- Building Community
- Advancing Careers
- Shaping Industry
Building Community
Where Black Insight Professionals Come to Connect, Learn, and Lead.
VIBE is an annual conference built for Black professionals in the market research and insights industry. Every year, researchers, strategists, analysts, and thought leaders come together to push the conversation forward — and each other. This is the room where careers shift, partnerships form, and the industry gets better.
March 11-13, 2027
WHO WE ARE
About VIBE
VIBE — Visionary Insights, Bridging Experiences — is more than a conference. It is a yearly gathering where Black professionals in market research and insights find their people, sharpen their thinking, and walk away ready to do their best work.
The market research and insights industry shapes how companies understand people, make decisions, and build products. Black professionals have always been part of that story. VIBE exists to make sure they are also at the front of it — leading sessions, driving conversations, and setting the direction for where the field goes next.
Whether you have been in the industry for twenty years or you are just starting out, VIBE is the conference that meets you where you are and pushes you to go further.
WHY ATTEND
Why VIBE
VIBE is not a general industry conference with a diversity panel tucked in at the end. It is a conference built from the ground up for Black professionals in this field — which means every session, every speaker, and every networking moment is designed with you in mind.
01
Connect with Black professionals across every corner of the insights industry — from consumer research to brand strategy to data analytics
02
Hear from speakers who are doing the work at some of the most recognized companies in the country
03
Pick up tools, frameworks, and ideas you can bring back to your team the following week
04
Build the kind of professional relationships that last far beyond the weekend
05
Be in a room where you do not have to explain yourself — where your experience and your ambition are understood
CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE
What Happens at VIBE
Keynote Address
Each year, VIBE opens with a keynote from a leading voice in the market research and insights space. It is the kind of address that sets the tone for everything that follows — thought-provoking, honest, and built to stay with you long after the conference ends
Speaker Sessions
The VIBE program is packed with sessions covering the full range of what it means to work in insights today. Research methodology, data storytelling, career navigation, leadership, industry trends, and the evolving role of Black professionals in shaping how companies understand consumers — it is all on the table.
Panel Discussions
Some of the most valuable moments at VIBE happen when professionals sit across from each other and have honest conversations. Our panels bring together practitioners at different stages and in different roles to talk through the real challenges and real opportunities in the industry right now.
Networking
VIBE builds in dedicated time for connection — not rushed hallway conversations, but real, structured opportunities to meet people, exchange ideas, and start relationships that matter. From the Welcome Event on night one to the closing reception on the final day, every moment is an opportunity to expand your network in a room full of people who get it.
Welcome Event
The conference kicks off the evening before the main program with the VIBE Welcome Event — a relaxed, social opening night designed to get everyone comfortable, connected, and ready for what comes next. Welcome Event tickets are available for those who cannot attend the full conference.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
A Few of the Dynamic Speakers You Will Hear From
Tikica Benjamin
Founder & Strategic Insights Consultant
VIBE Black MRI Conference and Foresight Forward
Anuli Akanegbu
PhD
Cultural Anthropologist
Reggie Alston
Vice President of Qualitative Research
Ebony Marketing Systems
Abenaa Boakye
Marketing & Analytics Analyst
Levi Strauss & Co.
Joyce Chuinkam
Director
Talk Shoppe
Tinesha Craig
Retired Analytics & Insights Executive
Formerly Target
Kelli Davis
Head of Consumer Insights - MCCS BU
Kraft Heinz
Michael Forsberg
Founder & Strategic Insights Consultant
Michael Forsberg
Kai Fuentes
President & CEO
Ebony Marketing Systems
Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman
Economist and Author of The Double Tax
Harvard PhD Candidate
Darien Grant
Category Insights Executive
Molson Coors Beverage Company
Justin Hawkins
Global Consumer Insights & Analytics Lead, Adult Care
Kimberly-Clark
Tamara Irving
Owner
TMI Design & Consulting
Janelle James
US Head of Cultural Intelligence
Ipsos North America
Richard D. Johnson
Future of Work Economist
Author of Network Currency (2026)
Blake Jones
Sr. Director, Global DTC & Product Insights
Levi Strauss & Co.
Alyssa Kearney
Managing Director
Brand Trust
Crystal Kendrick
President
The Voice of Your Customer
Autumn McDonald
Owner and Faculty
ADM Insights & Strategy and Howard University
Alanna Shipley
Head of Audience Insights
DoorDash
Ryan Soulet
Senior Manager, Global Shopper Insights
Levi Strauss & Co.
Tharius Sumter
Senior Insights & Strategy Consultant
ADM Insights & Strategy
Natalie Watson
Director, Customer & Market Insights
Chick-fil-A
Courteney Wilds
President & CEO
CourtLynn, Inc.
Onika Williams
Founder & President
Evolv3 Consulting
Kristen McCloud
VP of Marketplace Insights
Levi Strauss & Co.
Corey Ross
Sr. Director Consumer and Commercial Insights
GE Appliances
LOOKING BACK
A Look Back at VIBE 2026
VIBE 2026 brought together hundreds of market research and insights professionals for three days in Atlanta, Georgia. The program featured a powerful keynote from Darnell Lamont Walker, more than twenty speakers from across the industry, and dedicated time for the kind of networking that actually leads somewhere.
Attendees came from some of the most recognized companies in research, consulting, brand management, and beyond. They left with new connections, new perspectives, and a renewed sense of what is possible when Black professionals in this field are in the room together.
SPOTLIGHT SPEAKER
2026 Keynote Speaker
Darnell Lamont Walker
Darnell Lamont Walker is an Emmy-nominated writer, storyteller, and thought leader whose work explores community, culture, and human connection. As the 2026 VIBE Keynote Speaker, he challenged attendees to think differently about leadership, impact, and the stories we tell through research and insights.
ATTENDEE VOICES
What People Are Saying
OUR PARTNERS
Our Sponsors
VIBE would not be possible without the organizations that believe in what we are building. Thank you to our 2026 sponsors for making the conference a reality.
SUPPORT THE MISSION
SUPPORT THE MISSION
Support VIBE
Cannot make it this year? You can still be part of what VIBE is building. Your donation goes directly toward conference programming and helps fund the attendance of college students and emerging professionals who deserve to be in the room.
Every amount helps. Whether it is covering materials for one attendee or sponsoring a full student registration, your contribution keeps VIBE growing and accessible.