2023 Convening for the Culture Agenda

  • Location: The Loft- 9 Oak Bluffs Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

    KAIROS Cultivation

    Welcome Reception

    10:00pm-12:00am

    10:00pm: Guests Arrival and Check-In, Performance by Violinist Bri Blvck, Welcome Reflections from Lisa Sharon Harper (Founder, Freedom Road), Host Michael Blake (Founder, Atlas Strategy Group)

    10:30pm: Equity is Not Charity with Nicole Brisbane (Founder, NBI Strategies), Lekiesha French (Founder, The Future in Color), Dr. Marvin Carr (Director, Center for Racial Equity Walmart Foundation), Rehana Farrell (Executive Director, Youth INC), Najma Roberts (Senior Director, Communications and Equity at Democracy Fund), Amanda Brown-Lierman (Senior Director for Policy & Engagement, GoFundMe)

    11:00pm: Keep the Faith in Our Leaders with Representative Justin Jones (Tennessee House Representative, “Tennessee Three”) and Reverend & Activist Stephen Green

    11:20pm: Success Should Be Contagious with Ron & Kandy Isley (Liquid Gold) & Host Michael Blake

    11:40pm: KAIROS Community with Host Michael Blake

    11:45am: Closing Announcements from Nicole Brisbane (Founder, NBI Strategies)

    12:00am: Closing Musical Performance by Bri Blvck

    Plus Icebreaker Games to get everyone acquainted.

    Attire: Summer Chic

  • Location: The Loft- 9 Oak Bluffs Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

    10:00am-2:00pm

    9:30am: Guests Arrival, Check-In & Breakfast

    10:15am: Greeting Song by Bri Blvck, Opening Meditation & Black Joy with Alessandra Bradley Burns (Founder, Black Joy)

    10:25am: A Climate of Success with Sydney Snow (Head of Governments & Policy - North America, The Climate Group) & Malik Boyd (Director of Communications, Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection)

    10:45am: Get My Mind & Body Right with Courtney Greene (Director of External Partnerships & Community Engagement, Unity Point Health), Endura Govan (Owner, International Business Kids), Dr. Zabina Bhasin (Founder, InKidZ & Child Psychiatrist), & Chris Simon (CEO, BTST Services)

    11:00am: Musical break with Bri Blvck

    11:05am: The Language of Money, Future in Color: Numbers Speak for Themselves with Lekiesha French (Founder, Future In Color) & JaNay Nazaire (Founding CEO, BLCK GRVTY)

    11:20am: Let’s Take This Into Account with Fred Davis (Partner, Mitchell & Titus LLP)

    11:30am: I Need to Process This with Michael White (Co-Founder, Indelible Solutions), Hon. Amy Mercado (Orange County Property Appraiser & CEO, DirectOps), Telley Madina (President, The Madina Group Consulting), Michael Garner (Chief Business Diversity Officer, City of New York)

    11:55am: Musical break with Bri Blvck

    12:00pm: Commercial Break- What Goes Into a Commercial Real Estate Private Equity Deal moderated by Host Michael Blake with Dale Burnett (Managing Director & Co-Founder, BIG Equity Investors) & Gerd Alexander (Partner, Paul Hastings)

    12:15pm: New Vision of Housing & Urban Policy moderated by Host Michael Blake with Ashley Bell (CEO, Ready Life) & Brandon Comer (Managing Partner, Comer Capital Group)

    12:30pm: En-Fluence Policy with Cameron Onumah (Head of Public Policy, Amazon Music), Camille Joseph-Goldman (Group Vice President, Charter Spectrum), Leigh Lehman (Director of Communications, GoFundMe) & Justin Carter (PENN Entertainment)

    12:45pm: Know Your Worth with Janelle Bechdol (Head of HR, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula), Reggie McGahee (Global Head of Diversity Recruiting, Reed Smith), & Rachel Cheeks-Givan (Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, iCapital)

    1:00pm: Future of A.I. & Crypto with Ellie Nieves (Vice-President & Assistant General Counsel, Strategic Public Policy Initiatives, Guardian Life Insurance), Dr. Jatali Bellanton (CEO, BMU Meta Inc & Founder, Kids Who Bank), Hon. Clyde Vanel (New York Assembly Member) & Clive Henry (Adobe, Director of Strategic Partnerships)

    1:30pm: I Got a Really Big Team with Host Michael Blake & Samantha Tweedy (CEO, Black Economic Alliance)

    1:55pm: Holla Back with Host Michael Blake & Nicole Brisbane (Founder,NBI Strategies)

  • Location: The Loft- 9 Oak Bluffs Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

    Evening Fireside

    6:30pm-9:00pm

    6:30pm: Guests Arrival, Opening Music by Bri Blvck, & Comments by Host Michael Blake

    6:40pm: Reparations & Operationalized Racial Equity with Dr. Sheryl Davis (Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission) & Dr. Saidah Leatutufu-Burch (Director, Dream Keeper Initiative)

    7:00pm: Our Time to Grow: Conversations About Cannabis with Hon. Tremaine Wright (Chair, New York Cannabis Control Board)

    7:15pm: Mass Class is in Session with Brooke Hodge, Esq (Director of Business Development of Class Action & Mass Tort Services, EisnerAmper)

    7:25pm: Visions for Justice with Dominique Calhoun Esq. (President, National Bar Association)

    7:35pm: There is an Alternative Business Structure with Benjamin Taylor, Esq. (President, Arizona Bar Association)

    7:45pm: How Criminal Justice Reform can Advance Economic Empowerment in Black Communities with Elissa Johnson (Vice President, Criminal Justice Campaigns, FWD.us), Jamil Hamilton (Senior Associate for Outreach & Engagement, FWD.us) & Alana Sivin (New York State Director, Criminal Justice Reform, FWD.us)

    8:10pm: KAIROS CONVERSATION: State of the District Attorney with Hon. Alvin Bragg (Manhattan District Attorney, New York) & Host Michael Blake

    8:25pm: KAIROS CONVERSATION: Let’s Keep it Civil with the Hon. Judge Dweynie Paul & Host Michael Blake

    8:40pm: Future of Our Movements with Dr. David Johns (Executive Director, National Black Justice Coalition), Milly Silva (Secretary Treasurer, 1199SEIU), Anurima Bhargava (Founder, Anthem of Us), & Barbara R. Arnwine (Founder, Transformative Justice Coalition)

    9:00pm: From Kentucky to the World with Tamika Palmer (Mother of Breonna Taylor), Tamika Mallory (Founder, Until Freedom) & Lonita Baker Esq. (Immediate Past President, National Bar Association)

    9:15pm: Closing with Host Michael Blake

  • Location: The Loft- 9 Oak Bluffs Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

    Morning Fireside

    9:30am-2:00pm

    9:30am: Check in & Breakfast

    10:45am: Morning Meditation led by Alessandra Bradley-Burns & Morning Guidance with Nicole Brisbane

    10:50am: Violin performance by T Ray

    11:00am: Technology for Good with Sevetri Wilson (Founder, Resilia), Devo Harris (Founding CEO, Adventr), Phoenix Jackson (Phind), Margaret Brisbane (CIO, Miami-Dade County) & Cameron Onumah (Head of Public Policy, Amazon Music), Leigh Lehman (Director of Communications, GoFundMe), Clive Henry (Director of Strategic Partnerships, Adobe)

    11:30am: We Need to ByBlack Ron Busby, Jr. (CoFounder, ByBlack)

    11:35am: Black & Brown will Save Democracy with Hon. Nellie Gorbea (Visiting Scholar & Former Rhode Island Secretary of State), LaTosha Brown (Co-Founder, Black Voters Matter), & Porsha White (VP, Strategic Partnerships - End Citizens United)

    12:00pm: Remarks from NY Speaker Carl Heastie

    12:15pm: KAIROS Regional Connections- National, North East, West, South West, South East, Midwest, DMV

    12:20pm: Our KidZ, Our Women, Our Families with Dr. Zabina Bhasin (Founder, InKidZ), Jocelyn Frye (President, National Partnership for Women & Families), Yolonda Richardson (President & CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

    12:40pm: Comedy set with Alvin Irby (Founder, Barbershop Books)

    12:50pm: Business Lunch (Industry Specific Breakouts)

    1:10pm: Fostering a New Vision of Care with Sixto Cancel (Founder, Think of US) & Brace Lowe (COO, A Second Chance Inc.)

    1:30pm: Fireside chat with Hon. Shawyn Patterson-Howard (President, African-American Mayors Association)

    1:50pm: What’s Next for Urban America? with Marc Morial (President & CEO, National Urban League)

    2:10pm: KAIROS Connections with Host Michael Blake

    2:25pm: Closing performance by T Ray

  • Location: To be Announced

    Connections Pool Party (Optional)

    2:00pm-4:30pm

    2:00pm: Guests Arrival and Check-In

    2:30pm: Snacks and Drinks

    5:00pm: Closing of Pool Party

  • Location: The Loft- 9 Oak Bluffs Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

    Diaspora Dinner

    5:30pm: Guests Arrival, Check-In

    6:15pm: The Vision & Mission of the Festival of The Diaspora by Cordell Carter (Founder, Festival of the Diaspora)

    6:30pm: Legacy is Not a Game with Nasser Al-Khori (Executive Director, Generation Amazing), Hon. Aaron Ford (Attorney General, Nevada), Justin Carter (PENN Entertainment) René Spellman (Chief Impact Officer, Obsidianworks), & Lorna Montalvo (Founder, The Wolf Effect).

    7:00pm: Comedy Set by Alvin Irby (Founder, Barbershop Books)

    7:15pm: KAIROS DINNER CONVERSATIONS

    7:45pm: Speak The Word with Stephanie Pacheco (NY State Poet Laureate)

    7:50pm: State of Puerto Rico with Lisa Sharon Harper (Founder & President, Freedom Road) & Cameron McKenzie (President, Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce)

    8:00pm: State of Asia with the Hon. Keisuke Suzuki

    8:15pm: State of Africa with Christal Jackson (Founder, Mosaic Genius), Ron Busby (President, USBC), & Dr Jatali Bellanton (Founder, Kids Who Bank).

    8:30pm: KAIROS & Festival of The Diaspora Conversations

    Closing Remarks by Host Michael Blake

    10:30pm: Private White Party at 11 Circuit Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

  • Location: The Loft- 9 Oak Bluffs Ave Oak Bluffs, MA

    Culmination

    11:00am-1:00pm

    11:15am: Remarks by Hon. Letitia James (New York)

    11:20pm: Remarks from Christal Jackson (Chair, Africa-America Institute)

    11:30am: Fireside Chat with Hon. Aaron Ford (Nevada) & Brooke Hodge, Esq. (Director of Business Development and Class Action Mass Tort Services, EisnerAmper)

    11:50pm: Fireside Chat with Brig. General Ron Sullivan (Chief, Acquisition, Personnel & Ethics Law at Army Futures Command // Brigadier General (USAR), Chief Judge (IMA), ACCA) & Brooke Hodge, Esq. (Director of Business Development and Class Action Mass Tort Services, EisnerAmper)

    12:15pm: Fireside with Dr. Clarence Jones (Founder, Spill the Honey Foundation & Dr. Clarence Jones Institute for Social Advocacy) & Tamika Mallory (Founder, Until Freedom)

    12:45pm: Family Conversation: How to Fuel Our Spirit for the Journey Ahead & Conversation About Faith & Familia with Israel Houghton (Grammy Award Winning Artist)

    1:00pm: Performance by Israel Houghton (Grammy Award Winning Artist)

    1:30pm: KAIROS Closing by Host Michael Blake

*This agenda is evolving and may change.

We invite you to review this powerful speech by Fredrick Douglass

Our speakers are leaders who…

Are actively addressing and finding solutions for Black and Brown communities, specifically accessible and equitable housing, access to culturally affirming spaces in corporations, education, healthcare, public safety and security, internet, technology and economic opportunity and mobility, and so much more.

Meet Our Speakers

Progressive, Innovative Leaders

  • Ashley Bell

    Founder/CEO, ReadyLife

  • Dr. Sheryl Davis

    Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission

  • Elissa Johnson

    Vice President, Criminal Justice Campaigns, FWD.us

  • Sixto Cancel

    Founder/CEO, Think of Us

  • Representative Justin Jones

    Tennessee House Representative

  • Dr. Clarence Jones

    Chairman, Spill the Honey Foundation & Founder, Dr. Clarence B. Jones Institute for Social Advocacy in New Jersey

  • Camille Joseph-Goldman

    Group Vice President, Charter Spectrum

  • Brooke Hodge

    Director, Class Action and Mass Tort Services, EisnerAmper

  • Dominique Calhoun

    President, National Bar Association

  • Jocelyn Frye

    President, National Partnership for Women & Families

  • Samantha Tweedy

    CEO, Black Economic Alliance

  • Cameron Onumah

    Head of Public Policy, Amazon

  • Fred Davis

    Partner, Mitchell & Titus LLP

  • Susan Chapman-Hughes

    Independent Director, The J.M. Smucker Co.

  • JaNay Nazaire

    Founding CEO, BLCK GRVTY

  • Dale Burnett

    Managing Director & Co-Founder, BIG Equity Investors

  • Lekiesha French

    Founder, The Future in Color

  • Saidah Leatutufu-Burch, Ed.D.

    Initiative Director, Dream Keeper Initiative

  • Dr. David Johns

    Executive Director, National Black Justice Coalition

  • Hon. Letitia James

    New York Attorney General, New York

  • Tamika Mallory

    Founder, Until Freedom

  • Milly Silva

    Secretary Treasurer, 1199SEIU

  • Sevetri Wilson

    Founder, Resilia

  • Devo Harris

    Founding CEO, Adventr

  • Margaret Richardson

    Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, GoFundMe

  • Yolonda Richardson

    President & CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

  • Cordell Carter

    Founder, Festival of the Diaspora

  • Cameron McKenzie

    President, Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce

  • Lisa Sharon Harper

    Founder & President, Freedom Road

  • Congressman Steven Horsford

    Chairman, Congressional Black Caucus

  • Attorney General Aaron Ford

    Nevada

  • Reverend Stephen Green

    Reverend and Activist

  • Justin Carter

    PENN Entertainment

  • Lonita Baker

    Immediate Past President, National Bar Association

  • Najma Roberts

    Democracy Fund

  • Ellie Jurado-Nieves

    Vice-President & Assistant General Counsel, Strategic Public Policy Initiatives, Guardian Life Insurance

  • Phoenix Jackson

    Phind

  • Dr. Marvin Carr

    Director, Center for Racial Equity Walmart Foundation

  • Nasser Al-Khori

    Executive Director, Generation Amazing

  • Stephanie Pacheco

    NY State Poet Laureate

  • Christal Jackson

    Founder, Mosaic Genius

  • Akunna Cook

    CEO, Next Narrative Africa

  • Alvin Irby

    Founder, Barbershop Books

  • Brig. General Ron Sullivan

    Chief, Acquisition, Personnel & Ethics Law at Army Futures Command // Brigadier General (USAR), Chief Judge (IMA), ACCA

  • Hon. Shawyn Patterson-Howard

    President, African-American Mayors Association

  • Allessandra Bradley-Burns

    Black Joy

  • Hon. Alvin Bragg

    Manhattan District Attorney, New York

  • Tamika Palmer

    Mother of Breonna Taylor

  • Anurima Bhargava

    Founder, Anthem of Us

  • Alana Sivin

    New York State Director, Criminal Justice Reform, FWD.us

  • Rena Karefa-Johnson

    Vice President, National Initiatives, FWD.us

  • Hon. Tremaine Wright

    Chair, New York Cannabis Control Board

  • Hon. Clyde Vanel

    New York Assembly Member

  • Dr. Jatali Bellanton

    CEO, BMU Meta Inc & Founder, Kids Who Bank

  • Reggie McGahee

    Global Head of Diversity Recruiting, Reed Smith

  • Janelle Bechdol

    Head of HR, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula

  • Leigh Lehman

    Director of Communications, GoFundMe

  • Adjoa Asamoah

    Founder & CEO, ABA Consulting

  • Gerd Alexander

    Partner, Paul Hastings

  • Michael Garner

    Chief Business Diversity Officer, City of New York

  • Telley Madina

    President, The Madina Group Consulting

  • Hon. Amy Mercado

    Orange County Property Appraiser & CEO, DirectOps

  • Michael White

    Co-Founder, Indelible Solutions

  • Sydney Snow

    Head of Governments & Policy - North America, The Climate Group

  • Malik Boyd

    Director of Communications, Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection

  • Amanda Brown-Lierman

    Senior Director for Policy & Engagement, GoFundMe

  • Marc Morial

    President and CEO, National Urban League

  • Jonelle J. Johnson

    Senior Manager of Government and Community Strategy, Charter Communications

  • Rodney Capel

    Vice President for Government Affairs, Northeast Region, Charter Communications

  • India Sneed-Williams

    Government Affairs Attorney, Greenberg Traurig LLP

  • René Spellman

    Chief Impact Officer at Obsidianworks

  • Margaret Brisbane

    CIO, Miami-Dade County

  • Leopoldo Martinez

    Founder, Center for Democracy and Development in the Americas, IQLatino & Principal, LMN Consulting, LLC

  • Benjamin Taylor

    Attorney, Taylor & Gomez Law & President, State Bar of Arizona

  • Nellie Gorbea

    Nellie Gorbea

    Visiting Scholar & Former Rhode Island Secretary of State

  • Brace Lowe

    COO, A Second Chance Inc.

  • Dr. Zabina Bhasin

    Founder, InKidZ & Child Psychiatrist

  • Chris Simon

    CEO, BTST Service

  • Endura Govan

    Owner, International Business Kids

  • Brandon Comer

    Managing Partner, Comer Capital Group

  • Caleb Anderson

    Chair, Future in Color Youth Advisory Council

  • Rehana Farrell

    Executive Director, Youth INC

  • Rachel Cheeks-Givan

    Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader

  • Clive Henry

    Dir. of Strategic Partnerships, Adobe

Special Appearances

  • Ronald Isley

  • Kandy Isley

  • Israel Houghton

  • Bri Blvck

  • T-Ray The Violinist

Places to stay & things to do during your visit to Martha’s Vineyard!

Thank you to our Sponsors