Black people can unify, create generational wealth, and build communities all over the nation.
As Forward Cities embarks on an unprecedented project to understand and shift narratives around Black business ownership, Durham’s historic Black Wall Street serves as a model. Charlotte has been selected as one of five pilot communities for Forward Cities’ Black Wall Street initiative.
Harrison Williams
Charlotte Ecosystem Builder in Residence
Harrison Williams is a native of Riverdale, Georgia. He attended Georgetown University where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics with double minors in French and African American Studies and a certificate in Entrepreneurship. Harrison brings 7+ years of experience from banking, sales and business development, non-profit management and entrepreneurial ecosystem development. As of recently, he has transitioned into the healthcare start-up space. Currently, he is the Director of Strategic Sales at Mign, a healthcare start-up in Charlotte, NC that focuses on revolutionizing the orthopedics space for health care providers and patients. Harrison focuses on developing the sales and market penetration strategy for the organization. He has also held numerous board and fellowship positions such as acting the Treasurer of the West Mecklenburg Advisory Board, sitting as the Vice Chair of the Charlotte Inclusion Advisory Board Committee (CBIAC) and being named 2022 Charlotte Equity Impact Fellow.
Harrison will be serving as the Ecosystem Builder in Residence for the Charlotte community. He is very interested in finding the intersection between policy, community and capital when focusing on creating equitable economic development strategies and is excited to serve black entrepreneurs and businesses in the city of Charlotte.
The Charlotte Pilot
Ubuntu, Legacy, and Growth: Reimagining Charlotte's Black Wall Street
The Black Wall Street Forward Charlotte Council pilot will focus on creating an impact report that focuses on the landscape of the Charlotte entrepreneurial ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs and how this affects entrepreneurs' mental health. The report will focus on how already existing disconnected resources, entrepreneurs' lack of knowledge of resources and funding/ institutions' lack of understanding how to identify and funnel entrepreneurs into the correct channels for resources in the Charlotte ecosystem puts a strain on the mental health of Black entrepreneurs. From our findings, our longer term strategy will be to build a "care team" hub of entrepreneurial connections, resource support and access to aid Black businesses to grow capital assets; customized support to fit their entrepreneurial needs; which in theory will help with their mental health as they grow their businesses in the Charlotte market.
Discover BWSF-Charlotte
Connect with us
For updates and information, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @BlackWallStFwd.
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Pillars & Council Members
In order to catalyze this narrative change in each community and honoring past and existing efforts of Black Wall Street legacy stewardship, we will pull forward the following pillars of success from Durham’s historical Black Wall Street.
Collaborative Black leadership and innovation
Adrian Marable
CEO, GroopWork
Nikki Pounds
CEO, HR Unequivocally
Nikki Pounds
HR Unequivocally
Nikki Pounds is an accomplished business executive with more than 25 years of corporate Human
Resources experience and is the owner of HR Unequivocally®.
HR Unequivocally® partners with organizations to create growth strategies involving all aspects of human capital management, DEI, and leadership development.
Nikki prides herself on empowering others to succeed by providing the necessary training, support, expertise, and guidance needed to meet and often exceed their goals.
She is a certified John Maxwell Team Coach and Speaker and is certified in the following programs:
- Emotional Intelligence EQi 2.0® and EQ360
Gallup CliftonStrengths Coach & Facilitator (StrengthsFinder)
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner
Development Dimensions International
Civil Treatment-Diversity and Inclusion for Managers and Employees
Profiles International- XT®, Managerial Fit®, Sales Assessment™ & Customer Service™
Miller Heiman Service Ready™ and Customer Experience®
Everything DiSC by Wiley Authorized Partner and Facilitator
Contact Nikki for customized workshops and speaking engagements tailored to meet your employee and organizational needs.
Culturally-rooted geographic business hub
Monique Douglas
Executive Director, The Brooklyn Collective
Monique Douglas
Executive Director, The Brooklyn Collective
Monique Douglas, a 2018 inductee in Charlotte North Carolina’s Women’s History Hall of Fame in the Levine Museum of the New South, identifies herself as an ordinary woman with an extra-ordinary heart. Her soul ignites from her passion of grooming others to greatness, which is what has moved her over 30 years to pursue careers in sales, service and hospitality management and now even more so as she serves the youth in our community through her non-profit, the Grooming Greatness Foundation. The Grooming Greatness Foundation is committed to educating, enriching & empowering youth in underserved communities through exposure to the visual and performing arts. She and husband Kevin reside in Charlotte NC. They are Owners of CBK Branding & Consulting Firm, operating out of their Studio 229 on Brevard, a full service boutique branding company curating brand strategies for small businesses, professionals and corporations.
She has also embraced the nonprofit community initiative, the Brooklyn Collective. Located in the historic neighborhood known as Brooklyn in Charlotte, NC. Monique sits on the Board of Directors for this initiative and currently serves as the Executive Director.
Her contagious smile coupled with her leadership abilities is what draws individuals to her and why she feels blessed to live a “rich” life as she is heard to express “a rich lifestyle has nothing to do with money, but everything to do with mindset and the embracing of meaningful relationships”.
Sherry Waters
Owner, The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary
Sherry Waters
Owner, The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary
Sherry Waters is a Personal Stewardship Coach/Practitioner who is passionate about increasing awareness on community stewardship and personal responsibility. She coaches individuals on being better stewards of everything with which they've been entrusted. Through IEnate, LLC, Sherry inspires others to use their talents, resources and skills to live their lives serving others and the community.
Sherry is also a Community Chaplain and opened The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary - a sacred herbal tea lounge - in July 2019. Sherry's vocational career has been in the fund development/marketing field for several Charlotte nonprofit organizations - including the YMCA, Communities in Schools, The Harvest Center and Supportive Housing Communities. A former clinical chaplain for Carolinas Healthcare System, Sherry infuses her spiritual care experiences as a chaplain and complementary integrative wellness support in the stewardship coaching that she provides. She has had the opportunity to work and volunteer in the nonprofit arena for over twenty eight years in Charlotte; and she serves on several community boards - including Braveworks and Novant Health’s CPE Professional Advisory Group (which she serves as chair).
She has her Master's of Practical Theology/Pastoral Counseling & Care from Pfeiffer University, a B.A degree in Communications from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; and her certification in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. She is a member of the Spiritual Care Association and the NC Chaplains Association.
Ally investment and partnership
Linda Hughes
Program Director, Women’s Business Center of Charlotte
Linda Hughes
Program Director, Women’s Business Center of Charlotte
Linda Hughes, an accomplished award-winning Air Force veteran, college professor, and information technology specialist. She joined the Women’s Business Center of Charlotte as a volunteer in October 2017, transitioning from part-time to now full time as the Program Director. In her position she provides overall programmatic support in the execution and delivery of programs, marketing, and technical operations for the Women’s Business Center of Charlotte.
Linda has a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems and Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Information Systems. She is a native of Alabama but moved to the Charlotte area in 2017 from Virginia. She enjoys spending time with her 17-year-old son.
Shaunne Thomas
Assistant Program Manager, Charlotte Business Inclusion Office, City of Charlotte
Talent pipeline seeded by education
Kellen Nixon
Principal, Nixon & Co Consulting Group
Ron Thompson
Owner/Principal Consultant, Thompson Consulting and Analytics, LLC
Ron Thompson
Owner/Principal Consultant, Thompson Consulting and Analytics, LLC
Ron Thompson is the Owner/Principal Consultant at Thompson Consulting and Analytics. Mr. Thompson is an Economist with over 20 years of experience in disparity research. Mr. Thompson’s education includes a bachelor’s in economics, a master’s in economics, and the completion of all Ph.D. coursework and 3 of 4 Ph.D. comprehensive exams. Ron has worked with the National Urban League on their National Urban League’s Equality Index project. The Equality Index is a disparity indicator. It measures how African Americans are faring compared to their white counterparts in 5 categories: Economics, Health, Education, Social Justice, and Civic Engagement. Mr. Thompson has also performed the regression analysis on disparity studies.
Engagement with the broader Black community
Sharika Comfort
Director Of Community Outreach, West Side CLT
Cathay Dawkins
Executive Director, Black Business Owners Corp
Cathay Dawkins
Executive Director, Black Business Owners Corp
Mr. Cathay Dawkins was recently named; Power 100 by Charlotte Business Journal & the Great 28 of CLT hy QC Metro, along with Micheal Jordan. He is a Community Activist, Teacher, Entrepreneur, & Marketing Strategist who has worked with Biden & Bloomberg Presidential campaigns, Black Enterprise, and the DNC. Cathay is founder of several businesses including, The Yard Whisperers and Beyond The Arts, Yet, his most successful venture is, Black Business Owners Corp (BBOC).
BBOC is a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization established In 2014 to empower Black Businesses and underserved communities. Headquartered in Charlotte, BBOC is comprised of 14 Executive Team Members, a dynamic Board of Directors, a strong Advisory Board, and over 4,300 registered members (100% local). BBOC manages a thriving Buy-Black online platform; BBOC Marketplace. BBOC Marketplace has over 26,500 group members (consumers & black business owners) and was listed as one of the most engaged groups on Facebook for 4 consecutive years with a 60-70% engagement rate. BBOC also manages a digital and print publication called, The Black Connector and has over 180,000 Email Subscribers.
BBOC is most known for several Major Events sponsored by the organization; Charlotte Black Restaurant Week and Black Food Truck Fridays. The events have driven over $11 million back into Charlotte Communities and the pockets of Black Business Owners since 2017.
Cathay Dawkins’s goal for Charlotte’s Black & Brown communities is to achieve exponential economic growth. In order to achieve his vision, Cathay believes stakeholders ( Community leaders, Public Officials, Corporations, & Organizations) must align and career infrastructures that sustain on-going services & resources. To put this plan in action, Cathay has developed strong partnerships & professional affiliations with the following local and national organizations; Johnson C Smith University, Duke’s Mayonnaise, Charlotte Sports Foundation, Nasdaq, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, SHARE-CLT, Google, Stripe, Strayer University, NASCAR hall of fame, the City of Charlotte, Black Enterprise, US Bank, National Black MBA Association, Charlotte Housing Authority, Duke Energy Black Alumni Association, Char-Mecklenburg Public Libraries, CMS, Planned Parenthood, Arts & Science Council, Harvey B. Gantt Center, National Coalition of 100 Black Women & dozens more!
As of Nov 1st, 2022, BBOC (& sponsored events) has been featured in over 1000 articles & over 80 Publications including the following; Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise, Yahoo News, NPR, Queen City Metro, the Charlotte Observer,, Charlotte Magazine, & Axios Charlotte!
Cathay is passionate about enriching the community with his God-given Talents, Activism, and Entrepreneurial Experiences. He received praises for his quote in 2018, that stated; “We Must Become Intentional In our Support of Black-owned Businesses! This may require each of us to drive a little further & pay a little more for services and products;….If we all commit to making these small sacrifices, it will greatly impact the heartbeat of our Community; Black-owned businesses, and the impact will transcend to the overall Community” He is engaged to Renan Da Silva, attends Elevation-Blakeney, and his org BBOC, hosts a quarterly “Day of Service” community outreach initiatives that bring the community together to provide various forms of support for individuals and families experiencing hardships.
Self-perpetuating funding engine
Manuel Campbell
CEO, Aspire Community Capital
Tonia Woodbury
Head of DEI Americas, BNY Mellon
CHAMPIONS
Champions of the work being done in Charlotte include:
Vernetta Mitchell
Director, MGT Consulting group
Partners
We're grateful for being able to partner with the following organizations to catalyze Black-centric Entrepreneurial Ecosystems:
