Bias Is Its Own Virus: Starting Over Post-COVID

Erika Alexander, Actress, Activist, Entrepreneur, & Co-Founder, Color Farm Media

Morgan Simon, Founding Partner, Candide Group

Nathalie Molina Niño, Entrepreneur, Builder Capitalist, & Author, Leapfrog, The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs

Rules can appear to be applied equally, but actually be designed for certain communities to fail. Like in the case of the PPP program, where an estimated 90% of women and people of color-led businesses couldn’t access support. Or the case of drive-through “free” testing sites-- that are limited, of course, to those with money for a car.

We can and will do better. Join Nathalie, Morgan and Erika, two investors and an entrepreneur working to help the public and policymakers think through the racialized impact of COVID, and opportunities to support communities of color at the center of the COVID crisis. Join them to learn more about how to avoid the pitfalls of implicit bias in COVID intervention, and to help protect and lift up our most entrepreneurial communities.

Erika Alexander is beloved for the iconic acting roles of Maxine Shaw (Living Single), Detective Latoya (Get Out), Perenna (Black Lightning), Linda Diggs (Wutang: An American Saga), Barb Ballard (Run The World), and Meredith Lockhart (Swimming With Sharks). Alexander wears many hats, including actress, trailblazing activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer, and director -- an all-around boss. As Co-Founder of Color Farm Media and Board Member of VoteRunLead, Alexander is on a mission to bring greater equity, inclusion, and diverse representation to both media, technology, and electoral politics.

Alexander’s company, Color Farm Media, develops and produces scripted and non-scripted content for film, television, streaming, and podcast platforms. Color Farm’s next project to be released is John Lewis: Good Trouble, a documentary film about the legendary Congressman and civil rights icon that will be distributed by Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, and CNN Films. Color Farm is also currently producing two podcasts with Spotify and has several scripted film and television projects in development. The company previously set up an untitled horror/thriller film, written by Alexander, at Lionsgate Entertainment. Additionally, Alexander is co-writer of the Buffy spin-off, Giles, a graphic novel collaboration with Joss Whedon and Dark Horse. Alexander previously collaborated on Dark Horse's award-winning, ground-breaking sci-fi series, Concrete Park. She is currently co-directing a documentary film with filmmaker Whitney Dow.

Morgan Simon has close to two decades of experience making finance a tool for social justice. In that time she has influenced over $150B and is a regularly sought out expert on impact investing. Her book, Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change has been featured everywhere from Harvard Business School to the United Nations. She is an active investor as Founding Partner of Candide Group, a Registered Investment Advisor helping families, foundations, athletes and influencers who want their money working for social justice.

Nathalie Molina Niño is an entrepreneur, builder capitalist (at O³) and tech globalization veteran focused on high-growth businesses that benefit women and the planet. She is the author of LEAPFROG, The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs (Penguin Random House, Tarcher Perigee) and serves as a Venture Partner at Connectivity Capital Partners. Molina Niño launched her first tech startup at the age of twenty and is the co-founder of Entrepreneurs@Athena at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies of Barnard College at Columbia University.

She spent 15 years advising organizations such as Disney, Microsoft, MTV, Mattel, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. During that time she co-led the launch and growth of a multinational technology globalization business with Lionbridge (NASDAQ: LIOX) into a $100M operation in 30+ countries.

Molina Niño advises the WOCstar Fund, FullCycle, and BlueIO. She serves on the advisory board of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, WE NYC (Women Entrepreneurs NYC) and Vote, Run, Lead, was honored with Schneps' inaugural Women of Wall Street Awards for her influence in banking and finance and was named among People Magazine's 2019 most powerful Latinas. Prior to founding her previous venture, BRAVA Investments, Molina Niño launched Nely Galán’s education venture, Self-Made, and stepped in as CRO of PowerToFly, the fastest growing hiring platform for women in tech and beyond.