Boardroom Diversity and the Black Corporate Board Readiness Program

from Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein · host Dennis Lanham, Dianna Jones, Zain Oke, Evan Epstein

(0:00) Intro.(1:25) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(2:11) Start of interview. (2:56) Zain Oke's origin story.(5:08) Dianna Jones's origin story.(8:25) Dennis Lanham's origin story.(12:00) How executive education works (as opposed to degree conferring programs)(14:22) On the origin and mission of the Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) program at Santa Clara University.(17:41) On the role of community and mentorship at BCBR.(22:11) On lawyers serving on corporate boards.(30:50) On the legal challenges to SB-826 and AB-979 in California (board diversity laws).(40:00) On the politicization of the boardroom and the push back on ESG and DEI.(51:23) Recommendations for executives seeking to join their first board, and for boards considering diverse candidates. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

What this episode covers

This episode features Dennis Lanham—the Sr Assistant Dean of Exec Ed and Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Executive Center at Santa Clara University—and BCBR alumni Zain Oke, Vice President at AAA and board member, and Dianna Jones, Director of Legal Compliance at Uber and board member. We dive into the origins, mission, and focus of the Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) program at Santa Clara University, exploring the progress it has made and the challenges Black board directors face in today's corporate climate. Our discussion covers the evolution of board diversity, including the impact of California's SB-826 and AB-979 legislation. We also navigate the complexities of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) challenges, offering valuable recommendations for executives considering joining corporate boards. If you like this show, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing this podcast on social media. You can also contribute as a Patron on the link patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod or you can subscribe to the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at evanepstein.substack.com This podcast is sponsored by the American College of Governance Counsel.

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Boardroom Diversity and the Black Corporate Board Readiness Program

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This episode is 57 minutes long.

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This episode was published on October 7, 2024.

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