As the Media + Tech sector evolves, you’ll find many exciting opportunities in this dynamic field. Industry leaders and recruiters share insights on how they strive to attract more diversity in their ranks. Learn about the skills you need to land a dream job.
Kanene Ayo Holder, AI Integration Manager, DEIGPT, Create Labs Ventures
Kanene Ayo Holder is a renowned inclusive marketing, AI ethics expert and diversity consultant. With three National Endowment for the Humanities awards and an extensive background in education and interactive theater, she transforms learning experiences for corporations, schools, and nonprofits.
Kanene’s research has been awarded with a Colin Powell Fellowship for Policy Study, Coro Educational Leadership Collaborative and numerous published contributions and speaking engagements including at Columbia University, NYU, and SXSW on equity and the future of work. Kanene is also a certified diversity trainer for clients including the American Red Cross and MAGNA Global.
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As the AI Integrations Manager for DEIGPT, she curates an ethical and inclusive dataset for companies to use for HR and marketing use cases. Kanene empowers individuals and companies to develop effective, responsible AI strategies for companies including Shutterstock and ActionIQ. She has delivered keynotes at industry-leading events including Carat's Innovation Summit and ADWEEK for The Female Quotient. She is also the Brand Evangelist for the Brand Safety Summit, the premiere conference to share best practices on digital and brand safety for the advertising, tech and media industry globally in London, Singapore and NYC.
Kanene is excited to leverage her expertise to bridge the worlds of marketing, AI and diversity, shaping the future of inclusion. Her company FutureFixer.AI helps companies drive innovation, insights and inspiration to fuel massive growth! She’s excited to produce an interactive townhall at Columbia University on 4/23 6-8PM EST online and in person about the future of social media, AI and advertising.
Laura Burkart, Global Talent Acquisition Lead, Global Business Solutions, TikTok
With a career spanning over 15 years, Laura has been an expert in Talent Acquisition, holding leadership roles at organizations such as Sony Music, Superfly, Spotify, and her current position at TikTok. As the head of hiring efforts for Global Business Solutions, the sales and marketing arm of TikTok, Laura plays a pivotal role in attracting talent for teams that contribute to the platform's global success.
Beyond her professional pursuits, in her spare time, she channels creativity into creating content featuring her bearded Brussels Griffon, Hendrik, on the TikTok platform.
Laura is not only a seasoned professional in the field but also a creative soul, combining her expertise in Talent Acquisition with a dogmomager hobby that has brought her a lot of joy. She's excited to be back again at the Center for Communication.
Vanessa Sandoval, Senior Director, Head of Engagement and Belonging, Hearst Magazines
Vanessa is passionate about inclusion, talent management, leadership development, change management, and transformation. Driven by curiosity and continuous performance improvement, she values experiences that allow her to help lead the discourse on Talent, creatively problem solve, and most importantly, have fun while advising and promoting businesses and their people. With over 15 years of both private and nonprofit HR experience, she is a trusted resource for understanding how to build programs that drive change and keep employees invested and engaged.
As Senior Director and Head of Engagement and Belonging at Hearst Magazines, Vanessa works as a Business Partner to the Hearst Magazines International business where she provides talent management, organizational design, and core HR knowledge to senior leaders as a strategic business and talent coach. This allows her to center the employee experience so that all employees feel seen and heard at work, informing her design and application of best practices and standards that are then leveraged across the business both domestically and internationally.
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Previous positions include Global Director of People at tech startup SeatGeek, Director of Human Resources for national health non-profit Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Talent Management Manager for 24 Seven, a fashion and creative recruitment firm. In these roles, she led multiple areas of the Talent agenda including Talent Acquisition, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Performance, and Learning and Development. Before working with executives to unlock their team’s potential, Vanessa was a proud Teach for America AmeriCorps member committed to unlocking students' potential in the classroom by closing the achievement gap in low-income and low-resourced communities. In every position, whether in the nonprofit or private sector, she has led teams that work to support and advance the strategic intent of those organizations, positively promote their employer brand, and ultimately help create a great place to work.
Vanessa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Business from Georgetown University and a Master’s in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She sits on Tannenbaum’s Workplace Advisory Council, a non-profit promoting Interreligious understanding. She is an Executive Coach and member of Chief, an Executive Women’s Leadership group, and has also been a mentor for NFTE: the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, an international nonprofit organization providing entrepreneurship training and educational programs. She lives in Brooklyn and runs marathons and cycles to stay active in her spare time. She’s currently training for her next race at the end of April in Madrid.
And a few words on why diversity is key in the workplace/industry:
“Beyond valuing a diverse workforce is the importance of practicing inclusion and safety. When we’re able to allow someone to bring and share their stories and their differences, it promotes an environment of acceptance. New ideas are created and new business solutions present themselves because each person can consider the impact on the groups that they self-identify with. Regardless of whether an organization is mission-driven or product-driven, I have found that when leaders truly value their employees and prioritize their experience, the business return and impact are ten-fold. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is what allows companies to stay in business and stay at the top of their industry.” - V.Sandoval
A'ngelique Tewelde, Video Lead, US Agency Video Team, Google
A'ngelique Tewelde is a seasoned media professional with over a decade of experience in the industry. She has held various roles in media, including radio, publicity, TV, global brand strategy, publishing, marketing, and ad sales. Throughout her career, she has focused on fostering connection and guiding companies, clients, and customers in achieving their goals.
Currently, A'ngelique works at Google as a Video Lead for the US Agency Video Team, where she has closed over $1.6 billion in ad sales video revenue with top advertisers and agencies across Google and YouTube over the span of almost 3 years. Her diverse background – encompassing experiences at Hot 97 radio station, NBCUniversal, Starcom MediaVest, Hearst, Conde Nast, and Google – has equipped her with a unique perspective on creating impactful marketing strategies.
A’ngelique graduated with honors from Virginia Commonwealth University and pursued her masters degree in Communications Practice at Columbia University. As a first-generation college and graduate student from rural Virginia, A'ngelique is passionate about inclusion and empowerment, particularly for minorities seeking careers in media and tech. She draws on her rich experiences to support and guide underrepresented individuals in achieving their goals. When A’ngelique is not closing deals, she enjoys traveling, cycling, and trying new immersive experiences like escape rooms, ATV and jet skis, and game shows.
Moderator: Alexandra Merceron, EVP, Rubenstein; Lecturer, Columbia University
Alexandra Merceron is a communications professional and educator with more than 20 years of experience. She specializes in helping organizations meaningfully engage diverse audiences, across channels and platforms.
Currently, she’s an Executive Vice President at RUBENSTEIN, a strategic communications and reputation management firm, where she leads research, messaging, DEI, culture, and training initiatives for the firm. Before joining RUBENSTEIN, she worked for, and as a consultant to, numerous organizations, including the FDA, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum, The Intersector Project, IBM, Harvard Business Review, The Boston Globe and New York Times, and Billboard Magazine, among others.
Alex is also an award-winning professor, with 13 years of experience training and mentoring the next generation of communications professionals. Since 2017, she has been a Lecturer at Columbia University, and previously taught at Georgetown University, Boston University, Queens University of Charlotte, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Connecticut.
Presented with the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and the School of Media Studies at The New School
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
The Center's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Accessibility: Center for Communication provides reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. Requests for accommodations for Center for Communication events should be submitted at least two weeks before the date of the accommodation need. Please email community@centerforcommunication.org for assistance.
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