In between the opening and closing keynotes, three workshops will be running concurrently throughout the day at 1:15 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. (on Day One) and 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. (Day Two).
On event day, when you access the platform (Pheedloop) you will be given the opportunity to choose the order in which you attend workshops.
We’re all busy professionals. Therefore, we’ve structured the day in this way to ensure that if there are one or two workshops you really would like to take but have other commitments throughout the day, you can choose to take your preferred workshop(s) at a time that works best for your schedule.
Timing for the day is below (+\- 20 minutes).
Day One: How We Got Here
11 am - 5 pm EST
Welcome & Opening Remarks
11:00 am – 11:15 am EST
Summit Co-founder Nokomis Martina, Sarah Thomas and Gail Strachan
Keynote Panel: The Enterprise Imperative of Adopting an Anti-racism Strategy
11:15 am - 12:15 pm EST
The role of the Chief Communications Officer will be critical in the strategy to tackle racism and inclusion. Rob Ireland, Hill + Knowlton Strategies firm of record will moderate a discussion with Black North Initiative Founder Wes Hall and Executive Director Dahabo Ahmed-Omer about the role of the communications professional and their publics - employees and clients and customers to keep the conversation around anti-racism for all, at top of mind from the Board to the DNA of the organization.
Moderated by Rob Ireland with Black North Initiative Founder Wes Hall & Dahabo Ahmed-Omer
Keynote Presentation - #PRsowhite
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm EST
A level-set keynote presenting the historical context of how we got to this place.
Speaker: Carmella Glover
Break
1:00– 1:15 pm EST
Data Workshop
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm | 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm | 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm EST
Data from our stakeholders, internally and externally should inform our communications to solve for problems. We either don't measure or we don't monitor. How do we therefore know what we need to change?
Speaker: Katrina Ingram
Language Workshop
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm | 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm | 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm EST
How do we have this change dialogue through radical candour? What language and tone do we use? How do we influence the language and perspectives of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC) in the media to dismantle and interrupt the status quo?
Speaker: Jesse Lipscombe
Courageous Conversation
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm | 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm | 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm EST
Organizations have made huge strides in welcoming courageous conversations on various dimensions of diversity, such as gender, sexual orientation and mental health. Can we apply a similar mindset to questions of race? In this panel, professionals from widely diverse backgrounds reflect on their own careers, and on how employers and employees can create safe spaces - and more inclusive workplaces.
Moderated by Dan Tisch, President and CEO, Argyle, with Rohini Mukherji and Tiéoulé Traoré
Break
3:30- 3:45 pm EST
Closing Session - The Price of Current Day Success
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm EST
Some BIPoC have risen through the ranks but not without tokenism, assimilation, onliness, code switching, emotional tax and mental health challenges. Some may not even realize they have internalized white supremacy “just to make it”. This session examines the concept of “the model minority.”
Speaker: Celina Caesar-Chavannes
Wrap-up and Processing
4:45 pm – 5:00 pm EST
Day Two: Where We're Going
12 pm - 5 pm EST
Welcome, Land Acknowledgement, Recap and State of the Profession
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm EST
Summit Co-founder: Sharlyn Carrington and Sarah Thomas
Keynote Presentation – The Changing Needs of the CEO
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm EST
Inclusion and diversity must start here and work from top down and bottom up. This session will examine how moving this discussion forward cannot just live with HR, it must be infused across the enterprise.
Speaker: Jessica Dumas
Fireside Chat with Communications Leaders
1:15 pm - 1:50 pm EST
Senior communicators discuss the role of the professional inside the enterprise and specific strategies needed to keep the dialogue around anti-racism going from the Board level down to the customer.
Moderated by Kristy Payne with Rob Ireland and Stacey Jones
Break:
1:50-2:00 pm EST
Governing for Change
2:00 pm - 2:35 pm | 2:35 pm - 3:10 pm | 3:10 pm - 3:40 pm EST
This session discusses sitting on, engaging with, and understanding the role and influence of boards of directors is a key opportunity for communications professionals to drive change.
Speaker: Mark Stewart
The Resistance
2:00 pm - 2:35 pm | 2:35 pm - 3:10 pm | 3:10 pm - 3:40 pm EST
This session challenges what we should do when the culture of the organization does not see a need for change or does not have an equity lens.
Speaker: Jefferson Darrell
The Multifaceted Environment
2:00 pm - 2:35 pm | 2:35 pm - 3:10 pm | 3:10 pm - 3:40 pm EST
This workshop discusses how we move change through the generations, making space for the frozen middle, changing space for a new generation, as well as addressing the model minority (and tokenism) when "success" is rewarded.
Summit Co-founders: Sara Goldvine and Gail Strachan
Break:
3:40-3:45 pm EST
Closing – The Rally Cry
3:45 pm -4:45 pm EST
This closing session promises to be motivational, examining the tipping point of change, coming to a head over a few lifetimes and again the summer of 2020 (COVID, BLM and social media) across all industries.
Speaker: Leo Nupolu Johnson
Wrap-up and Closing
4:45 pm – 5:00 pm EST
Summit Co-founder Gail Strachan and Nokomis Martina