Thank you to all that land here with us weekly to #listenandlearn about #DynamicDiasporans living, working and playing worldwide. I look forward to a new year of conversations that will include taking deeper dives into the whys and ways of reimagining global impact economics alongside continuing to travel far and wide with our guests. Stay tuned!
This week, I’m joined by Monroe France the inaugural Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence Tufts University and a professor of practice at the Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life. Previously, Monroe served as the Senior Associate Vice President for Global Engagement and Inclusive Leadership in the Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation at New York University (NYU). Monroe’s career at NYU spanned nearly 20 years and he has 25 years of progressive experience in higher education, non-profits, corporate sectors, arts and creative industries, as well as social responsibility, humanitarian, and philanthropy initiatives as an educator, professor, professional trainer, consultant, strategist, and keynote presenter.
Monroe has provided DEI, leadership and strategic consulting for executive managers across the globe at organizations such as the American Eagle Outfitter (AEO) and Unilever Global, the executive team for American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, and the management team at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) in Washington DC. He works regularly with UN Women and has served as a consultant to a number of United Nations affiliates globally. Monroe has written articles and given lectures across the globe on the future of higher education and work. When he was at NYU, he founded and was the primary principal for the Global Inclusive Leadership and Management Institute and NYU’s Environmental and Justice Institute.
Monroe’s background spans higher education, non-profits, corporate sectors, arts and creative industries, as well as social responsibility, humanitarian, and philanthropy initiatives. Monroe currently serves on the board for Global Black Pride and the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy where he serves as lead strategist for DEI. Monroe is a member of Future Talent Council where he serves on their DEI Task Force, Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding, and Future Skills think tanks. Monroe is also a professor at NYU Abu Dhabi J-term and a visiting thought leader for Woxsen University in India. He was most recently a visiting scholar for the University of Southern Maine’s school of business. Often described as a change maker, innovator, global thought leader, strategist, visionary, and a life-long learner I think you’ll agree once you have a listen.

Where to find Monroe?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Monroe watching?
HGTV
Investigation Discovery TV

Other topics of interest:
NYU Accra Labone Dialogues
University of Free State, South Africa
About the 2003 Northeast Blackout
About Occupy Wall Street
Lambda Legal
Posse Foundation

For this week’s episode I found myself in a hidden gem of a community in East London with a not so hidden gem in the European investment space, Eric Collins. Eric, born an raised in the southern United States, has called London home for the nearly 10 years. He is a serial entrepreneur, investor, technology executive and host of Channel 4 business show, The Money Maker, which is based on the highly successful US show The Profit on CNBC.

Eric has spent much of his career building the value of digital companies through innovative strategies at public and private companies including AOL, TimeWarner, Tegic/Nuance Communications, MobilePosse, SwiftKey/Microsoft and most recently, Touch Surgery, where he was COO. He sits on the boards of companies in San Francisco and London, including Tech Nation.

In 2011, President Obama, a fellow Harvard Law School classmate, appointed him to the Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities.

Eric is also a brand ambassador for luxury car manufacturer, Audi, and the youth charity The Prince’s Trust.

In 2018, The Financial Times named him among the UK’s top 100 BAME leaders in technology. Since 2019, he has been voted one of the most influential Black people in Britain on The Powerlist.

In his award-winning book, We Don’t Need Permission: How Black Business Can Change Our World (Penguin), Eric argues investing in Black and underrepresented entrepreneurs is the surest, fastest socio-economic game changer there is. And with his work as a Founder and CEO of Impact X Capital we believe him!

Where to find Eric?
www.impactxcapital.com
On LinkedIn
On X
On Instagram

What’s Eric reading?
J. Califoria Cooper

What’s Eric watching?
Purlie Victorious
The Lehman Trilogy

Other topics of interest:
Revisit fellow Glocal Citizen Natasha Moore
Greensboro, North Carolina
Tuskegee University
Bennett College
North Carolina A&T State University
On Charles Blow’s The Devil You Know
Roger Fisher’s Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving
On the Black Power Movement
About the inaugural SBA Council on Underserved Communities and Chair, Cathy Hughes
Audra McDonald & Brian Stokes Mitchell Perform 'Wheels of a Dream' From RAGTIME
First Black Mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt
Former Governor of Virgina Douglas Wilder
GiveBLACK
About Ric Lewis
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
About Marshmallow

Special Guest: Eric Collins.

Another certified #GlocalCitizen, Maya continues to hone her love for travel and luxury as she explores replicating her enterprise experience in Africa given the changing policy landscape in the industrial and medicinal hemp sectors. That's how we were able to connect in Accra on her recent African tour which included a stop in Rwanda. Listen in and get know more about what's now and next for Hempress Farms.

www.hempresshealer.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter
On Facebook

What's Maya listening to?
Burna Boy
Afrobeats

Other topics of interest:
Yadkinville, North Carolina
The Hakuna Group
My Hempress Farms gift
Bella Canna Enterprises
CannaAfrika

Special Guest: Maya Gilliam.