For many leaders, the pandemic & social unrest of 2020 generated a unique opportunity to rethink, realign, and rapidly evolve for a better and more efficient hiring future. Despite record unemployment, the stage is set for a great rehire that is already underway in many consumer sectors. Conventional hiring practices, boundaries and barriers have been challenged and replaced with more nimble, equitable, and flexible approaches that are here to stay.
Our Panelists
Ryan Pintado-Vertner
Founder, SMOKETOWN
Ryan Pintado-Vertner is the Founder & Principal at Smoketown, an empathy-led team of experienced operators and specialized skill players who help mission-driven businesses maximize their performance against multiple bottom lines…
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Their work includes: sales & marketing ROI optimization; purpose & mission refinement and activation; outsourced marketing leadership; go-to-market strategy; full-service consumer research; and innovation.
Ryan is a lifelong activist, fifth generation innovator and 13-year veteran of the CPG industry, in addition to holding an MBA from the University of California's Haas School of Business.
Beyond Smoketown, he is on the Executive Board of Flock (a new regenerative food and agriculture fund and accelerator) and Naturally Chicago (a network of natural product companies in Chicagoland).
MODERATOR
Darrin L. Williams
CEO, Southern Bancorp, INC
Darrin is a banker, securities and consumer protection attorney, former legislator and passionate advocate for financial inclusion. He serves as CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc., one of the country’s oldest, largest and leading community development financial institutions…
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Darrin is a banker, securities and consumer protection attorney, former legislator and passionate advocate for financial inclusion. He serves as CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc., one of the country’s oldest, largest and leading community development financial institutions. With $1.5 billion in assets, 65,000 customers and 48 locations, Southern Bancorp operates largely in the Arkansas – Mississippi Delta, one of the nation’s most impoverished communities. Focused on net worth building strategies of homeownership, entrepreneurship and saving, Southern Bancorp believes that wealth building isn’t just for the wealthy, they are wealth builders for everyone.
Julia Collins
FOUNDER & CEO, PLANET FWD
Julia Collins is a serial entrepreneur who realized food was her calling as a young girl in San Francisco where it was the epicenter of her community. She’s spent her career building food companies, having launched brands such as…
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Melanie’s mantra is “Grow, baby, grow!” That’s exactly what she’s done for almost three decades as Torani’s first outside CEO. Driven by her expertise in organizational development and scaling social impact companies, Melanie has grown the business by an average of 20% per year during her tenure. She is especially passionate about Torani’s purpose of “Flavor for All, Opportunity for All.” It’s a palpable part of the culture, with a focus on building opportunity -- learning, development, growth -- for their internal team, customers, and within the community.
Melanie earned a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She continues to work closely with both of her alma maters by supporting Cal’s Opportunity Lab in research on income inequality and is a favorite speaker in Stanford’s Managing Growing Enterprises class.
She happily serves on the Boards of Torani, Traditional Medicinals, and SHE-CAN (Supporting Her Education – Changes A Nation), mentoring and supporting young women from Rwanda, Cambodia and Liberia. Melanie resides in her home town of San Francisco, rejoined by her daughter Sammy, who teaches elementary school in the area. Her current favorite flavor is Balsamic Fig.
Jane Hileman
CEO, American Reading Company
Jane Hileman is the founder and CEO of American Reading Company. As a veteran teacher in Philadelphia Schools, Jane’s determination to teach children to become proficient, lifelong readers and learners led her to create the IRLA®…
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Jane Hileman is the founder and CEO of American Reading Company. As a veteran teacher in Philadelphia Schools, Jane's determination to teach children to become proficient, lifelong readers and learners led her to create the IRLA®, a groundbreaking formative literacy assessment that reaches all children—regardless of language, race, or socioeconomic circumstance. As ARC has grown to reach more than 6,000 schools and 1,000 districts, Jane's central commitment to aide emerging readers and support teachers has never waned. Since founding ARC, Jane has been honored as the 2006 Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year, one of the Top 50 Business Women in Pennsylvania, 2010 Woman of Distinction Award and as a Pennsylvania Educator 500. Jane holds a Master of Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where she has also served as an adjunct professor. Jane has created an innovative and inclusive company of over 250 dedicated professionals across the country, striving to build literacy and equity in every classroom in America.
Sheryl O’Loughlin
Author & Entrepreneur
Sheryl O’Loughlin is an accomplished entrepreneur who has over 20 years of experience leading natural products companies. In 2017, Sheryl introduced her first book, Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart (HarperBusiness)…
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The book has been featured in Fortune, Conscious Company, Inc., Forbes and Huffington Post, among others.
Sheryl is the co-founder of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (J.E.D.I) Collaborative. She is also co-founder and board chair of the Women on Boards Project. Both non profits are focused on supporting and advocating for a more inclusive industry and economy to drive innovation, growth, profitability and justice.
From 2015 to 2019, Sheryl was CEO of REBBL, the first plant-based, super herb adaptogen beverage company. In partnership with Not for Sale, a nonprofit dedicated to co-creating a future without human trafficking, REBBL works to create regenerative and just supply chains.
Earlier in her career, Sheryl served as the CEO of Clif Bar and Company. There she led the concept development and introduction of Luna, the first whole nutrition bar for women, which became a $70 million business in three years and continues to be a core brand in the company’s portfolio. She went on to co-found and serve as CEO for Plum, Inc., a healthy, organic food company that aims to nourish kids “from the high chair to the lunch box.” In 2013, Plum was successfully sold to Campbell Soup Company.
After Plum, Sheryl was the Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and she held a faculty position at Sonoma State University, where she taught hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and other professionals.
Sheryl currently serves on the board of OSC2 and Foodstirs, and she is on the advisory boards of Martinelli’s and Once Upon a Farm. She is also a member of the Forbes San Francisco Business Council. Previous boards include Zuke’s, thinkThin, Sugar Bowl Bakery, Gardein and the American Sustainable Business Council. Sheryl supported Zuke’s, Gardein, and thinkThin to successful exits.
Sheryl earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and her Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. An avid camper and traveler, she lives in Santa Rosa, California, with her husband, Patrick, and their two sons.
David Kahl
CEO, FULLY
David Kahl is the founder and CEO of Fully. In 2002, inspired by a Norwegian task chair that completely changed how he felt at work, he left a successful but unfulfilling career on Wall Street to build a socially conscious business around active sitting and…
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Fast forward 18 years, and Fully is now a Portland-based B Corp that designs its own innovative, movement-inspired furniture that fosters a connection between the body and the mind. Fully was purchased by Knoll in 2019 and is now a part of Knoll’s constellation of design-driven brands."
Jomaree Pinkard
CEO, Hella Cocktail Co
Jomaree Pinkard’s career journey has taken him from helping to develop and implement The Salvation Army’s September 11 World Trade Center Recovery Program to consulting for the National Football League….
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n 2012, he became the CEO & Co-Founder of the minority-owned craft cocktail company, Hella Cocktail Co. In eight years, he and his partners have grown a hobby into a nationally distributed premium-quality line of nonalcoholic cocktail mixers, bitters, and newest innovation Bitters & Soda beverages that make it easier and more accessible to craft delicious drinks at home or behind the bar. Jomaree is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and also earned his MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Henry Clay McKoy
Managing Dir., Eagle Angel Network
Dr. McKoy is considered by many as the leading thinker and practitioner in the area of inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic development planning and finance. He is a seasoned professional in community and economic development…
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Fast forward 18 years, and Fully is now a Portland-based B Corp that designs its own innovative, movement-inspired furniture that fosters a connection between the body and the mind. Fully was purchased by Knoll in 2019 and is now a part of Knoll’s constellation of design-driven brands."
Sana Javeri Kadri
Founder, @DiasporaCo
Sana Javeri Kadri is the founder of Diaspora Co., a direct trade spice company working towards a radically equitable, sustainable, and more delicious spice supply chain. Born and raised in Mumbai, India amidst a big family of idealists and architects…
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Sana Javeri Kadri is the founder of Diaspora Co., a direct trade spice company working towards a radically equitable, sustainable, and more delicious spice supply chain.
Born and raised in Mumbai, India amidst a big family of idealists and architects, she has over a decade of experience in every facet of the food industry and supply chain from farmworker, to line cook, to marketing consultant.
She founded Diaspora Co. in 2017 and it has quickly become a nationally acclaimed, beloved food brand that supports over 150 small Indian farmers and laborers and growing, and aims to set a new standard for what equity in food and the decolonization of our foodways can look like.
She currently lives between Mumbai, India, and Oakland, California.
Sam Polk
Founder & CEO, Everytable
Sam Polk is the founder and CEO of Everytable, a social enterprise on a mission to transform the food system to make delicious and healthy food affordable and accessible to everyone, everywhere. A former hedge fund trader, Sam left a successful career…
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Sam Polk is the founder and CEO of Everytable, a social enterprise on a mission to transform the food system to make delicious and healthy food affordable and accessible to everyone, everywhere. A former hedge fund trader, Sam left a successful career on Wall Street to follow his heart to fight food injustice and inequality in America. In 2013, he founded a nonprofit called FEAST (originally called Groceryships) to address food-related health problems in South Los Angeles by helping family food providers make healthy choices through nutrition education, cooking classes, free produce, and support groups. In 2015, Sam created Everytable, which offers made-from-scratch meals priced according to what is affordable in a specific neighborhood. To date, Everytable has sold more than 3 million fresh-prepared meals throughout communities and on college campuses across greater Los Angeles, through a combination of grab-and-go markets, a home delivery service and SmartFridge vending machines. With the backing of food-forward investors like Kimbal Musk, Maria Shriver, Gwyneth Paltrow, TOMS Social Enterprise Fund, Acumen, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Annenberg Foundation and The California Wellness Foundation, Everytable has the potential to work in every major metropolitan area across the county.
Matthew McCarthy
CEO, BEN & JERRY’S
As the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s, Matthew leads an iconic and pioneering global brand that continually breaks the rules on how business can be a force for good in the world. He steers and serves a global team of passionate ice cream aficionados and aspiring activists, and is responsible for Ben & Jerry’s long-standing 3-part mission of delivering economic, product and social mission impact in all the communities and countries where the company operates…
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As the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s, Matthew leads an iconic and pioneering global brand that continually breaks the rules on how business can be a force for good in the world. He steers and serves a global team of passionate ice cream aficionados and aspiring activists, and is responsible for Ben & Jerry’s long-standing 3-part mission of delivering economic, product and social mission impact in all the communities and countries where the company operates.
In addition to being CEO, Matthew is a member of Ben & Jerry’s independent Board of Directors and is a member of Unilever’s global Foods & Refreshments leadership team. Before taking his current role, Matthew was Vice President of Unilever’s Foods division in North America, where he also sat on the US country board. In his 22 years with Unilever, Matthew has led a number of classic and entrepreneurial brands across the Foods and Personal Care divisions, including Hellmann’s, Knorr, AXE, Dove & Dove Men+Care. Matthew headed up Men’s Grooming for Unilever, which included the acquisition of Dollar Shave Club. His work has received a number of industry recognitions, including Cannes Gold Lion, One Show Gold Pencil, IAB MIXX and Adweek’s Brand Genius award.
Matthew has a deep passion for driving social impact and systemic change through the power of business. He considers himself an aspiring activist, learning every day how better to leverage the power of brands & businesses to address pressing social and environmental challenges.
