Powerful Black Business Owners and Executives Push Black Economic Agenda

Margaret Anadu

Senior Partner, Vistria Group

Margaret Anadu is a Senior Partner at The Vistria Group where she heads Real Estate. She is based in New York City. Margaret has devoted her career to investing which not only generates strong economic returns, but importantly has a demonstrable positive impact on underserved individuals, families, and communities. Margaret is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on equitable access to capital having invested over $10 billion across hundreds of transactions throughout the United States and was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. commercial real estate by Commercial Observer. Margaret has been a trusted advisor to many senior government officials at the federal, state, and local levels on utilizing private capital to create more equitable communities. As an experienced investor and thought leader on public-private partnerships, Margaret is often asked to share her views including on CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC and Yahoo Finance. She was named to 40 Under 40 lists by Fortune, Black Enterprise and Crain’s. Prior to joining Vistria, Margaret was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where she was the Global Head of Sustainability and Impact for Asset Management and Chair of the Urban Investment Group (GSUIG), the first impact investing platform at a major U.S. financial institution and Goldman Sachs’ primary impact investing business. Under her leadership, GSUIG’s portfolio was primarily comprised of real estate with a focus on workforce, affordable, and mixed-income housing, but also included investments in community facilities, educational space, industrial facilities, green infrastructure, student loans, and small businesses. Margaret ultimately grew the business to over $2 billion of investments annually. While at Goldman Sachs, Margaret was the chief architect of the One Million Black Women investment strategy, the Firm’s $10 billion capital commitment to narrow opportunity gaps for Black women in the United States and by extension their families and broader communities. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she led a $2 billion relief effort for small businesses. In April 2022, Margaret was appointed chair of the board of directors of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. She also serves on the boards of the Low-Income Investment Fund, the Center for an Urban Future, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Africa Center.

Tawanna A. Black

Founder and CEO, Center for Economic Inclusion

Tawanna A. Black is an award-winning architect of racially inclusive and equitable talent, supply chain, philanthropy and marketing strategies that yield transformational results for businesses, their consumers, and the communities they work in. For more than 20 years, she has earned the trust of executives by mobilizing teams to create and execute strategies that benefit diverse workers, consumers, and business owners and drive growth and fiscal health.

As Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Economic Inclusion (the Center) and Living Truth Enterprises, Ms. Black is on a mission to fuel racially inclusive and equitable regional economic growth in cities across the country. She has unlocked the formula for responsible corporate action to build shared economic growth while increasing consumer, shareholder, and investor trust and loyalty. Since founding the Center in 2017, Ms. Black has expanded the services, revenue, and employee-base annually, and today leads a team of 32 with an annual budget of $6 million. She has become a nationally recognized thought-leader, elevating the economic imperative for corporate action to close racial wealth gaps and build shared prosperity. Ms. Black is a skilled public-private partnership strategist and has helped companies, including Mutual of Omaha, ConAgra Foods, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, and Cox Communications harness the power of government, community, and philanthropic partnerships to develop ESG solutions that reward communities, employees, and shareholders.

Ms. Black’s urban planning and economic development experience, coupled with her keen understanding of the intersection between business goals and community needs, made her uniquely positioned to lead Destination Midtown, an unprecedented public- private partnership in Omaha, Nebraska. Her accomplishments and civic leadership have been recognized with many awards and commendations. Highlights include Women Presidents’ Organization- JP Morgan Chase- 100 Black Men of America- Women of Color Achievement Award (2022); Women Elevating Women- Entrepreneurial Women of Impact (2023), Executive Leadership Council – Community Leadership Award, Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Person of the Year (2022), Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Nonprofit Community Impact Award (2021), Twin Cities Business Magazine’s 100 People to Know (2021, 2020, 2017).

Pinky Cole Hayes

CEO and Founder, Slutty Vegan and The Pinky Cole Foundation

A trifecta of community, commerce and compassion, Pinky Cole is a serial entrepreneur, brand strategist and CEO/founder & visionary of Bar Vegan, Slutty Vegan – a nationally acclaimed, Atlanta-based burger joint offering creative takes on plant-based burgers with names like PLT, Fussy Hussy and One Night Stand – and The Pinky Cole Foundation - a charitable organization dedicated to empowering under- served populations with the resources to help break cycles of poverty. Born and raised in East Baltimore, Cole started her entrepreneurial journey early through creating business plans and side-hustles with friends and family members during high school. She moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University, and while she quickly became enamored with the city, she decided to pursue acting in Los Angeles upon graduation and later worked as a successful television producer in New York City and Connecticut. Pinky made national headlines for raising 25 million in series A funding and the company has been valued at over 100 million. Pinky has graced the cover of Essence Magazine & INC 5000 , as well as featured in Business Insider, Washington Post, People Magazine, Forbes, and dozens more media outlets as one of the world’s most prominent and outspoken celebrities in food and philanthropy. Pinky opened new Slutty Vegan locations in 2022 including the latest in Birmingham, Alabama & Brooklyn, New York with another 10 planned for 2023. Pinky Cole has also taken her expertise to the literary world with her new book released in Fall 2022, just nominated for an NAACP Award. In May 2019, Pinky established The Pinky Cole Foundation. In partnership with another philanthropist, she has paid rent for struggling local businesses, paid the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta University students, purchased a car and life insurance for the family of Rayshard Brooks who was murdered by a police in 2020. Pinky has been recognized by prestigious organizations all over the U.S., including being named to Restaurant Hospitality’s 2021 Power List, Forbes Next 1000, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Powerful Women in Business List, LA Wire Influential Women of 2020 and most recently, Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 List and PETA’s 2021 Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrities List.

Tony Coles, M.D.

BEA Board Co-Chair & Chairman, Cerevel Therapeutics

Tony Coles, M.D., has served as the Cerevel Therapeutics chairperson of the board of directors since December 2018 and previously was also the chief executive officer of Cerevel from September 2019 to June 2023. Prior to joining Cerevel, Dr. Coles co-founded and served as the chairperson and chief executive officer of Yumanity Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on transforming drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Before co-founding Yumanity Therapeutics, Dr. Coles served as the chairperson and chief executive officer of TRATE Enterprises, LLC, a privately-held company. Previously, Dr. Coles served as president, chief executive officer and chairperson of the board of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until its acquisition by Amgen. Prior to joining Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he was president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before joining NPS Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Coles was senior vice president of commercial operations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., and earlier, held several executive positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc. In addition to having previously served as a director of Onyx and NPS, Dr. Coles was formerly a director of CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Campus Crest Communities, Inc. and McKesson Corporation. He also previously served as a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows. Dr. Coles currently serves on the board of directors of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is the Council Chair for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.; a member of the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, non-partisan membership organization, think tank and publisher. In 2022, Dr. Coles was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Coles earned his bachelor’s degree at Johns Hopkins University, a medical degree from Duke University, and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. He completed his cardiology and internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School.

Steven A. Horsford

Member of Congress, NV-04 and Chairman, Congressional Black Caucus

Representative Horsford is a proven champion for Nevada’s working families. In the 118th Congress, he is committed to getting Nevada's economy back on track and restoring public faith in American institutions.Rep. Horsford understands the challenges many families in Nevada’s Fourth face each and every day. He fights for responsible gun control and background checks. He lost his father when he was 19 and empathizes with those who have experienced the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. His work has focused on ending the school-to-prison pipeline and providing the safety net children and families need to succeed. He has worked to strengthen children, families, and communities because these are priorities for so many Nevadans. For more than a decade, Rep. Horsford led the Culinary Training Academy, the largest job training program in Nevada, helping thousands of workers find quality careers in the hospitality industry. A unique partnership between labor and business, the Culinary Training Academy under Rep. Horsford’s leadership placed over 80 percent of graduates into good-paying jobs and completed a multi-million capital construction campaign.Rep. Horsford made history as Nevada’s first African-American State Senate Majority Leader and he delivered. He passed the "Clean Energy Jobs Initiative" and positioned Nevada as a leader in renewable energy. When Nevada’s economy was devastated during the recession, Rep. Horsford worked across party lines to solve the worst budget crisis in state history. While previously representing Nevadans in our nation's capital, Rep. Horsford worked to ensure veterans, senior citizens, and all Nevadans received the benefits they deserved, authored and passed the Nevada Lands Bill to create jobs across the state, and fought to protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions. Most recently a small business owner, in partnership with Intel, Horsford worked to bring the first-of-its-kind workforce development program for youth and young adults to North Las Vegas. He helped to launch a food recovery program with Three Square and major employers like MGM Resorts to address food insecurity among needy children, families and seniors. He brings a principled focus on job creation, community development, and skills development to Congress. Born and raised in Las Vegas to an immigrant mother, Rep. Horsford has worked hard to raise and nurture his three children.

Lisa P. Jackson

Vice President, Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, Apple

Lisa P. Jackson is Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. She oversees Apple’s efforts to minimize its impact on the environment by addressing climate change through renewable energy and energy efficiency, using greener materials, and inventing new ways to conserve precious resources. She also leads Apple’s $200M+ Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, focused on education, economic empowerment, and criminal justice reform — and is responsible for Apple’s education policy programs, its product accessibility work, and its worldwide government affairs function. From 2009 to 2013, Lisa served as Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the first Black person to hold the position. Appointed by President Barack Obama, she focused on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination, and expanding outreach to communities on environmental issues. She has also served as chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and as commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection. Lisa has been recognized as a leader in business and sustainability in a number of leading publications including TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders in Business (2023), Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, Vogue’s Game Changers, InStyle’s Badass Women, Newsweek’s Most Important People, TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World (2010 & 2011) and Ebony’s Power 100 lists. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Princeton’s James Madison Medal, Tulane University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Achievement Award, the Corporate EcoForum’s C.K. Prahalad Award for Global Sustainability Business Leadership and The Captain Planet Foundation’s Protector of the Earth Award. Lisa serves as Board Chair of the Waverly Street Foundation. She also serves on the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and on the boards of Tulane University, Conservation International and the American Film Institute. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

Michele Norris

New York Times Best Selling Author and Columnist, The Washington Post

Michele Norris is one of the most trusted voices in journalism. She is the author of the New York Times Best Selling book, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race And Identity (Simon & Schuster Jan 2024.). Michele’s critically-acclaimed book explores these cultural issues during the period bookended by the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump and punctuated by a global pandemic, the overturning of Roe v Wade and the storming of the nation’s Capitol. Michele is also a Columnist for The Washington Post Opinion Section, the Host of the Audible Original podcast, Your Mama’s Kitchen, and her voice will be familiar to followers of public radio, where from 2002 to 2012 she was a host of National Public Radio’s afternoon magazine show, All Things Considered. Norris is also the Founding Director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award Winning narrative archive where people around the world share their experiences, questions, hopes, dreams, laments, and observations about identity --in just six words--as the starting point for conversations about race and belonging. Her Work at The Race Card Project was the foundation for her new book. Norris is also National Geographic Storytelling Fellow. She has received numerous awards for her work, including Emmy, Peabody and Dupont Awards. In 2022 she received the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. Norris was named "Journalist of the Year" in 2009 by the National Association of Black Journalists. Before joining NPR in 2002, Michele spent almost ten years as a TV correspondent for ABC News in the Washington Bureau covering politics, policy and the dynamics of social change. She has also worked as a staff writer for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Norris was a Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University and has served as a Sine Fellow at American University. In 2022 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She is a judge for The Chancellor Awards and a board member for the Peabody Awards. She is also a board member of The National Archives Foundation Board, and the President Obama oral history project at Columbia University as well as the storytelling committee for the Obama Presidential Center under construction on the South Side of Chicago.

Samantha Tweedy

CEO, Black Economic Alliance

Samantha Tweedy is an accomplished executive, fundraiser, strategist and Yale Law-trained attorney who has spent two decades working to increase economic mobility and opportunity for Black people.

Prior to being named the first-ever Chief Executive Officer of BEA, Samantha served as the inaugural President of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation – leading the organization’s efforts to produce cutting-edge research, practical solutions, and programming to create better access to good paying jobs, livable wages, and wealth creation for Black people.

Before joining BEAF, Samantha was the first Chief Partnerships and Impact Officer at the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations. She developed and directed the Power Fund to invest in nonprofit leaders of color and the High-Quality Schools Fund to support innovative school models for New York City’s most under-resourced communities. She was instrumental in creating the NinetyToZero partnership among America’s leading companies and organizations, including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, ACLU, and The Wharton School, to combat the racial wealth gap through increased investment in Black talent and Black businesses.

Samantha brings a unique mix of on-the-ground and executive experience to her leadership. She served as the first Chief Advancement Officer at Uncommon Schools, a network of over 50 public charter schools serving historically disadvantaged students of color who go on to graduate from four-year colleges at higher rates than students from the wealthiest American households. She also founded and directed an elementary school that won the National Blue Ribbon School Award for its success in closing racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps.

After graduating from Yale Law School and Duke University magna cum laude, Samantha began her career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where she worked on landmark school equity litigation to close the public-school spending gaps that disproportionately impact students of color and practiced commercial litigation.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Samantha lives in Bed Stuy with her husband and two children, Stokely and Evers. She is a Pahara Fellow and serves as a board and advisory member for a number of organizations dedicated to racial and economic justice, including Amsale Aspire, Coney Island Prep, The Highland Project, and Next100.

Alicia Wilson, Esq.

Managing Director and Head of Regional Philanthropy for North America, JPMorgan Chase

Alicia Wilson, Esq. is the Managing Director and Head of Regional Philanthropy for North America for JPMorgan Chase. At JPMorgan, Alicia oversees the local philanthropic strategies across 40+ markets in North America, collaborating intentionally with senior leaders across the firm’s corporate responsibility and business units to drive meaningful impact across JPMorgan’s business footprint in the U.S. and Canada. This includes helping to steward the $2 billion philanthropic commitment as part of the firm’s broader Racial Equity Commitment.

Prior to joining JPMorgan, Alicia served as Vice President of Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System and Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland. At Johns Hopkins, Alicia led a core cross-institutional team focused on developing and implementing Hopkins’ institution-wide strategies and initiatives as an anchor institution in and around its campuses both within the United States and abroad. Alicia spearheaded the elevation and expansion of Hopkins signature commitment to its communities through investments in real estate, economic and neighborhood development, healthcare, and education.

Alicia is actively involved in civic and charitable organizations. She currently serves on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Visitors, the CollegeBound Foundation, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and the France-Merrick Foundation. She is also co-founder of the Black Philanthropy Circle at the Baltimore Community Foundation. Alicia is also Chair of the CollegeBound Foundation and as such is the first CollegeBound Foundation alum, first woman, first African-American and youngest Board Chair in the thirty history of the organization. Alicia also serves as Parliamentarian within the Harbor City Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

For her accomplishments and public service, Alicia has received over fifty professional awards and honors. Most recently, Alicia was recognized as Pro Bono Partner of the Year for 2022 by the Equal Justice Council and was selected as the 2022 Whitney M. Young Award recipient for her service to youth by the Boys Scouts of America, Baltimore Area Council. In mid-2022, Savoy Magazine recognized Alicia as one of the “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America”.

Dalila Wilson-Scott

Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation

Dalila Wilson-Scott serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. In this role, Dalila oversees all Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives and philanthropic strategy for the corporation with a focus on advancing digital equity and economic mobility through Project UP, the company’s $1 billion commitment. Dalila also leads Comcast’s community impact initiatives, working across the organization to provide strategic leadership throughout all aspects of its corporate social responsibility programs, including employee engagement and volunteerism. In addition, Dalila oversees efforts to utilize Comcast’s world-class media platforms to bring greater attention to the work of our philanthropic partners. Over the last three years, Comcast NBCUniversal has provided nearly $1.5 billion in total cash and in-kind support to over 5,000 nonprofit partners sharing Comcast NBCUniversal’s commitment to creating a more connected and equitable world. Dalila joined Comcast in 2016 after more than 16 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she served as Head of Global Philanthropy and President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. She led the firm’s philanthropic and economic opportunity initiatives, including the firm’s $100 million commitment to Detroit’s recovery, while helping to set the company’s overall corporate responsibility strategy. Prior to joining the Office of Corporate Responsibility, she served in the firm’s Corporate Merger Office as an integral member of the team managing the integration of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One. Currently, Dalila serves on the boards of Main Line Health, City Year, CodePath, OceanFirst Bank, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern NJ and the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. In September 2023, Dalila was honored as WICT Woman of the Year in recognition of her work to help develop women leaders who transform the media, entertainment and technology industry. She has been named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” by Cablefax Magazine; one of the “Most Powerful Women in Business” by Black Enterprise; and an “Innovative Rising Star: Building Communities” by Forbes magazine. She was also recognized by ColorComm as one of the "28 Black Women in Communications Making History Now;” and named a “2022 Wonder Woman” by Multichannel News.

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