Co-founded by Dr. Suzette Walden Cole and Christina Parle in 2020, Social Responsibility Speaks (SRS) was not born out of long held relationships or even a desire to start a business, but instead, SRS was birthed from a collective commitment to create change in our world.

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It all started when Suzette invited Christina to be a part of a diversity, equity, and inclusion panel for women of color in historically white sororities. Despite having no previous relationship beyond acquaintance, this opportunity brought Suzette and Christina closer, which prompted them to schedule weekly meetings to remain in community. These 120-minute Monday meetings became opportunities for Suzette and Christina to learn more about each other, exchange ideas around their passions, dream of future goals, and ultimately begin a strong working relationship. Shortly thereafter, the tragic, state-sanctioned murder of George Floyd prompted more demand for Suzette and Christina’s work.

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Originally, SRS was to be named “Accountability Speaks,” given Suzette and Christina’s backgrounds in accountability. However, the company eventually evolved into “Social Responsibility Speaks,” as this name captured more of the intentions beyond the efforts Suzette and Christina planned to embrace. 

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A couple months later, Christina was planning a work event that required her to find speakers related to equity, inclusion, and diversity. After initial plans for a speaker fell through, a recommendation was made for Christina to contact Amanda and invite her to speak on explicit and implicit bias. Amanda accepted the invitation, and after giving this presentation, Christina reached out to Amanda with another invitation: to join Social Responsibility Speaks. At the time, Amanda was considering leaving her current role to start her own business, but after meeting with Suzette and Christina to learn more about SRS, there was a shared vision and Amanda ultimately joined SRS as a third partner.

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After building an internet presence, rebranding the logo, and taking legal steps to formalize the company, Social Responsibility Speaks became a recognized LLC on November 2, 2020, and the website became accessible to the world on February 17, 2021. It was official.

 

As 2024 began, the company's leadership shifted as Amanda decided to transition from Team Lead to Team Member in an effort to re-center her focus on family first. This also afforded her the opportunity to dedicate time to her individual company's efforts. Another major change occurred in December 2024 as Christina's decision to exit the company becomes a reality. SRS is forever changed by the impact of both Amanda and Christina's time in leadership and the indelible imprint that they made on the work of SRS and transformation experienced by SRS' clients. Suzette is committed to continuing the work with the assistance of the incredible team of humans that SRS engages.