How to Bring the Real You to Work: Authenticity, Connection, and Identity

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, journalist, literary scholar, and cultural critic. He has authored or co-authored 24 books, created 20 documentaries, and is a leading voice in African and African American cultural studies. He is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University and the host of Finding Your Roots on PBS.

Cynthia Erivo is a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning actor, singer, songwriter, and activist. She starred as Celie in The Color Purple on Broadway and is known in Hollywood for her performances as Harriet Tubman in Harriet (for which she also composed and performed the Oscar-nominated anthem “Stand Up”), Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha, and Elphaba in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked. Erivo is a vocal advocate for racial and gender equity in Hollywood. She is the founder of Edith’s Daughter, a production company dedicated to telling underrepresented stories.