Saturday, May 17, 2025

9:00 AM

Registration

Registration grants you access to keynote presentations, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and exclusive networking opportunities with cross-sector professionals.

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10:00 AM

PLENARY // Theater

What's the Future Way Forward? Conversation on Equi-Futurism and the Need to Deconstruct the Concept of Race featuring Jane Elliott Interview

As we begin our journey toward building an inclusive future, we open with a bold and necessary conversation. This plenary features a rare and intimate interview with renowned educator and anti-racism advocate Jane Elliott, known globally for her pioneering “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise. Together, we’ll examine the concept of Equi-Futurism, a future rooted in equity, shared power, and collective liberation.

This session will explore what it means to deconstruct the social construct of race, interrogate the systems built around it, and imagine a world where human value isn’t determined by skin color. Through Jane Elliott’s unflinching lens and lived wisdom, we’ll confront the uncomfortable truths of our history and consider the radical shifts needed to move forward.

Speakers: Dr. Gerald Onuoha, II and Jane Elliott

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10:30 AM

PLENARY // Theater

Built To Last: Scaling an Inclusive Business and Creating Sustainability For The Future w/ Michael Burcham

What does it take to build a business that doesn’t just survive—but thrives, uplifts, and endures? In this forward-thinking session, healthcare entrepreneur and innovation strategist Michael Burcham shares powerful insights on how to design organizations that are both scalable and rooted in inclusive values.

Together, we’ll explore the building blocks of long-term success: ethical leadership, equitable hiring, stakeholder-centered innovation, and operational strategies that align purpose with profitability. Whether you’re a founder, executive, or changemaker within a larger system, this session will help you think bigger about your impact—and smarter about how to sustain it.

Speakers: Dr. Gerald Onuoha, II and Michael Burcham

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11:15 AM

PANEL // Theater

Radical Hospitality: Food as Activism

What if the table became our most powerful tool for change?

In this deeply nourishing session, we explore the idea of radical hospitality where food is more than sustenance; it’s a statement, a gathering point, and a vehicle for justice. From community gardens to mutual aid kitchens, chefs, farmers, and organizers are using food to challenge inequity, reclaim culture, and build belonging.

Together, we’ll unpack how access to food, the act of sharing meals, and the preservation of culinary traditions all intersect with culture, race, and class. This conversation will celebrate food as a language of resistance and love, and highlight how hospitality can be a revolutionary practice when rooted in equity, dignity, and care.

Speakers: Charlotte Miller (Moderator), Jason Rigel, Jeff Jenkins

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12:15 PM

Networking Break & Lunch

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1:15 PM

PANEL // Theater

Race, Religion, and Society: What If God Was(n’t) One of Us?

From pulpits to protests, religion has long played a powerful role in shaping our values, our divisions, and our dreams. But what happens when the sacred is used to exclude instead of embrace? When race and religion collide, whose image of God gets honored, and whose gets erased?

This session dives into the complex intersections of faith, race, culture, and belonging. With interfaith voices, spiritual leaders, and social thinkers, we’ll explore how religious traditions have been both weaponized and mobilized in the struggle for justice. Together, we’ll ask: Can our faith traditions evolve toward greater inclusion? What does a truly equitable spiritual community look like? And what if God looks like all of us? Or none of us?

Speakers: Andrea Blackman (moderator); David Young , Zulfat Suara, Pastor John Faison

WORKSHOP // Theater

Leading from the Inside Out: Exploring Innovative Leadership, Access to Opportunity and Inclusion for the Evolving Cultural Landscape

In today's rapidly shifting landscape, effective leadership requires more than traditional approaches, it demands authentic connection, innovative thinking, and inclusive practices that begin from within. This dynamic session explores the transformative power of "inside-out leadership" as we navigate unprecedented cultural and economic change. Whether you lead a corporate team, community organization, educational institution, or entrepreneurial venture, this session will equip you with the insights and tools to meet today's challenges with wisdom, authenticity, and purpose.

Facilitator: Danny Pippin

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2:15 PM

PANEL // Theater

Founders of the Future: Building Bold, Sustainable Startups for the Future

The next wave of entrepreneurship isn’t just about disruption, it’s about designing businesses that are agile, equitable, and deeply aligned with community needs. In this high-impact session, we’ll explore how founders and early-stage entrepreneurs can build companies that are not only profitable, but purposeful.

From funding and scalability to inclusive hiring and ethical tech, we’ll dive into what it takes to launch and lead ventures that thrive in today’s social, cultural, and economic landscape. Learn from entrepreneurs who are breaking molds, creating access, and embedding equity into their business models from day one.

Speakers: Sam Davidson, Josh Mundy (moderator) , Shannon Ware, Mikki Brown, Robert Sherrill

PANEL // Classroom

Freedom: Education as the Catalyst for an Informed Society

At the root of every just and inclusive society is access to knowledge and the freedom to use it. In this session, we explore education as a catalyst for liberation, critical thinking, civic engagement, and collective progress. But in a time when history is being rewritten, books are being banned, and truth is under pressure, what does it really mean to be educated? Is there an agenda to dismantle institutions of learning or an actual persuit to make education better?

This conversation will challenge us to expand our vision of education—not just as a classroom experience, but as a lifelong, community-driven pursuit of truth and empowerment. We’ll hear from educators, organizers, and innovators working to ensure that learning remains accessible, inclusive, and transformative across generations.

Speakers: Christiane Buggs

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3:15 PM

PANEL // Theater

The Arts Will Save The World: Creativity As A Driving Force To Build Community

Art isn’t just a form of expression, it’s a catalyst for connection, healing, and transformation. In a world grappling with division and disconnection, this session explores how creativity can serve as infrastructure for a more inclusive and unifi1ed future.

Join cultural leaders for a dynamic conversation on how the arts can drive belonging, challenge injustice, and bring diverse communities together. Through performance, visual storytelling, and immersive experiences, they’ll highlight the arts’ unique ability to spark empathy, shift narratives, and activate collective imagination.

Speakers: Jennifer Turner, Isabel Tipton- Kristin, Hunter Claire, Cody Alan (Moderator)

PANEL // Classroom

Code, Consciousness & Community: Harnessing Technology and AI for Human Advancement

As artificial intelligence and emerging technologies accelerate at unprecedented rates, the question isn’t just what we can build but who we’re building it for. This panel explores the evolving relationship between technology, humanity, and equity, focusing on how we can guide innovation to serve the public good, not just profit or power.

We’ll hear from technologists, ethicists, creatives, and community leaders about the transformative potential of AI in fields like healthcare, education, justice, and the arts while confronting the real risks of bias, surveillance, and digital exclusion. Together, we’ll imagine a future where technology amplifies dignity, creativity, and collective liberation.

Speakers: Quawn Clark, Dr. Erica Jones

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4:15 PM

WORKSHOP // Theater

Crafting Bold Moves & Brave Spaces with Monchieré Holmes-Jones

To build an inclusive future, we need leaders who aren’t afraid to disrupt, dream, and design with intention. In this high-impact session, marketing executive and culture shifter Monchieré Holmes-Jones guides us through the art of making bold moves personally, professionally, and collectively. Together, we’ll explore how to cultivate brave spaces that foster innovation, amplify underrepresented voices, and challenge the status quo. Whether you’re leading a business, campaign, or creative movement, this session will offer the mindset, tools, and inspiration to lead with purpose and build spaces where authenticity and ambition can thrive.

Facilitator: Monchiere Holmes

PANEL // Classroom

Crafting Bold Moves & Brave Spaces with Monchieré Holmes-Jones

To build an inclusive future, we need leaders who aren’t afraid to disrupt, dream, and design with intention. In this high-impact session, marketing executive and culture shifter Monchieré Holmes-Jones guides us through the art of making bold moves personally, professionally, and collectively. Together, we’ll explore how to cultivate brave spaces that foster innovation, amplify underrepresented voices, and challenge the status quo. Whether you’re leading a business, campaign, or creative movement, this session will offer the mindset, tools, and inspiration to lead with purpose and build spaces where authenticity and ambition can thrive.

Speakers: Anna-Vija McCloud, Mikki Brown, Samiyah Malik

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5:00 PM

WRAP UP

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9:00 PM // The Parthenon

EVENING EVENT

Caviar & Collard Greens

Step into an unforgettable evening where luxury meets culture at Caviar & Collard Greens, a premier dress-to-impress celebration of excellence, talent, and entrepreneurship. This exclusive event showcases the brilliance of young professionals—doctors, lawyers, scientists, engineers, educators, creatives, and changemakers—in a space curated for empowerment, connection, and elevation.

Indulge in a night of sophistication and soul, featuring locally-owned liquor and beverage brands, exquisite cuisine, and an atmosphere that radiates success, style, and solidarity. From high-level networking to joyous celebration, this is more than a party—it’s a movement.