What is Candid Conversations?
At Calendly, we are on our own DEI journey and continue to learn and elevate our knowledge and actions to create an inclusive culture. As part of our journey, we aim to host leaders and individuals from across the marketplace to join and be a part of meaningful conversations around DEI, how to support underrepresented communities, learn about the challenges those communities face, and how to be an ally in driving change for not just Calendly, but the world.
Meet Our Speakers
Carissa Begonia, Founder of CONSCIOUSXCHANGE
Calendly has the pleasure of again hosting Carissa Begonia as we discuss the Model Minority Myth and how members of the AAPI can dismantle stereotypes that stem from this myth and foster self advocacy. Begonia is a second-generation Filipina-American daughter of immigrants. She is a business and leadership, and life design coach and founder of CONSCIOUSXCHANGE, an equity-focused coaching and consulting company with a mission to support the social, political, and economic advancement of racialized communities by helping BIPOC entrepreneurs build their own businesses and BIPOC professionals claim their seat at the table and lead from within organizations.
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Andrew McCaskill and Carissa Begonia
Andrew McCaskill and Carissa Begonia sat down with Calendly to discuss (un)conscious bias and how it impacts data.
McCaskill is currently the Senior Director of Global Communications at LinkedIn. He is also a LinkedIn Career Expert, Culture + Economics Contributor at SiriusXM and was named 2022 Nike DEI Activism Brand Ambassador for #BeTrue.
Begonia is a second-generation Filipina-American daughter of immigrants. She is a business and leadership, and life design coach and founder of CONSCIOUSXCHANGE, an equity-focused coaching and consulting company with a mission to support the social, political, and economic advancement of racialized communities by helping BIPOC entrepreneurs build their own businesses and BIPOC professionals claim their seat at the table and lead from within organizations.
Calendly had the pleasure of hosting these two incredible individuals for our first ever live Candid Conversations.
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Tanya Sam, Investor and Entrepreneur
Tanya Sam is a tech-savvy investor that has made it her mission to empower the next generation of women and minority entrepreneurs through education and access to capital. She is the founder of The Ambition Fund, is an investment company focused on funding businesses founded by women and minority entrepreneurs. The Ambition Fund aims to democratize access to investment capital, business funding, and mentorship.
Currently, Tanya is the host of the Money Moves podcast that is dedicated to empowering black and brown communities to end the wealth gap by providing financial planning tips with guests sharing their successes and how they balance the ‘money move’s behind their names and businesses. She is also the host of a tv docu-reality series Making of a Mogul. She also appeared on the hit Bravo TV show The Real Housewives of Atlanta and serves on the Board of Directors for Kate’s Club, a non-profit organization that empowers children that have experienced the death of a parent or sibling.
As the Director of Partnerships at TechSquare Labs, Tanya has mentored over 60 companies with women and minority founders and helped invest in over 50 companies that have generated a total of over $100 million in revenue. She also Co-leads the Ascend 2020 Atlanta program that supports minority and female founders and Co-founded BuiltxWomen, a business accelerator for female entrepreneurs.
Tanya and our very own Founder and CEO, Tope Awotona, sat down for a candid conversation about minorities in entrepreneurship within the tech space.
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Trice Johnson, Global Tech Innovation Executive
Trice Johnson is a Global Tech Innovation Executive, Published Book Author, and Digital Leadership Coach focused on emerging & disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) and next-generation cloud platforms. Her research and work over the past two decades has focused on helping Fortune Global 500 business leaders to adopt bold strategies to prepare for their digital future. Currently, Trice serves as Vice President of Strategy & Innovation at Salesforce, where she designs short and long-term strategies for growth through market research, economic & future scenario planning analysis, and future trend analysis that inform strategic and investment decisions-making.
Calendly hosted Trice Johnson where she dove deep into how we can disrupt the status quo and foster inclusive digital economies.
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Jasmine Crowe, Founder and CEO of Goodr
Goodr’s mission is to cultivate resources for a community of dedicated partners committed to eliminating food waste for the greater good.
Calendly hosted Goodr's Founder and CEO Jasmine Crowe for a candid conversation about her experience as a black female founder in the tech space and her journey to building Goodr from an idea to the non-profit start up juggernaut that it is today. Jasmine also discussed building her team and the importance of building inclusive tech cultures that foster engagement, collaboration, and belonging that reflect a diverse technology workforce and deliver value.