Our Board of Directors

Kedma Pognon Brown

Chair
Chief Operating Officer
dentsu Media - Americas

Kevin McFall

Secretary
Belonging, Diversity & Inclusion Software Solutions at
Workday

LaSharah Bunting

Treasurer
Vice President & Executive Editor
Simon & Schuster

Tracy L. Lawrence

Founder & Immediate Past Chair
Managing Director
The Lawrence Advisory

Kathy A. Johnson

COO
Digital Diversity Network

Amanda Armour

Head of People
Versus Systems

Atul Prashar

Founding Partner
Sava360 Ventures

Deserrie Forte-Perez

Head of Financial Services & Healthcare Marketing
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

Desiree Rollins

Director, Brand Marketing & Digital
NBC Entertainment

Detavio Samuels

CEO
REVOLT Media & TV

Jean Brewster

Executive Managing Director
Garth Group Consulting

Karine Travieso

VP, Partnerships
The Atlantic

Maureen Carter

VP, Design & UX
BET Networks

Albert Cheng

COO & Co-Head of Television
Amazon Studios

As COO, Amazon Studios, Albert Cheng oversees all of the studio’s global business operations and technology products. He leads a team responsible for business affairs, production, research, product management, release schedules, product and technology to drive business planning and operations for worldwide originals and content licensing for Prime Video. It is the only studio that accepts open submissions from anyone with a great story and invites the public to provide feedback on television pilots before going to series order. Since its inception in 2010, Amazon Studios produces Emmy-winning kids shows like Tumble Leaf, Emmy-nominated shows like Transparent, and films for theatrical distribution.

Prior to Amazon Studios, he was an executive at The Walt Disney Company for fifteen years in a number of roles. His latest position was as Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Chief Product Officer for Disney/ABC Television Group, where he was charged with general management and strategic oversight of digital media for ABC Entertainment, Oscars Digital, ABC News, ABC Daytime, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Jr and SOAPnet. He led a team that oversaw product development, marketing and operations for the Group’s digital media content platforms, including video-on-demand, broadband, web-based and mobile platforms, as well as interactive television technologies. During that time, years before Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, Albert and his team were the first in history to put TV episodes on iTunes in 2005, stream top broadcast shows online in 2006, stream in HD in 2007, first to launch an app on the iPad in 2010, and first to offer live broadcast network feeds in 2013. They won four Primetime Emmys for their work during this period of time.

Albert has also held executive positions at Fox and board roles at BMI and Lifetime and was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Cheng earned a bachelors degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Dana Canedy

Senior Vice President
Simon & Schuster

Dhanusha Sivajee

Chief Marketing Officer
XO Group

Dhanusha Sivajee joined XO Group in August 2014 as the EVP of Marketing where she oversees Marketing, Communications and Content. Sivajee joined XO group from AOL, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer for the AOL Brand Group and was responsible for driving audience growth across AOL’s portfolio of digital brands. Previously, Sivajee worked for Bloomberg as VP of Global Marketing for Bloomberg Mobile, where she launched a suite of Bloomberg Mobile products including the award-winning Bloomberg Businessweek & Bloomberg TV iPad apps. Prior, she worked for HBO creating cross-platform marketing campaigns and developed the go-to market strategy for HBO GO. Sivajee received a BS in International Management from the University of Manchester, England and an MBA from Duke University.

Kay Madati

Head of Content Partnerships
Twitter

Kay M. Madati is Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB). He leads the teams responsible for all aspects of digital, social and mobile strategy and oversees operations, content creation, technology, and product development across the suite of BET Network’s digital platforms.

Prior to joining BET Networks, Mr. Madati was the Head of Entertainment & Media at Facebook, Inc., charged with the growth and monetization of Facebook’s Entertainment & Media business, and ultimately responsible for positioning Facebook as a critical and foundational element of the digital and marketing matrix for all entertainment content publishers and distributors.

Prior to this role, Mr. Madati was the Vice President of Audience Experience at CNN Worldwide, overseeing the development and execution of a successful social media and consumer engagement + experience strategy across all of CNN’s distribution platforms, including television, digital, mobile, the social web and offline events.

Mr. Madati began his career with BMW of North America, where he held a variety of leadership roles in sales, operations and marketing; working on projects that highlighted innovation and creativity with leveraging technology and media to engage consumers.

Kiko Washington

EVP, Worldwide HR
Warner Bros. Entertainment

Lo Toney

Laurence "Lo" Toney
Founding Managing Partner
Plexo Capital

Lo joined GV from Comcast Ventures, where he focused on the Catalyst Fund, a group of investments in early stage technology startups led by entrepreneurs of color. He specializes in consumer technology investments, with an emphasis on mobile messaging, marketplaces, and e-commerce.

Lo has held executive roles at both startups and global consumer brands. He was the general manager of Zynga Poker, the gaming company’s largest franchise, and held operating positions at Nike.com and eBay.

Lo received his MBA from the Haas School of Business (University of California at Berkeley), where he completed the Management of Technology program, a joint curriculum program with the College of Engineering. He received his B.S. from Hampton University in Virginia.

Malik S. Ducard

Malik Ducard
VP of Content Partnerships
YouTube

Malik Ducard is YouTube’s Global Head of Kids and Learning, overseeing business development efforts in these content areas for the platform.

Previously, Ducard served as Head of West Coast Partnerships, managing film, TV and original content partners.

Prior to joining YouTube, he served as senior vice president of digital distribution for the Americas at Paramount Pictures and oversaw distribution of content to online, mobile and digital platforms.

A native of the Bronx, Malik earned his B.A. degree from Columbia University and his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management.

Marcelino Ford-Livene

Managing Director & Head of the Executive-in-Residence Program
Intel Capital

Marcelino Ford-Livene is the General Manager of Global Strategic Initiatives and Marketing in the Corporate Affairs Group at Intel Corporation. He leads a global organization charged with developing, managing and marketing strategic programs and alliances that advance the strategic direction of Intel’s worldwide corporate social responsibility agenda. Prior to this role, he was the General Manger of New Channels and Advanced Advertising for Intel Media. Prior to Intel, he was a senior member of TV Guide’s corporate development and planning team. He served for eight years on the board of the TV Academy, the organization that awards the prestigious Primetime Emmy for creative excellence in the television industry. Ford-Livene earned a B.A. in Economics from UC San Diego, a J.D./M.B.A. from the University of Illinois and has completed an Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

Michelle Fisher

Founder/CEO, Blaze Mobile

Richard Gay

Chief Operating Officer
Superfly

Jay Tucker

Executive Director, Center for MEMES
Media, Entertainment & Sports
UCLA Anderson School of Management

Jay Tucker handles outreach and programs for the Institute for Communication Technology Management (CTM). Located at USC’s Marshall School, CTM is a think-tank focused on the communications, tech, and digital entertainment sectors. At CTM, Jay is responsible for communicating the Institute’s vision, thought leadership, and major initiatives to consortium members and the larger community. Jay also handles CTM’s forums and educational programs, including the semi-annual Executive Roundtable. In fall 2012, Jay launched Silicon Beach @ USC, a two-day event featuring a venture competition and a conference focused on innovation, investment, and new ventures related to technology and digital content. In 2010, Jay re-launched the Advanced Management Program, CTM’s flagship five-day educational experience for rising leaders. Jay also helped to co-author the strategic plan for the Marshall School of Business. Previously, Jay spent over 10 years building out network infrastructure, developing websites, managing IT support and teaching students and educators to use interactive media. He has taught courses on technology management, technology convergence, digital media, and media literacy to professionals at corporations and non-profit organizations. Jay also speaks at academic and industry events, covering digital technologies and media, technology start-ups and other topics. Jay holds an MBA in Marketing & Media Management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, an MA in Instructional and Learning Technologies from Columbia University, and a dual Bachelors degree from Stanford University in Political Science and African & Afro-American Studies. He resides in Santa Monica, CA.