverse and Local Media
By David Morgan
Speaker Spotlight: Amazing Initiatives
Help MMCA Save Diverse and Local Media
Global Workplace Equality Campaign
Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
Speakers
- Valerie Jarett: President, Obama Foundation
- Ai-jen Poo: Co-Founder & Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
- Carla Harris: Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley
- Angelica Ross: Founder & CEO, TransTech & Actress, "Pose"
- Rep. Val Demings: United States Representative, State of Florida
- Geraldine Laybourne: Co-Founder of Katapult and Oxygen Media
- Margery Kraus: Founder and Executive Chairman, APCO Worldwide
- Joanne Wilson: Angel Investor, Blogger, Co-Founder of Gotham Gal Ventures
- Aida Rodriguez: Comedian, Actress, Writer & Advocate
- Charles F. Coleman Jr: Diversity Consultant, Civil Rights Attorney, Legal Analyst & Podcast Host
- Noor Tagouri: Journalist, Producer, & Podcaster
- Licy Do Canto: Managing Director, Washington D.C., APCO Worldwide
- Dr. Naomi Wolf: Author & CEO, DailyClout.io
- Jill Filipovic: Columnist for The New York Times, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan and CNN
- Dr. Esther Choo: Co-Founder, Equity Quotient
- Dr. Jane Van Dis M.D.: CEO, Equity Quotient
- David Morgan: Managing Partner, D. Morgan & Partners and Co-Founder & President, MMCA
- Sue Marcus: Regional President, Randstad Sourceright
- Avra Siegel: Former Advisor to President Obama
- Heather Long: Economics Correspondent, The Washington Post
- Tracy Jan: Race and Economy Reporter, The Washington Post
- Jacqueline Alemany : Author, "Power Up", The Washington Post
- Ruth Umoh, Editor-The-Chief, The Filament
- Frida Polli : CEO & Co-Founder, pymetrics
- Erin L. Thomas, Ph.D.: Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging and Talent Acquisition at Upwork
- Jeff Wald : Founder, WorkMarket, an ADP company
- DeShuna Spencer: Founder & CEO of kweliTV.
- Milagros Chirinos: Associate Director, Global Workplace Equality Program, Human Rights Campaign
- Juan Señor: President, INNOVATION Media Consulting Group
- Steven Waldman: President and Co-Founder of Report for America
- Tracie Powell: Program Officer, Racial Equality in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy
- David Chavern: President & CEO, News Media Alliance
- Carrie Fox: Founder & CEO, Mission Partners
- Tirrell D. Whittley: CEO of Liquid Soul and Member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
- Claudia Romo Edelman :Founder & CEO, We Are All Human Foundation
- Regina Wallace-Jones : Senior Vice President, MINDBODY
- Claire Wasserman: Founder, Ladies Get Paid
- Sian Morson : CEO, Kollective Mobile
- Korin Reid:CEO, Ellison Laboratories
- Candace Mitchell Harris: Co-Founder & CEO, MYAVANA
- Kate Zernike :National Correspondent, The New York Times
- Shirley Carswell:Executive Director, Dow Jones News Fund
- DeAnna Hoskins: President & CEO, JustLeadershipUSA
- Patricia Moto: CEO, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
- Jenny Freshwater: Vice President Forecasting, Amazon
- Brianne Lovette: Director of Product Management, Amazon Fulfillment Technologies
- Dovie Majors: General Manager, WHS World Wide Retail, Amazon
- Kristen Pucheck: Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director, Amazon Worldwide Consumer
- Julie Mitchell: Solutions Design and Innovation Manager, Amazon Robotics
- Kelly Riedel: Director of Supply Chain and Operations for Amazon Robotics
- Jovonia (Jo) Thibert: Director – Robotics Strategy, Amazon
- Julia Soffa: Senior Manager, Revenue Empowerment, Guru Technologies
- Stephanie Cwynar: Global Learning & Enablement Team Lead, Facebook
- Kristen Murdock: Global Head of the Community Risk Assessment, Facebook
- Arlene Pierret: Product Design Recruiting Manager, Facebook
- Giuliana McCracken Garcia: Program Manager, Facebook
- Pariss Athena: Founder & CEO, Black Tech Pipeline
- Jacqueline E. Kalk: Shareholder, Littler
- Serena Marshall: Journalist & Podcast Host
- Nekpen Osuan Wilson: CEO & Co-Founder, WomenWerk
- Gil Allouche: CEO, Metadata.io
- Sabina Rajasundaram: Founder, Codefy
- Kyra Reed: Founder, Women Empowered in Cannabis
- Whitney Beatty : CEO - Apothecarry Brands, Inc. and Josephine & Billie's
- Urvashi Tyagi: Chief Technology Officer, ADP
- Jonah Paquette: Psy.D - Author, Psychologist, and Clinical Training Director, Kaiser Permanente
- Devi B. Dillard-Wright: PhD - Author & Professor
- Naimeesha Murthy : Founder, Products by Women
- Jessica Popp: VP of Engineering, Twilio
- Yael Gutman :Senior Director, Digital Products, ASCAP
- Maira Iqbal: Lead Product Manager, VTS
- Wes Novack:Director of Platform Engineering, Pluralsight
- Lauren Guilbeaux: Head of Growth, ThinkHuman
- Sam Guilbeaux, Client Advocate, ThinkHuman
- Candelario Cervantez: MBA - National Senior Managing Director, Latinx Alliances, Teach for America
- Dr. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela: Historian, Author, Podcaster, Associate Professor of History at The New School
- Dr. Matthew Delmont: Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History, Dartmouth College
- Dionna Smith: Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Thumbtack
- Ronit Bohrer Hillel: Sr. Director of Engineering at Smartsheet.
- Tracey Trewin: General Manager, Microsoft
- Sara Spalding: Principal Engineering Manager, Microsoft
- Meera Raikundalia: Co-founder & Head of Partnerships, BYP Network
- Janna Meyrowitz Turner: Founder & President, Style House
- Liza Wisner: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Talent Development Expert
- Emily Hoang: VP of Engineering, Metadata.io
- Patrice Peck: Journalist & Founder, Coronavirus News for Black Folks
- Marie Roker-Jones: Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Essteem
- Rekha Venkatakrishnan: Senior Manager, Group Product Management, Walmart Labs
- Lisa S. Jones: Chief EyeMail Officer (CEO) & Founder of EyeMail Inc.
- Leang Chung: Founder & CEO, Pelora Stack
- Kay Miles: Co-Founder, Mindful Use of Technology
- Yi-Hsaian Godfrey: Co-Founder and CEO of Apiari
- Jana Lee: Director of Product, Kinship Labs
- Landy Simpson: Software Engineer, Quantum Mob
- DoctorJonPaul Higgins, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Specialist, Writer & Speaker
- Ada Westfall: Writer, Composer, Performer
- Kaley Young: Female Diversity Program Manager, Raytheon Technologies
- Helen Sanchez: Founder, Tanagui Career Consultants
- Joan Smith : HR Consultant
- Desiree Booker: Principal Consultant & Career Strategist, ColorVizion Lab
- Dr. Mandeep K. Virk-Baker PhD, MPH, MSc, RD, FAND: Founder & CEO, National Origin Alliance
- Chris Bostic: Senior Advisor, National Origin Alliance
- Kristina Anguelakieva: Founder & CEO, trueblu
- Amelia Roberts: Founder, Solutions by Amelia
- Audrey Genevieve Daniels: Founder, Amplify LLC
- Kryss Shane: Author, Teacher & Speaker
- Mira Stern: Equity + Impact Consultant & Antiracism Educator, Mira Stern Consulting
- Chriss Nelson: President, Trans Minor Rights
- Angelina Nordstrom: Lyricist, Poet and Advocate
- Kelly Kugler: Founder & President - Allora Collective
- Hillary Black: AIR | Allies in Recruiting Member, WPP | VP, Global Talent & Leadership Dev, Career Happy | Coach
- Janice S. Lintz: CEO, Hearing Access & Innovations
- Marti Allen-Cummings: Drag Artist, Television Personality, NYC Council Candidate
Thank you again for supporting Diversity Reboot 2021 and PowerToFly!
