Wood Harris

Wood

Harris

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Bio coming soon.

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It Matters What You're Working On


Sponsored by

boon


Details

Date

Wed, Oct 8

Time

1:45PM – 2:30PM

Stage

Breakthrough stage

Address

Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013

Speakers & Moderators

Actor

Speaker

President, 8tiv Labs

Moderator

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Nothing found.

In today’s hyper-literal world, where media often shapes how communities are perceived, the roles actors choose matter more than ever. Acclaimed actor Wood Harris reflects on the intentional decisions behind his career—from portraying a freedom fighter in his new film One Battle After Another to redefining the Black family dynamic in Netflix’s Forever. In this candid fireside chat, Harris explores how today’s political and cultural climate influences the projects he takes on, why disrupting stereotypes is essential, and how artists can use their craft to perpetuate truth and ensure that powerful, authentic images are represented on screen.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.


Lisa Price

Lisa

Price

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Lisa Price’s journey begins like that of many entrepreneurs—with curiosity and determination mixed with moments of panic and a resounding belief that products that were made with love and delivered on their promise would find their following. It was a company born of Price’s love for fragrance and a passion for scent alchemy that formed the foundation of her high-performing products.

Carol’s Daughter began in Price’s Brooklyn kitchen. With a career in TV production, mixing up fragrances, perfume sprays, and creams served as a creative outlet. It wasn’t long before Price began dabbling in aromatherapeutic oils, educating herself on their healing properties.

In 1993, Price, with the gentle nudge from her mother Carol, began to sell her products. With $100 in cash and a cramped kitchen, she crafted a collection that would become the foundation of a beauty empire. Selling her homespun concoctions at flea markets, and later out of her living room, favorable word-of-mouth began to spread for early iterations of Almond Cookie, Hair Milk, and Black Vanilla Hair Smoothie—all of which retain their cult status today.

“To name my company, I listed everything I was, and wanted to be, and realized the most special thing that I am, is Lisa, Carol’s daughter.”

Over the next few years, word spread, with celebrities like Jada Pinkett-Smith, Erykah Badu, Rosie Perez, and Halle Berry becoming loyal customers.

During the Obama administration, Price was appointed to the National Women’s Business Council, an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, on economic issues that face female business owners.

Price was featured in the film She Did That (2019) and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Black MBA Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2000), the Working Woman Magazine’s Entrepreneurial Excellence Award (2001), and a Cosmetic Executive Women Achiever Award (2010). She is also the author of “Success Never Smelled So Sweet,” a memoir that chronicles her transformation from a young Black woman deep in debt to president of a paradigm-changing business. Price is also a member of the Board of Directors for First Watch Restaurants (July 2020.)

In April 2021, Price and Carol’s Daughter partnered with the world-renown doula Latham Thomas and her foundation, The Mama Glow Foundation to launch Love Delivered, an initiative focused on raising awareness of the Black Maternal Health Crisis in the United States and the importance of advocates and doulas at the times when Black birthing people and babies are most vulnerable—before, during and after birth. Love Delivered is working to positively impact the lives of Black birthing people and babies by raising awareness about Black Maternal Health amongst 100 Million people and directly engaging 10,000 people to be advocates.

More than three decades later, even amid massive industry disruption, new company leadership, Carol’s Daughter continues to thrive and remain relevant in an industry where brands come and go as quickly as trends change. In March 2025, after a decade under the L’Oréal umbrella, Carol’s Daughter begins a new chapter under the leadership of its founder and new President, Lisa Price, alongside an independent beauty entrepreneur with a proven track record of acquiring and growing beauty brands, including Dermablend, AcneFree, Baxter of California and Ambi.

Price and her husband, Gordon, have three grown children and still live in Brooklyn. When she can find the time, Price enjoys going to the beach, reading, crocheting, knitting, and watching movies.

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Diamant Blazi

Diamant

Blazi

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Diamant Blazi enters his second year with the Cold Hearts as one of the most explosive and eclectic players the league has ever seen. Blazi averaged 15.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 2.7 BPG per 40 minutes in 18 regular season appearances for the Cold Hearts in 2024-25. In the playoffs, Blazi averaged 1.0 BPG, which landed as the seventh most of any player in the postseason. Blazi’s best game of the playoffs came in Game 3 of the Semi-Finals, where he scored 13 points and pulled down seven boards in 25 minutes of action.

Prior to joining OTE, Blazi was a First Team All-State selection by the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association at Jordan Christian Prep in 2024. Before coming to the US, he played as an amateur for Roanne in the French LNB Espoirs League. In addition he also played for the 3×3 French National Team in 2022. On top of his basketball acumen, Blazi is also a star off the court with 3 million followers on Instagram and 7.4 million followers on TikTok.

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Chuma Keswa

Chuma

Keswa

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Chuma Keswa is a visionary Revenue Transformation Director with a global career spanning strategy, operations, and change leadership. She has led transformative initiatives at companies like Accenture, Pfizer, De Beers, and ETS, and now drives scalable growth at TriNet. With advanced degrees in Materials Science and Business Administration, Chuma blends technical depth with strategic insight. A proud advocate for diversity in STEM and leadership, she mentors emerging talent and champions inclusive innovation, and credits Smith College and Inanda Seminary in South Africa for setting her on that path. Her journey—from South Africa to the U.S. boardroom—embodies the resilience, excellence, and impact celebrated during Blackweek.

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Verna Lalbeharie

Verna

Lalbeharie

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Verna Lalbeharie is a strategic leader dedicated to fostering equitable education systems through technology, personalized learning, and evidence-based reforms. She is Managing Director at Results for Development (R4D) and Executive Director of EdTech Hub, a global initiative leveraging technology to improve student learning. With over 25 years in education technology and innovation, she has led major initiatives at the American Institutes for Research, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and the Friday Institute. Originally from South Africa, Verna is renowned for her ability to bridge research, policy, and practice to advance equity in education. She co-chaired the EdTech Genome project and serves on the Brookings Global Taskforce on AI and Education. She holds a BA from Smith College and a Master of Education from UMass–Amherst.

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Tandiwe Njobe

Tandiwe

Njobe

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Tandiwe Njobe is a South African national who was born and raised in exile (Zambia and Tanzania). She is the youngest of five children, born after her parents left South Africa in protest of the apartheid system. Tandiwe earned a BA in Economics from Smith College and an MSc in Applied Economics from the University of Massachusetts, and she currently lives in South Africa with her son while working in the finance sector.

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Jane Dawson Shang

Jane

Dawson Shang

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Jane Dawson Shang graduated from Smith College with a BA in Economics and Art History, and pursued graduate studies in International Business at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, awarded by Rotary International. This experience launched her career in international financial markets, and more importantly, fueled her interest in world cultures. A passionate supporter of education and the arts, Jane has chaired committees, volunteered, and donated to numerous schools and non-profit organizations. Jane has worked with Tandiwe over the last ten years to create “Where I Became,” and is deeply grateful to the women involved for sharing their friendship, trust, and stories.

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Kate Geis

Kate

Geis

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Kate Geis is an Emmy Award-winning producer and director of independent documentaries and programs for PBS. Including Where I Became, she has directed several documentaries on the transformative power of education; A Year of Change: Leadership in the Principal’s Office, and Lessons of September: One School Remembers 9/11. She has spent much of her career documenting artists and creators including Eric Carle, Saturday Night Live’s set design team, Traci Paige Johnson, and Katherine Bradford. Her critically-acclaimed documentary Paul Taylor: Creative Domain, followed the legendary choreographer’s creative process making his 133rd dance, and her next film will explore his company’s new creative directions since Taylor’s passing.

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DEBUT Films: Docs Schedule


Sponsored by

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Details

Date

Wed, Oct 8

Time

5:00PM – 9:00PM

RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

To RSVP:
1) Download the Blackweek Conference app from the App store or Google Play store.
2) Tap the RSVP tile on the app home screen.
3) Tap on the event.
4) Tap the RSVP button at the top of the event page.

5:00PM

Welcome Speeches

5:05PM

Where I Became

Director

Executive Producer

Executive Producer

South African Scholar

South African Scholar

Under apartheid in South Africa, education and opportunity were scarce, especially for women. When Smith College boldly offered full scholarships to South African women, two accepted. Twelve more would follow, leaving behind everything they knew to pursue education and a better life.

Through interviews with the women, their families, and mentors, Where I Became tells how they escaped a violently divided system and built new lives. Produced by alumnae Jane Dawson Shang, and Tandiwe Njobe, who is one of the fourteen, and directed by Kate Geis, this entirely women-led film is a testament to the power of women’s voices, especially when united.

7:00PM

Invisible Beauty

The essential memoir of fashion pioneer Bethann Hardison, INVISIBLE BEAUTY shines a spotlight on one of the fashion industry’s most influential icons who, as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent and entrepreneur, has pushed the boundaries of fashion culture and has been at the forefront of progress throughout her career. In her lifetime, the singular and unapologetic Hardison has seen the pendulum swing toward and away from the Black model. At every setback, she spoke up and rallied her colleagues and clients in the industry to advance change. Now in her 70s, the Brooklyn native is writing her memoir, taking stock of her own legacy at a moment when the fashion industry is shaken by a racial reckoning. INVISIBLE BEAUTY, co-directed by Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng (Dior and I, Halston), traces her impact on fashion from runway shows in the 1970s to roundtables about the lack of racial diversity in the early 2000s. Featuring intimate interviews with luminaries including Iman, Tyson Beckford, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zendaya, Fran Lebowitz, Pat Cleveland, Naomi Campbell, and Stephen Burrows, INVISIBLE BEAUTY is an absorbing record of the racial evolution of fashion and an original contemplation on the life of an unparalleled trailblazer.