Empowering Black Excellence in Corporate Governance
The Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) program is an initiative designed to accelerate diverse representation in corporate governance by preparing highly experienced, qualified Black leaders for board service. Through a structured executive education program comprising over 40 virtual contact hours and 4 hours of individual mentorship, participants gain comprehensive knowledge on corporate governance, personal marketing for board positions, and the unique realities of being a Black corporate director. BCBR's impact extends beyond the program itself, offering ongoing networking opportunities, continuing education, and a growing alumni network dedicated to excellence in corporate board service and advancing racial equity in business leadership.
Apply to BCBR
Extraordinary demand from talented, qualified Black leaders for the Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) program obliterates the myth of a pipeline problem. Applications for BCBR cohorts are reviewed by a combination of team members, BCBR program alumni, and our Program Advisory Committee. Space is limited in each cohort. Most participants are sponsored by their employers.
The program is open to executives with extensive senior leadership experience or equivalent span of control (e.g., CEO or GM), as well as executives who have successfully built and sold companies, and who are interested in public or private corporate board service. Please contact us at bcbr@scu.edu with your questions.
After you complete the application form, we will review your background and notify you of acceptance into the program.
Key criteria for program acceptance include:
- Extensive (10+ years) senior leadership experience (C-suite, GM, or equivalent)
- Entrepreneurs who have built and sold companies
- Prior service on non-profit governance boards
- Domain experience of interest to public or private corporate boards (e.g., qualified financial expert, cybersecurity, supply chain, etc.)
- Approval of current employer, if applicable, for corporate board service
- 1:1 Mentor Pairing: Experience the advantage of personalized mentorship. Our mentors are Black directors at public and/or private companies who bring lived experiences and unique insights, guiding you through the complexities of board governance.
- Expert Facilitators: Learn from the best. Our facilitators include sitting directors, esteemed SCU faculty, and subject matter experts (SMEs), offering a blend of academic rigor and practical expertise to enhance your readiness for board service.
- Evolving Curriculum: Stay ahead with our dynamic curriculum. Designed to address the challenges of today’s corporate governance and anticipate the needs of tomorrow’s boardrooms, our content evolves with the changing landscape.
- Networking Opportunities: Most board roles are acquired within networks. Engage with a diverse network of peers, mentors, advisors, and industry leaders, creating valuable connections that extend beyond the program.
- Thriving Community: Join a supportive community. The BCBR program is rooted in a sense of belonging, offering a space where members can collaborate, share experiences, and uplift one another in their journey to corporate board readiness.
- General Program Fee: $8,995
- Non-Profit/Founder Fee: $8,095
- Teams of 3 or more from the same company receive a 10% discount
- Santa Clara University Alumni receive a 20% discount
- Optional: Harrison Assessment and Debrief add-on: $650
- Payment can be made via credit card (Amex, Visa, Mastercard) or via company check payable to the "Silicon Valley Executive Center".
Logistics:
- All class meetings take place virtually.
- This course is eligible for 7.75 total hours of MCLA credit.
- A details topic agenda will be available one week prior to the start of the program.
- Program materials will be provided in digital format.
Cohort 13
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Application Deadline
September 27, 2024 -
Information Session
September 10, 2024 -
Admissions Decisions
November 15, 2024 -
Program Dates
February 19-21, 2025
February 28 & March 7, 2025
March 27-28, 2025 - Apply Now
Cohort 14
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Application Deadline
February 21, 2025 -
Information Session
February 4, 2025 -
Admissions Decisions
April 7, 2025 -
Program Dates
June 11 - 13, 2025
June 27 & July 11, 2025
July 17 - 18, 2025 - Apply Now
Cohort 15
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Application Deadline
June 16, 2025 -
Information Session
June 3, 2025 -
Admissions Decisions
August 8, 2025 -
Program Dates
October 22 - 24, 2025
November 7 & 14, 2025
December 4 - 5, 2025 - Apply Now
Program Highlights
- Governance in the Modern Business Environment
- Committees
- Finance through the Board Lens
- Roles & Responsibilities of Directors
- Boardroom Diplomacy
- ESG for the Boardroom
- Cybersecurity for the Boardroom
- Building your Board Brand
- Leveraging LinkedIn
- The Courting Process for Director Selection
- Intentional Networking
- The Board Interview
- The Diversity Crisis on Corporate Boards: Moral & Business Imperatives
- Driving Board Diversity
- Responsibilities of Black Board Members
- Breaking the ‘Fit’ Code
Program Advisory Board
Caretha Coleman
Matrice Ellis-Kirk
Mark Goodman
Almaz Negash
Barry Lawson Williams
The journey to a first corporate board seat often relies on in-network referrals, which is why BCBR's investment in accompanying alumni through their board pursuits and the New Directors Forum is crucial. These sponsors enable in-person networking events, curated alumni candidate lists for board opportunities, and ongoing education and engagement across BCBR cohorts and the broader community.
Barry Lawson Williams BCBR Endowment Fund
The Barry Lawson Williams BCBR Endowment Fund was motivated through collective action of BCBR participants during our inaugural year. An endowment fund has now been established with an initial goal of $10M to ensure accompaniment of the BCBR community in perpetuity.
Barry Lawson Williams served on 14 public company boards and created the Black Corporate Directors Time Capsule Project to capture the corporate board experiences of 50 seasoned Black directors for the benefit of new and aspiring Black corporate directors. A member of our Program Advisory Committee, this endowment honors the energy and passion Barry has invested in making the idea of BCBR a reality.
To explore contributing to the Barry Lawson Williams BCBR Endowment Fund, contact Mick Greco at mgreco@scu.edu or donate directly through our website.
BCBR Program Sponsors
Please contact us to explore partnerships, sponsorship opportunities, and meet our wonderful BCBR Alumni.
Frequently Asked Questions
BCBR works to increase Black representation on corporate boards across the United States.
More capital flows through corporations than through governments, making corporate governance crucial to wide-ranging economic and societal impact. Research has shown that increased board diversity—in terms of gender, race, economic level, lived experience, and more—leads to measurably better business outcomes. And diversity starts at the top.
Even so, more than one-third of S&P 500 companies lacked even one Black board member as recently as 2019, and only 4% of Russell 3000 board directors are Black. Addressing that problem is why the BCBR was founded.
The BCBR program is open to Black executives who have gained extensive senior leadership experience or an equivalent span of control, including as a CEO or general manager. From among qualified Black executives nationwide who apply, up to 35 participants are selected per BCBR cohort.
We launch every cohort with a welcome reception, where participants are introduced to the BCBR community, including mentors, advisors, and alumni. After the reception, the cohort will engage in six virtual sessions—two on Thursdays and four on Fridays. On the final session date, there will be a virtual certificate ceremony, where you will receive both a digital certificate and a badge recognizing your completion of the program. After the cohort concludes, participants may have the opportunity to attend additional workshops hosted by our program partners, if available.
- People with first-hand experience of being a Black corporate board member are responsible for creating and presenting the program curriculum, along with providing personalized mentorship to each BCBR participant.
- More than courses and book-learning, BCBR programs pay attention to the intangibles that Black board members must navigate.
- BCBR is hosted by a sponsoring university, Santa Clara University, built on Jesuit principles, including a commitment to social justice.
- The program was formed and launched with speed and dedication. The co-founders followed up immediately on every potential connection and got the first cohort up and running quickly.
- The BCBR co-founders think big, believing that changing corporate governance can help change the world for the better.
BCBR was co-founded by Thane Kreiner, PhD, and Dennis Lanham.
Thane is a board member, co-founder, and independent advisor with 27+ years’ experience leading systemic change to improve health and wellness for people and the planet. He served for a decade as executive director of Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, which transformed under his direction into the world’s leading university-based accelerator of social enterprises. Before that, he started four life sciences ventures and served as president and CEO of DNA chip industry pioneer Affymetrix. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, a doctoral degree in neurosciences from Stanford University School of Medicine, and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Dennis is senior assistant dean and executive director of the Silicon Valley Executive Center at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. He has built several dozen high-impact executive and professional development programs and universities across the United States. He earned a bachelor’s degree in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Texas, a master’s degree in higher education and higher education administration from the Florida State University College of Education, and an MBA in international business from Georgia State University’s J. Jack Robinson College of Business.
Through their mutual ties to Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university located in the heart of Silicon Valley, California, they first became colleagues, then close friends. They found that they shared a passion for fostering a more just, humane, and sustainable world, as well as an abiding belief that collective action is essential to effect social justice.
They knew from their own networks and connections that the lack of Black board representation isn’t due to a lack of qualified Black professionals. There are plenty of Black professionals with the education, credentials, and skills needed to hold leadership positions in corporate boardrooms and executive suites.
Dennis had experience building SCU’s Women’s Corporate Board Readiness (WCBR) program, launched in 2019, designed to increase the number of women holding corporate board seats. In early 2020, he and Thane began exploring the idea of a similar program at SCU to increase the number of Black leaders holding corporate board seats. When George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, they resolved to turn their ideas about the BCBR into reality, leveraging the same principles as WCBR.
Thane and Dennis began by reaching out to Black leaders in their professional and personal networks to learn directly from the community that the BCBR program would ultimately impact.
Thane’s network drew from his extensive experience in Silicon Valley and included mentors from Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Stanford business school classmates, venture capital and private equity firm partners, and executive recruiters. Dennis looked to both his personal and professional networks—which, due to the fact that he was raised in a predominantly Black community, comprised a large number of Black professionals—as well as champions within SCU, including the WCBR network.
On June 30, 2020 Shellye Archambeau, an experienced CEO whose board memberships include Verizon, Nordstrom, and Okta, responded to a blind communication from Dennis on LinkedIn requesting advice on the program concept. She was preparing for the launch of her book, Unapologetically Ambitious, and referred Thane and Dennis to Robin Washington—a high-powered CFO and board member at companies including Alphabet, Honeywell, and SalesForce—who agreed to an exploratory conversation.
After that conversation, Robin introduced Thane and Dennis to Barry Lawson Williams, who serves on the board of Management Leadership for Tomorrow and had created a Black Corporate Directors Time Capsule Project. Barry volunteered himself to BCBR and provided introductions to Ken and Caretha Coleman and numerous other Black corporate directors, all of whom said, “If Barry is in, I’m in.” By the end of August, Thane and Dennis had met with dozens of Black corporate directors and were encouraged to move forward with the BCBR program.
Yes. In September 2020, Thane and Dennis formed a BCBR Program Advisory Council (PAC) to guide on strategy and help hone the program design. The PAC includes Robin Washington, Barry Williams, Caretha Coleman, Mark Goodman, Matrice Ellis-Kirk, and Almaz Negash.
The first cohort of BCBR launched in February 2021, in honor of Black History month. The inaugural cohort was oversubscribed (the initial goal was to reach at least half capacity of 25 for the first cohort) with 28 Black executives.
In the first 12 months of the BCBR program, 82 participants were graduated from three cohorts. A fourth cohort was graduated early in the second year of the program, and additional cohorts continue to be recruited and scheduled.
With encouragement from the BCBR PAC, the co-founders set the ambitious outcome metric of 100% placement for program alums within 12 months of program completion. In less than a year, more than 60% of inaugural cohort members had secured public or private corporate board seats
From the outset of BCBR planning, the co-founders recognized that accomplishing their board placement goals required helping the concentration of Black talent being graduated from BCBR to find appropriate public or private corporate board director positions. Leveraging their professional and private networks again, Thane and Dennis identified potential sponsors and created a ‘receptor network’ of talent partners at venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms, search consultants, and sitting directors.
The founders, PAC, and everyone involved with the BCBR is committed to continue expanding the program until achieving its goal of widespread authentic corporate board diversity throughout the nation.