Speakers

Moderator

Panelists

Rokeshia Ashley-McNamee, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Communication, Florida International University

Dr. Rokeshia Ashley-McNamee is an Associate Professor of Communication at Florida International University and entrepreneur. She is a highly productive scholar whose research on Black women’s bodies and Black maternal health has been published in several books and journals, such as Communication, Culture & Critique; The Howard Journal of Communications; Health Communication; and Journal of Black Studies. Dr. Ashley-McNamee’s research has been featured by The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The Miami Times, National Public Radio’s Academic Minute, The Conversation, Yahoo! News, Black Enterprise, Tavis Smiley’s KBLA 1580 am, Areva Martin’s The Special Report, Allure Magazine and more; collectively over 60 million readers across varying platforms. She is a co-lead for the “Black Mothers Care Plan: Reducing Racial Bias and Supporting Maternal Infant Health” initiative funded by The Children’s Trust.

Dr. Ashley-McNamee has presented numerous papers at academic conferences like the International Communication Association (ICA), National Communication Association (NCA), and National Association of African American Studies conferences and has accepted a university invitation to speak about her research in South Africa. She is an awardee for the Florida Education Fund’s Junior Faculty Fellowship, FIU’s Miami Studies Fellowship, NCA Research Cultivation Grant ($15,000), U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant ($2.7 million), Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel TRIO Achiever, University of Missouri Trailblazer & Recent Alumni Honoree Awards, University of Florida Black Alumni Association’s Gator Great of Miami-Dade, FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts Research Award, Leadership Miami alum and FIU Presidential Leadership Program participant.

Jane Hames

Founder and President, Embassy Consultants

When Jane Hames started Jane Hames & Associates (now Embassy Consultants) in 1984, many businesses were just coming to realize that their success depended, in large part, upon sophisticated communications plans created by outside experts. So Hames—a journalism graduate from the University of Florida—established herself as a pioneer in the emerging field of “professional services marketing” in Central Florida. Concurrently, she used a combination of charm and savvy to infiltrate the region’s good old boy network and helped to pave the way for a new generation of women to emerge as power players. Hames—who specializes in public relations, government relations, media relations and crisis management for a roster of A-list corporate clients—believes that “paying civic rent” has been integral to her continued effectiveness. She is most proud of her work with the Mary Lee DePugh Nursing Home (now The Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center), previously a relic of segregation that had relied on community sympathy to keep its doors open. As board chair in 2008, Hames helped to attract funding from major charitable foundations—which paid for a makeover of the grounds—and implemented a marketing plan that emphasized the home’s stature as the only certified skilled nursing facility in 32789. Today, the highly rated 40-bed facility—which has adhered to its original mission while attracting an eclectic and diverse clientele—is not only surviving but thriving. In addition to notching numerous industry awards, Hames has appeared on virtually every local list of movers and shakers, including Orlando Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful People and Orlando Business Journal’s Top 10 Women Who Mean Business. In 2024, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Service from an organization she once chaired, the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.

Chasity Maynard

Digital Content Producer, WSMV4, Nashville

Chasity Maynard is an Edward R. Murrow award-winning digital content producer at Nashville’s WSMV4, specializing in investigative and data storytelling. She is a leader and innovator in multimedia journalism, receiving top honors in Florida and the U.S. Chasity produces accessible and compassionate stories through the use of many mediums, including data visualizations, audio and social media. During her undergraduate career at the University of Florida, Chasity was a writer, photographer and editor at The Independent Florida Alligator, and she was the first Gator in a decade to be invited to compete in the Hearst Photojournalism Championship in San Francisco.