Keesha Boyd: ‘The big idea of yours that makes you feel so afraid, run towards it’
Our Black Women Amplified series continues with a Comcast executive who believes in empowering her community by supplying great content
Our Black Women Amplified series highlights the accomplishments of ten Black women who are creating their own history with their unique contributions to the world whether it be through media, arts, science or politics. We salute their accomplishments and are inspired by their example. Below is more on Comcast executive Keesha Boyd.
Keesha Boyd believes content can change lives. As the Executive Director, Multicultural Video & Entertainment, Xfinity Consumer Services, Comcast NBCU, Boyd is responsible for determining what programming and outreach will best fit African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and international audiences.
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Boyd spearheaded the February launch of the Black Experience channel on Xfinity, which provides targeted content to the African-American community in partnership with the African American Film Critics Association.
“The launch of Black Experience on Xfinity is a major investment in the Black creative community and one of the many ways we are leveraging the scale and reach of our platforms to amplify voices that need to be heard,” Boyd said.
The channel includes content from existing partnerships and new content providers.
The native New Yorker is a self-described “military brat’ who owes her work ethic to her parents and from the discipline she learned from years of ballet. Boyd started her career as an organizational psychologist and has held leadership roles at Ryder Transportation and McDonald’s, focusing on her core competencies in organizational behavior and cultural literacy.
The Delta Sigma Theta and Links, Incorporated member is also a Reiki practitioner who has seen firsthand how cultural representation can make a difference. She cites Tootie, the character played by Kim Fields on the classic 80s TV show The Facts of Life, as an example.
Boyd says seeing the character reflect her own experience as a Black student in an all-white boarding school had a “profound” impact on her.
“I’m extremely passionate about the importance of cultural representation on screen and the positive impact it can have on young people and all people when it comes to feeling seen, validated, motivated, inspired,” Boyd said.
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As far as the advice she’d give to other women looking to amplify their own lives and careers, Boyd says don’t be afraid to do things that scare you.
“The big idea of yours that makes you feel so afraid – run towards it,’ she says.
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