TC Sessions: Justice 2021
March 3, 2021
Speakers
Naj Austin
Founder & CEO Somewhere Good & Ethel's Club
Vanessa Bain
Co-founder Gig Workers' Collective
Cynthia L. Bennett
Postdoctoral Researcher Carnegie Mellon University Human-Computer Interaction Institute
Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller
Chief Diversity Officer & CSR Leader PTC
Brian Brackeen
Co-founder & General Partner Lightship Capital
Sarah Burgaud
Chief Operating Officer StartOut
Jessica Chin Foo
Startout Pride Economic Impact Index Manager StartOut
Tracy Chou
Founder & CEO Block Party Studios
Wade Davis
VP, Inclusion Strategy Netflix
William Falcon
Founder, CEO Grid.ai
Fanny Grande
Co-founder & CEO Avenida
Nelson Grande
Co-founder and COO Avenida
Haben Girma
Disability Justice Lawyer, Author & Speaker Disability Rights Advocates
Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO Anti-Defamation League
Arlan Hamilton
Founder & Managing Partner Backstage Capital
Twanna Harris
Founder, Black Female Founders Tribal Good and Head of Impact
Martha Hernandez
Founder and CEO madeBOS
Esosa Ighodaro
Co-Founder Black Women Talk Tech
Jason Jones
Remote Instruction Manager The Last Mile
Parul Koul
Software Engineer Google
Stephanie Lampkin
Founder & CEO Blendoor
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
13th Congressional District of California The United States House of Representatives
Jesse Lehrich
Co-founder Accountable Tech
Srin Madipalli
Co-founder & former CEO of Accomable; former Head of Accessibility, Airbnb
Jesse Martinez
Founder & CEO LSA Global/Latinx Startup Alliance
Jessica E. Martinez
Co-Executive Director National Council for Occupational Safety and Health
Candice Matthews Brackeen
General Partner Lightship Capital
Erin Horne McKinney
Founder Black Female Founders
Mara Mills
Professor of Media, Culture, & Communication; Co-Director, Center for Disability Studies New York University
Dr. Vivienne Ming
Professional Mad Scientist Co-Founder & Executive Chair Socos Labs
Mutale Nkonde
Founder & CEO AI For The People
Safiya Umoja Noble
Associate Professor and Co-Director UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry
Grace Reckers
Lead Northeast Organizer OPEIU
Clarissa Redwine
Tech Worker and Union Organizer NYU
Rashad Robinson
President Color of Change
Deepti Rohatgi
Head of Slack for Good and Public Affairs Slack
Parna Sarkar-Basu
Founder Brand and Buzz Marketing
Astrid Scholz
Co-founder Zebras Unite
Christian Smalls
Founder The Congress of Essential Workers
Sydney Thomas
Principal Precursor Ventures
Aly Tamboura
Manager Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Bo Young Lee
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Uber
Federico Von Son
Co-founder & CEO SOMOS
Naj Austin is the founder and CEO of Somewhere Good and Ethel’s Club. She has spent her career building digital and physical products that make the world a more intersectional and equitable space. She was named one of Inc’s 100 Female Founders transforming America, a Huffpost Culture Shifter of 2020 and Time Out New York’s 2020 list of women making NYC better.
Naj's Sessions
The Role of Online Hate and Where Social Media Goes From Here
Toxic culture, deadly conspiracies and organized hate have exploded online in recent years. We’ll discuss how much responsibility social networks have in the rise of these phenomena and how to build healthy online communities that make society better, not worse.
Vanessa Bain is a former educator from Silicon Valley that began working as a Shopper for Instacart in 2016. Bain has been grassroots organizing Instacart Shoppers for the past four years and has organized six Shopper walkouts and boycotts. In January 2020, she cofounded Gig Workers Collective, an organization that fosters worker-led organizing in the gig economy.
Vanessa's Sessions
The Path Forward For Essential Tech Workers
Gig workers and warehouse workers have become essential in a pandemic-ravaged economy. In California, a law went into effect earlier this year that makes gig workers independent contractors. Meanwhile, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are actively seeking to form a union to ensure better protections at the workplace. You’ll hear from workers and organizers about what’s next for gig workers and tech’s contractor workforce, and what battles lie ahead for these essential workers.
Cynthia Bennett is a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute. Her research concerns the intersection of disability, design, and accessibility. She positions the lived experiences and creativity of people with disabilities as starting points for developing accessible and justice-oriented applications of technology. She is regularly invited to speak on disability, access, technology, and power; recent hosts include the TWIML AI Podcast and the conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. She has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, Microsoft Research, and the University of Washington’s Human Centered Design and Engineering department where she completed her Ph.D. She has published in top-tier computer science venues, and three of these papers have received awards. Bennett is also a disabled scholar who is committed to raising participation of disabled people in academia and the tech industry.
Cynthia L.'s Sessions
Access All Areas: Designing Accessibility From Day One
The session will examine the importance of ensuring accessible product design from the beginning. We’ll ask how the social and medical models of disability influence technological evolution. Integrating the expertise of disabled technologists, makers, investors, scientists, software engineers into the DNA of your company from the very beginning is vital to the pursuit of a functioning and equitable society. And could mean you don’t leave money on the table.
Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller (she/her) drives transformational change as an activist, champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion (ED+I), musician, and mom. As Chief Diversity Officer and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Leader at PTC, she is responsible for supporting the company’s full activation of opportunity in this space. She brings over 20 years of experience in ED+I and CSR initiatives across industries including entertainment, financial services, technology, and travel. Kameelah is passionate about empowering individuals, communities, and organizations to recognize their ability to create impactful change through strong brands, healthy environments, and clear purpose. She’s worked with organizations including Gillette/P&G, Korn Ferry, youth programs, social justice organizations, and correctional facilities. Most recently, she co-founded and led ED+I at Tripadvisor, where she ignited a small program into its current global remit, extending efforts into the workplace and product experience. As the founder of G-Rock Music, Kameelah has dedicated the past several years to elevating the voices of womxn in rock and womxn of color in music. The collective focuses on showcasing emerging, renowned, and legendary womxn in music by creating forums and platforms for artists to share their story and their craft. Kameelah received her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University, and her Master’s in African-New World Studies from Florida International University. She has a penchant for karaoke, RVing, and classic rock.
Kameelah's Sessions
Fireside Chat – Diversity Is More Than Hiring People of Color
It may appear that the country is accepting change – from racial diversity to equality in the workplace. However, we still have ways to go. For example, organizational diversity is still about hiring from diverse talent pools. In reality, to activate the full potential of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requires more than a “people strategy.” Robust and sustainable work in this area requires embedding DEI principles, policies, systems, and practices into all parts of the business, including the employee and customer experience, brand culture, and overall industry/corporate citizenship.
Brian Brackeen is the chief executive officer of the facial recognition software developer Kairos.
Brian's Sessions
Demystifying First-Check Fundraising with First-Check Investors
There are so many ways to finance your startup that don’t include Y combinator or a traditional fund. In this stacked panel, founders will hear from a trio of decision-makers about how to leverage unconventional communities and resources to get the first dollars they need to execute.
Sarah Burgaud is the COO at StartOut, a national organization accelerating and supporting LGBTQ+ founders. Sarah previously worked as the COO at CALSO, a nonprofit organization supporting social entrepreneurs in San Francisco and in Austin, TX. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2014, Sarah managed incubation programs for social entrepreneurs in 8+ countries. Prior to her international work, Sarah worked as investment officer in an impact investing firm in Europe. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Economics and Social Sciences and a Master’s degree in Finance from Sciences Po Paris.
Sarah's Sessions
The Impact of Out LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs
StartOut and Socos Lab are excited to speak at TechCrunch Justice, and cover the Inclusion Impact Indexes. Its first iteration; the StartOut Pride Economic Impact Index quantifies the economic value of under-utilized LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The project looks at entrepreneurs’ economic impact in terms of job creation, patents, financings, and exits in the U.S. Our agenda will be a brief introduction, a demo of the index and its current findings, and a Q&A discussion with the publishers of the index.
Jessica is all about building a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem, supporting inclusive entrepreneurship and women leadership, giving every individual a voice and equal access to resources to be successful. As such, she’s the SPEII manager for StartOut, on the adoption of the Startout Pride Economic Impact Index (SPEII). On top of this, at KiwiTech where she’s the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, she opens up dialogues for equal access to marginalized groups of entrepreneurs through their quarterly Minority and Female Founders panel discussions. She also serves on the board of the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center, one of the leading and most prominent cultural and arts institutions in the city of San Francisco, dedicated to elevating underserved communities and giving voice to equality through education and contemporary art.
Jessica's Sessions
The Impact of Out LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs
StartOut and Socos Lab are excited to speak at TechCrunch Justice, and cover the Inclusion Impact Indexes. Its first iteration; the StartOut Pride Economic Impact Index quantifies the economic value of under-utilized LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The project looks at entrepreneurs’ economic impact in terms of job creation, patents, financings, and exits in the U.S. Our agenda will be a brief introduction, a demo of the index and its current findings, and a Q&A discussion with the publishers of the index.
Tracy Chou is an entrepreneur, software engineer, and diversity advocate. She spent five years at Pinterest as an engineer and tech lead and was an early engineer at Quora prior to that. She is a co-founder of Project Include, a non-profit working with tech startups on diversity and inclusion, and #MovingForward, a movement working with VC firms to establish and publish anti-harassment policies; and an investment scout and advisor for several Bay Area VC firms. In her latest venture she is CEO of Block Party, with a mission to solve online harassment and abuse.
Tracy's Sessions
Founders in Focus
We sit down with the founders poised to be the next big disruptors in this industry. Here we chat with Tracy Chou of Block Party, which works to protect people from abuse and harassment online.
Wade is part of Netflix’s team of inclusion experts that bring transformative solutions to build inclusive corporate cultures. He’s a former NFL player and the NFL’s first LGBT inclusion consultant working at the intersection of sexism, racism, and homophobia. Before joining Netflix, Wade consulted for Google, P&G, and 21st Century Fox. He’s a UN Women Global Impact Champion and a Ms. Foundation for Women board member, as well as a Rutgers and NYU adjunct professor, 2012 President Obama surrogate, and a feminist.
Wade's Sessions
Meeting of the Minds
Diversity and inclusion as an idea has been on the agenda of tech companies for years now. But the industry still lacks true inclusion, despite best efforts put forth by heads of diversity, equity and inclusion at these companies. We’ll seek to better understand what’s standing in the way of progress and what it’s going to take to achieve real change.
William Falcon is the creator of the popular open-source project PyTorch Lightning, and the recently announced Grid AI. William created Lightning while doing his PhD at NYU and as a PhD researcher at Facebook AI; Lightning allows users to scale models without the boilerplate and Grid enables large-scale training on the cloud. Previously he co-founded the now acquired NextGenVest and spent time at Goldman Sachs. His PhD (currently on leave to focus on Lightning), is funded by Google Deepmind and NSF Foundation. His research interest is in unsupervised learning and the intersection of AI and neuroscience. William is a native of Venezuela and holds a BA from Columbia University in Computer Science and Statistics, with a minor in Math.
William's Sessions
Latinx Founders Leading with Inclusion
Latinx Founders who are leading with inclusion through diverse teams and/or supporting a diverse mission, inclusion is a part of their DNA.
Fanny Grande (Formerly Fanny Véliz) is a Venezuelan-American award-winning filmmaker, actor, and director with more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment business. Grande, who was born in the US, grew up in Venezuela performing from a very young age. She returned to the States to attend college, she quickly realized that roles available for her and other Latinos were very limited and often portrayed negative stereotypes. So she decided to start creating her own content while in College. Her films focus on creating content that celebrates diversity and her main goal is to transform the way Latinos are portrayed in the media. 4 years ago she co-founded Avenida Productions with her husband Nelson Grande. Avenida is a consulting and production firm that specializes in empowering independent media content creators with a focus on diversity.
Fanny's Sessions
Latinx Founders Leading with Inclusion
Latinx Founders who are leading with inclusion through diverse teams and/or supporting a diverse mission, inclusion is a part of their DNA.
Nelson Grande is no stranger to the gravitational pull of the entertainment industry. Growing up in Highland Park where a typical Saturday included witnessing Tarantino shoot Reservoir Dogs or Gregory Nava shoot Mi Familia, one could argue that Grande’s rise from actor to entrepreneur was written in the stars. However, it wasn’t until Grande was 21 that he would take a leap of faith and pursue a career as an actor and never looked back. Grande has been in national commercials and has done guest spots on several TV shows including the critically acclaimed HBO show Eastbound and Down. Although he continues to thrive as an actor, he felt the familiar strain many actors of color experience in Hollywood. He found that the majority of the roles he was offered were rife with stereotypes and thick accents, a problem that many Latino actors face that’s why in 2016 he co-founded Avenida Productions.
Nelson's Sessions
Latinx Founders Leading with Inclusion
Latinx Founders who are leading with inclusion through diverse teams and/or supporting a diverse mission, inclusion is a part of their DNA.
Haben Girma is an internationally acclaimed disability justice lawyer and the author of the memoir, “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.”
Haben's Sessions
Identifying and Dismantling Tech's Deep Systems of Bias
Nearly every popular technology or service has within it systems of bias or exclusion, ignored by the privileged but obvious to the groups affected. How should these systems be exposed and documented, and how can we set about eliminating them and preventing more from appearing in the future? AI for the People’s Mutale Nkonde, disability rights lawyer Haben Girma, and author of Algorithms of Oppression Safiya Umoja Noble discuss a more inclusive future.
Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO of ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and its sixth National Director. As chief executive of ADL, Jonathan leads all aspects of the world’s leading anti-hate organization. He is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovative leader with deep experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Since becoming CEO in July 2015, Greenblatt has modernized ADL while refocusing it on the mission it has had since its founding in 1913: to fight the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Under Greenblatt, ADL has worked in new and innovative ways to counter anti-Semitism from all sides and to combat extremism in all forms. In 2016, he expanded ADL’s Center on Extremism to enhance the organization’s work in monitoring and neutralizing rising threats to Jews and other marginalized groups. In 2017, he launched ADL’s Center on Technology and Society in Silicon Valley to fight the rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate in social media. He has initiated partnerships with diverse organizations including the Aspen Institute, the European Jewish Congress, Google, U.S. Conference of Mayors and Volkswagen. Before ADL, Greenblatt served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama and Director of the Office of Social Innovation. He came to that role after a long career as a serial social entrepreneur and corporate executive, starting and scaling businesses focused on creating economic value and social good. Jonathan graduated cum laude with a BA from Tufts University and earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Jonathan's Sessions
Tech in the Era of Accountability
A hands-off approach to moderating online platforms invited hate to flourish in plain sight over the last four years. We’ll speak with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on proposed policy solutions, if tech is on the cusp of a real era of accountability and what the organization’s mission looks like in 2021 and beyond.
Arlan Hamilton is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised more than $12 million and invested in more than 150 startup companies led by underestimated founders. In 2018, they launched a four-city accelerator program in Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, and London. Arlan is the author of, It’s About Damn Time, an inspirational and tactical business book for budding entrepreneurs and aspiring investors. She hosts the popular podcast, Your First Million, and has been featured on CNN, PBS, and others, and in 2019 became the first Black woman to have an entirely devoted episode of Emily Chang’s Bloomberg 1.0. In October 2018, Arlan was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so (following Oprah, Serena, and Beyonce). In 2019, Arlan and her mother, Mrs. Earline Butler-Sims, announced their new scholarship program, which kicked off with Oxford University’s first-ever undergraduate scholarship for a Black student, as well as a commitment to fund a full-ride scholarship for a Psychology student at Mrs. Sims’ alma mater, HBCU Dillard University.
Arlan's Sessions
Finding the Next Unicorn
Arlan Hamilton, the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, has raised more than $12 million to back 150 companies led by underrepresented founders. In this session, Hamilton will discuss how she vets the biggest opportunities in investment, and how to disrupt in a positive way.
As an accomplished executive with over 20 years of strategic brand, multicultural and experiential marketing expertise, Twanna has merged her lived experiences, professional knowledge, and her passion for addressing racial inequality into the creation of a social impact entertainment lab called Tribal Good — a space where brands, entertainment, tech, and culture converge to incubate ideas, scale impact, and help creators launch their entrepreneurial ventures. She is an unapologetic voice for the most undervalued, underestimated and underutilized creators, and believes that the ‘future of work’ will be directly tied to the ‘democratization of content’ by the storytellers who know best how to convert their ‘influence into impact’. Twanna also leads Atlanta BeltLine’s storytelling efforts in her role as VP of Brand, Content and Strategic Initiatives. Prior to her current role, she has held various marketing posts at Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Alberto Culver and United Way – as well as numerous roles on the agency side. As a self-described cultural anthropologist who often doubles as a ‘data junkie’, she thoroughly enjoys her roles as a fellow of the prestigious BMe Vanguard, a DEI Advisor of American Marketing Association’s Atlanta chapter, a member of Usher’s New Look Foundation Marketing Council, and one of the organizing leads for Atlanta’s House of Genius team.
Twanna's Sessions
Black Female Unicorns in the Making
With all of the economic and racial disparities that have become so pronounced, this timely session will unpack the skills, tools and networks required along every stage of this journey. We will also share insights on what role policy, philanthropy and civic organizations might play in helping to address the systemic challenges, roadblocks and obstacles that have historically served as barriers.
Martha Hernández is the founder and CEO of madeBOS, Inc., a tech-enabled HR solution with a people-development approach. Martha made a bold move and quit her job as an Executive of Talent to invest all her time into madeBOS.com. Martha received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Spanish Literature from Occidental College. She later became a graduate of Mills College Institute for Civic Leadership Program, as well as Management Leadership for Tomorrow, and the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. Most recently, Martha completed an AI Business Strategy certification from MIT. Martha recently became a best-selling author. Her book “I Have What it Takes” now at Target, Amazon and Barns & Noble is a combination of stories and principles aimed at igniting underrepresented and underresourced talent’s natural leadership. Martha is a boxing trainee and a talented singer and songwriter. Known as Martha Soledad, she released her first album “Prefiero Mandar en Falda” featuring her own corrido to inspire political action on gender equity and inclusion.
Martha's Sessions
Latinx Founders Leading with Inclusion
Latinx Founders who are leading with inclusion through diverse teams and/or supporting a diverse mission, inclusion is a part of their DNA.
Esosa Ighodaro is the current cofounder of Pinnacle; business in a box web solution for women entrepreneurs. She is a former bank executive at Citigroup and a serial entrepreneur and has over 12 years of Marketing and operation experience. She is also Co-Founder of Black Women Talk Tech an organization that aims to encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar tech companies. 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.
Esosa's Sessions
Black Female Unicorns in the Making
With all of the economic and racial disparities that have become so pronounced, this timely session will unpack the skills, tools and networks required along every stage of this journey. We will also share insights on what role policy, philanthropy and civic organizations might play in helping to address the systemic challenges, roadblocks and obstacles that have historically served as barriers.
Jason Jones is a full-time disruptor, activist, educator, and software engineer. He is the Remote Instructor Manager for The Last Mile, a nonprofit breaking the cycle of incarceration through in-prison education and post-release mentorship. Jason leads a team of educators that remotes into classrooms across the US to deliver virtual lessons in computer coding. On September 25, 2018, Jason was released after 13 ½ years incarcerated, during which time he graduated from The Last Mile’s inaugural coding class. Three weeks before his release, Jason became the first person from his cohort to sign a work agreement with a tech company as a software engineer. Jason was also the first justice-involved person to be accepted into the Lightspeed fellowship with a team from Stanford and today, he is a participant in the Koch Associate Program. He is passionate about creating more opportunities for representation in tech and mentoring youth, which inspired him to launch a coding program for students at McClymonds High School in Oakland.
Jason's Sessions
Reimagining Pathways for Returned Citizens
Reentering society after having been incarcerated presents challenges few of us can understand. In this panel, we will examine the role tech can play in ensuring pathways to employment for returned citizens.
Parul Koul is the Executive Chair of the Alphabet Workers Union, affiliated with CWA Local 1400. She is a software engineer at Google, having joined the company in 2019.
Parul's Sessions
State of the Union
Labor unions have been fairly uncommon in tech. That’s finally starting to change in recent years, as workers have pushed to organize at some the industry’s biggest companies, from Alphabet to Kickstarter. Parul Koul (Google), Grace Reckers (Office and Professional Employees International Union) and Clarissa Redwine (NYU) will join us to discuss the growing movement.
Stephanie Lampkin is the founder & CEO of Blendoor: diversity analytics and hiring software that helps exceptional companies attract and retain diverse talent. She has an 18-year professional career in the tech industry founding two startups and working at Microsoft, Deloitte and TripAdvisor to name a few. Stephanie has a BS in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Stephanie's Sessions
Black Female Unicorns in the Making
With all of the economic and racial disparities that have become so pronounced, this timely session will unpack the skills, tools and networks required along every stage of this journey. We will also share insights on what role policy, philanthropy and civic organizations might play in helping to address the systemic challenges, roadblocks and obstacles that have historically served as barriers.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee was born in segregated El Paso, Texas. As a single mother raising two sons, she attended Mills College in Oakland, and later received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1990, Congresswoman Lee was elected to the California State Assembly, where she served until 1996 when she was elected to the State Senate. In 1998, she was elected to serve California’s 9th congressional district (now the 13th) in a special election. Congresswoman Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, believing it would create a blank check for endless war, and an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War. Currently, Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chair of the subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering & Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. As Co-Chair, Rep. Lee works to ensure that committees reflect the diversity, dynamism, and integrity of the Democratic Caucus. As a member of the House Democratic Leadership, she is the highest ranking African American woman in the U.S. Congress.
Congresswoman Barbara's Sessions
Creating Equity in Tech
The ‘pipeline problem’ is often cited as the reason for a lack of diversity in the tech industry. But it’s a myth. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, having represented the East Bay of California for almost a decade, knows all too well about the rise of tech in the Bay Area. We’ll talk with Congresswoman Lee about the opportunities before us to create an equal playing field in tech so that underrepresented investors, founders, designers, coders and the like can reap the benefits.
Jesse is a co-founder of Accountable Tech. He has a decade of experience in political communications and issue advocacy, including serving as the foreign policy spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, where he was part of the team managing the response to Russia’s information warfare operation.
Jesse's Sessions
The Role of Online Hate and Where Social Media Goes From Here
Toxic culture, deadly conspiracies and organized hate have exploded online in recent years. We’ll discuss how much responsibility social networks have in the rise of these phenomena and how to build healthy online communities that make society better, not worse.
Srin Madipalli is former Co-founder and CEO of Accomable which was acquired by Airbnb in 2017, where he was Head of Accessibility. He was the lead developer at his startup Accomable for the first 12 months. He is an active angel investor and startup mentor at several accelerators and incubators. Srin has an MBA, taught himself to code in order to build prototype web apps and has a deep love of building things that improve people’s lives. Srin is currently working on a new venture idea.
Srin's Sessions
Access All Areas: Designing Accessibility From Day One
The session will examine the importance of ensuring accessible product design from the beginning. We’ll ask how the social and medical models of disability influence technological evolution. Integrating the expertise of disabled technologists, makers, investors, scientists, software engineers into the DNA of your company from the very beginning is vital to the pursuit of a functioning and equitable society. And could mean you don’t leave money on the table.
World Economic Forum 2020 Delegate; Founder @LSA Global; 4X Startup Founder, Founder @Latinx_startups; Founding Partner @Resolved Ventures; Venture Partner @VamosVentures; Founder @Aggies in Tech Global
Jesse's Sessions
Latinx Founders Leading with Inclusion
Latinx Founders who are leading with inclusion through diverse teams and/or supporting a diverse mission, inclusion is a part of their DNA.
Jessica E. Martinez serves as co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health National (COSH). A nationally-recognized movement leader, Ms. Martinez has been spearheading organizing, public policy and education initiatives at National COSH for seven years. Under Ms. Martinez’s direction, National COSH has built ground-breaking coalitions that engage workers as leaders to win critical improvements in workplaces and communities, with a particular focus on immigrants, people of color, women and youth. A well-respected strategist in economic, racial justice and occupational safety and health movements, Ms. Martinez has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show, CNN en Español, and National Public Radio, has been widely quoted in mainstream and Latino newspapers and is a much-sought after speaker for conferences, panels and events. In 2014, Ms. Martinez was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, representing safety professionals. She has been awarded the Peace and Social Justice Award by the Southern California Institute for Popular Education (IDEPSCA), the Lorin Kerr Activist Award by the OHS Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the New Labor Honoree Award. Prior to her work at National COSH, Ms. Martinez served as Program Coordinator for the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) Program and the Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (SoCalCOSH), advocating for safety and health within the labor movement. Ms. Martinez also has worked as a labor organizer for dynamic organizing campaigns in California and Illinois, coordinated human rights and public health projects internationally, and has a research background in investigating effective outreach, prevention, and intervention methods for improving lifestyle quality correlated to public health for underserved populations. She holds a B.A. in International Development Studies from UCLA and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois, Chicago School of Public Health.
Jessica E.'s Sessions
The Path Forward For Essential Tech Workers
Gig workers and warehouse workers have become essential in a pandemic-ravaged economy. In California, a law went into effect earlier this year that makes gig workers independent contractors. Meanwhile, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are actively seeking to form a union to ensure better protections at the workplace. You’ll hear from workers and organizers about what’s next for gig workers and tech’s contractor workforce, and what battles lie ahead for these essential workers.
Candice Matthews Brackeen is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, the Cincinnati-based VC firm dedicated to backing underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Midwest. As General Partner, Candice leads entrepreneur selection, board membership, investor relations, and serves on the investment committee. She is also the Founder and CEO of Hillman, an entrepreneur education program that focuses on tech startups led by underrepresented entrepreneurs. Through her work at Hillman, Candice successfully influenced state policy around economic inclusion and established meaningful partnerships with companies like Procter & Gamble, Kroger, and Chase. Candice has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience including co-founding Hello Parent, a national safety technology partner of the Brady Campaign to Reduce Gun Violence and the American Academy of Pediatrics. She later founded the Cincinnati Chapter of the Black Founders Network (BFN), which works to increase diversity and inclusion efforts within the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. The initial 11 members of BFN have gone on to raise more than 60 million dollars. Candice currently serves on the advisory boards of the Global Accelerator Network and the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Northern Kentucky University. Candice received both the VentureOhio Catalyst of the Year and the Cincinnati Business Courier Women Who Mean Business awards, and maintains a busy fundraising schedule, working diligently to identify and develop transformative tech startups. Candice holds a BA Economics from the University of Cincinnati where she was a Hewitt-Kautz Fellow.
Candice's Sessions
Black Female Unicorns in the Making
With all of the economic and racial disparities that have become so pronounced, this timely session will unpack the skills, tools and networks required along every stage of this journey. We will also share insights on what role policy, philanthropy and civic organizations might play in helping to address the systemic challenges, roadblocks and obstacles that have historically served as barriers.
Passionate about social impact, equitable entrepreneurship, and inclusive innovation, Erin Horne McKinney is the CEO of WomenVenture and founder of the global membership organization, Black Female Founders (#BFF). Erin is an Womanist, Afrofuturist, seasoned nonprofit executive, public servant, and serial entrepreneur and intrapreneur with more than two decades of entrepreneurship and tech policy, venture capital, economic and business development, inclusion/diversity/equity/access (IDEA) and marketing communications experience. Erin previously served as the inaugural Managing Partner of Inclusion for JumpStart Inc. and as Washington D.C.’s inaugural Senior Advisor on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Executive Office of the Mayor. Erin held executive leadership roles with the National Association of Multicultural Digital Entrepreneurs (NAMDE), the National Diversity Council, and the Maynard Institute. Her entrepreneurship and technology policy work includes research positions with TechNet, the National Telecommunication and Information Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Erin is a member of Pipeline Angels and serves as an advisor and mentor to startups, incubators and accelerator programs. She is a founding member of the Black Innovation Alliance (BIA) and serves on advisory the board for Collider’s Inclusion Open program and as a Board Director for Greater Twin Cities United Way. Erin is currently pursuing her Ph.D. within the Technology, Policy and Society program at Howard University, where she also completed her BA in Journalism & Telecommunications Management and MA in Mass Communications and Media Studies.
Erin Horne's Sessions
Black Female Unicorns in the Making
With all of the economic and racial disparities that have become so pronounced, this timely session will unpack the skills, tools and networks required along every stage of this journey. We will also share insights on what role policy, philanthropy and civic organizations might play in helping to address the systemic challenges, roadblocks and obstacles that have historically served as barriers.
Mara Mills is Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, where she co-founded and co-directs the NYU Center for Disability Studies. Mills is a founding editor of the journal Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience (winner of the 2020 4S STS Infrastructure Award) and a recent member of the executive council of the Society for the History of Technology. She is the author or co-author of over 50 articles and essays and her publications have been translated into German, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Most recently, she co-edited the book Testing Hearing: The Making of Modern Aurality (Oxford University Press, 2020) with Viktoria Tkaczyk and Alexandra Hui. With Jonathan Sterne, she is co-authoring a book titled Tuning Time: Histories of Sound and Speed, an excerpt from which was published in Triple Canopy in October 2020. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the IEEE History Center, among other granting agencies.
Mara's Sessions
Access All Areas: Designing Accessibility From Day One
The session will examine the importance of ensuring accessible product design from the beginning. We’ll ask how the social and medical models of disability influence technological evolution. Integrating the expertise of disabled technologists, makers, investors, scientists, software engineers into the DNA of your company from the very beginning is vital to the pursuit of a functioning and equitable society. And could mean you don’t leave money on the table.
Dr. Vivienne Ming Title Professional Mad Scientist Co-Founder & Executive Chair, Socos Labs Theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, author, and mother of two, Dr. Vivienne Ming is featured frequently for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, Quartz Magazine and the New York Times. Co-founded with wife Dr. Norma Ming, Socos Labs: a mad science incubator dedicated to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. Previously, Vivienne has pursued her research in cognitive neuroprosthetics as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience. In her free time, Vivienne works to design AI systems to help treat her son’s diabetes, predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers, and reunite orphan refugees with extended family members. She sits on the boards of numerous companies and nonprofits. For relaxation, she frequents the sci-fi section of Audible and spends time with her wife and children.
Dr. Vivienne's Sessions
The Impact of Out LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs
StartOut and Socos Lab are excited to speak at TechCrunch Justice, and cover the Inclusion Impact Indexes. Its first iteration; the StartOut Pride Economic Impact Index quantifies the economic value of under-utilized LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The project looks at entrepreneurs’ economic impact in terms of job creation, patents, financings, and exits in the U.S. Our agenda will be a brief introduction, a demo of the index and its current findings, and a Q&A discussion with the publishers of the index.
Mutale Nkonde is a UN advisor on Race and AI, member of the Tik Tok Content Moderation Board and author of Automated Anti-Blackness: why we need to name race to create just technological futures. Prior to starting AI for the People she was part of team that introduced the Algorithmic Accountability and Deep Fakes Accountability Act, as well as the No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act and is currently working with Amnesty International on a global campaign to ban facial recognition technology.
Mutale's Sessions
Identifying and Dismantling Tech's Deep Systems of Bias
Nearly every popular technology or service has within it systems of bias or exclusion, ignored by the privileged but obvious to the groups affected. How should these systems be exposed and documented, and how can we set about eliminating them and preventing more from appearing in the future? AI for the People’s Mutale Nkonde, disability rights lawyer Haben Girma, and author of Algorithms of Oppression Safiya Umoja Noble discuss a more inclusive future.
Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Information Studies where she serves as the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). She also holds appointments in African American Studies and Gender Studies. She is a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford and has been appointed as a Commissioner on the Oxford Commission on AI & Good Governance (OxCAIGG). She is a board member of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, serving those vulnerable to online harassment and serves on the NYU Center Critical Race and Digital Studies advisory board. She is the author of a best-selling book on racist and sexist algorithmic bias in commercial search engines, entitled Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (NYU Press), which has been widely-reviewed in scholarly and popular publications.
Safiya Umoja's Sessions
Identifying and Dismantling Tech's Deep Systems of Bias
Nearly every popular technology or service has within it systems of bias or exclusion, ignored by the privileged but obvious to the groups affected. How should these systems be exposed and documented, and how can we set about eliminating them and preventing more from appearing in the future? AI for the People’s Mutale Nkonde, disability rights lawyer Haben Girma, and author of Algorithms of Oppression Safiya Umoja Noble discuss a more inclusive future.
Grace Reckers has organized restaurant workers with the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), janitors with the Service Employees Int’l Union (SEIU), and nurses with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). Now, as Lead Northeast Organizer at OPEIU, Grace splits her time between campaigns with nonprofit employees and with tech workers to build unions in their workplaces. She worked on the Kickstarter United campaign and is a founding staff member of OPEIU’s Tech Worker Union Local 1010. While many of the tech union campaigns that Grace is working on are currently underground, she is excited for these groups to go public in the near future. Grace is involved with the New York City branch of the Tech Workers Coalition and the DSA Tech Action Working Group, and is committed to building and supporting rank & file organizing efforts across industries.
Grace's Sessions
State of the Union
Labor unions have been fairly uncommon in tech. That’s finally starting to change in recent years, as workers have pushed to organize at some the industry’s biggest companies, from Alphabet to Kickstarter. Parul Koul (Google), Grace Reckers (Office and Professional Employees International Union) and Clarissa Redwine (NYU) will join us to discuss the growing movement.
Alongside dozens of coworkers, Clarissa helped build Kickstarter’s union and produced a detailed oral history of the organizer experience as a Fellow at NYU. She is also on the Steering Committee for the NYC Tech Workers Coalition and a contributor to the Collective Action in Tech resource hub and archive.
Clarissa's Sessions
State of the Union
Labor unions have been fairly uncommon in tech. That’s finally starting to change in recent years, as workers have pushed to organize at some the industry’s biggest companies, from Alphabet to Kickstarter. Parul Koul (Google), Grace Reckers (Office and Professional Employees International Union) and Clarissa Redwine (NYU) will join us to discuss the growing movement.
Rashad was a member of the inaugural cohort of Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity, and serves on the board of the Hazen Foundation. Previously, Rashad served as Senior Director of Media Programs at GLAAD.
Rashad's Sessions
The Role of Online Hate and Where Social Media Goes From Here
Toxic culture, deadly conspiracies and organized hate have exploded online in recent years. We’ll discuss how much responsibility social networks have in the rise of these phenomena and how to build healthy online communities that make society better, not worse.
Deepti Rohatgi is the Head of Slack for Good and Public Affairs where she oversees all of Slack’s social impact and public affairs, including founding the Next Chapter Program. Prior to joining Slack, Deepti led government affairs at Lookout Mobile Security, was a Director of Policy at Yahoo and served as a diplomat and Director of IT and Telecommunications Policy at the U.S. Department of State. She holds a M.S. in Industrial Engineering and a B.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University.
Deepti's Sessions
Reimagining Pathways for Returned Citizens
Reentering society after having been incarcerated presents challenges few of us can understand. In this panel, we will examine the role tech can play in ensuring pathways to employment for returned citizens.
A tech evangelist, Parna Sarkar-Basu serves as a strategic advisor to transformational leaders and tech pioneers, and helps them launch and reinvent companies. A brand architect, Parna also designs powerful programs to spotlight entrepreneurs and innovators, and elevate startup founders to industry thought leaders. Her expertise includes changing industry perception, building market relevance, corporate (re)-positioning and new market entry as well as supporting fund raising activities. Recipient of multiple awards, she has propelled a variety of tech companies into innovation leaders in highly competitive markets – artificial intelligence and enterprise software to robots and consulting services. A Forbes and Business Journal contributor, Parna frequently speaks and shares her insights on a range of topics, including innovation for social good, tech trends, diversity and gender equality. A STEM champion, Parna builds and supports programs to inspire women in technology and future innovators. She empowers women entrepreneurs by expanding their digital footprint so they can enhance their personal brand and grow the business. Parna servers on multiple boards, including WITI (Women in Technology International) Boston.
Parna's Sessions
Fireside Chat – Diversity Is More Than Hiring People of Color
It may appear that the country is accepting change – from racial diversity to equality in the workplace. However, we still have ways to go. For example, organizational diversity is still about hiring from diverse talent pools. In reality, to activate the full potential of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requires more than a “people strategy.” Robust and sustainable work in this area requires embedding DEI principles, policies, systems, and practices into all parts of the business, including the employee and customer experience, brand culture, and overall industry/corporate citizenship.
Dr. Astrid J. Scholz is Founder and Managing Partner of Sphaera, a system design and technology firm dedicated to co-creating global, distributed, democratic infrastructure for mobilizing data, innovations, and capital to solve today’s wicked problems. Meanwhile, Dr. Astrid J. Scholz similarly wears many hats. She is the founder and managing partner of Sphaera, a system design and technology firm dedicated to co-creating infrastructure that helps data and capital solve big problems. Astrid is also a founder of the XXcelerate Fund, an Oregon-based revolving loan fund and mentorship program created for and by women entrepreneurs. Finally, Astrid is a co-founder of Zebras Unite, an international co-operative and community of investors and founders that are committed to an ethical, inclusive and sustainable approach to creating a business. The capital arm of Zebras Unite uses non-traditional funding mechanisms to help companies secure financing. Astrid was previously President of Ecotrust, a conservation-based development organization with $150M in assets under management. She is also a Senior Consultant for Uncompromise, a global strategic consulting and advisory firm. Astrid holds degrees from the University of St. Andrews, the University of Bristol, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Astrid's Sessions
Demystifying First-Check Fundraising with First-Check Investors
There are so many ways to finance your startup that don’t include Y combinator or a traditional fund. In this stacked panel, founders will hear from a trio of decision-makers about how to leverage unconventional communities and resources to get the first dollars they need to execute.
Former Amazon employee Christian Smalls grew up in Hackensack, NJ. A man of many talents he played multiple sports growing up, including running track at national level. After stepping away from a successful career as a musician, the single father of three got a job as an Amazon warehouse shift supervisor. During his five years at Amazon, he helped with the opening of three major warehouses in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In March of 2020, his Staten Island warehouse, JFK8 became an epicenter for Coronavirus cases. After seeing zero changes after raising concerns about the safety of his employees with HR and his superiors on multiple occasions, he staged a walk out that garnered national attention. Ever since, Chris has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about the inhumane and unsafe working environment at Amazon. Even while receiving zero pay, enduring legal battles with and a smear campaign at the hands of Amazon, he has still managed to form his own business, The Congress of Essential Workers (TCOEW), and inspire millions across the globe.
Christian's Sessions
The Path Forward For Essential Tech Workers
Gig workers and warehouse workers have become essential in a pandemic-ravaged economy. In California, a law went into effect earlier this year that makes gig workers independent contractors. Meanwhile, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are actively seeking to form a union to ensure better protections at the workplace. You’ll hear from workers and organizers about what’s next for gig workers and tech’s contractor workforce, and what battles lie ahead for these essential workers.
Sydney works at Precursor Ventures where she has check-writing abilities and focuses her time on investing in and supporting Pre-Seed companies that democratize access to products and services for the mass market economy. To increase knowledge of these types of companies, she founded and hosts the Be About It podcast, where she profiles companies that fit this thesis. She also participates in several extracurricular activities to increase diversity in tech and level the playing field more broadly. She is the creator of The Interrupters – a list that highlights investors committed to investing in black and LatinX founders. She serves on the Advisory Board of Invanti – a startup generator in the midwest. She is deeply involved in her community, Longfellow Oakland. In 2020, she was honored to receive the Champion of Justice Award from Esq. Apprentice, an Oakland-based nonprofit she supports that creates alternative pathways to the legal career. She was also appointed by the Mayor to serve as a Commissioner for the City of Oakland’s Public Safety and Services Commission. She is also a member of the 4.0 Angel Syndicate – a community of Black philanthropists.
Sydney's Sessions
Demystifying First-Check Fundraising with First-Check Investors
There are so many ways to finance your startup that don’t include Y combinator or a traditional fund. In this stacked panel, founders will hear from a trio of decision-makers about how to leverage unconventional communities and resources to get the first dollars they need to execute.
Aly Tamboura is a Manager in the Criminal Justice Reform program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He joined the organization in 2017, after working as a software engineer. Having spent over a decade of his life incarcerated, Tamboura brings both his firsthand experience with the criminal justice system and his strong technical skills to CZI to help advance critical reforms in the space. Much of Aly’s work focuses on partnering with a rapidly growing national coalition of formerly incarcerated leaders that are expanding and accelerating the reform movement. Tamboura supports their efforts to build national and state-based coalitions that are challenging the harsh laws that contribute to mass incarceration, passing critical legislation, and giving those who are closest to the problems a voice in reimagining a justice system that does a better job at helping people and keeping communities safe. Tamboura has spoken extensively–including to leaders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce–about his story, the systemic barriers that keep so many people from achieving their full potential, and the urgent need to expand opportunities to formerly incarcerated people. Prior to his role at CZI, Tamboura spent twenty years working in the underground utility industry, including 12 years as the founder and CEO of a Bay Area geotechnical company, where he managed and completed large and complex underground utility analytics for government and private entities.
Aly's Sessions
Reimagining Pathways for Returned Citizens
Reentering society after having been incarcerated presents challenges few of us can understand. In this panel, we will examine the role tech can play in ensuring pathways to employment for returned citizens.
Bo Young Lee leads Uber’s diversity and inclusion efforts in the company, with our stakeholders, and in the communities where we operate. Bo partners with senior leadership, including CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, to build a work culture where radically diverse and inclusive teams drive innovation, accelerate growth, and build a work culture and systems where all employees have the opportunity to excel and grow to their highest potential. Prior to joining Uber, Bo was the first Global Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Risk and Insurance Services businesses for Marsh and McLennan Companies. Bo also launched and led Aon/Hewitt Associates’ Global Emerging Workforce Solutions consulting practice and held diversity leadership roles at Ernst & Young and National Grid. Bo served as a Director of Advisory Services at Catalyst, the leading nonprofit focused on the advancement of women in business. As a consultant and thought leader, Bo has enabled dozens of clients to achieve their diversity and inclusion goals. Past clients include Marriott International, Northern Trust, John Deere, Allstate, Booz & Co., Discover, Aon, Human Rights Campaign, and McKesson. Bo has an MBA with distinction from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BBA magna cum laude from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Prior to joining Uber, Bo was the first Global Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Risk and Insurance Services businesses for Marsh and McLennan Companies. Bo also launched and led Aon/Hewitt Associates’ Global Emerging Workforce Solutions consulting practice and held diversity leadership roles at Ernst & Young and National Grid. Bo also served as a Director of Advisory Services at Catalyst, the leading non-profit focused on the advancement of women in business. As a consultant and thought leader, Bo has enabled dozens of clients to achieve their diversity & inclusion goals. Past clients include Marriott International, Northern Trust, John Deere, Allstate, Booz & Co., Discover, Aon, Human Rights Campaign, and McKesson. Bo has an MBA with distinction from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BBA magna cum laude from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Bo Young's Sessions
Meeting of the Minds
Diversity and inclusion as an idea has been on the agenda of tech companies for years now. But the industry still lacks true inclusion, despite best efforts put forth by heads of diversity, equity and inclusion at these companies. We’ll seek to better understand what’s standing in the way of progress and what it’s going to take to achieve real change.
Born in Baja California and raised in Cuernavaca, a beautiful small town in the central region of México. I am former professional athlete, entrepreneur and MD graduated with honors, passionate about metadata, Health Tech, innovation and social impact. Have been deeply involved in research projects focused on identifying genetic biomarkers for diabetic ulcers, metabolic syndrome, sports performance, nutrigenetics and population genetics. I love to watch and play soccer or any sport, spending time with my daughter, family and girlfriend, love sushi, tacos and Italian food Happy to share and interact with more people to build stronger networks and bonds that can have an impact in Latin America. “Build your wings on the way down” This is my everyday mantra, I truly think that you can never be READY enough to actually start something. You just have to go for it and fix whatever needs to be fixed during the process.
Federico's Sessions
Latinx Founders Leading with Inclusion
Latinx Founders who are leading with inclusion through diverse teams and/or supporting a diverse mission, inclusion is a part of their DNA.