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Social Justice Icons Join a Who's Who of Marketing, DEI and Business Leaders to Continue the Work of Building a More Inclusive Global Marketing Industry and World

SAN DIEGO, April 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BRIDGE, the only independent DEI trade group to serve the global marketing industry, today unveiled the agenda and impressive roster of speakers for its second annual retreat, BRIDGE24: Inclusion is Good for Business, May 5-7 in La Jolla, California. Launched in 2023 with an unprecedented NPS score of 91.3, the annual BRIDGE 2 ½ day retreat is curated specifically for Chief Diversity Officers, CMOs, CEOs and other senior leaders focused on future-proofing their businesses by maximizing inclusion as a business practice for growth.

BRIDGE24's powerful keynote lineup includes:

• Dr. Clarence B. Jones, civil rights movement icon, personal attorney and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and co-speechwriter of the celebrated "I Have A Dream" speech.
• Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, former Chief Diversity Officer, US House of Representatives for the 117th and 118th Congresses, recently dissolved as part of the government spending bill.
• Dr. Bertice Berry, Sociologist, Author, Comedian, Lecturer and Entertainer of the Year.

BRIDGE24 arrives at a critical cultural and political moment for DEI. In an open and transparent space, these global thought leaders will address some of the most pressing existential issues facing our society, including the exponential rise in all forms of hate and how we stay the course on DEI despite legislative efforts to dismantle and defund the discipline.

In addition, BRIDGE will extend its mission of helping organizations build inclusive brands and companies by taking its retreat attendees through an in-person journey of BRIDGE's revolutionary framework, IMAX - Inclusion Maturity Assessment and Capability Building. IMAX, which has been piloted by leading brands including Sephora, Campbell's and others, reveals 72 business practices across five dimensions of the organization to operationalize inclusion. From organizational structure to marketplace impact, BRIDGE24 will explore how inclusion is an untapped growth engine.

"I am humbled by the stature of our speakers and attendees joining us for BRIDGE24," said BRIDGE's founder and CEO, Sheryl Daija. "Together with the BRIDGE Board of Directors, we have built an incredibly special gathering of industry leaders who understand the critical importance of placing inclusion at the center of their organizational, product development and marketing practices. Despite the intentional obfuscation by some of what DEI principles mean, seasoned executives understand that inclusion across the workplace and marketplace will lead to a stronger, more sustainable future on a global basis. We are at an inflection point for brands to choose to remain relevant or to disappear into infamy as the shift in racial and gender diversity is inevitable and the need for greater accessibility for those with differing abilities an imperative."

BRIDGE24 will also host Madison Tevlin, the magnetic star of the massively viral video "Assume That I Can," released on World Down Syndrome Day 2024. Madison will share her powerful story of inclusion, calling for an end to the biases and stereotypes inflicted upon people with Down Syndrome and inviting others to support their full potential. Core to DEI practices is recognizing the needs of people with visible and invisible differences who are so often overlooked, resulting in a loss for those inflicted and for the companies who lose the opportunity to leverage their notable strengths as well as their significant buying power.

BRIDGE24 features a robust and actionable agenda and exceptional speaker roster, including discussions to be led by:

• Amy Benford, Vice President, GM Integrated Marketing & Advanced Advertising, Colgate Palmolive
• Brianne Boles-Marshall, Diversity Media Strategy & Investment Lead, General Motors
• Shamayne Braman, Chief People Officer, Sonos
• Geoff Edwards, Executive Creative Director, GALE
• Walter T. Geer, Chief Creative Officer, Innovation North America, VML
• Jwesly Johnson, Store Experience Marketing, Target
• George-Axelle Broussillon Matschinga, Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Sephora
• Jennifer Murillo, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Discover Financial Services
• Dr. Omar Rodríguez-Vilá, Professor in the Practice of Marketing and the Director of Education / Business & Society Institute, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
• Jennifer Warren, VP, Global Brand Marketing and Communications, Indeed
• Geraldine White, Chief Diversity Officer, Publicis Groupe
• Yin Woon Rani, CEO/CMO, milkPEP
• Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University School of Law

To learn more or request an invite, please visit BRIDGE24.

About BRIDGE

Launched in 2022, BRIDGE is a member-driven 501C6. We help companies bridge the gaps that have created inequities for under-represented and untapped communities in the workplace, workforce and marketplace. With the variety of programs that BRIDGE offers, including proprietary research, storytelling workshops, best practices, events and more, we identify and dismantle the structures in place to drive systemic change in belonging, representation, inclusion, diversity and equity (BRIDGE is an acronym for these constructs, with the G being growth). BRIDGE is an inclusive organization that welcomes support and participation from all companies in the global marketing industry, as well as like-minded academics and DEI champions. We are stronger together. Visit BRIDGE to learn more and join (http://www.wearebridge.com).

Media Contact: Lana McGilvray, lana@purposenorthamerica.com, 512.970.8310

SOURCE BRIDGE