Melinda Briana Epler

Melinda Briana Epler has more than 25 years of experience elevating brands and developing business innovation strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global NGOs.

As CEO of Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst), Melinda is a strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion advisor for executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and activists around the world. As part of her changemaking work, she is an inclusive leadership coach, trains executive and management teams, and builds learning and development solutions for clients. She hosts a weekly podcast series, “Leading With Empathy & Allyship.”

Melinda is a TED speaker, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and former marketing and culture executive. She speaks and writes about diversity and inclusion, allyship, and empathy. Melinda has spoken on hundreds of global stages, including SXSW, Grace Hopper, Wisdom 2.0, the World Bank, White House, Clinton Foundation, Black Enterprise, Google, Indeed, Capital One, UC Berkeley, and McKinsey.

You can follow her on social media at LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Threads.