00:00We've had a relationship in the past, Dinah and I have worked on a lot of social iPad
00:07campaigns, and when she found out that I was doing race and culture at ABC on television
00:11stations, I get a call, okay, Zynga, race and culture, what are we doing?
00:16And at that time, we were getting ready for this 50-50 initiative, which we're still celebrating.
00:23The Walt Disney Company embarked on this amazing campaign to celebrate the 50 years of the
00:28passing of Title IX.
00:30And what made this campaign so beautiful were the powerful women behind it, right, championing
00:35it.
00:36And it was about women's equality.
00:37It wasn't just about sports.
00:39And so we were like, okay, well, do you want to write the anthem for this?
00:43And she's like, yeah, let's do it.
00:44She writes the song, like in a day, and then calls us and we, you know, of course, we have
00:50to take the song to Deborah O'Connell.
00:53And just like Darno said, Deborah O'Connell was like, you know what, let's do it.
00:58It's life-changing.
00:59This does not happen, you know, it's so amazing.
01:02So again, round of applause for leadership.
01:05Let me tell you, y'all, the women in this company, especially with Deborah's, you know,
01:10with just the senior leadership and the support, you literally feel seen.
01:15And what that does, it inspires any creative to just go to the limit and beyond.
01:22And so that's really how this all started.
01:24And talk about the next step where you said, you know what, I'll do it.
01:29Oh, my God.
01:30Yeah.
01:31So, of course, when you work with Diane Warren, she's like, okay, we got the song, Rita Orris
01:35sang it.
01:36We got her in the studio.
01:37And she's like, we need a music video.
01:39And so we looked at Deborah again, we were like, Deborah, can we do a music video?
01:45Of course, we had a plan and everything, right?
01:47Because it's a business.
01:48And so Adrienne Anderson, Cheryl Fair, again, amazing women leaders.
01:54We went back to Deborah.
01:55We presented it to her.
01:56And we said we wanted to do a music video.
01:58And for the first time in my life, I advocated for myself.
02:02And I said, can I do the creative vision for this?
02:04Can I direct it?
02:05And again, Deborah said, absolutely.
02:08Life-changing.
02:09Again.
02:10And so it's been an incredible opportunity.
02:14You know, you were talking about just getting to that space to be the one to raise your hand.
02:20Yeah.
02:21You know, I want people out there to really understand it really is about pushing past your
02:28own fears, pushing back, really pass through your own questions about yourself.
02:36Can you talk about the process of there to say, you know what, I'm going to step ahead.
02:40I'm going to cross that finish line like you had in your video.
02:44It took me 21 years to get there to actually say that I was worthy of it.
02:49I never thought I was.
02:51But when you hang around with Diane, and I think that's also really important to have
02:55women leaders because when you can see women in leadership and when they see you, you start
03:01saying, why not me?
03:03I stopped asking myself, why me, why me?
03:05And I said, why not me?
03:08I can do it.
03:09I have a creative vision.
03:10It was so important.
03:11Again, this is a women's empowerment movement.
03:13Right?
03:14It was most importantly, what we wanted to do with this song was reflect the inequalities
03:20that women still face, girls and women still face around the world.
03:24And now more than ever, I mean, certainly now what's happened with the Supreme Court,
03:28these issues really matter.
03:31And when you really listen to the lyrics about, you know, getting to the finish line, when you
03:36look at sort of the imagery, and I was really struck by seeing the disabled person.
03:40This was also intergenerational.
03:42Can you talk about that?
03:45Very intentional.
03:46When you think about the fight for equality, you know, that's why we had the oldest woman
03:51start.
03:52The age range was from 85 to 5.
03:54And so when it came to casting, I wanted to make sure that we started with the oldest
03:59woman and honor her because she started the fight and it passed on to, you know, to Gen
04:04X, then the millennials, then we split Gen Y into two.
04:09So that's why you see the young lady who dropped the baton or the healthcare baton, because honestly,
04:14that is the generation where we've dropped the baton on access to healthcare, you know,
04:18and of course, yes, Roe v. Wade, but you know, with COVID, that COVID really highlighted a lot
04:23of the inequalities that we're seeing in access to healthcare.
04:26And overall, when it comes to equality, access is the foundation of where it starts.
04:32Right?
04:33And so that's why with the little girl, the youngest girl who crossed the finish line, her
04:40baton just said, keep pushing on because the fight is not over.
04:43We're still in this race.
04:46But we have to do every single thing we can in our power to ensure that the younger generations
04:51don't have to go up through the struggles that we've gone through to be seen, to be heard,
04:56right?
04:57To be valued.
04:58Yeah.
04:59Absolutely.
05:00And that's why, you know, in pivoting back to Deborah O'Connell, her decision to greenlight,
05:06not only you, to greenlight Darla, to greenlight other leaders.
05:11And I'm not just saying that because Deborah is here.
05:14Yeah.
05:15You know, I think when we're really talking about authenticity, this is somebody to me who
05:20is authentic.
05:21Yeah.
05:22You know what, we need to change the culture at the company, and we need to do it inside
05:27out.
05:28Yes.
05:29And there's a round of applause.
05:30And that kind of commitment takes to saying yes to somebody who says, you know what, I
05:36have a vision.
05:37I want to direct something.
05:39Maybe I haven't directed it before, but I'm capable.
05:42But to have somebody, a leader on the other side say, yes, you are capable.
05:47And yes, I will give you a budget to do that.
05:50And yes, this is going to serve our company, and it's going to serve the wider community.
05:55Those things matter.
05:57So, when you look at Disney, I hope you look at Disney with a different context now, more
06:04than ever before, because I really believe it's real.
06:07And I feel like there's an explosion of creativity that's happening across the company, because
06:12we have diversity and inclusion.
06:13Yes.
06:14Exactly.
06:15And the spirit of collaboration.
06:16Yeah.
06:17Right?
06:18And I think that's where it starts from.
06:19And I know we're wrapped up, but we really wanted, we really did want to take a moment to
06:23have Deborah O'Connell stand up.
06:25Seriously, Deborah, please.
06:26Come.
06:27Come, come, come.
06:28Yes.
06:29We're talking about this person.
06:30We're talking about this person.
06:31But can you say, as she comes up, what that moment and all of this, having this completed,
06:39what it actually personally means to you?
06:43Again, I'm worthy.
06:46And we all are.
06:48And it takes that one person to say yes.
06:52And I think I wanted you to say something about the spirit and power of collaboration,
06:55and why.
06:56Well, thank you so much.
06:58First of all, these are the stars and the talents and the creativity.
07:02So thank you, Zynga and Shanae, for everything.
07:04I mean, how beautiful the commitment as soon as Zynga heard about what we were doing across
07:09the company, and it started with our team at ESPN for 50-50.
07:13She came up with the most incredible ideas, and they've come to life.
07:16So thank you for that.
07:18Saying yes to two incredible talents, like Shanae Zynga, and some of you saw Darler earlier.
07:26Pretty simple.
07:27Not really taking a chance.
07:28They're fabulous and amazing.
07:30And when you can do something and make a difference, it means that much more.
07:34And that's what they do each and every day.
07:36My job is easy.
07:37First of all, I'm so embarrassed that I'm up here right now because this is like the amazing
07:41group.
07:42But I have to say on behalf of the Walt Disney Company, the ABC-owned stations, our networks,
07:46we are so committed to diversity and inclusion.
07:51It continues when, as Zynga said, pushing on.
07:54That's what we will do for a hundred more years.
07:56And we're going to cross that finish line.
07:58That's right.
08:00Thank you so thank you.
08:01And Alita, I've got to just bring up Alita because we're wrapping this up.
08:04Alita, come up here on the stage right now.
08:07Alita is responsible for getting all of this messaging out for all of our O and O's.
08:14And you do your work every single day.
08:17We are so proud of you.
08:19So I want to amplify and shine on you because you deserve to be recognized in what you do.
08:26Can you talk about the important work that you're doing?
08:30Yes.
08:31I'm going to make this quick because I'm used to being in the background and not in the
08:34front.
08:35I've been doing corporate communications and publicity for large companies for the past
08:3910 years around the country, Dubai, Singapore, Brazil, you name it.
08:45I feel like I do very important work.
08:47But it changed when I started with the ABC-owned television stations and I saw the commitment
08:52to race and culture content, getting it right.
08:55And it became a more personal mission because when I'm going out there and I'm sending out
09:01press releases and I'm talking to the media and I'm letting them know what the station
09:04group is doing, I want to make sure that they connect with the black community if we're
09:09promoting Our America Living While Black.
09:11I want to make sure that they connect and understand the company's commitment if I'm
09:16going out there sending out a press release.
09:18So it's not just tune in and watch this, it's the why behind what we're doing.
09:23And being at the ABC-owned television stations for the last two years has been just a wonderful
09:28moment and time for me because I feel like I had a chance to do good work.
09:32It's a little bit more important than just writing a press release.
09:36Thank you, Alita.
09:37And you're doing great work and you are certainly making this company better.
09:41So thank you so much.
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