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Our For(bes) The Culture 50 Champions are models of business excellence in their own various industries who also uplift Black and Brown communities through their crafts and philanthropic efforts. Championing the community takes many different forms. But whether it’s being intentional about the hiring process, investment and mentorship practices, driving discussions around access or effecting change through advocacy — we all know it when we see it. These are our stars. Our champions. They are tech innovators, social justice warriors, filmmakers, TV executives and more. While they may be in different areas of expertise, they all share the unique experience of being Black or Brown, empowered and ready to champion the narrative around the importance of creative partnerships and intentional investment strategies  that can help to create long-term, generational wealth.

DRE LONDON

CEO, London Entertainment DRE LONDON The music executive who is known for discovering several major music acts, including Post Malone. Helped create the Black Music Action Coalition. By the summer of 2020, Dre London had transformed his talent agency into a global entertainment company, representing mega artists like Post Malone who attracts nearly 42 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He decided to leverage that power to push for greater equity by co-creating the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC). Among other things, the BMAC Industry Report Card now holds music companies accountable by grading them on their performance and progress on DEI measures that impact not just the artists but the many people who work behind the scenes.

ARIELLE CHAMBERS

Founder, HighlightHER ARIELLE CHAMBERS The voice behind one of the fastest-growing platforms for women in sports and culture. Amplifying Black and Brown female voices in sports. When Arielle Chambers launched Bleacher Report’s HighlightHER two years ago, only 4% of media coverage focused on women’s sports. Chambers set out to change that. What began as a one-woman production has grown into a multi-platform media brand. With her small team of 4 Black women colleagues covering the intersection of women in sports and culture, Chambers has transformed HighlightHER into one of the fastest-growing platforms in sports media.

CYNTHIA BOWMAN

Chief Diversity and Inclusion and Talent Acquisition Officer, Bank of America CYNTHIA BOWMAN Leader behind several creative partnerships that work to bring more diverse talent into banking. Improving Bank of America’s diverse representation at all levels. Since joining Bank of America’s C-suite in 2016, Cynthia Bowman has launched a number of initiatives and partnerships to help make the financial services giant a leader in diversity. In that time, the bank has seen a 27% increase in persons of color at management levels, and last year, Bowman helped launch the bank’s five-year, $1.25 billion commitment to the advancement of racial equality and economic opportunity in health, jobs, small business and affordable housing.

ARIAN SIMONE

Cofounder and General Partner, Fearless Fund ARIAN SIMONE Angel investor and bestselling author. Creating funding pathways for businesses led by women of color. After carving out a successful career as a PR executive with clients like Sony Pictures and Walt Disney, Arian Simone set out to nurture a new generation of future heavyweights with the launch of her Fearless magazine platform in 2010. Eight years later, she cofounded Fearless Fund to invest in early-stage businesses led by Black and Brown women. The $5 million angel fund has since grown to $25 million with a portfolio of 10 companies.

SYLVESTER MOBLEY

CEO, Coded by Kids; Managing Director, Plain Sight Capital SYLVESTER MOBLEY Creator of a nonprofit that teaches students from underserved communities about coding and other programming. Developing a mechanism to fund the diverse pipeline of founders he helped to create. When he returned home to Philadelphia after his final tour of duty in Iraq eight years ago, former U.S. Air Force Cryptographic Specialist Sylvester Mobley helped a kid at his local recreation center learn to code. That experience led him to launch Coded by Kids, a nonprofit aimed at helping Black and Brown people get the skills they need to access opportunities in the tech space. After reaching more than 1,200 students, Mobley this year launched Plain Sight Capital, an early-stage VC firm and incubator that invests in early-stage companies by underrepresented founders.

MYTHILI SANKARAN

Cofounder and CEO, Neythri.org MYTHILI SANKARAN Strategic leader and angel fund investor. Created a professional network for South Asian women aimed at connecting them to resources they need. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Mythili Sankaran grew Neythri.org into one of the first professional network organizations for South Asian women in business. Over the past 18 months, the angel investor and former senior director to the U.S. India Business Council led her 2,000-member organization in hosting 100 events aimed at connecting women in business to the resources they need. In March 2021, Mythili also launched the Neythri Futures Fund, a venture fund that positions South Asian women as key stakeholders and investors.

TETO WILSON

Founder, Wilson’s Image Barbers and Stylists TETO WILSON Running one of the busiest and socially-influential barber shops in Minneapolis. Made Covid-19 vaccines more accessible in his community. Wilson’s Image and Stylists is known as a community mainstay in North Minneapolis. In 2020, the bustling barber shop also became a community lifeline, doubling as a space for stakeholders to engage in roundtable discussions on business and community resources, police-community relations and Covid-19. This July, as vaccine rates for Black and Brown residents lagged behind their white counterparts, Wilson partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health to use his barbershop as a Covid-19 vaccine clinic.

SERRENA A. IYER

Head of Development, Off Their Plate SERRENA A. IYER Heading up Netflix Animation strategy by day while reimagining ways to fight hunger by night. Helped grow a food resource program that empowers restaurateurs to help feed food-insecure communities. In 2020, Serrena Iyer accepted the challenge by Off Their Plate’s CEO to take over running and growing the LA branch. Now she is the Head of Development for Off Their Plate (OTP), the volunteer corps of professionals, entrepreneurs, engineers and creatives working to build a more equitable food economy  by empowering restaurant owners  to cook nutritious meals that are donated to food-insecure communities.

EDUARDO VILARO

Artistic Director and CEO, Ballet Hispánico EDUARDO VILARO Grew Ballet Hispánico into the largest Latinx dance organization in the U.S. Creating opportunities for BIPOC dancers while showcasing Latinx culture. In 2009, Eduardo Vilaro joined Ballet Hispánico in New York as its artistic director, coming back to the dance company that launched his career. Six years later, the Cuban-born Vilaro was also named CEO of what’s now the country’s largest Latinx dance organization. When the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered his theater and dance school, Vilaro seamlessly moved his program online, protecting the livelihood of his dancers while providing entertainment and classes to more than 180,000 people.

DONNELL BEVERLY JR.

President, Russell Westbrook Enterprises DONNELL BEVERLY JR. Business development executive and right-hand man to NBA star Russell Westbrook. Launched an academy for disadvantaged students in Los Angeles. As president of Russell Westbrook’s namesake business and philanthropic organization, Donnell Beverly Jr. looks to lift up communities through strategic programming and investments. One example of this: the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Academy, launched in February 2021 and aimed at developing economically disadvantaged youth in Los Angeles both academically and athletically. To date, 550 students have attended Why Not? Charter Schools, while 2,500 high schoolers will be participating in the organization’s financial literacy programs during the 2021-2022 school year.

STEVE EVANS

Director of Community Development, Smithfield Foods STEVE EVANS Smithfield Foods executive who is building programs to support families in need of healthy and affordable food. Launched programs to create greater diversity and equity in farming. In the 1960s, Black farmers made up 12% of all farmers. Today that number has dwindled to 2%. For Steve Evans, who hails from a family of farmers, eliminating systemic farming inequities is personal. As Smithfield Foods’ director of community development, he is now trying to bring more farmers of color into the pipeline by overseeing a $10 million grant to fund education and economic support for BIPOC farmers.

FRANCOIS LOCOH-DONOU

President and CEO, F5 Networks FRANCOIS LOCOH-DONOUS Leading $12.6 billion tech giant F5 Networks. Created a mentoring and leadership program for Black employees. Locoh-Donou became president and CEO of F5 Networks in 2017 and quickly set about pivoting its applications support business from network infrastructure to software and cloud computing. In 2020, he launched a program at F5 to help mentor, coach and sponsor Black employees. Born in Togo, Locoh-Donou stays in touch with his birth country through Cajou Espoir, a cashew processing social venture that largely employs women.

JHARRETT BRYANTT

Assistant Superintendent, Houston Independent School District JHARRETT BRYANTT Launching the EMERGE program, a program that helps underserved students in Houston prepare for their college careers. Raised tens of millions of dollars to help low-income students pursue elite college education. In an effort to engage Houston’s students throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Jharrett Bryantt, assistant superintendent of the nation’s seventh largest school district, partnered with nonprofits, philanthropies and colleges to ensure consistency in remote learning and raised $3 million to expand the school district’s guidance and counseling services.

TAMAIRA SANDIFER

CEO, Studio T Urban Dance Academy TAMAIRA SANDIFER Founder of California’s Day of Dance. Helped 192,000 students in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, 79% of whom are low-income. Sandifer has been dancing and choreographing since she was just seven years old. Better known as “Miss Tee,” she founded Studio T Urban Dance Academy in 2005 as a way to bring a safe space for creativity and movement to underserved children. Graduates from her program have danced with J-Lo, the Jabbawokeez, Usher and more, though Sandifer says she’s most proud of helping to inspire the kids in her community to graduate from high school, go on to college and even start their own businesses.

STEPHANIE L. YOUNG

Executive Director, When We All Vote STEPHANIE L. YOUNG Leading the nonpartisan voting initiative When We All Vote, created by Michelle Obama. Helped register over 500,000 voters in 2020. Young’s interest in voting rights and political participation was sparked when she was just 10 years old and living in Cape Town; her father led voter engagement initiatives there during the time South Africa transitioned from apartheid to democracy. Young went on to graduate from Hampton University and work for the Congressional Black Caucus and the Obama White House. She joined When We All Vote in 2018, becoming its executive director in 2020.

LOLITA TAUB

General Partner, The Community Fund LOLITA TAUB Micro-influencer in the fintech space and author of Lolita’s Newsletter. Connecting underrepresented founders to investors. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Lolita Taub is working to change the narrative around who invests, who is invested in and the types of founders who build unicorns. In 2020, Taub cofounded the Community Fund, a $5 million early-stage fund investing in community-driven companies. She is also the founder of the Startup-Investor Matching Tool, a platform that introduces underestimated founders to investors.

GEORGE NICHOLS III

President and CEO, The American College of Financial Services GEORGE NICHOLS III The First Black Insurance Commissioner of Kentucky. Uses his platform to help close the wealth gap. Being first is nothing new for Nichols, who was the first Black president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the first Black insurance commissioner of Kentucky, where he regulated the state’s $10 billion insurance industry. Now, as the first Black president of the American College of Financial Services, he’s using his platform to call on the financial services industry to make sustainable changes to close the racial wealth gap.

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Founder, Social Change Fund DWYANE WADE Three-time NBA champion and 13-time all-star. Investing in equal justice initiatives. As a three-time NBA champion and 13-time all-star, Dwyane Wade is known as a game changer on the court. Fewer know him as a business leader who is magnifying diverse voices in branding through his strategy agency, CAA AMP, or his Social Change Fund. Cofounded alongside former NBA stars Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, the Social Change Fund invests in community organizations including the Equal Justice Initiative, When We All Vote and The Bail Project.

JIANA MURDIC

Founder and Director, Get Fresh Daily JIANA MURDIC Bringing together health education and nutritional food options to the West Philadelphia community. Provides health education and nutritional food options to West Philadelphia communities. Activist Jiana Murdic provides programming including yoga, dance and cooking classes to kids who attend her summer camp, Camp Excellence, and the Global Leadership Academy. Through her nonprofit, Get Fresh Daily, she’s organized a community cultural garden that serves up health education, plant-based recipes and fresh produce to West Philadelphia.

NITIYA WALKER

Founder and Executive Director, Seeds of Fortune NITIYA WALKER Leading the Seed Online College Prep Network. Provides young women of color with wealth-building, leadership and college readiness  programs. Nitiya Walker learned the importance of financial literacy at an early age. Inspired by a mentor who helped her earn a full scholarship to Babson College, she launched Seeds of Fortune, a nonprofit organization that provides financial education to Black girls, as well as scholarships—$15 million worth to date. One of its programs, the Seed Online College Prep Network, is the first tech platform geared toward making college more affordable for Black girls.

Isaac Hayes

Founder and CEO, Fanbase ISAAC HAYES III Record producer and voice actor. Aims to create Black wealth through social media monetization. In 2018, Hayes created the Fanbase app to help Black content creators monetize their influence and capitalize on Black-inspired trends. The app, which Hayes says is worth  $23.5 million, has more than 50,00 users and a Creative Advisory Board whose members include influencers such as Snoop Dogg and Charlamagne tha God. Hayes is the first Black man to raise $3.5 million on StartEngine, a public investment app.

PAULANA LAMONIER

Founder, Black People Will Swim PAULANA LAMONIER Created a movement that contextualizes Black fears and stereotypes around swimming. Ending the stereotype that Black people are bad at swimming. Paulana Lamonier has one goal: putting an end to the stereotype that Black people can’t swim. To do so, she’s launched a movement, Black People Will Swim, through which she contextualizes Black and Brown people’s fears about swimming while confronting stereotypes by teaching them to swim.

HALLEEMAH NASH

Founder, Rosecrans Ventures HALLEEMAH NASH Underrepresented talent specialist who has consulted Nike, The Obama Administration, Morgan Stanley and the United Nations. Her social impact work has created opportunities for over 11,000 youths. Since the summer of 2020, Halleemah Nash’s talent development firm Rosencrans Ventures has helped marginalized Black, AAPI, Latinx and LGBTQ+ youth earn an additional $159,600 in wages. Born and raised in Compton, the first-generation college graduate has coached and placed young professionals of color in internships in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

AURIELLE BROOKS

Cofounder, Vice President and Attorney, Collective Gallery AURIELLE BROOKS Created one of the only record labels for photographers. Empowering Black and Brown students and creatives. As the first-of-its-kind record label for photographers, Aurielle Brooks’ Collective Agency has empowered over 100 photographers and creatives in the past year. Along with representing artists including Kevin Gates, Bow Wow, and Jeezy, the 2020 Billboard Top Music Lawyer seeks to empower creatives to fuel their passions beyond monetary expansion. Through her internship program at Morehouse College, Brooks also works to develop and support Black and Brown students.

Eva Kolenko

Cofounder, Eat. Learn. Play; Founder and CEO, Sweet July AYESHA CURRY Restaurateur, chef, New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur and television personality. Fighting to end childhood hunger. In March 2020, Ayesha Curry partnered with pandemic-affected restaurants to feed food-insecure students in Oakland, California. Through her philanthropy Eat. Learn. Play., Curry engaged 130 restaurants, 109 of which were owned by women or people of color. As of June 2021, she’s provided 17 million meals to Oakland students. In addition to fighting childhood hunger, Curry founded the lifestyle magazine Sweet July, which champions business owners and creatives of color.

KIZZMEKIA CORBETT

Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard KIZZMEKIA CORBETT Immunologist who made key contributions to the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. Addressing vaccine hesitancy in the Black community. As the scientific lead of the National Institutes of Health Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, Kizzmekia Corbett was instrumental in developing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. “Vaccines are the great equalizer when it comes to addressing health disparities,” Corbett says. She works to alleviate vaccine hesitancy in the Black community with outreach through churches and other organizations. Formerly a NIH Vaccine Research Center fellow, Corbett is now an assistant professor at Harvard’s school of medicine.

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CEO and Founder, The Village Market ATL DR. LAKEYSHA HALLMON Business leader behind The Village Market, the platform for Black-owned businesses that sparked Atlanta’s “Buy Black” movement. Empowering the Black community through cooperative economics. When Lakeysha Hallmon founded The Village Market ATL in 2016, she set out to showcase the city’s Black business owners. Since then, she’s provided a platform for more than 1,440 businesses that’ve generated $5.3 million in sales through her marketplaces, Village Market retail store and ecommerce site. In 2020, Hallmon started Atlanta’s “Buy Black in August” movement to generate support for Black-owned businesses negatively affected by Covid-19.

MOSES HARRIS

Black Segment Leader for Commercial Banking, Wells Fargo; Cofounder, Bloom & Plume Coffee MOSES HARRIS Commercial banking executive who’s making change through access to capital and coffee. Building Black generational wealth. Moses Harris’ mission is to build Black generational wealth by making capital more accessible to Black business owners. In addition to his work at Wells Fargo, he volunteers as a financial literacy coach, through which he aims to mentor at least 100 Black students from high school to college and into the workforce. He is is also the cofounder of Bloom & Plume Coffee, a Los Angeles-based café that, he hopes, will serve as a blueprint for other Black entrepreneurs.  

TITI COLE

Chief Client Officer of Global Consumer Banking, Citigroup TITI COLE Reimagining recruiting practices. Creating space for Black and Brown professionals in banking. Since joining Citi as chief client officer in August 2020, Titi Cole set new goals to increase representation of women and underrepresented groups across the business. As the head of consumer banking operations, her teams help provide support for the bank’s recent commitments to racial equity that includes more than $1 billion in initiatives aimed at closing the wealth gap for Black Americans. ALEXYS FEASTER

Founder and CEO, The Kinship Advisors ALEXYS FEASTER Leadership coach and social impact advisor to NBA players. Amplifying the voices of athletes who engage in social activism. After six years as the senior director of player development at the NBA, in January 2021 Alexys Feaster launched The Kinship Advisors. Through her new venture, she helps her client list of professional athletes find their voices as leaders and engage in social justice opportunities.

Digital Director, Harper’s Bazaar NIKKI OGUNNAIKE Serving as digital director of the oldest fashion magazine in the U.S. Bringing diversity of coverage to the fashion industry. For years Nikki Ogunnaike was one of the only Black senior-level journalists in the fashion industry. Now the digital director of Harper’s Bazaar, the Nigerian-American digital director heads up one of the most iconic fashion platforms in the world. Ogunnaike has been a vocal advocate for bringing more diverse perspectives and coverage to the magazine.

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Activist and Author AMANDA GORMAN First National Youth Poet Laureate from the U.S. Uplifts the community through her poetry, creative writing and public speaking. Amanda Gorman burst onto the national stage on January 20, 2021 when she was invited by then President-elect Joe Biden to read her poem “The Hill We Climb” during his inauguration. Since making history as the youngest inaugural poet, she’s used her platform to uplift and cultivate young writers though speaking engagements and recent children’s book.

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY

Board Member, Black Professionals in International Affairs ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY Built a network of more than 60,000 Black and Brown international affairs students and professionals. Connects diverse candidates to international opportunities. As a member of the board of Black Professionals in International Affairs, Alexandria Maloney was charged with improving the representation of Black Americans working in international affairs. Under her leadership, she grew a network of 60,000 BIPOC international affairs professionals, then activated that network to connect diverse candidates to opportunities within government agencies and the private sector.

RONIKA LEWIS

Product Manager, Google RONIKA LEWIS The leader behind Google’s strategic initiatives to support HBCU students. Lifting up the next generation of product developers and STEM professionals. As a Google product manager whose mission is creating pathways to STEM careers for the next generation of Black and Brown professionals, Ronika Lewis was instrumental in ideating and executing Google’s strategic HBCU initiatives—which have included $50 million in unrestricted gift funds and a digital skills training certification program to support HBCU students.

Founding partner, IberSun Solar Dr. Michael Dorsey

DR. MICHAEL DORSEY Environmental scientist and Impact investor focused on delivering clean energy for marginalized communities in the US. Created the Racial Justice Initiative and Index to hold corporations accountable to the racial justice statements they issued in the summer of 2020. In addition to his work as an environmental scientist, impact investor and the founding partner of IberSun Solar, the global company specializing in the development of renewable energy generation, in 2020, Dr. Dorsey launched the Racial Justice Initiative and Index (RJI+i) to hold corporations accountable to the racial justice statements they issued in response to George Floyd’s killing. Today, RJI+i has begun to license its data to several financial service firms to help track and deliver justice for Black and Brown Americans.

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