Women Accelerators Statement:
At Women Accelerators, we strongly believe in supporting justice, equality, diversity, and inclusion, and denouncing racism. We will not condone any form of discrimination in any of our events, programs, or our communications via social media and email marketing. While our organization’s primary mission is to provide the tools needed to engage, empower, and elevate women in the workforce, we also firmly stand together in our belief that systemic racism needs to stop.
We pledge to:
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- We pledge to engage with an organization(s) that work with minority women in a concrete way bringing these women the tools they need to succeed and accelerate their careers
- We pledge to actively recruit and increase diversity within our volunteer and leadership team, as well as our speakers
- We pledge to support Black women-owned businesses, specifically with order catering from black-owned businesses (list of catering companies)
- We commit to having an annual women’s panel about diversity and inclusion in the workspace, with an eye on the issue of the lack of diversity in the STEM field and employers
- We commit to both following and engaging with black-owned businesses, allies, and diversity advocates on social media (list of accounts we follow)
- We pledge to send out an annual survey to hear from our members on what we could be doing better, what resources may be more widely available, and to give our members a voice
- We pledge to update our resources list monthly to ensure we are giving the most up to date news and resources to our community
- This is not a short term solution, this is a long term commitment; Therefore, we pledge to report data on our progress and our annual survey through an annual newsletter. We strongly encourage our members to sign up to our newsletter here.
*This site will be updated continuously in response to the ideas and insights of activists, organizers, and concerned citizens nationwide. Click here to propose further resources to add to our site!
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Women Accelerators calls for participation of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the #StopAsianHate movement of our members; Here are some highlighted ways you can continue to engage, learn, and make a difference!
Petitions to sign
Emails to send
Find and contact your federal, state, county and local elected representatives
Donations to make
Articles to Educate
Books to Read
Podcasts to listen to
Strategies for Leaders
Organizations that work with Women of Color
Organizations:
- The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc
- Buy from a Black Woman
- Asian Women in Business
- Minority Professional Network
- Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys
- National Black Nurses Association
#StopAsianHate
- Watch this video that highlights recent hate crimes
- Read this national report from Stop AAPI Hate
- Report a hate crime here
Local Georgia Organizations
- Asian American Advocacy Fund Donation
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum Georgia Chapter
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta Donation
National Organizations
- AAPI Community Fund
- Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance Donation
- Center for Pan Asian Community Services Donation
- Asian American Federation Donation
- Asian Americans for Equality Donation
- Coalition for Asian American Children + Families Donation
- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Donation
Other Resources:
- Women’s Organizations You Need to Know
- 5 Organizations Helping Minority Startup Founders Succeed
- Professional Organizations for Women and Minorities
- 13 Organizations that support Black Entrepreneurs
Diversity speakers
Here is a list of speakers Women Accelerators is working with.
Dr. Alexis J. Stokes
Dr. Alexis J. Stokes is the Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). She has over 11 years of experience working with non-profit and higher education institutions. Throughout her career, she has worked to not only increase college and career access but also create systematic changes to support the success of underrepresented minorities, nontraditional students, and education programs in rural and urban areas. In her current role, she is responsible for working with various SEAS offices, including Faculty Affairs, Academic Programs, Human Resources, and the Senior Administrative Leadership Team, to develop and implement a diversity and inclusion plan, programming, engagement initiatives, and special projects. Alexis chairs the SEAS Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and serves as a member of the Harvard Women in Technology Taskforce on Diversity and Inclusion. Alexis has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana, a Master of Education in Community Counseling from the University of Georgia, and a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University.
lhiana Rojas
lhiana Rojas is a Transformation Strategy Coach & Consultant, owner of BeLIVE Coaching & Consulting, and an ICF and DISC PLUS Certified Coach. She has over 20 years of Executive experience in top Fortune 500 companies leading, coaching, and mentoring professionals and teams into success. Her mission is to enable professionals to move from ordinary to extraordinary through meaningful transformation and achieve their full potential. Her coaching programs specialize in leadership development, high performing teamwork, purpose-driven culture mindset, resilient & agile behaviors, and personal branding. In addition to being a coach, Ilhiana is also Vice President of the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of Alpfa Boston Chapter and advisor to Social Enterprise Greenhouse, the Center for Women & Enterprise, and the Diversity and Inclusion Professionals. Originally from Mexico City, Mexico, Ilhiana moved to Rhode Island with her husband and two daughters, leading the way to showcase that nothing is impossible if you have the right mindset, motivation, and support.
Sean Driscoll
As the Principal and Founder of BBsquared (a/k/a Breaking Barriers X Building Bridges), a consulting platform empowering inclusion through creation collaboration www.BB2consulting.com, Sean Driscoll looks for chemistry matches to projects that share connectivity around Disability, LGBTQ, and/or Re-Entry (people with criminal background diversity) identities. BBsquared cultivates the amazing cross-connectivity often discoverable across diverse communities, that when harnessed in the right fashion, can become exponentially empowering and impacting. BBsquared is a LGBT Business Enterprise – certified by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). Sean’s professional portfolio includes: Customer Service, Customer & Community Relations, Marketing & Communications and Human Resources. Sean is a member of the Northeast Human Resources Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council, the YW Boston’s Fund Development Committee, and Boston Spirit Council’s (Boston area Boy Scouts) Inclusion & Diversity Task Force. Sean is a proud LeadBoston alum (’06) – an executive leadership program that evolves more socially responsible leaders.
Su Joun
Su Joun (she/her/hers) is the Principal of Diversity@Workplace Consulting Group LLC that specializes in innovative, implementation-focused, no-frills Diversity & Inclusion training and consultation. Su is also an adjunct professor at Suffolk University where she teaches Global Human Resources Management, Organizational Behavior and Career LAUNCH classes. She was the Vice President of Talent, Diversity and Inclusion at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) where she led the enterprise diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, performance management and leadership development, and associate engagement teams. In addition to expertise in Diversity & Inclusion and talent management, she held leadership roles in IT & operations, marketing, sales and call centers at BCBSMA, Key Corp, and Virgin Money. Su also founded and operated a publishing company. This breadth of experiences enables her to fully understand and “speak the language” of the various business areas and leaders allowing for true partnership to champion Diversity & Inclusion goals and programs. Su received her MBA from Suffolk University and her MS in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University. She currently serves as the Board Vice-Chair for the Center for Collaborative Leadership at UMASS. Her thought-leadership on Diversity & Inclusion and talent overall has been showcased in the Skillsoft video library, the Urban Update, in various articles in BBJ and Workable.com, and she has presented to various audiences such as the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, NAAAP, HubSpot, CFO Roundtable, and Commonwealth Compact.
Dr. Dennis A. Dean
Dr. Dennis A. Dean, II is a Principal Investigator at Seven Bridges where he leads several national-scale genomic analysis projects and mentors a scientific team in the Boston office.
Dr. Dean’s oversight responsibilities include genomic scientists, bioinformatics scientists, scientific program managers, scientific project managers, and genomic data scientists. In this capacity, he is responsible for the success of his team members across commercial, government, and internal projects. He leads Seven Bridges collaboration outreach with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US Department of Veteran Affairs Million Veteran Program (MVP), the Patient Derived Xenograph Network funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and oversee several projects with large pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Dean is passionate about training the next generation of scientists. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Biomedical Science Career Program where he focuses on developing post-doctoral training programs and supporting STEM trainees. Dr. Dean is proud of his mentees which are in graduate programs, medical school and actively pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences as physicians and scientists.
Dr. Dean is trained as a research fellow in medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Program for Sleep Epidemiology and the Program for Sleep and Cardiovascular Medicine. He earned his PhD in biomedical engineering and biotechnology and M.S. in computer science from the University of Massachusetts. He earned his B.S. in computer science from SUNY, Empire State College.
Suggestions?
We will continue to grow our list to include more diverse speakers. If you have a suggestion for a diverse speaker, please refer a speaker or speakers to us by filling out the Contact Us form or email us.
Black women-owned businesses
Resources:
- Black Owned Businesses in The Boston Area (Shoppe Black)
- Here’s a running list of Black-owned businesses to support in Greater Boston (boston.com)
- Here Are Black Female-Owned Businesses You Need To Know (Forbes)
- Primary Black-Owned Businesses Boston! (Google Docs)
Featured at our Pop Up Sip and Shop Event:
Simple Essence Beauty by Jenaya
Glory Scent by Rafaela
Black-owned catering companies and restaurants
Here is a list of black-owned companies that will cater Women Accelerator’s events in Boston, MA:
LaFabrica Central | 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Latin Caribbean Cuisine
Read more about LaFabrica’s owners, Hector and Nivia Pina and Dennis Benzan, by clicking here.
Asmara Restaurant | 739 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139
Eritrean cuisine
Read more about Lettensa Afeworki the owner of Asmara Restaurant, by clicking here.
Flames Jamaican Restaurant | 746 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA
Jamaican Restaurant
Read more about the manager Kim Chambers, by clicking here.
Fresh Food Generation | Truck Locations: Congress Street | High Street
Locally sourced, freshly prepared, Caribbean-inspired
Read more about the management team by clicking here.
Cesaria Restaurant | 266 Bowdoin St., Boston, MA 02122
Cape Verdean cuisine
Read more about the management team by clicking here.
Soleil Boston | 2306 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02119
“Southern Style With A Soleil Twist”
Read more about the management team by clicking here.
Other local black-owned restaurants:
- 20 Minority-Owned Restaurants Black Professionals and Millennials Should Experience in Boston
- Here are 60+ Black-owned restaurants to support in the Greater Boston area
- 18 Black-Owned Restaurants in Boston Open for Takeout or Delivery
- Support Boston’s Black-Owned Restaurants
- 11 Best Black-Owned Restaurants In Boston
- Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen
Diversity in the STEM field and employers
Racial Bias in Scientific Fields:
- Birding While Black
- Scientists Speak out Against Racial Injustice and Discrimination Amid Protests
- Following Outrage, Chemistry Journal Makes a Paper Decrying Diversity Disappear
- How Implicit Bias and Lack of Diversity Undermine Science
- Study Identifies a Key Reason Black Scientists are Less Likely to Receive NIH Funding
- What I Learned While Reporting on the Dearth of Black Mathematicians
- Earth Science Has a Whiteness Problem
- Experiences of Black Doctoral Students Underscores Need to Increase Diversity in STEM Fields
- (More) Bias in Science Hiring
- Task Force Outlines Changes Needed to Increase African American Physics and Astronomy Students
- Racial and Gender Biases Plague Post Doc Hiring
- To Attract More Blacks and Hispanics to STEM, Universities Must Address Racial Issues on Campus
- IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism) Resources
Public Health:
- Race, ethnicity and lung function: A brief history
- People of color are at greater risk of COVID-19. Systemic Racism in the Food System Plays a Role.
- Black patients pain
- Collection of articles documenting the experience of COVID-19 on Black communities in America (created by the DIB office in the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Library)
Hiring Discrimination/Wage Disparity:
- Race, Employment, and Criminal Record (6-minute video)
- Do employers discriminate based on racial interpretation of applicant names? (Read: Literature review, discussion, and conclusion)
Education:
- The School to Prison Pipeline
- Civil Rights Data Collection: School Discipline (Summary on page 1)
- The leaky pipeline for Black academic chemists
- What Black scientists want from colleagues and their institutions
- Anti-Racist Pedagogy Reading List
Supporting African American Colleagues:
- How White Managers can Respond to Anti-Black Violence
- Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re OK, Chances are They’re Not
- Before You Check-In on Your Black Friend, Read This
Organizations and anti-racist activists we follow on social media
Black Lives Matter
TWITTER:
- @blklivesmatter
- @civilrightsorg
- @colorofchange
- @naacp
- @reclaimtheblock
- @SholaMos1
- @OfficialMLK3
- @MunroeBergdorf
- @afuahirsch
INSTAGRAM:
#StopAsianHate
Resources for Engaging in Anti-Racism Work
Anti-Racism Work and Practicing Solidarity
- Resources for Engaging in Anti-Racism Work (Google Drive)
- We are Living in a Racist Pandemic
- Affirming Black Lives Without Inducing Trauma
- How Higher Ed Can Fight Racism: ‘Speak Up When It’s Hard’
- Race Forward: What is Systemic Racism? [VIDEOS]
- Understanding and Dismantling Racism: A Booklist for White Readers
- 10 Books About Race To Read Instead Of Asking A Person Of Color To Explain Things To You
- Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide
- 5 Ways White People Can Take Action in Response to White and State-Sanctioned Violence
- Black Culture Films & Shows
- 75 Things White People Can do for Racial Justice
#StopAsianHate
- Watch this video that highlights recent hate crimes
- Read this national report from Stop AAPI Hate
- Report a hate crime here
Police/Incarceration
- Journal of the National Medical Association (2018): The Relationship Between Structural Racism and Black-White Disparities in Fatal Police Shootings at the State Level (Read Abstract, Table 1 and Figure 1)
- American Psychological Association (2016): Policing in black & white
Articles and other Readings
- BLM: Media and Where to Find it
- A Timeline of Events that Led to the 2020 ‘Fed-Up’-rising (from TheRoot.com)
- Anti-Racist Starter Pack (from Parade.com)
- Anti-Racism Resources
- Black Lives Matter Movement Webpage
- Crack Magazine’s How to Support the BLM Movement
- Innocence Project’s List of Cases
- Ways to Help
- Fighting Anti-Blackness Resource List (Harvard Women In Tech + Allies)
- Here’s What You Need to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death (New York Times)
- #ShutDownAcademia #ShutDownStem Resources
- A Boston stylist on being followed, ignored, and discredited
Books
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- Too Much Schooling, Too Little Education: A Paradox of Black Life in White Societies by Mwalimu Shujaa
- Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin
- Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- The Burning House by Anders Walker
- Nobody by Marc Lamont Hill
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji
