Stonewall Rebels

After blowing everyone away on the eighth season of American Idol, Adam Lambert went on to release his debut album For Your Entertainment which included the international hit “Whatya Want From Me” which earned him a GRAMMY Award nomination. Lambert followed this success with his second album Trespassing which became the first album to reach the number one spot in the US and Canada by an openly gay artist. His highly-anticipated third album The Original High was his first for Warner Bros Records, executive produced by Max Martin and Shellback, and included the smash hit “Ghost Town.” Lambert joined the cast of Glee for a six-episode story in 2013, and performed the role of Eddie in Fox’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

In between touring the world with Queen as their frontman, Lambert has been exploring the world of film and TV with a cameo in Oscar-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody as well as his first feature film role in the Sofia Coppola-produced film Fairyland which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, he released his single “Superpower” ahead of his highly anticipated EP Velvet: Side A, which went into the Top 10 Download Chart in the UK and US upon release.

At the beginning of 2020, Lambert launched the Feel Something Foundation, a non-profit organization in support of LGBTQ+ human rights. He released “Roses” featuring Nile Rodgers early February 2020, a track from his album Velvet which was released that March. Adam kick- started 2023 with a bang by joining the judging panel for the ITV (UK) Saturday night entertainment show Starstruck alongside Beverley Knight, Shania Twain, Jason Manford and host Olly Murs. In February, he released High Drama, an album of inspired covers released via BMG US/Warner UK which landed him his fifth Top 10 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart. Executive produced by Lambert himself, alongside production from the likes of Tommy English (Kacey Musgraves, Carly Rae Jepsen), Andrew Wells (Halsey, OneRepublic), George Moore and Mark Crew, High Drama highlights a journey through modern music. The diverse collection of songs spans from classics such as Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand The Rain” to modern hits like a rock-leaning rendition of Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast.” Lambert is no stranger to impressing crowds with his carefully curated transformation of other artist’s songs, from the beginning of his career on American Idol, to his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors where he reduced Cher to tears with his delicate ballad reading of her mega-hit ‘Believe’, to his role as the current frontman of Queen. Just this summer, he headlined Pride in London where his single ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ with Sigala was the official song of London Pride. Lambert is currently working on writing his own musical, which will feature original songs and has a stellar line up of collaborators.

Adam's global status seems to climb each month as he has just announced he will join Queen on tour in Japan early next year, with more exciting projects to be revealed soon.

ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, public speaker, and actor. ALOK’s literary works “Beyond the Gender Binary,” “Femme in Public,” and “Your Wound, My Garden,” have garnered global recognition. Their dynamic presence has captivated audiences in over 40 countries, with sold-out shows at venues including Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and headlining numerous Just For Laughs Festivals. ALOK can currently be seen in Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda comedy special on Netflix and will take center stage at the Netflix is a Joke Festival in May 2024. Their show has been described as "provocative and powerful" (CHORTLE) and a "jaw-dropping celestial event" (TO DO LIST LONDON). For their contributions to culture and entertainment, they have been honored with the ACLU of Southern California Bill of Rights Award, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment Trailblazer Award, and were selected as the inaugural LGBTQ Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. They are the subject of the docu-short “ALOK” executive produced by Jodie Foster and directed by Alex Hedison, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. On screen, they can also be seen in Complicated Order opposite Midori Francis, The Trans List, and (forthcoming) Absolute Dominion opposite Patton Oswalt. On television, they can be seen on season 3 of the critically acclaimed HBO Max series SORT OF opposite Bilal Baig, Hulu’s Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne, ABC’s PRIDE: To Be Seen – A Soul of A Nation, Netflix’s Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, and HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness.

Ashe McGovern, J.D. (he/they) is the Head of Global LGBTQIA+ Affairs at Amazon, where they launched the company's first Global LGBTQIA+ Office and are responsible for leading company-wide strategy to support LGBTQIA+ employees, customers, and communities globally.

Prior to joining Amazon, Ashe was appointed to serve as the Senior Policy Advisor for LGBTQ Initiatives in the New York City Mayor's Office and inaugural Executive Director of the NYC Unity Project, New York’s first citywide mayoral office dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ communities through innovative policy and program change. In this role, Ashe developed and managed a $15 million portfolio of programs and services, launched in close partnership with city agencies and LGBTQIA+ community groups, focused on reducing LGBTQIA+ youth homelessness, increasing access to affordable housing, expanding free LGBTQIA+ mental and medical health services, and reducing criminalization and violence against LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers.

Ashe earned their B.A. from Cornell University, magna cum laude, where they received the Philo Sherman Benett Honors Thesis Prize and J.D. from Cornell Law School, where they received the Freeman Award for Civil-Human Rights and a national Equal Justice Works Fellowship. Prior to the Mayor's Office, Ashe launched a free legal project called the LGBTQIA+ Health and Economic Justice Initiative at New York Legal Assistance Group and held leadership positions at the Center for American Progress and Columbia Law School's Center for Gender and Sexuality Law.

Ashe is co-author and co-editor of Intersecting Injustice: A National Call to Action Addressing LGBTQ Poverty and Economic Justice for All (2018) published by the City University of New York Graduate Center and has been featured in a range of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Nation, Bloomberg Law, Wired, and NPR, among others.

Betsy Bernard and Laurie Peter share a passion for serving the LGBTQ+ community. For decades they have served the community through board service (National AIDS fund, SAGE, GLAAD, Lambda Legal, the association of LGBTQ+ corporate directors), volunteering (SAGE connects) and philanthropy. Betsy went from the C-suite as the Out President of ATT to years in the board rooms of several public companies. Laurie had a career as a clinical social worker on the front line in hospital systems and continues a therapy practice.

They are honored to be a SNMVC Rebel Couple

Brad Baumoel is the global head of LGBT+ Affairs at JPMorgan Chase. His career at the company spans 30 years, where he’s held key roles in Global Finance, Asset & Wealth Management and Consumer & Community Banking.

Brad came out as a gay man at work 10 years into his professional career and has dedicated his time to advancing LGBT+ equity and inclusion through the firm’s PRIDE Business Resource Group over the last 25 years. In 2021, Brad established the Office of LGBT+ Affairs, where he leads a unified, global strategy for LGBT+ employees, customers, clients and communities. Brad, his husband and their son (an 11 year old German Shepherd), live in New York.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Social Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbaumoel/

Charles John O’Byrne is Executive Vice President for Policy at Related Companies where he serves in a leadership role on government affairs on the federal, state and local levels; labor issues, litigation matters, and questions of strategy on multiple projects within the Related portfolio. He also serves on the management team of energyRe, an energy company founded by Related’s principals dedicated to green power. energyRe, with its partners Invenergy and the New York Power Authority is responsible for the largest renewable project in the United States scheduled to replace close to 16% of New York City’s power supply with wind and solar power.

Charles is a native New Yorker and currently resides in Manhattan. Trained as an attorney, his career prior to joining Related involved varied experiences in government, religion, academia and business. He spent more than five years in state service acting as Chief of Staff to the Senate Minority Leader, Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary to former Governor David A. Paterson. The constitutional office of Secretary to the Governor is the highest appointed office in the state’s executive branch.

Charles has served as a trustee and personal adviser to members of the Kennedy Family for more than 25 years.
Long active in charitable and philanthropic works, O’Byrne is a former Co-Chair of the board of the Hetrick Martin Institute in New York, the nation’s oldest organization providing crisis intervention services to LGBTQ youth. He was the founder of the Columbia University LGBTQ+ alumni organization. He is also the first recipient of the Access Justice Brooklyn’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

O’Byrne presently serves on the boards of Citizens Union, the New York Harbor Parks Conservancy, the Steering Committee of ABNY, as a Trustee of the Citizens Budget Commission and as Co-Chair of the Washington Ireland Program.

Charles holds his BA summa cum laude from Columbia College, where he majored in history and studied Chinese philosophy. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the Columbia University School of Law where he was named to the International Fellows Program. He holds a Masters in Divinity with Distinction and an S.T.L., in Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology.

As vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton works alongside the Foundation’s leadership and partners to improve lives and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and around the world. This includes the Foundation’s early child initiative Too Small to Fail, which supports families with the resources they need to promote early brain and language development; and the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a global program that empowers student leaders to turn their ideas into action. A longtime public health advocate, Chelsea also serves as vice chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and uses her platform to increase awareness around issues such as vaccine hesitancy, childhood obesity, and health equity.

In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea teaches at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and has written several books for young readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World as well as She Persisted Around the World, She Persisted in Sports, She Persisted in Science, Start Now! You Can Make a Difference; Don’t Let Them Disappear; It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going; and Welcome to the Big Kids Club. She is also the co-author of The Book of Gutsy Women and Grandma’s Gardens with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and of Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? with Devi Sridhar. Chelsea’s podcast, In Fact with Chelsea Clinton, premiered in 2021 and is the co-founder of HiddenLight Productions. 

Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford, a Master of Public Health from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctorate in international relations from Oxford University. She lives with her husband Marc and their children Charlotte, Aidan and Jasper in New York City.

Christina Aguilera is a multiple Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter renowned for her powerful voice and hit songs. Throughout her career, she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Aguilera has achieved five No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart making her the third female artist, and fourth overall, to top the chart over three consecutive decades (1990s, 2000s, and 2010s). She has won seven Grammy Awards, including two Latin Grammy Awards - with the most recent being the 2022 Latin Grammy Award for Best Tradi+onal Pop Vocal Album on behalf of AGUILERA, her second Spanish-language album. She has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and holds the prestigious honor of being the only artist under the age of 30 included in Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. Additionally, in 2021 she received the inaugural Music Icon Award at the People’s Choice Awards, followed by the Spirit of Hope Award at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards and the Advocate for Change Award at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards. Aguilera continues to use her voice for good, having served as global spokesperson for Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief effort since 2009 and has helped raise over $150 million for the World Food Program and other hunger relief agencies, in addition to raising awareness for various social conversations around domestic violence and LGBTQ+ equality. She continues to be represented by Roc Nation, CAA and imPRint. www.christinaaguilera.com

Austrian artist Tom Neuwirth, also known as Conchita Wurst, skyrocketed to fame when he won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 as a bearded diva, instantly becoming an icon for the queer community. Since then, he has embarked on world tours, released three albums, hosted TV shows, and consistently used his platform to champion socio-political causes. In recent years, Neuwirth has delved into songwriting, regularly releasing new tracks and accompanying pop music videos. He has even launched his own video streaming platform, WURSTTV.com, featuring original series and exclusive content for his fans. Additionally, he has hosted two music television series on German national TV. Neuwirth made his theatre acting debut in February and will be commemorating the 10th anniversary of his Eurovision Song Contest win in Sweden in May. Conchita Wurst is Stonewall Day Ambassador and proud Stonewall Rebel. conchitawurst.com

Craig Robinson is Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for NBCUniversal. He reports to Comcast Corporation President Mike Cavanagh.

In partnership with the company’s business leaders, Robinson works to define and build a culture that embraces and values diversity in its workforce, culture, content and perspectives. Additionally, alongside Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, Robinson led Comcast’s $100 million commitment to fight injustice and inequality, and to accelerate company efforts in all areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. In this role, Robinson spearheads social justice efforts across Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky to build programs, allocate resources and partner with international, national and local organizations to drive meaningful change against racism and inequality.

Robinson also oversees the company’s ten Employee Resource Groups with over 130 global chapters, co-chairs the industry-leading Comcast NBCUniversal DEI Advisory Council and serves as the main liaison between NBCUniversal and key local and national advocacy organizations.

The company has been acknowledged for its leadership in diversity and inclusion, with repeat recognition on the Forbes list of Best Employers for Diversity, the Fortune list of 50 Best Workplaces for Diversity, and the DiversityInc list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity.

Robinson was named to his position in August 2011, having previously served as President and General Manager of KNBC-TV, the NBC Owned Station in Los Angeles, where he oversaw all aspects of the television station including news, sales and community relations.

Previous roles include President and General Manager of WCMH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio; Vice President of Sales for WRC-TV, NBC’s Owned Station in Washington, DC; and Local and National Sales Manager of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. After studying Political Science at UCLA and a brief stint in retail sales and management, he took an entry level job at KCBS-TV (then KNXT-TV) in Advertising Sales and quickly realized that broadcasting and entertainment was where he wanted to spend his career. He joined NBC in 1996.

Raised in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, Robinson’s interest in public service was sparked at an early age by his parents. His Chinese-American mother retired after a long career in public service, much of it in support of low-income families through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Robinson’s father was one of the first Black consultants for the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), where he investigated allegations of racial, gender and age discrimination in housing and employment. Race, equality and civil rights were frequent topics at the Robinson dinner table and those discussions continue to inform and drive his commitment to diversity and inclusion today.

Doug Jensen is SVP, Go-to-Market (GTM) Analytics & Activation and Learning COE within the Enterprise Marketing & Data function at The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC). Doug has over 30 years of experience in the marketing
analytics field.

• Doug oversees a corporate function for The Estée Lauder Companies that spans analytics, marketing technology, and best practice adoption for the company.

• Specifically, he leads the corporate Go-to-Market analytics and activation team, working in partnership with brands and regions to enable insights to action.

• Doug is responsible for the company’s marketing technology function, driving the company's consumer data, CRM/campaign management and retention marketing strategies. Within marketing measurement, Doug leads the company’s global market share reporting capability and built the company’s marketing mix modeling capability to measure the incrementality and ROI of the company’s advertising and promotion investments.

• As an accomplished leader, Doug is also in charge of the company’s marketing learning strategy, deployed through the ELC-ownable and curated training series.   Training topics he’s deployed include brand equity, full funnel media, earned media, repeat/retention and the Metaverse.

• Prior to joining The Estée Lauder Companies, Doug was Vice President, Global Analytics for Avon Products, Inc., where he built the global analytics and measurement capability for the company's core beauty categories.

Fabrice leads the US Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors. He also advises Fortune 500 companies, is a member of L'Oreal Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown. He is an advisor of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Center for Inclusive Governance. He was previously an Officer at the UN [2016-2020] and the World Bank [2001-2016]. Fabrice volunteers on the Boards of Outright Action International, Housing Works, Fondation Emergence (Governor), the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (Treasurer) and is an advisor to Open for Business. In 2022, he was listed among Crain's Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives, LinkedIn’s top 10 LGBTQIA voices, the Boardlist’s Top 10 LGBTQ+ Candidates and Diligent’s Modern Governance 100. He lives in NYC with his twin 9-year old sons.

John-Paul C. Hayworth is the LGBTQ+ Audience Strategy Director in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at AARP.  In this role, he is responsible for expanding the understanding of the LGBTQ+ community's needs within AARP and broadening the knowledge of AARP resources within the LGBTQ+ community. He joined AARP in June 2022 after more than fifteen years working for the Government of the District of Columbia, including seven years as the Executive Director of the DC State Board of Education.

He also served in two mayoral administrations and on Capitol Hill, including as an advisor on federal, congressional and local affairs specializing in education, economic development and budget issues. He also represented the District of Columbia on the US Department of Education Mid-Atlantic Regional Advisory Committee and as President of the National Council of State Board of Education Executives (NCSBEE). He was the State Board’s designee on the DC Community Schools Advisory Committee and served as the inaugural chair of the committee from September 2019-2021.

John-Paul has been an invited speaker at national conferences and other events, including providing the 2018 Baylor Interdisciplinary Core Alumni Homecoming Lecture entitled “The Role of Failure as Part of the Examined Life”. He was awarded the 2019 Outstanding Young Alumni Award by the Baylor Line Foundation and was recently announced as the 2022 David Kysilko Award recipient by the National Association of State Boards of Education. The recognition is awarded to an individual who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to NASBE values and service to state boards of education.

John-Paul is a dedicated resident of the District of Columbia and was an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. He moved to the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area permanently in 2003 after earning his BA from Baylor University and an MA from the University of Connecticut.

Lina Bradford is New York City's quintessential DJ straight from the golden era of nightlife to spinning the parties of the moment. An original multi-hyphenate, her work has cemented her internationally as an actress, radio personality as well as the producer and star of her interview series, "In the Dollhouse with Lina." A longtime activist, she's also a board member and global ambassador for the Hetrick-Martin Institute and chair member for
GMHC.

The creative, native New Yorker who got her start as a professionally trained dancer has been described as the “Princess of Light." Earning the title by bringing people together with music and her signature zest for life, she's connected with audiences around the globe. Shapeshifting through decades as an iconic nightlife personality, Bradford thrives on connection and working "the gig called life.' Her consecutive, 10-year DJ residency on Fire Island Pines made her a staple in the gay enclave during summer months and was commemorated with her documentary,"Linnish. Best known for her rotation of popular weekly parties, she's the go-to for playing discographies from the greats in dance, deep house and disco.

An integral part of New York City nightlife, Bradford embodies advocacy for Black trans women leading by example, working with organizations like SAGE and GLAD and even providing music for the 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner.

Martine Rothblatt leads United Therapeutics, a company focused on engineering cell biology to create new medicines and manufactured transplantable organs. Its Unituxin monoclonal antibody has been approved in the US, Japan and the EU to treat neuroblastoma. Its genetically modified xenokidneys and xenohearts are the first to be transplanted into humans, and its genetically modified porcine meat is approved by the FDA for consumption by persons with alpha gal syndrome.

Dr. Rothblatt currently leads efforts at United Therapeutics to reprogram patient cells for subsequent differentiation and expansion into tissue engineered lungs and kidneys. She also leads efforts to culture and expand primary cells under GMP conditions for use in cellularizing organ scaffolds into tissue engineered, transplantable organs.

Dr. Rothblatt created in 2018 a nationwide network to restore otherwise unusable donor lungs to transplantability via ex vivo lung perfusion techniques, which has saved nearly 400 lives. In 2021 she led a team to deliver a transplanted lung by drone to the rooftop of Toronto General Hospital. Virtually all aircraft that deliver organs for transplant rely upon the XM Aviation weather service she created for ensuring safer landings nationwide.

Dr. Rothblatt earned her Ph.D. at the Royal College of Medicine & Dentistry of the University of London after graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles. She trained for her helicopter pilot and NVG certifications at the Bell Helicopter Academy in Ft. Worth, Texas. Her many publications include books on xenotransplantation, satellite geo-location, and cyber-consciousness. In 2023 she was awarded the American Philosophical Society’s Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Science.

Rick Hendrix is a national bestselling author. His last book on Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books called Wear the Damn Mask co-written with Shane Jordan hit # 2 on Nielsen Bookscan. He is a leading strategist and CEO and owned one of the music industry’s most influential agencies for over two decades. He promoted Whitney Houston, Garth Brooks, Miley Cyrus, Queen, Elvis and U2. Hendrix helped artists move over half a billion in music products and helped bring Passion of the Christ and Prince of Egypt to the marketplace, and has been featured in Forbes. As a political strategist, Hendrix served as Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Faith Advisor on her 2008 run for president and served on her National Finance team in 2016. Hendrix finished a few short films in 2022, and signed with Mayo Clinic to do a book on diversity.

Schuyler Bailar (he/him) is an educator, advocate, and author of He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters. At Harvard, Schuyler became the first transgender athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA Division 1 men’s team. Schuyler’s exemplary work has earned him numerous honors including NYC Pride Grand Marshall, the Out100, LGBTQ Nation’s Instagram Advocate of the year, and the Harvard Director’s Award. In addition to being one of the top LGBTQ+ educators, Schuyler is a leading DEI speaker and advisor who has been featured in countless media outlets. He offers diverse avenues for learning through his podcast “Dear Schuyler,” his online workshops, his fiction novel, Obie Is Man Enough, and his groundbreaking gender literacy online learning series, LaneChanger.com. Schuyler holds a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology from Harvard, and continues his academic pursuits in four research labs focusing in clinical psychology and public health.

Video Clips http://pinkmantaray.com/clips

Speaking Kit (Presentation, Info, A/V Requirements): https://www.pinkmantaray.com/resources/speaking-kit

Shane Jordan is an American bestselling author, philanthropist, consultant, digital media strategist, & businessman. He also worked in the entertainment industry, marketing artists such as Mariah Carey, U2, Whitney Houston, Vince Gill, and Fantasia, among others. He is co-author of the bestselling book Wear the Damn Mask, published by Gallery/Simon & Schuster, and is currently co-author on an upcoming children’s picture book with the Mayo Clinic on LGBTQ & gender identity. He was on the Hillary for American National Finance Committee in 2008-2016, and currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Victory Institute. He is a partner at WhoopFam, a Whoopi Goldberg line of cannabis.

This propelled her to journey through the Himalayas and reach the base of Mount Everest. It was a revelation –“The shadow of the mountain was the only thing big enough to swallow my shadow.” Silvia developed a sense of resilience, strength, compassion – and finally rediscovered her courage.

Born and raised in Lima, Peru as a child she endured a period of sexual violence that would haunt her for much of her adult life. Nearly 30 years later, while attending a meditation retreat in Peru, she had a vision of reconnecting to her inner child and the two of them walking in a valley surrounded by mountains.

“She began to feel healed. And she kept climbing.”

Another epiphany came in 2013, when, after losing her mother to cancer and undergoing a divorce, she summited Aconcagua and realized that she had to help others. “I had this voice again that said, ‘You have to continue." So she founded Courageous Girls, a non-profit group dedicated to helping victims of sexual violence find their own sense of peace and closure through trekking. She decided to turn survivors into empowered people by helping them find that inner strength within themselves, knowing from her own experience how difficult that can be when wrestling with shame.

In 2016, she climbed Everest, and two years later completed all the Seven Summits, becoming the first openly gay woman to do so. Being sandwiched between the Himalayas on either side felt like being held by the mountains. Nothing ever made her feel so safe and so terrified at the same time. The experience was one of sublime vulnerability and mutual compassion between her and the mountains.

Now, Silvia is a humanitarian and compassionate social entrepreneur driven to rouse vulnerable populations by providing alternative solutions & methods for empowerment, education and advancement. Her book, In The Shadow of the Mountain, is her remarkable story of heroism and community, one which awakens in all of us a lust for adventure, gratitude for the strong women in our lives, and faith in our own resilience.

As VP - Global Client Partnerships, Torrence is responsible for driving Google’s strategy and multi-billion dollar business across a portfolio of the world’s largest global advertisers, spanning the tech, health/beauty and CPG verticals. In this capacity, he leads a team focused on large scale global strategic partnerships that deploy diverse Google products and platforms to achieve business transformation and breakthrough marketing results. Torrence also co-leads Google’s New York office, the second largest in the network.

As VP - Global Client Partnerships, Torrence is responsible for driving Google’s strategy and multi-billion dollar business across a portfolio of the world’s largest global advertisers, spanning the tech, health/beauty and CPG verticals. In this capacity, he leads a team focused on large scale global strategic partnerships that deploy diverse Google products and platforms to achieve business transformation and breakthrough marketing results. Torrence also co-leads Google’s New York office, the second largest in the network.

Before Google, Torrence held senior agency leadership positions with WPP & Publicis. Before his tenure in advertising, Torrence was a senior manager at Bain & Company, where he advised a broad range of clients on corporate and business unit strategy, mergers and acquisitions, new product development, and interactive strategy.

Torrence holds a B.A. in Economics, with honors, from Stanford University, and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is a corporate director for Macy’s (NYSE: M), a former corporate director for Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL), a leading national specialty retailer, and a board member of Pond5, a leading online marketplace for creative assets.

Torrence is a sought after international speaker and recipient of numerous business, advertising and philanthropic awards: Financial Times, UPstanding Power List; Crain’s NY Power 25 List; Savoy Magazine, Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America and Power 300 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors; One Hundred Black Men, Corporate Award; A Better Chance, Dreambuilder Award; ADCOLOR, Advocate Award.