Baton Awards Team
The Founder
Dr. Diahanne Rhiney BCAe is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur, global empowerment ambassador, and pioneer in Diversity Marketing. With over 30 years of experience, she established a global reputation in public relations as the first to specialise in diversity marketing and race relations and founded the Naked Truth agency. Dr. Rhiney is the co-founder of Black Wall St Media and a respected agent of change, dedicated to promoting equity, equality, anti-racism, and justice.
As a qualified psychologist, Dr. Rhiney is passionate about self-esteem-centered healing, focusing on identity, empowerment, inclusion, and the inner self. She has traveled the world on a mission to empower women, particularly black women and women of black heritage, and founded myCaroline.co.uk, a global wellness platform for women over 50. She also established The Baton Awards in honour of her late mother, celebrating women from diverse racial backgrounds.
Dr. Rhiney’s accolades include the NatWest Every Woman Award, National Diversity Award for her domestic violence charity Strength With In Me (S.W.I.M.), and the British Citizen Award for her contributions to empowering young people. Additionally, she has been recognized with the Violent Crime Prevention Board’s Championing Social Well-being Award, Pride of Essex’s Highly Commended Award, and the Wise Woman Award for Women in Media. A TEDx speaker, Dr. Rhiney continues to make a profound impact on social justice and empowerment globally.
Core Team Member of the Baton Awards
Serena Walker is a senior marketer leader with global experience, across multiple industries and a successful background working within large IT organisations. Her contribution in industry has garnered recognition and inclusion in CRN’s 2023 Women of the Channel list as a leader in the IT Channel. And honoured as a recipient of Computing’s Women In Tech Excellence – Tech Role Model award in 2022. UN Women UK delegate for Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).
With a passion for promoting gender equality in STEM fields, Serena strives to inspire and support the next generation of young people in achieving their goals. A founding member of The Baton Awards an initiative that celebrates the remarkable achievements of women from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds. And showcased her expertise as a book contributor to ‘Tech Treats and Treasures’ a collection of short stories and Nuggets of wisdom from the world of technology.
Driven by her desire to make a positive impact, Serena actively serves as a trustee for S.W.I.M and volunteered for YFYA for several years, supported the University of Greenwich and Queen Mary University (in their STEM, Business and Marketing faculties) and secondary school students empowering them through coaching and mentoring programs.
Core Team Member of the Baton Awards
Serita is an Award-Winning experienced Finance and Treasury Transformation, Management Consultancy Professional and has worked on a vast amount of treasury and financial transformation projects in top 4 Professional Services Companies.
Serita is the Founder and Director of ‘Black Excellence Network UK’ Black Excellence Network UK. Founder and Director of SM Events Management Agency Ltd a Diversity & Inclusion focused event company and has created and executed several well-known platforms that creates awareness of Diverse and Inclusive subjects and enable empowerment of the target audience. Founding Member and Ambassador of the Baton Awards.
Serita is a Diversity and Inclusion Leader and Change Agent and has made a significant difference in this space. Serita plays key roles in the Diversity and Inclusion space in the companies she works in Co-Lead of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Group in Finance Transformation, Management Consultancy, KPMG. Ex Chair and Co-Chair of the EY Black Network. Member of the delivery of the KPMG Black Entrepreneurs Awards and also Internal Judge.
Serita has Hosted several high-profile events including Award ceremonies and Conferences including being the organiser of the EYBN Black Tie Ball, increasing the awareness of influential Black leaders and celebrating black excellence and the Black British Business Awards (BBBA) for a number of years, an awards ceremony recognising rising stars and black leaders.
Serita is a Public Speaker at events and on panels covering several subjects including Diversity in the Workplace, Women in Finance, Women in Tech, Women of Colour Entrepreneurs, The importance of Authenticity. Serita is the Co-host of the series Securing Venture Capital and Funding for Businesses. Serita will be hosting the Black Excellence Network UK Podcast.
Serita delivers inspirational talks, events, and workshops to raise awareness of increasingly important and vital issues to move the dial forward in the gender and diversity space. Serita is highly thought of in her drive to make a change and create an impact.
Serita is an award winner of the ‘Creating an Initiative for Better’ Values Award at KPMG 2022, an initiative created to help to breakdown current barriers for Black Entrepreneurs. Serita is listed No.19 on the EMpower Future Leaders Yahoo Finance & FT List 2019 EMpower Top 50 Future Ethnic Minority Leaders 2019, WeAreTheCity Awards Finalist- Professional Services 2019. Serita is listed as one of 100 Influential Black Women in the UK.
Serita has been featured for her work in several well know publications including the Financial Times.
A member of a variety of progressive networks including a TNON member, a network that works on best practice for diversity networks.
Core Team Member of the Baton Awards
Writer, activist and Author Daniella Maison’s article series ‘Black women & Hip Hop’ went viral in 2008, notably exposing R. Kelly and gained her global acclaim ; followed by a viral contribution on the death of Sarah Reed. Maison has been hailed as ‘one of the brightest minds of our time’ by Benjamin Zephaniah.
A founding member of The Baton Awards, Maison is Editor of Social Cause issues, and columnist for Black Wall St Media.
Maison has most notably and bravely spoken out on issues of feminism, police brutality, FGM and honour killings, appearing in Emel Magazine, Hard knocks radio, Peace TV, New Nation, Black Thought Radio and the BBC. The N Word is her highly anticipated debut book, featuring a foreword by Benjamin Zephaniah and is a best seller in the U.K. and the USA.
Lauralee Whyte
Team Member of The Baton Awards
With more than 15 years of experience in the field, Lauralee recognized the urgent need for a significant transformation to the standard profile and motivated by the lack of diverse keynote speakers and entertainers being represented, Lauralee took the initiative to spearhead the change. In 2021, she launched Spectrum as the first agency in the UK with a dedicated focus on representation.
Incredibly passionate about equity and representation Lauralee is a regular voice at industry events and podcasts.
She is a mentor for Elevate and Lollipop Mentoring, A Board Member for Deaf Rave and consultant for pioneering global insight study “We Can’t All Be Lying” for It Takes A Village Collective which looks at the impact of Black Women in Advertising and Media.
I also conduct powerful research for my clients, connect them to the people and companies they need to be speaking with, and facilitate projects and meetings in and across many industries. I spark ideas, write and support proposals, bringing them to life, and deliver top-notch services to clients in the hospitality and events, financial services, social good, film and music and other industries.