Category: Uncategorized

Co-organiser

Jana exemplifies leadership, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusion, and service. As Director of Regional Operations, Americas, at Elementis, she oversees operations across two continents while championing women in STEM and advocating for equity through speaking engagements. Inducted into Top Ladies of Distinction Inc. and nominated for the Junior League’s 40 Over 40 class, Jana’s impact spans community, career, and inclusion. Jana graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA in International Business from the University of Delaware.

Co-organiser

Jana exemplifies leadership, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusion, and service. As Director of Regional Operations, Americas, at Elementis, she oversees operations across two continents while championing women in STEM and advocating for equity through speaking engagements. Inducted into Top Ladies of Distinction Inc. and nominated for the Junior League’s 40 Over 40 class, Jana’s impact spans community, career, and inclusion. Jana graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA in International Business from the University of Delaware.

Entrepreneur, Investor, and Managing Partner of HI Mark Capital

Herbert L. Drayton III is an entrepreneur, investor, and Managing Partner of HI Mark Capital, where he invests in AI-powered SaaS companies led by minority, women, and underrepresented entrepreneurs. A former Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps Reserve, Herbert brings over 15 years of private equity and venture capital experience. He has led six startups, achieving four successful exits. A thought leader in inclusive innovation, he partners with business leaders and policymakers to drive equitable economic growth through emerging technologies. Herbert is committed to creating opportunities that generate lasting wealth in historically underserved communities.

LinkedIn Profile

Design Justice, MedTech Justice, Equity in Stealth Mode, STEM Justice Education

Rene Canady is trained as a sociologist, biomedical engineer, and community organizer. She’s dedicated to closing the gap between medical technologies and communities marginalized by them. She began her work designing wearable medtech in academic labs and soon confronted the reality that innovations she helped build might not be accessible to her own loved ones.

Refusing to accept this, Rene founded Equity Systems Biodesign Consulting, where she helps healthtech companies embed equity into early-stage design & development. Her work spans sociotechnical research, STEM justice education, and design advising, all aimed at ensuring technologies serve the people who need them most.

Pianist – Composer

Jazz & Black History

Reginald R. Robinson, winner of the distinguished MacArthur Award for his innovative ragtime piano works and music research, performs and shares fascinating ragtime history. Reginald was commissioned by Symphony Center Jazz to write a music work honoring early jazz musician James Reese Europe. He has also performed at New York’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. His music has been used in theater and film, such as the recently nationally registered independent film Compensation and the documentary Chicago’s Black Metropolis. He is internationally known for his college and university lectures, which help preserve the legacy of African American history.

https://reginaldrrobinson.com/

Award-winning composer Robinson will perform Saturday at Lunch. See Full Agenda.

Board-certified Physician, Stress Management Expert, and Purpose-driven Coach

Dr. Pamela Buchanan is a board-certified physician, stress management expert, and purpose-driven coach dedicated to helping women in healthcare and female executives reclaim their lives from stress and burnout. With over two decades of experience in medicine, Dr. Buchanan knows firsthand the toll that high-stakes careers can take on a woman’s body, mind, and spirit.

Her mission is to empower physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and women leaders to master stress, discover their purpose, and create lives rooted in health, wealth, and fulfillment. Through her signature programs and coaching, she teaches women how to heal from within, prevent disease, and thrive with clarity, confidence, and conviction.

A powerful speaker and advocate, Dr. Buchanan blends her medical expertise with mindset mastery, purpose discovery, and functional medicine to help her clients achieve true transformation. Whether in the clinic, the boardroom, or on stage, she is committed to helping women lead with intention, break free from burnout, and live lives they don’t need a vacation from.

LinkedIn Profile

Documentary Filmmaker and Cinematographer

Ken Williams is a self-taught documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose distinctive visual style emerges from his deeply rooted belief that every moment carries its own unique narrative. Born in Santa Monica, California, and raised in Matteson, Illinois, Williams brings a refreshing authenticity to his work, shaped by his diverse professional background and lifelong passion for storytelling through visual media.

Williams’ journey into visual storytelling began thirteen years ago with a personal challenge that would ultimately define his creative trajectory. Embarking on an ambitious 365 photography project, he committed to capturing and sharing one meaningful image every day on social media. This self-imposed challenge, which he maintained for three years, became the foundation of his artistic development. Through this daily practice, he not only refined his natural eye for composition but also mastered the technical aspects of post-production, including sophisticated editing techniques and color grading. This immersive experience naturally evolved into an exploration of motion pictures, marking his transition from still photography to documentary filmmaking.

US Senate Nominee (D-IN), Psychologist

Politics of Healing

Dr Valerie McCray is a Clinical Psychologist. She recently broke barriers as the first Black Female to be on the General Election Ballot for United States Senate in the State of Indiana.

LinkedIn Profile

Botanist, and Professor at the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre, South Africa

Oladapo Adeyemi Aremu is a Professor at the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre, North-West University, South Africa. He is the Vice President of the South African Association of Botanists. He was involved with the success of the inaugural Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change in 2023. The summit, held on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, engaged over 1,300 registrants from 6 continents (112 nations) across 88 languages in a 24-hour global dialogue. He advocates the need for Indigenous Youth to be at the forefront of climate diplomacy and foster a global partnership of Indigenous youth.

LinkedIn Profile

Filmmaker

Ben F. Locke is a Black, Queer and Nonbinary Chicago Writer, Actor, Director, Casting Director and Producer. They have a double degree in Theatre and Human Services from Millikin University, graduated from the School at Steppenwolf and Boston University’s Graduate Program for TV/Film Writing. Their work focuses on Black/Queer experiences and tries to focus on joy rather than trauma, as a way to expand how this industry sees us and what stories we’re allowed to be part of. More stories for us, by us.