FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023
Michael Leslie Amilcar
Owner and CEO, Be Equitable
Michael Amilcar (she/her) is owner and CEO of Be Equitable, a mid-size IDEA consultancy that partners with organizations to advance their inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility efforts for long-term sustainability. She has over 25 years of experience in IDEA where she has modeled the leadership values of equity, inclusion, integrity, and inspired vision to energize leaders in creating equitable, healthy and thriving workplace cultures for all.
Michael brings a tremendous level of content knowledge and experience in IDEA having worked with hundreds of organizations across a variety of sectors to ensure inclusive and equitable workplaces where all team members feel seen, heard and valued regardless of their identity. She is especially committed to levels of intervention that move beyond individuals and interpersonal skill building to those that focus on systems and structures change that support lasting and intentional change in support of equity.
Prior to Be Equitable, Michael held senior leadership roles at Diversity Best Practices (now Seramount), AXA Financial, NBCUniversal, and Magic Johnson Enterprises, where she brought a values-based leadership style and approach to the work of advancing equity for all. Michael is a proud Black Latina born and raised on the south side of Chicago, and who for the past two years has called Houston, Texas home where she resides with her husband and two young sons.
Trisch L. Smith
Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader &
Senior Communications Counselor
Diversity and inclusion champion, communications expert, and public relations veteran are just a few words used to describe Trisch L. Smith.
During her long tenure with Edelman, the world’s leading global communications marketing agency, Trisch has managed stakeholder outreach, strategic positioning, crisis and reputation management campaigns for a host of Fortune 500 corporations seeking to engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including Starbucks, Unilever, HP, Toyota, United Way of America, Prudential and Walmart, among several others. For a decade, Trisch led the firm’s award-winning Multicultural practice providing senior counsel to a wide range of clients to protect, promote and evolve their brands and effectively engage diverse thought leaders, consumers and other stakeholders. She continues to provide senior strategic counsel around DEI and multicultural communications.
In 2015, Trisch was appointed to serve as the U.S. Managing Director of Diversity and Inclusion, and in fall 2018 she was named Edelman’s first Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. In this expanded role, Trisch oversees all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related strategic planning, training and development, cultural development, external partnerships, and recruitment efforts to ensure Edelman’s workforce reflects the increasingly diverse marketplace. As part of her work, she works with colleagues around the globe to actively strive to foster an equitable and inclusive workplace. Some of her accomplishments include establishing the firm’s employee networks, achieving gender parity in leadership, as well as increased racial workforce diversity. Prior to Edelman, Trisch was employed by Widmeyer Communications, where she worked on several communications campaigns for philanthropic and education-related clients.
Along with her agency responsibilities, Trisch is committed to impacting the world. She serves on several boards, Color Comm: Women of Color in Communications, Public Relations Council, Morgan State University Foundation and the Board of Advocates of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA). Previously, she served on the boards of the National Black Child Development Institute and Mentoring USA. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and serves as the Minister to Young Adults at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, MD.
Trisch’s continued work to drive change has been recognized by many. She has received several awards, including being named a PR Week Women of Distinction 2022. She was featured as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America” and one of the “Most Influential Women in Corporate America” in Savoy Magazine. In 2019, she received the inaugural Adweek/ADCOLOR Champions award for diversity and inclusion. In December 2018, she was named a Woman of Excellence and P&L Executive of the Year by the National Association of Female Executives. In March 2017, she was awarded the Spectrum Circle Award for Innovation in Media. In 2016, she was recognized in the Financial Times as one of the “Upstanding 100” for top diverse executive leaders globally.
Trisch earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.
Donna Gambrell
Appalachian Community Capital, President & CEO
Donna Gambrell is Chair of the Board of Directors of African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs and President and CEO of Appalachian Community Capital, a CDFI that promotes small business development throughout the distressed Appalachia region. She serves on the boards of three national CDFIs and is a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, advising Federal Reserve leadership, economists, community stakeholders, and policy-makers on community development related initiatives. Ms. Gambrell was not only the first African American woman to hold the position of director of the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund, but she was also the longest serving director in the fund’s history. During her tenure, she oversaw significant growth in the CDFI Fund as well as the creation of a number of new initiatives targeting underserved communities. Prior to leading the CDFI Fund, Ms. Gambrell served in several leadership positions within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including Deputy Director for Compliance and Consumer Protection, where she oversaw the FDIC’s national compliance bank examinations, as well as the agency’s community affairs, consumer affairs, and deposit insurance programs.
Andrew Moss
Director for Minority Outreach, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Andrew Moss is the Director for Minority Outreach at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
In this role, Mr. Moss is responsible for promoting and developing effective public affairs marketing and outreach strategies nationwide with national banks, banking regulatory agencies, bank trade associations, minority media groups and organizations, diverse communities, other government agencies, and the general public in support of the OCC and the national banking system. He also serves as an expert advisor and consultant to the Deputy Comptroller for Public Affairs and other agency executives and staff on public affairs matters, particularly as they relate to minority banking issues. He assumed this role in June 2020.
Previously, Mr. Moss was the Outreach and External Relations Manager within the External Outreach and Minority Affairs Office, where he has also served as the Community Relations and Minority Affairs Manager.
Prior to joining the OCC, Mr. Moss held various positions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
Mr. Moss holds a bachelor of business administration degree in finance and marketing from North Carolina Central University and a master of education administration degree from George Mason University. He also holds a law degree from the University of Baltimore.
B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr
President & CEO, Industrial Bank
B. Doyle Mitchell Jr. has over 30 years’ experience as a top-level executive in a federally regulated financial institution, with expertise in identifying and addressing the financial needs of people of color in under-served communities. As a third generation CEO of Industrial Bank, Doyle has grown the bank his grandfather founded in 1934 by almost 400%, doubled its branch footprint and now operates in three states and the District of Columbia. Industrial Bank is one of only 18 black owned banks in the Country, out of 140 minority banks and 4,400 banks, overall. At the age of 32 and shortly after his first year as CEO, Doyle led the Bank's first expansion into Maryland. In the sixty years prior, the Bank only operated in the District of Columbia.
In furthering the legacy left by his father and grandfather, Doyle certified the Bank as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a designation available only to those institutions that invest at least 60% of their loan assets in low-and-moderate-income census tracts. As a result of becoming a CDFI, Industrial Bank has received a number of grant awards from the Fund, totaling over $3.3M for its lending efforts in some of the most impoverished communities in the DMV. Ironically, the legislation creating the CDFI Fund was one of three bill signings he attended under President Clinton. Another bill signing included the Interstate Banking Act, where Doyle’s efforts to enter Maryland were recognized by President Clinton and then Treasury Secretary, Lloyd Bentsen.
In 1990, at the age of 28, Doyle was appointed to the Bank's Board of Directors and continues to serve as its Vice-Chairman. He is accustomed to holding various positions within the Bank simultaneously (i.e. employee and director), but learned early to be astute enough to know which role should prevail in a given situation. His thirty-five years’ experience in addressing and interacting with audit committees, as well as serving on audit committees outside the Bank, gives him special skills in oversight. In addition to the Bank's Board, Doyle serves on the Board of Urban One and its Audit Committee (NASDAQ: UONEK), the FDIC Minority Deposit Institution (MDI) Sub Committee, the Board of Green Branch Foundation and the Board of the National Bankers Association (NBA, the nation's minority banks). He previously led the NBA during two consecutive terms as its Chairman through the Great Recession. Doyle also served as Chairman on the Board of the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce and led the City’s business community through the year of 2001, during 9/11.
Doyle has a deep love for music of all genres. This is due to his mother's legacy of teaching music in the D.C. Public Schools for 30 years and his grandfather’s never-ending pursuit of singing classical music. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with a concentration in Accounting from Rutgers University (New Brunswick). Following completion of his undergraduate studies, Doyle studied business at the Graduate Business School of Marymount College (Northern Virginia) and later graduated from the Bank Administration Institute in Washington, D.C.
Doyle was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Prince George's County, Maryland with his wife Rhonda and their four children.
James Francis
Founder & CEO
Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC
Mr. Francis has guided Paradigm from business concept to industry leader in data-driven investing by leveraging his technology and consulting experiences to create an entirely new approach to alpha discovery and portfolio management. Mr. Francis is responsible for the development and oversight of Paradigm’s proprietary research and product development platform AMMD.
Paradigm's data science approach has been acknowledged by numerous publications and television programs including CNBC, CNN, Pensions Investments, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Business Week, Black Enterprise, Institutional Investor and Plan Sponsor. Throughout his career Mr. Francis has been active on the speaking circuit, taking on such topics as Ensemble Theory, Machine Learning, and Data Ethics as well a host of general industry issues. He is a strong advocate for diversity, inclusion and equity across race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Mr. Francis received his BA from Morehouse College. He serves or has served on various boards, including the Council of Urban Professionals, Community Financial Resource Center Corporate Leadership Board, ArtsConnection, Wall Street Project, and the C J Francis Sickle Cell Foundation. He is a member of the New York City Partnership, National Association of Security Professionals, NASP-NY, New American Alliance, Council of Institutional Investors, and National Council on Teacher Retirement.
Esosa Ighodaro
Co-founder
Black Women Talk Tech
Esosa Ighodaro is the co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, the organization that aims to identify, support and encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar business. Black Women Talk Tech is the largest collective of black women tech founders therefore bringing a unique understanding of the challenges Black women face and the advantages they bring to the tech industry. As co-founder, Esosa co-leads business strategy and strategic partnership development and leads the organization’s marketing endeavors.
Esosa has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience including founding two influencer marketing businesses. Additionally, she has more than 12 years of marketing and operation experience as a serial entrepreneur, and as a former bank executive at Citigroup where she developed high-performing growth strategies and oversaw implementation for key lines of business.
Her achievements at her past companies led to several articles and past awards, including being named 100 Most Powerful Women by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2019 and one of the 50 Inspirational Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017, and Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch by Paste Magazine. This ultimately lands her features in ELLE, Forbes, NBC, The Huffington Post, USA Today, and many more. Esosa graduated with a bachelor of science in finance from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. She and her husband now live in New York, NY and enjoy fashion, travel and food.
Kevin L. Clayton
Senior Vice President, Head of Social Impact and Equity, Rock Entertainment Group/Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Clayton is Senior Vice President, Head of Social Impact and Equity for the Rock Entertainment Group which includes the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland Charge, Cleveland Monsters and Cavs Legion Gaming Club.
Under his leadership Clayton oversees Community Relations, DEI, Community Engagement and the Cavaliers Community Foundation. Clayton previously held senior level positions at Bon Secours Mercy Health, United States Tennis Association, Russell Athletic, American Cancer Society and he was managing partner of JumpBall LLC, an entity he founded in 2012. Clayton started his career with Procter & Gamble where he was a very successful sales and marketing executive.
He is currently the Chair of the Greater Cleveland Urban League, a Board Member of United Way of Greater Cleveland, Creating Healthier Communities, Shaker Schools Foundation, Black Sports Professionals, the Cleveland City Club and serves as an advisor to several other local and national organizations.
Clayton is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, he has 4 daughters, 3 grandchildren, an alum of North Carolina Central University and Wilmington College Ohio, where he was a member and captain of the basketball team. He is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated.
Dr. Christopher J. Metzler
Senior Vice President of Corporate DEI and ESG,
National Urban League
Dr. Christopher J. Metzler joined the National Urban League in 2022 as its first Senior Vice President of Corporate DEI and ESG. Prior to this role, Dr. Metzler was Senior Associate Dean at the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and served on the faculty at Cornell University’s ILR School where he directed the EEO and Diversity Studies program.
Prior to entering higher education, he headed the strategic issues and research practice at an international consulting firm and provided advice to multinational corporations and governments on human rights, human capital, equity, corporate social responsibility, discrimination, and diversity. Dr. Metzler holds a M.A. in Human Rights from Columbia University, a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Aberdeen, and a LLM from The Law Faculty at The University of Oxford in The U.K.
Keith Clinkscales
CEO, KTC Ventures
Producer, entrepreneur, and media executive Keith Clinkscales—whose award-winning career has impacted media and urban culture across platforms—is highly regarded as an innovator, strategist, and cultural thought leader.
Through his company KTC Ventures, Clinkscales partnered with AT&T on several endeavors, including the creation and development of the “Humanity of Connection” series. This collection of short films, events, and social media vignettes focused on the unique power that technology brought to human connection and enjoyed special resonance with influential minority segments.