{"id":1005,"date":"2022-12-19T15:19:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T20:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/diversity-and-inclusion\/?page_id=1005"},"modified":"2026-01-15T16:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:09:46","slug":"mlk-distinguished-lecture","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/diversity-and-inclusion\/mlk-distinguished-lecture\/","title":{"rendered":"8th Annual MLK Distinguished Lecture in Social Justice featuring Wade Davis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entertainment Executive, Former NFL Player, Corporate Inclusion Advisor & Educator <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Virtual Event | Friday, Jan. 30 | 1 p.m.\u20132 p.m. | Free and Open to the Public<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Former NFL player Wade Davis is a thought leader, public speaker, and writer on gender, race, and orientation equality. Wade is currently the Global Head of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix and has consulted for companies including Google, Procter & Gamble, Viacom, and others to co-create transformative solutions to build inclusive corporate cultures. Additionally, Wade coaches senior leaders to adapt and flex their leadership styles to meet the needs and develop their employee population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wade is a Global Champion for Innovation for UN Women and serves on the boards of MeToo International, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the MAD Foundation, Promundo, the Peace Studio, and Sparks + Honey. Wade is also a Global Champion for Girl Up, a program of the United Nations Foundation. Wade\u2019s work to engage, educate, and help men understand what actions to take toward gender equality has included partnerships with the Ms. Foundation and Ebony Magazine, where he launched the #BlackMenAndFeminism campaign, and with the Ms. Foundation For Women\u2019s #MyFeminismIs campaign. Understanding the importance of engaging men around gender equity and equality, Wade built a “Men\u2019s Gender Equality Development” leadership program that launched with the United Nations in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wade was the NFL\u2019s first LGBT inclusion consultant and has consulted for numerous professional sports leagues on issues at the intersection of sexism, racism, and homophobia. Wade created league-wide inclusive leadership strategies, led inclusion-training sessions for coaches and players, as well as built and launched national engagement initiatives. In addition to his work in sports and corporate culture and leadership, Wade consults with entertainment industry leaders, including Fox, Viacom, and NBC. A frequent guest on podcasts and as a commentator for various news programs, Wade\u2019s work in media has also included consulting on Oscar-winning John Ridley\u2019s series, American Crime, where he also filmed a co-star role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A former national surrogate for President Barack Obama, Wade has been an Adjunct Professor at both the NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media, and Business and the Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration. Wade gave his first TEDx Talk at the University of Florida, entitled “The Mask of Masculinity”, and works to engage men through a variety of vehicles to become more self-reflective and divest in patriarchal practices. He continues to lecture on the intersections of race, sexuality, gender, and sports at universities nationally and internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wade Davis will be joined for a moderated discussion by Senior Associate AD for Administration and Senior Woman Administrator for Monmouth University Athletics Lucy Mason<\/a>. This event is coordinated annually by the President’s Advisory Council for Diversity and Inclusion<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wade Davis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Northeastern University for his leadership and ongoing efforts to eradicate homophobia and sexism in athletics. He is currently working on his first book.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Registration<\/h2>\n\n