Diversity & Inclusion (U)

<p>Rosemary Saal helped make history as a member of the Full Circle Everest Expedition, the first all-Black team to climb Mount Everest. </p><p>One of three women on the Full Circle Everest Expedition team, Saal understands the value of diversity for leaders and teams, and the importance of focus in high-stakes environments.

<p>Every individual has an opportunity to break barriers and redefine what is possible, and triple Emmy Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Gaby Natale is on a mission to awaken the pioneer spirit in each of us.  </p><p>Gaby is among just a few women in the entertainment industry who not only owns the rights to her TV show, but also a television studio. This unique situation has allowed her to combine her passion for media and her entrepreneurial spirit, which continues to help her break barriers.

<p>Maria Ressa is an award-winning journalist and the co-founder, CEO of Rappler.com, an online news organization in the Philippines.</p><p>Maria’s courage and work on disinformation and ‘fake news’ culminated in being awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Her numerous awards include being named <em>Time’s </em>2018 Person of the Year and listed among its 100 Most Influential People of 2019.</p><p>Maria advises organizations and

<p>Providing visionary and transformational leadership during one of the most consequential eras in our nation’s history, Sherrilyn Ifill’s voice has powerfully influenced our national dialogue on civil rights.  </p><p>Sherrilyn Ifill served as the seventh President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) from 2013 to 2022—the second woman to ever lead LDF—and currently serves as its President and Director-Counsel Emeritus.

<p>Daryl Davis is committed to helping people ignite positive change—using conversation to build bridges.</p><p>His jaw-dropping experiences speak for themselves. For nearly 40 years, he’s engaged leaders of the KKK and White supremacist groups face to face to find the answer to a question: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” </p><p>That question stemmed from his first encounter with racism at age ten when he was pelted with rocks, bottles, and soda cans by a handful of White spectators while marching in a parade.

<p>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Peabody Award, and Edward R. Murrow Award, Caitlin Dickerson engages audiences on the power of journalism as a check against systemic inequality, telling stories of remarkable resilience and hope from the front lines of the world’s refugee crisis.</p><p>From Ukraine to Romania to Guatemala, Caitlin Dickerson has spent years covering people forced to live on the move for some of the nation’s foremost news outlets.

<p>As the grandson of both the legendary civil rights activist César Chávez and the Cuban revolutionary Max Lesnik, Eduardo Chavez is the scion of two revolutionary families.</p><p>Eduardo's political and activist background influenced his feature documentary, <i>Hailing Cesar,</i> released April 2018. </p><p>Since its debut, Eduardo has screened <i>Hailing Cesar</i> and spoken at 50+ universities in 3 different countries.

<p>American history is in Gayle Jessup White’s blood. A direct descendant of both Thomas Jefferson and those enslaved at his famous Monticello estate, her story is a real-life version of <i>Roots</i> – a 40-year struggle to prove that her family’s belief about its links to the author of the Declaration of Independence were true. Along the way, she unearthed not only a fascinating family saga, but sharp and searing insights into America’s conflicted past and the unsettled future.

<p>Autumn Rose *Miskweminanocsqua (Raspberry Star Woman)* Williams was born and raised on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton, New York. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications and a Minor in Business.

<p>Growing up in inner-city Newark, New Jersey, Sampson Davis and two friends made a pact to “beat the street” and become doctors—and they did it.</p><p>Today, Dr. Sampson Davis is a board-certified ER physician who has appeared on numerous talk and radio shows including <i>Oprah</i>, <i>CNN</i>, <i>The Today Show</i>, <i>Dr. Oz</i>, <i>Anderson Cooper 360</i>, <i>The View</i>, <i>Tavis Smiley</i> and <i>NPR</i>.