Exploring Black History & Experience

Speakers:

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  Anthony Francis

  Senior Manager, Chief Technology Office
  Lloyds Banking Group

  A fast thinking, enthusiastic and confident individual, Anthony has featured on Top Future Leader lists both within the Financial Times and Yahoo Finance. As well as being highly organised, Anthony has strong stakeholder management and communication skills that enable him to perform well when facing complex and challenging tasks. With a range of experience within project management, organisation design and business management, Anthony works very well under pressure and is able to think innovatively. Anthony is also very passionate about inclusion and diversity where he leads a number of key initiatives within Lloyds Banking Group where he is the Role Model and Intersectionality Lead for the Group’s LGBT+ network.

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  Josh Rivers

  Creator and host
  Busy Being Black

  Josh Rivers is the creator and host of Busy Being Black, the podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives. The show centres conversations with those who have learned - and are learning - to thrive at the intersection of their identities, and is a regular feature on LGBTQ and Black History Month lists on both Apple and Spotify. Josh volunteers his time as the head of communications for UK Black Pride, and was a founding member of Series Q, a network of mentorship, learning and support for LGBTQ entrepreneurs.

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  Akerah Mackey

  Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Specialist
  Vi Living

  Akerah Mackey is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practitioner and has been working in the field since 2017. Akerah is a University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Alumni who graduated with her Master's this past summer. However, her career began overseas in Dublin, Ireland, working for a nonprofit, collecting data, and conducting analysis to support the equity efforts for the Traveller Movement. She also pushed the policies and goals of DEI both here in the U.S and abroad. She has worked in local government, campaign research, and education policy but found her passion in healthcare policy as it related to aging and senior communities. She prides herself on the work she has done to further equity and inclusion policies within her community, and around the U.S. Additionally, Akerah has won three awards for her efforts to create inclusive communities, the most recent being the Kreisman Award from the Mansueto Institute for Innovation. But, she is most excited about joining Vi as the Company's new diversity and inclusion specialist, which has allowed her to embrace the opportunity to transition into the private sector and help create a more inclusive workspace for senior living employees.

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  LaRissa ONeal

  Director of Talent and Organizational Development - Americas
  RS Americas

  As the Director of Talent and Organizational Development for RS Group Americas, I passionately believe in identifying and creating diverse and inclusive learning opportunities that meet people where they are to enable them to grow and develop on their personal and professional journeys. I am an advocate for the true, authentic representation of self and strive to create an environment where people are inspired and encouraged to share their whole selves with us.

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