2024 Convening for the Culture Agenda

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

    Dreaming Forward (facilitated by Dr. Sheryl Davis) 

    8:00a: Yoga with Allessandra on Inkwell Beach 

    2:30p: Doors Open

    3:10p: KAIROS welcome remarks by Michael Blake

    3:15p: Land Acknowledgement by Juli Vanderhoop, Tribal Elder  of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, Select Board Member, Dukes County Commissioner & Owner and Head Baker at Orange Peel Bakery

    3:20p: Joy Mantra with Allessandra Bradley Burns

    3:35p: Unlocking Safety with Dr. Khalilah Harris, Center for Policing Equity

    4:00p: DREAMING Forward with Dr. Sheryl Davis

    4:40p: Reparative Justice: Areva Martin & Fredrika Newton 

    5:00p: Investing in Dreams: Michele Ghee 

    5:30p: Close out of Programming and Preview of the week’s events

    6:00p: Visit to Aquinnah (Meet at the Loft at 5:45p)

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

    Dreaming About… 

    10:45a: Guests begin arriving, lunch served

    11:20a: The Role of Preserving Black History for Our Democracy with Prof. Ny Whitaker, DuBois Center & Dr Whitney Battle Baptiste, Umass Amherst

    11:45a: KAIROS Conversation with Michigan Lt Gov Garlin Gilchrist

    12:00p: Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest with Keith & Fawn Weaver 

    12:30p: DEKNOCKRACY with Blue Moreno 

    12:40p: A Conversation on Environmental Protection with EPA Administrator Michael Regan 

    1:00p: Climate Adaptation's Impact on Political Power with Keesha Gaskins-Nathan and Melanie Allen

    1:30p: Tech 4 Good with Sevetri Wilson Taylor, Brennon Marcano, and Jerome Smith 

    2:00p: Where the Money Resides: Sustaining Black Led Organizations for Black Liberation with Simone Hardeman-Jones, Tish Johnson-Jones, Dr. Rachel Hardeman, and Tiffani Daniels

    2:30p: Protecting Our Families with Yolonda C Richardson, Tobacco Free Kids Campaign &  Sixto Cancel, Think of Us 

    2:50p: Not Going Back: Continuing the Momentum to End Mass Incarceration with Elissa Johnson, Fwd.us and NY Assemblymember Latrice Walker  

    3:10p: The Reparations Ecosystem: Building Momentum through Funding, Law, and Messaging with Areva Martin, Aria Florant, and Damario Solomon-Simmons 

    3:40p:  International African American Museum with Dr. Tonya Matthews

    4:00p: Grassroots Fundraiser Reception for Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan at 80 North Water Street, Hosted by Michael Blake in his personal capacity

    6:00p-6:30p: Group Dinner at The Loft

    9:30p:KAIROS CELEBRATION PARTY at 11 Circuit, $50, Proceeds to KAIROS Democracy Project, Open Bar, Hosted by Special Guests TBA

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

    Equity: Mental. Financial. Justice. Entertainment.

    8:00a: Yoga with Allessandra on Inkwell Beach 

    10:30a: Guests begin arriving

    11:00a: “Listen to the KidZ” with Dr. Zee

    11:15a: The Importance of Black Mental Health with Chris Simon, Jada McCray, and Destiny Simone Ramjohn

    12:00p: Reimagining Black Economic Futures Through Tax Justice with Portia Allen-Kyle, Color of Change and Dr. Cecilia Rouse, President of Brookings and Dr. Dorothy Brown, Georgetown Law

    12:30p: 3rd reconstruction: Damon Hewitt, Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under Law

    12:40p: LUNCH

    1:10p: Empowering Black Investors: Building Wealth and Community with National Association of Black Accredited Investors, Reginald Bolding, President & CEO, Cymone Bolding, SVP, Strategy & Partnerships, Ryan Johnson, Co-Founder, SVP/General Counsel

    1:40p: Mining Your Dreams: Economic Mobility for Communities of Color with  Kim Ramos, Ponce Bank,  Dr. Jatali Bellanton, Brilliant Minds Unite, and Danielle Sydnor, Rise Together Innovation Institute 

    2:10p: Critical Race Theory, Intersectional Feminism & The Law with Tanya Clayhouse and Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, African American Policy Forum

    2:40p: Reimagining of Legal Strategy in a changing landscape, Nevada Attorney General, Aaron Ford

    3:00p: Masterclass on Tort, Class Action & HBCU litigation, Brooke Hodge

    4p: KAIROS CONVERSATION & CONCERT featuring Leslie Odom, Jr & Israel Houghton and more, tickets $100 to benefit KAIROS Democracy Project at The Loft

  • Collective Impact

    8:00a: Yoga with Allessandra on Inkwell Beach 

    10:45a: Doors Open and Breakfast is Served

    11:00-12:30p: Black Power Social Hour, A Social Justice Master Class on the intersection of faith and organizing

    12:30p: Brunch is served

    12:45p: Telley Madina, Democracy in Action-Voter Engagement in LA, PA, & GA and The Madina Group Consulting Program Management Across the US 

    1-2pm: Project Freedom Strategy Session 

    2:30p: Welcome/Agenda Review-Dr. Davis, Collective Impact Programming  

    2:40p: Dream to Reality: Action Planning, Goal Setting, From Theory to Practice-Individual 

    3:00p: ROI and RBA: How Metrics Impact Dreaming 

    4:00p: Close out Programming/Share Out-Don't Lose Your Joy (Joy Mantra)

*Please note that Convening for the Culture can be submitted for CLE (Continuing Legal Education) credit.

*This agenda is evolving and may change.
*Please be aware that by attending this event, you consent to your voice, name, image and/or likeness being used, without compensation, in any video, film or other recording, for exploitation by Atlas Strategy Group, Inc., its successors, assigns, and licensees (collectively, "Atlas") in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, for eternity, and you release from any liability whatsoever of any nature.

KAIROS Merch

KAIROS hoodies, T-shirts, yoga mats, water bottles, cosmetic bags, and notecards are available for purchase. Proceeds benefit KAIROS Democray Project

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

  • Brennon Mercano

    Chief Executive Officer at The National GEM Consortium

  • Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, Ph.D

    President and Chief Executive Officer of the International African American Museum

  • Leslie Odom, Jr.

    Actor, Purlie Victorious

  • Dr. Saidah Leatutufu-Burch

    Initiative Director, Dream Keeper Initiative

  • Israel Houghton

    Singer, Songwriter, Israel & New Breed

  • Aria Florant

    Co-Founder & CEO, Liberation Ventures

  • Dr. Sheryl Davis

    Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission

  • Yolonda Richardson

    President & CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

  • Elissa Johnson

    Vice President, Criminal Justice Campaigns, FWD.us

  • Tamika Mallory

    Founder, Until Freedom

  • Sevetri Wilson-Taylor

    Founder, Resilia

  • Tish Johnson-Jones, JD

    Co-Founder/CEO, Black Philanthropic Advisory

  • Simone Hardeman-Jones

    Co-Founder/CEO, Black Philanthropic Advisory

  • Prof. Ny Whitaker

    The W. E. B. Du Bois Center

  • Dr. Whitney Battle-Baptiste

    Director, W. E. B. Du Bois Center at UMass Amherst

  • Chris Simon

    Founder, BTST Services

  • Jada McCray

    COO, Co-Owner, Founder, BTST Services

  • Allessandra Bradley-Burns

    Founder, Black Joy

  • Dr. Rachel Hardeman, Ph.D, MPH

    Founding Director, Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity, Blue Cross Endowed Professor of Health & Racial Equity, Antiracist Thought Leader

  • Tiffani Daniels

    Managing Director, Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity

  • Jerome Smith

    Head of Community Engagement, New England, Amazon

  • Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw

    African American Policy Forum

  • Areva Martin

    Civil Rights Attorney, Bestselling Author, Radio & Talk Show Host and Producer

  • Portia Allen-Kyle

    Managing Director, Color Of Change

  • Dorothy A. Brown

    Martin D. Ginsburg Chair in Taxation at Georgetown University Law Center, Author

  • Reginald Bolding

    Co-Founder, President & CEO, National Association of Black Accredited Investors (NABAI)

  • Ryan Johnson

    Co-Founder, SVP/General Counsel, National Association of Black Accredited Investors (NABAI)

  • Cymone Bolding

    Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, National Association of Black Accredited Investors (NABAI)

  • “Knock Star” Blue Moreno

  • Sixto Cancel

    Founder, Think of Us

  • Dr. Zabina Bhasin

    Child Psychiatrist & Founder, InKidz

  • Danielle Sydnor

    CEO, RISE Together Innovation Institute

  • Keesha Gaskins-Nathan

    Director, Democratic Practice Program - United States, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

  • Khalilah Harris

    Executive Vice President of Program Strategy, Center For Policing Equity

  • Dr. Jatali Bellanton

    Brilliant Minds Unite

  • Michael Regan

    Administrator, EPA

  • Latrice Walker

    NY Assemblymember

  • Damario Solomon-Simmons

    Founder and Executive Director, Justice for Greenwood

  • Dr. Cecilia Rouse

    President, The Brookings Institution

  • Kim Ramos

    VP & Director of Gov Affairs, Ponce Bank

  • Damon Hewitt

    Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

  • Brooke Hodge

    Director, Class Action and Mass Tort Services, EisnerAmper

  • Attorney General Aaron Ford

    Nevada

  • Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist

    Michigan

  • Fredrika Newton

    President & Co-founder, Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation

  • Michele Ghee

    CEO, Expectant Media

  • Keith Weaver

    Co-Founder and Board Member, Uncle Nearest

  • Fawn Weaver

    CEO & Co-Founder, Uncle Nearest

  • Destiny Simone Ramjohn

    Vice President of Community Health and Social Impact, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

  • Melanie Allen

    Co-Director, The Hive Fund

  • Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, New York

  • Congressman Steven Horsford

  • The Honorable Carl Heastie

    Speaker, New York State Assembly

We invite you to review this powerful speech by Fredrick Douglass

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

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