"I’ve had the pleasure of working with Alicia Richardson and Black Create Connect over the past 24 months through an incredibly impactful ongoing partnership with Depop. From the outset, Alicia brought a clear, authentic vision for what inclusive hiring and employer branding could look like and she and her team delivered.

Through our collaboration, Black Create Connect supported us in our approach to connecting with broader communities which resulted in successful hires. Beyond recruitment, Alicia assisted in strengthening our employer brand through social media creator collaboration. Her team’s creative insight helped us engage with new audiences, spark meaningful conversations, and show up with intention and authenticity.

This partnership exposed us to new ways of connecting with and engaging with untapped talent, helping us move beyond traditional approaches and create spaces where people genuinely feel seen and valued.

Over the two years, we’ve collaborated on multiple events, from panel discussions to community mixers, as well as featuring on the Black Create Connect podcast, giving some of our Black employees the chance to share their career journeys. Importantly, these platforms also created opportunities for our Black employees to experience both professional and personal growth through public speaking and visibility, something that’s had a lasting impact on individuals and our wider culture.

Working with Alicia and Black Create Connect has not only elevated our DEI efforts, but it’s also changed how we show up as a brand. I couldn’t recommend Alicia more highly to any company serious about equity, representation, and real results".

"‘Alicia's authenticity, knowledge and passion are what make her stand out as a true thought leader in the Talent DEI space.

I had the pleasure of attending 2 webinars hosted by Alicia (along with many of my team at ASOS) and not only did we take away some valuable, data-led insights and actions that will make a difference in enabling us to hire and retain more diverse talent, I also felt incredibly inspired by the work that Alicia does.

She's built a strong community in Black Create Connect and is a brilliant advocate for change.

I'd highly recommend Alicia to anyone who is looking to educate themselves, their team or business leaders on DEI.

"Although it was brief, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of working with Alicia. As a person, she brings energy, passion, enthusiasm and integrity to an organisation.

As a Talent Partner, she is strategic, proactive, very 'plugged in' to the creative talent market, RDEI and builds excellent partnerships with external talent partners and organisations.

In her brief stint, she laid the much-needed foundations for truly inclusive hiring practices and processes within Engine, while winning over many skeptics and 'nay-sayers' while doing so. But then that's Alicia - no challenge is too great, no obstacle is impossible to navigate".

"We have been working with Alicia on a deep dive project across all areas of EDI. She is a fabulous and knowledge business partner, professional, empathetic, pragmatic, knowledgeable and kind.

We spent a long time finding the right partner for Fold7, someone we trust implicitly to build relationships and enable a safe space for our teams to have good conversations.

I would highly recommend Alicia to anyone who is looking for a trusted partner, always ready to go above and beyond".

"‘Alicia put together an amazing Black Create Connect event at our Depop HQ.

I was lucky enough to be on the panel of speakers and was therefore able to see first- hand how she was able to bring together an impressive talent pool of candidates from a wide variety of professional and academic backgrounds, and connect us all together as a single black community.

The entire event was full of energy, and I absolutely loved it! Can’t wait till the next one".