Brand partnerships with Black and Brown communities aren’t a one-way street, says Shareese Bembury-Coakley, the Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships for The Creative Collective. Instead of hopping on the bandwagon of cultural trends or adopting them in tandem, brands must foster collaboration, communication, and community. That’s the goal of her organization’s event CultureCon. The two-day conference brings together over 10,000 Black and Brown creative professionals and entrepreneurs to connect, learn, and build together. Packed with workshops on everything from marketing to protecting your creative work and bringing your full self to work, CultureCon equips creators with the tools to navigate business building and brand partnerships. Last year’s partners include Netflix, Coca-Cola, and NPR. Issa Rae, Spike Lee, and Tracee Ellis Ross were among the event’s influential speakers. Bembury-Coakley sat down with us to talk about everything from outdated industry practices to dream media partnerships.