Apr 29, 2020
Tika Sumpter - As an accomplished actor and producer, Tika Sumpter is quickly establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after multihyphenates. Tika stars on top-rated ABC comedy series MIXED-ISH, the heartfelt spinoff of BLACK-ISH, where she plays “Alicia Johnson” opposite Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Gary Cole. Tika’s latest endeavor is Sugaberry, a lifestyle brand by and for modern moms of color she co-founded with Thai Randolph, after being frustrated with the lack of resources available for brown mamas during her own pregnancy. Launching March 23, 2020, Sugaberry caters, cultivates and celebrates all aspects of the brown mom experience through a curated mix of editorial content, original audio and video programming, interviews, newsletters, live event series, thoughtful product recommendations and more. Sugaberry also features original reporting, expert parenting advice, and unfiltered stories from a collection of celebrity guest contributors and influencer ambassadors. Tika and Thai are also launching The Suga Podcast (premiering March 23rd), on Stitcher. The podcast is a weekly conversation series exploring motherhood from the perspective of notable brown moms. Tika’s recent acting credits include: Paramount Pictures’ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG and OWN’s highest-rated series, THE HAVES AND HAVE NOTS, directed and produced by Tyler Perry. In 2016, Sumpter received critical praise for her “spot-on performance” (Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter) as a young Michelle Obama in Miramax’s feature film SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU, which Sumpter co-produced with John Legend. The film, inspired by Barack and Michelle Obama's first summer date, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year to a standing ovation and went on to receive rave reviews. Tika resides in Los Angeles with her fiance, Nick, and their three year old daughter, Ella.
Thai Randolph is an award-winning marketing, business development & operations leader who has spent her career at the intersection of content, consumers and commerce. Randolph has a proven track-record of developing brands, audience and revenue for some of the biggest names in advertising, technology and entertainment – including WPP, Publicis, Sony, Facebook, and Kevin Hart. In 2018, Randolph was named to AdAge’s 40 Under 40 list and Cynopsis’ It List. This year, Randolph was named one of Multichannel News’ Wonder Women in Streaming “Women to Watch.” As the EVP and GM for Laugh Out Loud network, Randolph manages day to day business strategy, operations, and P&L Management for Kevin Hart’s comedy brand and multi-platform network. Previously, in her role as SVP, Marketing & Monetization for Laugh Out Loud, Randolph oversaw audience development, brand strategy and ad sales for the network - working with advertisers such as Lyft and P&G on brand-supported content series including Kevin Hart: Lyft legend and Cold As Balls – which collectively reached more than 225MM views, multiple Streamy and Cynopsis Model D nominations and a Streamy win for Lyft Legend as best Branded Content Series. Prior to joining Laugh Out Loud, Randolph was a member of Facebook’s Global Marketing Solution’s team. In this role, she managed strategic partnerships and digital transformation initiatives with some of the most innovative marketing and technology agencies in the US. Randolph served as CMO & SVP, Marketing for Sony DADC New Media Solution’s GENERATOR business unit.Randolph was named one of Black Enterprise’s Leading Women in Advertising and Marketing in 2016 for her work transforming Sony Music’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital group from an internal cost center to an independent digital marketing and ecommerce service provider. Her efforts attracted 3rd party media and entertainment clients such as AMC Networks, A+E Networks and Universal Music Group. A seasoned agency executive, Randolph’s experience includes digital leadership roles with WPP (VML) and Publicis (Moxie Interactive) agencies, where she’s provided new media strategy and consultation to world-class brands including Verizon Wireless, Dell, Saks Fifth Avenue, Colgate-Palmolive and Revlon. She holds B.A. in Communications with a minor in Performing Arts at American University and is co-founder of I2AM, a nonprofit she founded with her brother dedicated to increasing educational and cultural access at-risk youth. Randolph is frequently invited to speak as an industry thought leader at high profile events such as Digiday’s Content Marketing Summit, Future of Television Conference, The Wrap’s TheGrill, Variety’s “Tune In” Summit, Variety’s Inclusion Summit, Adobe’s Digital Marketing Conference, YouTube's Publisher Summit, Digital Hollywood IT Summit, Streaming Media West & BAA’s first-ever Millennial Panel.
Zainab Johnson, a stand-up comedian, actress, and writer is quickly being propelled as one of the most unique and engaging performers on stage and screen. Zainab was named one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics To Watch in 2019, she is currently one of the host for Netflix's new show "100 Humans", she can be seen as a series regular on the new upcoming series from Greg Daniels a half hour comedy titled “Upload” an Amazon original series premiering May 1st, and she made her first late night stand up appearance on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. Zainab had a breakout appearance on HBO’s All Def Comedy (2017) and has made appearances on NBC’s Last Comic Standing (2014), Arsenio (2014), BET’s Comic View (2014), AXSTV’s Gotham Comedy Live! and just recently starred in a new web series titled Avant-Guardians. She is a regular at the Improv Comedy Club in LA and the Comedy Cellar in NY. Zainab has performed in the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival as one of the 2014 New Faces of Comedy and returned numerous times since. She also had a breakout performance at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2018.
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime), Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf