We empower
Black leaders
of today and tomorrow.

Our
Story

Black Talent Initiative (BTI) is a charitable, social impact organization with a vision to spotlight Black talent and empower them in their journey forward.
Following the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Black Talent Initiative was born out of shared compassion, lived experience, and the desire to reimagine workplaces that are diverse, equitable and inclusive.
Support BTI on Emancipation Day
DONATE TO US

Our
Values

Equity
Our commitment is to act consistently in a fair and impartial way recognizing that systemic inequalities have created a gap in access and advancement of Black people.
Transparency
Our process and approach in achieving our mission and vision is in maintaining our principles and to act ethically as we advance our goals.
Empowerment
Our community strives to create a lasting and positive impact to Black Talent to further their journeys and achieve the unimaginable.

Our
Role

We are...
A connector for Black Talent seeking opportunities to empower their journey forward.
A facilitator of relationships for Black talent at an inflection point.
A community of inspiring and well-connected individuals providing tools, resources, and expertise.
We are not...
Recruiters. We promote exclusively within our valued community of talent and partners.
Talent acquisition specialists. We do not facilitate 1:1 interviews with talent and cannot guarantee a hire if they do not fit with the skills of our talent community.
EDI engagement experts.

Our
Founders

Mark Harrison
Founder of MH3 Collective & Co-Founder Black Talent Initative
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Mark is a passionate believer in purpose, be that brand purpose or encouraging people to be purposeful in everything they do. Twenty-seven years ago, these beliefs led Mark to create the award-winning marketing agency, The T1 Agency, and global sponsorship conference, SponsorshipX. A lifelong volunteer and entrepreneur, Mark has inspired and launched several new initiatives, collectively referred to as The MH3 Group, a group of ventures spanning from advertising and sponsorship marketing to integrated communications and education. In addition to The T1 Agency, the MH3 Group includes Humanity, wonderMakr, Park Street Education, SponsorshipX, and the Black Talent Initiative. Recently, Mark published his first book, ‘What Sponsors Want’.
BTI’s Mission means to me: It is an opportunity for me to help Black Talent of all generations make connections with confidence that will support the professional progress they deserve.
Lisa Huie
‍
Public Relations Leader at IKEA & Co-Founder Black Talent Initiative
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Passionate about life, home, community, and the power of effective stories that bring strategy to life, Lisa’s a trusted communicator who’s worked on the narratives of global brands for more than 20 years. Lisa has shared the stories of world class brands both inside and outside of their organizations, collaborating with teammates and business leads to nurture affinity, navigate crises, and inspire transformational change. She’s woven amazing stories into franchisee training and marketing communications at The Body Shop Canada and helped to establish SKECHERS as one of the country’s favourite footwear brands. Lisa’s applied her strategic communications expertise to both the marketing and retail operations at Indigo Books & Music Inc, and as the Managing Director at A&C, where she applied years of expertise to communication strategies for start-ups, national brands, and arts organizations. Lisa holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Film and Semiotics from the University of Toronto and a certificate in Design Thinking from IDEO. Gatherings around the table combine many of her favourite things - food, family, stories and laughing out loud.
For me, the impact of BTI is about facilitating everyday leadership that centres Black experiences and pushes us all forward so that we can all thrive in anti-racist spaces.
Sahr Saffa
‍
Founder of C-Tribe Society & Co-Founder of Black Talent Initiative
Close
Sahr is the Founder of C-Tribe Festival: an arts, technology and creativity gathering driven by diversity. He is also a partner and former Director of Marketing at a Bay Area startup, AutonomIQ, that specializes in AI-enabled software testing, and is used by close to 1M developers and software testers in over 160 countries. AutonomIQ was recently acquired by Sauce Labs which accounts for Mr. Saffa’s first exit in the technology space. Upon graduating university, he grew and consulted with a digital marketing agency, Nimbus Creative, for three years after completing his major in Business Law and Economics and a minor in Marketing. In the Winter of 2022, he will be pursuing a Masters in artificial intelligence research at YouTube and Coursera University. Most proudly he’s a stay-at-home son to two awesome parents and a sister; a stay-at-home boyfriend to an amazing girlfriend, all of whom he loves very much.
Black Talent Initiative is a driver of change. It is a connector to help Black Canadians discover opportunities and succeed in their careers and personal journeys. As someone fortunate to carve out a professional lane through the help of mentorship and guidance, it’s a humbling experience to be able to give back to others discovering and advancing their purpose.
Mark Harrison
Founder of MH3 Collective & Co-Founder Black Talent Initative
Mark is a passionate believer in purpose, be that brand purpose or encouraging people to be purposeful in everything they do. Twenty-seven years ago, these beliefs led Mark to create the award-winning marketing agency, The T1 Agency, and global sponsorship conference, SponsorshipX. A lifelong volunteer and entrepreneur, Mark has inspired and launched several new initiatives, collectively referred to as The MH3 Group, a group of ventures spanning from advertising and sponsorship marketing to integrated communications and education. In addition to The T1 Agency, the MH3 Group includes Humanity, wonderMakr, Park Street Education, SponsorshipX, and the Black Talent Initiative. Recently, Mark published his first book, ‘What Sponsors Want’.
BTI’s Mission means to me: It is an opportunity for me to help Black Talent of all generations make connections with confidence that will support the professional progress they deserve.
Close
Lisa Huie
‍
Public Relations Leader at IKEA & Co-Founder Black Talent Initiative
Passionate about life, home, community, and the power of effective stories that bring strategy to life, Lisa’s a trusted communicator who’s worked on the narratives of global brands for more than 20 years. Lisa has shared the stories of world class brands both inside and outside of their organizations, collaborating with teammates and business leads to nurture affinity, navigate crises, and inspire transformational change. She’s woven amazing stories into franchisee training and marketing communications at The Body Shop Canada and helped to establish SKECHERS as one of the country’s favourite footwear brands. Lisa’s applied her strategic communications expertise to both the marketing and retail operations at Indigo Books & Music Inc, and as the Managing Director at A&C, where she applied years of expertise to communication strategies for start-ups, national brands, and arts organizations. Lisa holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Film and Semiotics from the University of Toronto and a certificate in Design Thinking from IDEO. Gatherings around the table combine many of her favourite things - food, family, stories and laughing out loud.
For me, the impact of BTI is about facilitating everyday leadership that centres Black experiences and pushes us all forward so that we can all thrive in anti-racist spaces.
Close
Sahr Saffa
‍
Founder of C-Tribe Society & Co-Founder of Black Talent Initiative
Sahr is the Founder of C-Tribe Festival: an arts, technology and creativity gathering driven by diversity. He is also a partner and former Director of Marketing at a Bay Area startup, AutonomIQ, that specializes in AI-enabled software testing, and is used by close to 1M developers and software testers in over 160 countries. AutonomIQ was recently acquired by Sauce Labs which accounts for Mr. Saffa’s first exit in the technology space. Upon graduating university, he grew and consulted with a digital marketing agency, Nimbus Creative, for three years after completing his major in Business Law and Economics and a minor in Marketing. In the Winter of 2022, he will be pursuing a Masters in artificial intelligence research at YouTube and Coursera University. Most proudly he’s a stay-at-home son to two awesome parents and a sister; a stay-at-home boyfriend to an amazing girlfriend, all of whom he loves very much.
Black Talent Initiative is a driver of change. It is a connector to help Black Canadians discover opportunities and succeed in their careers and personal journeys. As someone fortunate to carve out a professional lane through the help of mentorship and guidance, it’s a humbling experience to be able to give back to others discovering and advancing their purpose.
Close

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info@blacktalentinitiative.network
ABOUT US
Our Approach
Community
Connections
Friday meetups
Collaborations
Talent
Join Us
FAQS
Contact Us
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