"She came down here because she knew it was a thriving community."
Sarah B. Frazier, daughter of Jacqueline DeShazor, founder of DeShazor Beauty System, Inc.
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. Raleigh has been selected as one of five pilot communities for Forward Cities’ Black Wall Street initiative.
Why Raleigh?
Raleigh is the capital city of North Carolina and is the second-most populous city in North Carolina. Following the Civil War, Raleigh became a center of opportunity and advancement for Black Americans. That significance is evident today in numerous landmarks, districts, and educational and cultural institutions.Foremost are two of the nation’s leading historically Black universities: Shaw University and Saint Augustine's College. In 2024, Money Magazine ranked Raleigh #4 on its list of ‘Best Places to live in U.S’, citing, among other things, its cultural festivals such as the African-American Cultural Festival. The City of Raleigh government demonstrates a strong commitment to advancement of Black businesses through a variety of programs and initiatives - including their commitment to and support of the Black Wall Street Forward Initiative.
Mel Wright
Raleigh Ecosystem Builder in Residence
Mel Wright is an Army veteran, a mother of a 19 year old son, the owner of 2 businesses and has also been appointed as 1 of 15 group leaders for the area community study of the Dix Edge project for the city of Raleigh. She takes pride in The Wright Village (TWV) coworking/incubator space and her tax business. A big believer in Cotivation, Mel supports collaborations and motivation between entrepreneurs.
Mel is no stranger to the entrepreneurial lifestyle. She has over 7 years of entrepreneurship. After 2.5 years of Mel’s attempt at business number 2, Beau and Beauty, a resale clothing store, she had to make a choice: lose her home or close the store. Spending tons of money to build a business she had no idea how to run, knew nothing about a target market, analytics or even the area, Mel decided to go back to school, where she attended North Carolina Central and graduated May 2020 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. She knew that once she graduated she would be able to help other entrepreneurs along their journeys and help them avoid the same mistakes she made.
Always having the passion for helping others, she wanted to become this small business liaison. In December of 2019 she started to look for an office for her tax business and came upon the current location of TWV and knew that a coworking/incubator space would be that perfect fit. She would be able to help others and also build a village of like-minded entrepreneurs looking to collaborate, build and grow their businesses with each other.
The Wright Village is a place for entrepreneurs to come and build their business while learning and helping others along the way. Providing the resources and the accountability that one would need to become successful is what you will get by being a member of the TWV. It takes a village, ”The Wright Village.”
The Raleigh Pilots
Small Business Success Academy (SBSA)
The Small Business Success Academy focuses on business growth through client acquisition and access to capital. The strategic intent is to initiate the development of a network of successful Black small business owners. This is a 4 1/2 day in-person experience in which entrepreneurs will prepare for the next level of success in their businesses by following the client acquisition model, building a strong support network that can be leveraged to build a thriving business, and becoming the backbone for the creation of the next reimagined Black Wall Street Raleigh. It’s expected that kind of network can be the backbone for creating a reimagined Black wall street.
You will also have first access to learn more about Black Wall Street Forward Network: The Green Book For The New Economy.
Black Wall Street Forward Network: The Green Book For The New Economy
Black Wall Street Forward Network: The Green Book For The New Economy is building a comprehensive directory of Black-owned Businesses and Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs). The directory will help ESOs quickly identify Black businesses across targeted segments to rapidly deliver service offerings. It will also act as a one-stop shop where Black entrepreneurs can source relevant resources, find mentors and technical assistance, ask questions, and build community within and outside of their designated segment. The purpose of the directory is to map ecosystem resources, better connect Black entrepreneurs to sources of support, and reduce the access and distribution challenges Black entrepreneurs and ESOs experience when trying to receive and deliver aid.
Discover BWSF - Raleigh
Connect with us
For updates and information, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @BlackWallStFwd.
To stay updated on The Black Wall Street Forward initiative and the various opportunities to get involved with the initiative, subscribe to the newsletter!
Collaborative Black leadership and innovation
Katrece Boyd
General Business Counselor, Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
Katrece Boyd
General Business Counselor, Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
Katrece Boyd is an ICF credentialed coach and small business advisor. She currently serves as a General Business Counselor with the Small Business & Technology Development Center where she provides personalized management counseling and education services to small businesses across North Carolina.
She’s also the Co-Founder of Loving All My Body, an indie beauty brand dedicated to making women’s bodies their home. In 2020, she became an Inaugural Member of the NC IDEA Black Entrepreneurship Council and is currently serving on Raleigh’s Inaugural Black Wall Street Forward Stewardship Council to develop a pilot that reimagines Black Wall Street in Raleigh and across North Carolina.
Bill Davis
Retired, Team Nimbus of North Carolina
Bill Davis
Retired, Team Nimbus of North Carolina
“Helping people to realize their dreams is my goal,” says Bill Davis, retired owner of Team Nimbus of North Carolina. Team Nimbus is a small business advisory service that helps business owners and sales professionals make more money in less time while living the life they want.
Bill brings a broad background and a wide variety of experience to his clients. During his 28 year career in the telecommunications industry, he held leadership assignments in Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Training & Education, Total Quality Management, Human Resources, Organizational Development and Program Management, in numerous locations throughout the Southeastern and Northeastern US.
After retiring from the telecommunications industry, he founded Davis Consulting & Coaching, LLC, to provide personal coaching services to executives and business professionals.
Bill received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Politics from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina in 1972, and completed The Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University in California in 1994. Other executive educational experiences include the Management Development Program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, The Wharton School of Business - University of Pennsylvania, and the Aspen Institute.
Through Team Nimbus of North Carolina, Bill now specializes in coaching and training small business owners and professionals to grow their businesses so that it will provide them with the resources and time to live the lives they love.
Since 2009, Team Nimbus has reached over 1000 small business owners and professionals through its 100 Days to Abundance program.
Bill received his coaching certification from Results Coaching System and is licensed through the One Page Business Plan Professional Consultant Program; and is a SCORE Mentor.
An avid volunteer for Boy Scouts BSA, he started as a Tiger Dad, and has served as a CubMaster, Troop Committee Chair, OA Chapter Adviser, Council President. He is Vigil Honor and has been awarded the OA Founders Award and Silver Beaver.
Bill resides in Raleigh, NC and is the proud father of William, a Life Scout and an adult daughter, Tiffani who resides in Memphis, TN.
Culturally-rooted geographic business hub
Tosh Comer
Coaching & Connections Manager, Thread Capital
Tosh Comer
Coaching & Connections Manager, Thread Capital
Tosh Comer is the Coaching & Connections Manager for Thread Capital. She is responsible for executing Thread Capital's mission of strengthening small businesses through a reliable ecosystem within North Carolina.
Tosh supports Thread's lenders through low-touch coaching tools, templates, programming, and guides that prepare borrowers for lending and technical service referral recommendations. She manages the six quarterly regional Business Connectivity Alliances (BCA) meetings across the state. The BCA was established to actively and strategically build relationships and partnerships across North Carolina's entrepreneurial ecosystem to encourage equitable collaboration and connectivity.
She truly believes that by amplifying our partners, we can increase sustainable businesses, which equals a better local economy and opportunity for economic development throughout the state, confirming the adage, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
Tosh is a proud North Carolina Central University graduate with a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. After acquiring several years of experience in customer service, financial services, tax accounting, and higher education, she returned to school to obtain her Master of Entrepreneurship from Western Carolina University. Before joining the team, she served as a Business Counselor with the Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC).
Johnny Hackett Jr.
CEO, Black Dollar Corp
Johnny Hackett Jr.Ally investment and partnership
Heather McDougall
Sr Manager Strategy & Innovation, City of Raleigh
Heather McDougall
Sr Manager Strategy & Innovation, City of Raleigh
Heather leads the City of Raleigh’s new Office of Strategy & Innovation (aka Office of Yes, And!) with the bold vision to catalyze inclusive innovation and achieve the seemingly impossible. An award-winning social entrepreneur, Heather is passionate about cultivating the potential of others and working collaboratively to create impact. Never shy to ask What If…? Heather brings a curious and creative mindset to push the boundaries of public innovation. She loves teaching leadership, social innovation, and women and innovation courses. Prior to joining the City of Raleigh, Heather founded Leadership exCHANGE, an award-winning social enterprise operating leadership and social innovation academic programs in 10 countries.
Clark Rinehart
Founder, SIVIK Communities
Clark Rinehart
Founder, SIVIK Communities
Clark is a highly relational leader that is working to make the world a more equitable place. He brings a collaborative and innovative perspective to every situation, relationship, or opportunity. At a macro level, Clark is interested in the intersection of community engagement, community development, and economic development, especially in the urban core. At a micro level, he wants to activate underutilized real estate for community-centric purposes.
Talent pipeline seeded by education
Katie Gailes
CEO, Katie Gailes & Co.
Katie Gailes
CEO, Katie Gailes & Co.
Katie Gailes estimates that she has directly trained, coached, or counseled over 2,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs. For six years, after a long career in corporate America, she ran her own marketing and business strategy consulting practice. She was a counselor in the Growing American Through Entrepreneurship (GATE) program at the NC Rural Economic Development Center and an SBA SCORE Counselor. In 2015, Katie originated the Director of Entrepreneurship initiatives role at Wake Tech, where she co-founded the LaunchMyCity Entrepreneurship EcoSystem Model with long-time Rotarian, Matthew Kane. The model is gaining traction locally, nationally, and internationally. Under the LaunchWakeCounty name, over 600 small business owners and entrepreneurs across nine Wake County towns were trained; about 70% of them were minorities and/or women.
Two years ago, she co-founded Our Stories On Race, a social entrepreneurship venture that aims to increase racial understanding and peace in America by fostering an appreciation for the dignity of all humans. This new non-profit now has three chapters and over 300 graduates. In development are Corporate, Young Adult, and Faith Editions which will exponentially increase its positive impact on life in the United States.
Katie is currently the Senior Director of Membership and Diversity at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. She is part of the Entrepreneurship EcoSystem Builders Leadership Project (EBLP), sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation and Black Wall Street Forward, a Forward Cities project.
Katie serves on the Board of the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce, the North Carolina Business Council, the White Oak Foundation, and the North Carolina Women Business Owners Hall of Fame. She is the Communication Manager for the LaunchHollySprings program, belongs to the Rotary Club of Holly Springs, the Rotary eClub of All Nations, and is inaugural Co-Chair of the Rotary District 7710 DEI Council.
Hanif Omar
Professor of Entrepreneurship, Shaw University
Hanif Omar
Professor of Entrepreneurship, Shaw University
Hanif Omar, is an entrepreneur, historian, professor, and business professional with over two decades of owning and leading complex organizations, building strategic business alliances and developing successful business models. Currently, Mr. Omar manages The Omar Group, LLC, a business and finance consulting firm operating in North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In addition, he is also the Director of Commercial Lending for Piedmont Business Capital, and a professor of Entrepreneurship at Shaw University (Raleigh, NC) in the School of Business and Professional Studies.
Engagement with the broader Black community
Mia Lamotte
CEO/Owner, LaMotte International
Mia LaMotte
CEO/Owner, LaMotte International
Mia LaMotte is an accomplished leader, facilitator, coach and consultant specializing in personal development, personal and business branding, training, transformation and helping other leaders be seen the way they want to be seen. Over 20+ years of experience in developing programs that help others become leaders of their own lives. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and these certifications:Certified Transformational Coach, Divine Living Academy, December 2018, Certified Image Consultant, Association of Image Consultants International -Active, Certified Transformational Generalist Trainer, Trainer Global Designs, April 2018, Certified Public Manager, State of North Carolina, October 2011.
Intelligent and organized with great communication skills and big picture thinking. Capable of thinking “outside the box” when problem solving and managing unanticipated setbacks in life and business. Mia helps her clients drop all pretenses and helps them to get paid to be themselves- all parts of them. Her core competencies include:Image Consulting, Online Presence, Personal Development, Transformational Courses, Personal Branding, Training/Coaching, Course Creation. Mia is passionate about conscious entrepreneurship, adventure, learning about others and their cultures. She travels extensively and helps clients and businesses open up to a global vision and location independent life.
Ryan Ray
Founder, Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership
Ryan Ray
Founder, Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership
Ryan is an accomplished, results-oriented entrepreneur with a passion for developing leaders and building collaborative partnerships across both the public and private sector. In 2015, he had the vision to create a safe haven for entrepreneurs to dream, grow, and lead their lives and businesses.
Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership's (TEL) mission is to educate, empower, and equip entrepreneurs with the thinking and skill sets necessary for financial, personal, and professional success; a people-focused company.
The events of 2020 compelled Ryan to launch the movement ‘Year of the Black Entrepreneur’ (YBE). YBE's vision is to redefine black entrepreneurship, serving as a resource to educate, elevate, and highlight the black entrepreneur.
In 2018, Ryan was presented the unique opportunity to lead as President & CEO of Jobs for Life (JfL). JfL partners with businesses, churches, civic organizations and nonprofits in communities to advocate for the dignity of work. JfL supports communities in diminishing barriers to work, creating pathways to meaningful work. Ryan believes that, together, we can help all people flourish.
Ryan is a native of Dunn, NC. He lives in Knightdale, NC with his lovely wife, Tamia, and their two sons, Isaiah and Austin.
Self-perpetuating funding engine
Corey Barbour
VP Commercial Banker, North State Bank
Reggie Jones
Business Solutions Director, Carolina Small Business Development Center
Reggie Jones
Business Solutions Director, Carolina Small Business Development Center
Reggie Jones serves as the Business Solutions Director for Carolina Small Business Development Fund. In this role, he works to proactively build relationships with small business owners, lenders, and community partners. Reggie has nearly 20 years in lending and has held several leadership roles with commercial banks in his career. Government guaranteed lending has been a large part of his experience and he has held several roles with SBA and USDA loan departments. He is a graduate of East Carolina University and holds a Broker’s License through the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.
Partners
We're grateful for being able to partner with the following organizations to catalyze Black-centric Entrepreneurial Ecosystems:
